Throughout the 1990s and now in the 21st Century no resort has hit the winter sports world headlines as often as Whistler in British Columbia. Coming from way down the world rankings the resort shot to the top of the reader survey popularity charts in North American consumer ski magazines in the early '90s, and has stayed there ever since. Not only a North American phenomenon, Whistler has pulled in package tour operators from all over the world by the dozen in recent years and topped 'favourite foreign resort' polls in countries like Japan. Today Whistler attracts more skiers and 'boarders than any other resort on the continent.
The resort began life as recently as 1966, with its 'municipal inception' a decade later. Since then an incredible 2.7 billion Canadian dollars have been spent making the resort what it is today. The reasons for the unprecedented enthusiasm in Whistler today are many. Perhaps you start with the fact that North American ski resorts are recognised as having the best service standards and lift systems in the world, then you consider that Whistler has the best lift system in North America, with the most high speed lifts in the world. Secondly you might add in to your musings that Whistler has not one but two mountains, Whistler and Blackcomb, lift-linked together, providing the biggest ski area in North America. Oh, and these two mountains also have the two biggest lift-served verticals in North America, by far. Indeed the 'Blackcomb' effect can't be overstated. Originally developed by Intrawest in the mid 1980s, their first major ski resort project, it provided valuable competition for Whistler mountain for well over a decade before the two came under joint Intrawest control. Of course Intrawest themselves have gone on to develop many other top resorts in North America.
Whistler is big enough to ensure a vast range of choices on and off the slopes when you're not riding up and sliding down the slopes - around 100 restaurants and 200 shops plus a huge choice of accommodation (more of it slopeside than anywhere else in North America) and activities. Finally there are little things like the proximity to a major international airport; the favourable exchange rate of most countries, including the US, to the Canadian dollar; the status of having the only lift-served summer glacier skiing in North America; the uncrowded slopes; the vast choice of terrain. Of course the residents and fans of Whistler will tell you that these are just the ingredients, and it's that 'something else', the feel of the place, that makes it truly great. The only negative factor that any critics, desperate to find a flaw in the apparently nigh on perfect ski resort, can find, is that its low elevation and proximity to the Pacific can mean rain rather than snow at base level at each end of the season. Whistler's view is that the low base is a boon because, although they have the biggest verticals in North America, the top elevation is not as high as resorts in Colorado, so altitude sickness is not a danger for Whistler's guests. The proximity to the coast also means that it doesn't get overly cold - just cold enough for an average 30 foot dump of powder each season.
