Snowsure: 4.1
- Occasionally gets enough snow for skiing
- Is often closed due to a lack of snow
- Occasionally suffers from a lack of snow
- Rarely suffers from a lack of snow
- Whistler Blackcomb is snowsure even in the poorest seasons
Visitor reviews for Whistler Blackcomb Ski Resort
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(NOTE: Reviews may be edited by our content team for the purposes of ensuring accurate and relevant information)
(NOTE: Reviews may be edited by our content team for the purposes of ensuring accurate and relevant information)
Latest
April 17, 2012
RB from
USA - California
RB from
USA - California
Just returned from a vacation to Whistler, my first since a brief visit a dozen years ago. This latest visit has changed my opinion to the better. My concern with Whistler has always been the lack of dependability of the weather due to a low village altitude and proximity to the coast. Rain is always a risk. (Recall the 2010 Olympics?). Even if the weather is nice when you are there, the snow on the lower slopes can be crud due to previous rain events.
That said, Whistler is such a huge area with such varied altitudes and terrain that you can ski the upper two-thirds of the mountain and still have plenty to keep you satisfied for a week. Whistler has everything from open bowls, to tree skiing, to bumps, to groomed runs - all in great quantities.
The village is really quite nice. Too new to be as quaint or authentic as some European ski towns, but up-scale, varied and lively nonetheless.
Don't expect to have the mountain to yourself. Lift lines can be an issue during busy periods. However, by afternoon the crowds thin out noticeably.
All in all, Whistler is an area that deserves serious consideration for a ski week. However, given the vagueries of the Pacific Northwest weather, it's worth waiting a little to book your reservations (at least long enough to determine if the overall winter pattern is setting up favorably).
April 11, 2012
Scott
Scott
To the gentleman complaining about the size of Whistler, lift times & everything in between:
Thanks for NOT coming back to what you made sound like a hellish vacation. Whistler has some of the best terrain in the world, you just have to be smart about how you ski it. I'll thank you not to deter people with comments like this. We need the tourism (as do most areas right now!) and the resort on a whole is doing the best it can to come up with new innovative ways to attract guests to the town and don't need false reviews like this.
April 11, 2012
canali
canali
To the complainers on lift wait lines, simple: get there early to enjoy the fresh runs and lack of lines....and to those doing 'first tracks' easy on the buffet: 'tis easy to overeat with all the great food; and instead of feeling recharged you feel bloated and as if a 5lb block of cement is in your gut....been there done that (as have many others).
April 03, 2012
Kim from
S. Africa
Kim from
S. Africa
To another reviewer:
Try staying at the abundant accommodation on Blackcomb mountain, aspens, grey stone lodge etc as they are ski in-ski out. No WAITing for the bus. I have been here all season and don't like skiing on a Saturday but ski Sundays which are usually quieter and during the week I have never had to wait long at all. Most days I ski right onto the lift. I have, on occasion, woken up at 6 am to be on the first chair up Blackcomb on a pow day. What is the point of coming on a ski vacation and not waking up early for the first lines down the mountain?
Also, try the singles queue, it means splitting up but is often faster, sometimes not though. Skiing back down the mountain on certain days can be challenging but I have never found that it has taken me longer than 20 minutes top to bottom. Try skiing less frequented runs like Lower Gear Jammer on blackcomb and Crab Apple on Whistler to get back down. I have been down Lower Gear Jammer on a weekday at 11 am and still skied corduroy. Don't come during American holidays or Christmas new year etc.
The earlier you ski the less people there are. Also, during lunch hours it is less busy too so it is about skiing smart. I have been down 7th Heaven and found too many people but fifteen minutes later down a different run on 7th had the run to myself the whole way.
If you stopped focusing on how long you had to wait you might have come up with a solution instead of whining about how all the pow had been shredded.
March 23, 2012
Peter
Peter
To a previous poster commenting on wait times:
Yes, Fresh Tracks breakfast is limited to 150 or so people, so you have to arrive early because lots of people just like you (yes you yourself) want to go! so don't complain just because people are willing to get there earlier than you!
You can't really complain about having to wait for the alpine to open. Patrol has a job to do and they're going to take the time to do it right. No sense in saying that other mountains do a better job of opening the alpine because conditions are different everywhere, and they change every day! And if there's always high winds when you come here, why do keep coming back?!
Plenty of mid-mountain trails to choose from that don't lead to a long cat track. Have you looked at the trail map? Choose accordingly! Accommodation is not spread out - it's just everywhere, even far away. If you don't want to take a bus to the lift in the morning, there are plenty of options within walking distance for you to choose from.
You mention the long blue runs on the lower mountain. Not sure what the problem is here. Yes they're busy at the end of the day because everyone wants to come down to the village, just like you! Luckily they're nice and wide open. People come here for the size, the variety of terrain, the options. There are line-ups (longest will be initial upload), best time to come is during the week (avoid presidents week and March break). Upload early, eat lunch early, apres early!
