Whistler

Regularly named as the best ski resort in the world, Whistler just up the road from Vancouver in Canada, is something special, and offers a fabulous mix of facilities, huge terrain and bottomless powder for every skier and snowboarder. It has a huge reputation to uphold, but it succeeds year after year.

Officially the ski area is called Whistler Blackcomb reflecting the twin mountain peaks accessed from the base town of Whistler. The town itself sits at a relatively low altitude - just 675m - so it can get a lot of rain, but up on the mountains you’ll find snow by the bucket-load. The area has one of the best snow records in North America, it receives an average of 11.6 meters of snow each season, that’s 38 feet in old money which is rather a lot. Because of that snow record and the glaciers, Whistler Blackcomb has a long season, usually operating from November right through to May. Skiing on the glacier then heading down to the town in glorious spring sunshine with everyone in T-shirts is a bizarre but joyful experience.

These two mountains of Whistler and Blackcomb offer a great range of terrain, from wide open groomers and glorious tree runs, to glacier skiing and deep deep powder bowls. The truly adventurous can go for a spot or cat or heli-skiing and play around in the huge backcountry, while intermediates will find run after run of pisted trails, including the blue ‘Peak to Creek’ run which is one of the longest blue runs in the world and a sure fire way to get those legs burning. Beginners can access a fantastic amount the mountains, with easy runs situated high up on the Blackcomb glacier allowing most people to be able to experience what it’s like right at the top. The two peaks are linked by the aptly named Peak 2 Peak gondola which it’s length at 3km and height at 436 meters puts it in the Guinness book of records. It opened for the 2007-8 season and cost over CDN$50million to build and gets you to the opposite peak in 11 minutes.