Whistler Mountain — Local services in Whistler Resort Municipality

Worst First Skiing Experience at Whistler

I was hoping to enjoy my first time going to Whistler , but I was wrong. When I came there, I found out that it costs $104 to rent a pair of skis, boots , helmet and poles. Right after I was done, I had to spend a half an hour looking for parking because apparently you have to pay to park your car (28 bucks for underground, and 10 bucks outside). As if you have to pay for parking at every resort in Canada, which you don’t because it’s free at most resorts in Ontario (ex, Blue Mountain, Horseshoe, etc) . After I was done looking for parking and getting rent, it was 12:30 pm in afternoon which meant that I had 2 and a half hours to ski because a $149 ticket only permits you to ski until 3pm and the hill closes after. In all I got to go down 3 times, and I am not including the fact that I had to lie to a lift chair operator at the Gondola express that my car was parked on second base to get a fourth run in. Although it’s not as bad as my friend spending $179 for two runs, it’s still a rip off even if you starting skiing from 8am which will give you 6 runs. Yes , I could have looked on the internet as to when the hill closes, but nobody at the rental shop tried advising me to come back another day because the hill was closing soon, as a gesture of goodwill to their customers. Furthermore, my friend couldn’t get a partial refund because when he went to the ticket booth, it was long closed before the clock hit 3pm. To sum up I spent $343 in total including renting a Mercedes from car 2 go (which was $80 per person), skiing equipment, outside parking ticket. Basically, it’s like spending $343 at a casino and you coming out of it empty handed. If you want a better value for your money, do yourself a favor and go to blue mountain in Ontario it’s about $70 for ticket and you can find someone to sell you a used ticket for less than 70 . Also, you don’t have to pay...

As a frame of reference, I’ve gone to many different ski resorts in Colorado and also one in New Mexico. My friends and I wanted to take our largest ski trip ever and so we visited Whistler in the early part of 2014. Stick around and I’ll tell you why I think it was the best resort I’ve gone to.

Let’s start with the different ski runs. Compared to the other ski resorts I’ve gone to, the ski runs here were incredible. I generally prefer longer runs and Whistler gave me my share of those. The snow on he mountain was soft, and I never hit any ice patch areas on any of the runs.

Let’s talk people. Ive gone to the ski resort Breckinridge in Colorado many times. While I enjoy the ski runs there, I do have to say the place is just filled with people. Lots of dodging needs to occur on the runs there. I didn’t have that problem at Whistler.

The ambiance of Whistler was another thing that I really appreciated and will be big reason why I come back some day. The resort had a Christmas-y vibe to it despite It being a few months after Christmas had already occurred. Lots of lights and trees lit up. It would make a romantic vibe if you are with a special someone.

On to food and drinks - If you are a fan of apple cider, I strongly recommend trying “Growers” apple cider when you are there. Sadly this stuff is only sold in Canada, but they were easily my favorite ciders I’ve ever tried. Most of the ciders in the states are 4-5% alc/vol and these guys were 7%. What’s more they are absolutely delicious!

The only negative point of the trip I would say I was a little underwhelmed with the food at the resort. It was mainly on the expensive side and never tasted amazing. I think the best food I ended up having at the resort was also the cheapest, which was a place called “Peaked Pies.” They have some savory pies that are tasty, hearty, and cheap, which is a wonderful combination. Strongly...

Great place to hike and take in the views! When you get to Roundhouse, you can take the chairlift up to the peak and walk the skybridge. The peak is around 7100ft tall! Also, a black diamond trail, High note trail (which connects with Half note) can be found, it starts close to the other side of the bridge. At first High note was downhill, fairly steep at times, but not bad. Further along, it becomes meadow for most of the rest and isn't too hard. Some great places to lookout and see Cheakamus lake from the trail. Soon after the lookout area, it's possible to continue high note or go on half note. Half note was much more difficult than the earlier meadows, with a big boulder field and a sharp ascent. It had amazing views of all of the surrounding mountains, especially Overlord mountain and its huge glacier. Further up after the sharp incline, half note ended, so we went right down the Pika Traverse Road to get back to Roundhouse. Gondola down closes at around 5 so plan to be back by then. All trails are marked with hiking signs or green flags.There's a lineup but groups of 1-2 people can pass on the left...