Compact Whistler’s Designed for Skier Comfort

Two mountains, shoulder to shoulder, touch the night sky. They are silent, the droning of ski lifts no longer heard, the lights of snow cats no longer seen.

In the village below, skiers jubilantly toast the day’s runs, enthusiastically plan tomorrow’s adventures. They are mostly Canadians; Whistler Village is just 75 miles north of Vancouver in British Columbia. Some Yanks are here, from Washington, California, Texas, Colorado, though for the most part, Americans have yet to discover this skiing jewel in Canada’s Cascade Range.

The sister mountains, Whistler and Blackcomb, have 87 runs, 21 lifts. Dual-mountain lift tickets let you ski both giants on the same day, without taking off your skis. The season, November into May, is generous, with an average snowfall of 450 inches.

Because the mountains are only 50 miles from the Pacific Ocean, lowland winds keep the temperature at the mountain base unusually warm for a ski area. For example, in January or February, you might walk to dinner in only sweater and jeans after a day skiing in crisp snowfalls.

In March, April and May, temperatures range from 29 to 52 degrees. In spring you could ski mornings and play golf afternoons at an 18-hole course designed by Arnold Palmer.

Whistler Village Centre is Canada’s newest ski resort. It officially opened in 1980, although the area did have some lifts as early as 1960. It’s a pretty village, with its wooden balconies, dormer windows and peaked roofs.

For People-Comfort

Compact and friendly, Whistler was designed for people-comfort. Covered walkways link European-style hotels, shops and restaurants, inviting pleasant shopping or strolling. Incandescent lights warm building exteriors in their shades of tan, beige brown and cream. A big performing arts and convention center promotes Whistler as a year-round resort.

It is a walk-around town of winding streets and three large squares and, wonder of wonders, there are no cars--anywhere. They are outcasts. If you drive here, you must park (free for hotel guests) in one of the lots stretching beneath the buildings.

The village has more than 15 night spots and 20 restaurants, ranging from gourmet to fast food. One popular restaurant is the Black Forest, which features steak and schnitzels. The chef is Bavarian, the servings generous and reasonably priced (veal Oskar is about $13 U.S.).

You choose accommodations from about 20 hotels, modest to first class. The farthest is only a 10-minute walk from the ski lifts. Several feature condominium-style suites.

Ticket offices for both Blackcomb and Whistler mountains are in Carlton Lodge. The Whistler chairlift is right behind the Carlton, separated from the Blackcomb chairlift by 100 meters, about the length of a football field. By the time skiers reach the top of either mountain, the distance separating the two is 10 kilometers (six miles).

The ski area is enormous, the grooming of slopes excellent. Lifts on the two mountains can handle 15,000 skiers an hour, yet lines are short, with waits often under five minutes.

The summits of Blackcomb and Whistler reach 6,400 feet, with a base of 2,200 feet. Blackcomb, with 26 marked runs, claims the longest run in North America. It’s called “the Cruiser,” three miles of uninterrupted skiing through thick pine, meadows and creeks. A triple chairlift lands you right on the fall line, so you just get off and go for it.

21 Miles of Skiing

Blackcomb has 21 miles of skiing; 25% of runs are expert, 55% intermediate, 20% beginner.

For the expert, Whistler is the more challenging; it is larger, with more variety for every level of skier. Of Whistler’s 61 runs, 20% are expert, 55% intermediate, 25% beginner.

For skiers bent on deep-powder skiing, a T-bar takes them to the top of a glacier on Whistler Mountain. They can look forward to incredible powder bowls and challenging moguls. For intermediates and novices, Whistler has miles of wide-open slopes and gentle trails.

If heli-skiing is your bag, companies are at Whistler Village, ready to whisk you off to untouched glaciers and solitary peaks. For cross-country skiers, there are miles of wilderness trails. Some start right in the village; most are cut and track set.

Both mountains have complimentary ski hosts to help newcomers orient themselves to the runs. They also offer day care, ski schools for tots to teen-agers, adult classes and special programs for seniors. Whistler runs a separate ski clinic for women; Blackcomb has separate ski clinics for men and women. Skiers must be intermediate or advanced.

Nancy Greene, an Olympic gold medal winner and World Cup champion, has run several of the three-day ski clinics just for women at Blackcomb.

‘Building Confidence’

“Women support each other in a group,” Greene said over a cup of cappuccino at Umberto’s Lounge. “It’s a matter of building confidence. We hold technique sessions, ski moguls, powder and steep pitches, master the long run and even race. At the end of each day everyone raps over beer and wine, views video replays and just has a great old time.

“Skiing can look more terrifying than it is,” she said. “For example, take going off a 10-foot drop-off and landing upright. Women have told me that never in a hundred years would they do anything that crazy. But, when they start believing it’s possible, they can do it.

“They realize, hey, this isn’t so hard. They get such a thrill and sense of satisfaction when they accomplish what they had deemed impossible. You don’t have to be big and muscular and young and male to ski well. Skiing is a sport of grace, balance, timing.”

Three-Day Clinics

Greene, the mother of twin 17-year-old boys, has also conducted three-day clinics for men only.

“At some point, it’s just better to be in a class with your own sex,” she said. “There’s less intimidation and a certain camaraderie and spirit among men only or women only that’s different than in mixed groups.”

Greene, like many of the 2,000 who claim Whistler Village as their year-round home, is in love with the wilderness, in love with the mountains.

Ah, the mountains.

They loom over the village, independent of human beings, oblivious to their omnipotence, indifferent to their beauty. But, oh, how they bring joy to the mere beholder, joy to the enthralled and spirited skier.

Welcome to the world at Whistler.

From Vancouver, Whistler village is a 90-minute drive up Highway 99 along spectacular, fiord-like Howe Sound. There is daily bus and rail service.

Dual-mountain lift tickets for five days at Whistler and Blackcomb cost about $92 ($125 Canadian). One-day tickets at Blackcomb and Whistler are about $20.

For schedules, information about the Whistler ski area, prices and accommodations, write to Whistler Resort Assn., P.O. Box 1400, Whistler, BC VON 1B0, Canada; phone (604) 932-4222.