Image above credit: Eric Berger/Whistler Blackcomb
After yet another snowy winter last season, which saw North America’s biggest and most snowsure ski area clock up Canada’s most days open for skiing, Whistler Blackcomb is already well prepared for the start of the 2016-17 season, just a few short months away.
The extra good news is that whilst the pound has dropped against the US dollar in the wake of the Brexit vote, it’s still performing much better against the Canadian dollar, currently at around 1.65 Canadian dollars to the pound.
Add to this some special deals currently available for booking to Whistler Blackcomb and there’s never been a better time to secure your ski or snowboard holiday of a lifetime out West. Just don’t leave it too long – the deals end on August 31st, 2016.
Image above credit: Eric Berger/Whistler Blackcomb
Why Whistler Blackcomb?
You know the name and if you haven’t yet been yourself you no doubt know someone who has and they won’t stop going on about how great it is. But you can be forgiven if you are still wondering just why Whistler Blackcomb is repeatedly voted the number one rated ski resort in North America by visitors in polls on both sides of the Atlantic, season after season.
It’s difficult to put all the attributes in the correct order, and some may be more important to you than they are to someone else, but essentially it comes down to the fact that Whistler Blackcomb ticks all the boxes for a super successful ski trip.
So, firstly, the ski area is big. It’s the biggest by far in North America and by independent assessment one of the biggest in the world too. There’s terrain for all abilities from perfectly designed beginner areas where especially skilled teachers for first timers await with welcoming smiles and a “There’s no need to hurry” attitude to some of the steepest, most challenging terrain on earth. To put it in numbers, there are more than 200 marked runs, 8,171 acres of terrain, 16 alpine bowls and three glaciers.
Second, there’s the snow. Whistler Blackcomb has some of the best quality powder on earth and more of it than the vast majority of ski resorts across the world. It enables it to open early and stay open to late May, even June. There is also a glacier ski area open until July which means Whistler can stay open for summer-skiing and boarding each year.
Image above credit: Eric Berger/Whistler Blackcomb
Next, the uplift. Accessing all this terrain, both perfectly groomed slopes and deep powder, needs to be quick. Thankfully it is as Whistler Blackcomb has one of the world’s biggest and best fleets of queue-gobbling high speed chair and gondola lifts, all accessed by a state-of-the-art hands free lift pass. The resort’s reputation is solidified by its amazing, world record-breaking PEAK 2 PEAK Gondola which links the tops of both mountains.
Fourth, there’s the resort base. ‘Vibrant’ doesn’t do justice to all that the Whistler Municipality has to offer. There are hundreds of shops, restaurants, bars, cafes, hotels and other accommodation and businesses. Wandering the Pedestrian-only Village Stroll you can be forgiven for forgetting yourself and neglecting the huge ski area above. Of course parties with non-skiers in their midst have found the perfect destination. The resort has been beautifully designed too so that lifts are never far from your lodging, normally easy to walk to from and ski back close to.
Fifth there’s the experience of just getting here. Vancouver is a great city with a well designed, friendly airport and the drive north in to the Coast Mountains of British Columbia, is just a 1.5 hour drive (125 kilometres/78 miles).
Then there’s that Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games legacy. Alpine and cross country skiing events at the 2010 Games were staged here were , along with event’s like bobsleigh and luge at the state-of-the-art sliding centre. These will now be the last Games to be staged in the Western hemisphere of the globe for at least another decade. You can visit the venues and ski the same runs that the world’s greatest did.
Image above credit: Eric Berger/Whistler Blackcomb
What’s New This Winter 2016-2017?
In April 2016, Whistler Blackcomb announced Renaissance, the company’s long-term strategic plan to build on its year-round appeal to all guests and further solidify its reputation as one of the world’s greatest four-season mountain resort destinations.
Whistler Blackcomb Renaissance is a $345 million investment plan that includes three phases of development that will add new, year-round attractions and activities, see major on-mountain winter and summer improvements, and revitalize Blackcomb’s upper and lower base areas.
For now, this winter sees improvement to the on mountain dining experience for all, and a special focus on improved facilities for beginners.
The resort’s famous Roundhouse Lodge on-mountain dining centre will see the addition of 6,000sq feet of new space to the Roundhouse Roll patio in the form of a new upper and lower deck. The upgrades will add approximately 160 new outdoor seats.
Image above credit: Eric Berger/Whistler Blackcomb
Deals A Plenty When You Book by August 31st, 2016
It’s never been a better time to book since Canada is experiencing the lowest dollar value in over a decade. That means great savings for UK visitors and a chance to knock Whistler Blackcomb off your bucket list.
You need to book by August 31st 2016 to get the lowest prices Whistler Blackcomb will offer for holidays this winter – guaranteed.
Families can save even more, because kids stay, ski, rent and even get an airport transfer for free all season so long as they’re visiting with a paying adult.
Book by August 31st 2016 and save up to 45%, room rates starting from $119 (approximately £68) per adult per night on packages including both lift pass and accommodation (Lift & Lodging).
Other Deals:
Save up to 33% on equipment rentals
Save up to 44% on lift tickets
Save up to $100 on select snow school products
Save up to 20% on activities
Save up to 12% on airport transfers
Image below credit: Eric Berger/Whistler Blackcomb
