Tour operator -Ski Independence (thanks Karen)
Hotel - Delta Whislter Village Suites
Week - 28/2/2005 to 5/3/2005

The Journey (transfers) - Accommodation - Restaurants & Bars & Apre stuff - Ski School - Snow conditions - Safety - Shops - Tips

The Journey

We flew into Vancouver Airport, which has to be one of the most tranquil airports either. As you descend the stairs to customs, you are surrounded by water falls, very cool. We had a very short delay after clearing customs, before we could collect our bags and skis (less that 10 minutes)

We'd opted for a private transfer to the resort as neither of us really wanted to have to drive after a long flight. This proved a good plan as, as we left Vancouver it started to rain and by the time we were in the mountains it was snowing. the journey took a little over 2 hours, but our driver told us he'd done the run the night before and it had taken nearly 4 hours to get back to Vancouver from Whistler.

We were staying at the Delta Whistler Village Suites, in a one bedroom suite. This proved to be plenty of room for the two of us, with a small very well equiped kitchen (washing machine, dryer, microwave, dishwaher etc)

The hotel has a store room for skis and you can wear your boots up to the room without a problem (unlike some european hotels). There is a free minibus that takes you to and from the hotel to the base station for the gondolla, which runs every 7 minutes or so.

We found there are loads of placing to eat and have a drink.

On the mountain
Thanks to the Ski Independence rep for telling us about the “Chic Pea” on Whistler, which is a small snack cabin. Just down the bottom of Upper Whiskey Jack run at the top of the Garbanzo chair lift. They serve large warm cinnamon buns and great pizzas and don’t get as busy as the main mountain eating place on Whistler mountain which is the Roundhouse. This gets packed on at weekends and at peak times during the day. We tried to avoid the crowds by eating early (say 11pm and then a snack a little after 2 pm), or eating at the Chick pea.

The other thing you can try is ski down to the bottom of the mountain and grab something in the village before heading back up, we tried the Longhorn for lunch which was ok. On Blackcomb there is the Rendezvous which like the Roundhouse can have great views and provides fast food, further up the mountain there is the Horseman’s Hut, which is tiny in comparison, but servers good chilli (think it’s the same as the rest of the restaurants, but by the time you get that high up you just want something hot and filling)

Shops

There are loads, with many offering good deals on clothing and equipment, though shop around as we noticed that some of the shots appear to have all the same prices for goods. Also you might find that your hotel or info pack gives you a 5-10% discount

Ski school

Can't really comment on this as we didn't make use of the ski school.

Snow Conditions Fabulous, awesome, great, think you get the idea.

We'd been warned about rain in the village and the lower slopes being a problem by a number of snowheads and this was a bit of a dampener on Monday, but were very happily surprised by the fact that this only occurred once. Though we did suffer from low cloud and flat light a couple of times. Having said that it wasn't too bad, with you still being able to ski both mountains without problems. Friday being fantastic, having had approximately 10 cm of snow over night.
They had enjoyed a really heavy fall in January and good weather in February, we arrived just after a serious fall of snow and it snowed off and on mot of the time we were there.

It is really worth considering the first tracks option. This allows you to be up on the mountain shortly after 7.30 am where you will find a very extensive breakfast provided (and i mean extensive) and means you can be out skiing when the mountain opens at 8.15 approx.

Safety

On the beginners slopes there are ski marshals that enforce slow skiing, which is a really good idea, especially at weekends, when the slopes can get really busy. ..

Tips

We both really enjoyed the week there and would love to return. We'd definitely recommend the Delta Whistler Village Suite. The mountains are great for beginners to early intermediates like us and speaking to others there is plenty to challenge the more adventuress. If you are considering it as a holiday destination, the only other thing we would suggest is a couple of days stopover in Vancouver at the end of the holiday.

• Both mountains are good for all levels. Though I think Blackcomb is slighty better for beginners.
• Get up early and try the first tracks.It's well worth it.
• check out these website
  • http://snowheads.com/ - an excellent web community / messageboard with a wealth of advice and views
  • Ski independence http://www.ski-independence.co.uk/
  • Ski club UK http://www.skiclub.co.uk/skiclub/default.asp
  • Whistler / Blackcomb http://www.whistlerblackcomb.com/index.htm