Over the years Whistler Blackcomb has grown to offer 8171 acres of terrain for all standards of skier and boarder, and all tastes, served by an efficient network of comfortable high-speed lifts and spread across two mountains crowned by glaciers that provide snow surety all season long and Canada’s only summer glacier skiing.
Credit – Blake Jorgenson
At the base of the mile-high mountain vertical, the vibrant slopeside village has a vast selection of accommodation options ranging from budget to lux, award-winning restaurants, legendary nightlife, over 200 shops to browse and a huge collection of activities too.
All this has been achieved with a dedication to the environment which has seen Whistler recognised as one of the greenest employers in Canada for the past six years, and creating an on-site hydro-electric plant which allows the resort to export as much green energy to the grid as it needs to operate.
New Dining Options For 2015–16
For the coming winter, besides the birthday celebrations, the big capital expenditure over the summer is on multi-million dollar improvements to one of the resort’s key on-mountain dining options.
The biggest spend is on Rendezvous Lodge on Blackcomb, which is getting a $5.4-million renovation this summer, meaning that the building will have a brand new look with fresh, customisable menu options in the food court, including a fresh sushi station; a wok station with customisable Asian flavours; a fresh Mexican counter and a burger bar using only naturally raised, hormone- and antibiotic-free chicken and beef, as well as a vegetarian option.
The upgrades include a total revamp of fine-dining Christine’s Restaurant, which will have a fresh new look, a new menu and a new head chef when it reopens this winter.
Credit – Paul Morrison
Still Innovating
Whistler Blackcomb has a history of being a leader and an innovator in the ski industry – both locally in Canada and around the world.
For its 50th season Whistler Blackcomb will be introducing WB+, a new online interactive platform connected to the ski resort’s RFID (radio-frequency identification) technology which is itself linked to chips contained in your Whistler Blackcomb lift pass.
WB+ will give guests the option to create a personal profile in order to collect stats and data about their days on the mountains. By taking advantage of the automatic process of scanning lift passes as you pass through one of the RFID chairlift access gates located around Whistler and Blackcomb Mountains, guests will be able keep track of personal stats including their number of days on the slopes and total vertical ridden.
Credit – Paul Morrison
Customised privacy settings will allow users to make their WB+ profiles accessible to friends, family members and work colleagues, allowing groups to create goals and fun challenges throughout the winter.
Whistler Blackcomb’s 50th ski season kicks off on 26 November 2015, and celebrations are planned right through the winter. There are lots of early-booking deals already available to book via the resort’s website, or with British-based travel partners, and the pound is at its best rate against the Canadian dollar for five years, so this is the season to go and join the party.