March 21, 2012
Ralphy
Ralphy
Re another reviewers comments:
Hey, sounds like you were skiing the wrong areas at the wrong times. Learn to get in line early, learn to be patient with Alpine lift openings, and you will enjoy yourself. Whistler/Blackcomb is HUGE and even on weekends if you know how to ski/ride, you'll have a blast waiting minimal times. If you have that much of an issue with waiting for awesome terrain then please don't come here! It's people probably like you that go off skiing out of your comfort zone and ruin all the powder for skiers usually enjoy. If you don't like the mountains...stay home!!
March 21, 2012
Soju Warrior
Soju Warrior
Great accommodation.
Friendly helpful service.
What can I say, this place is lot run and fun to be had. Pow, pillows, bowls, cliffs, groomers, glaciers, bumps, trees, park and more! Week days are busy it is possible to avoid crowds till about 11am. More lifted please!
ATM work! Food prices are ok!
Canadians are great people and a surprising pleasure to meet the true non agro loud mouth Aussies enjoying this country's. I will be back next year as I have for the last 12 years snowboarding Japan.
March 18, 2012
Alison from
New Zealand
Alison from
New Zealand
Having just returned from our 2nd trip to Whistler in 2 years we can't speak highly enough of it.
It offers something for everyone and yes there are some queues but no longer than what we'd wait at our local ski area and there's always a lift somewhere that isn't so busy, I couldn't even complain on Presidents weekend when it was heaps busier than what we'd experienced the week prior. The only time we had to wait for around 30 mins or so was on the Harmony Chair once over the whole 2 weeks other than that it was pretty much straight on the whole time.
The people are super friendly and the snow was great.
Even though it's pretty expensive for us to get there and a heck of a long way, we'll be back.
March 16, 2012
Michael
Michael
My son and I just returned from Whistler. It was my 6th time there, although I hadn't been in the last 4 years. We have decided to nick name it WAITsler.
1) We spent more time WAITing in lift lines than skiing. The size of the line ups at the base and at the mid mountain were sickening (e.g. waiting 40 minutes to get on Wizard, then another 40 minutes to get on Solar Coaster). Add to that the actual time spent on the lift, and it took us close to two hours before we started skiing! Strange that so much money was spent on the Peak-to-Peak, and these line ups still exist - perhaps the money should have been spent differently.
2) We bought Fresh Tracks tickets, and after having paid for them we were told that access to the gondola at 7:30 was first come first serve and that since there was lots of snow, it would be a good idea to show up at 6:30 and WAIT in line to ensure we got a spot.
3) We were constantly WAITing for the alpine area to open, and even after waiting and waiting, only parts of it opened. And don't go on about avalanche control. I have skied at other resorts that do a much better job of opening up their terrain. And in any case it was the high winds which kept things closed -- every time I go to Whistler there are high winds in the alpine.
4) Because we were confined to the mid-mountain for our entire 4 days we had to ski runs that were great (once we finally got to them) but ended at long cat track ski outs that meant 5 to 10 minutes of cat track skiing - again WAITing to get to the lift so that we could wait to get on.
5) In the morning we WAITed for a bus to take us to the mountain (pretty good frequency to be fair) and in the afternoon we waited for a bus to get back to the hotel. The accommodation is too spread out.
6) In the morning you have to ride a lift over a massive amount of terrain which you will not ski until *maybe* the end of the day. At the end of the day we had to spend an hour to ski down this terrain which is a series of mediocre long, tiring, and crowded blue runs or sit on a gondola for 20 minutes to download - again WAITing!
Whistler's greatest asset is also what makes it awful: its size. It is simply too big and spread out. If you want better skiing, find a more compact mountain with terrain that is easily accessed and more reliably open. Don't get duped into Whistler's marketing message that goes on and on about its size. In this case bigger is not better.
Additionally, there are just simply way too many people there. It's Disney Land for skiing, and it's true that if you don't know exactly where to go, and if you are not at the front of the line when the lifts open on a powder day you will be eating tracked powder that is mogully under foot to boot.
Whistler is a fantastic mountain for locals that have the luxury of finding that rare sweet spot where no crowds, lots of snow, and knowing exactly where to go can make epic ski experiences; for the rest of us, it is way way over rated and way too expensive for what you get. There are better places to ski. I know it's hard to believe, but it's true.
March 15, 2012
Dave
Dave
Whistler can be a difficult place to become established. Depends on your resources. To truly get to know the mountain and understand where to ski when takes time. The patient are rewarded. I have lived here for 30+ years. I have been fortunate to have skied many resorts and ski toured on most continents. For length of season, variety of terrain, quality of snow conditions, off-piste access, snow pack stability and hundreds of other non ski related recreational opportunities, Whistler rules. What else do you want?
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