Ziptrekking is a real scream
Travel by Tim Richards
mile or 5,280 feet. That’s the greatest height difference from resort to mountain top in all of North America. Of course, that’s no great shakes by European standards – but size isn’t the only thing to take into account.
It’s the way the Canadians and the Americans use their vertical. Modern lift systems; polite lift attendants; no French school kids wreaking havoc at the lift queues; they all play a part. North America is more efficient and a thousand times more polite.
Whistler is the name that’s won out in the brochures but the taller mountain of the two (divided by our old friend Fitzsimmons Creek) is Blackcomb.
To all intents and purposes it’s one resort with a highly sophisticated, not cheap but superb pedestrianised village at the base.
And this is another reason why ski holidays in North America are such fun. There’s a huge variety of cuisines.
Whistler has everything from brewpubs with homely food through to ultra chic French, Italian, Chinese and even a couple of sushi bars.
The best food we found was in the very informal, bar-room space at Chef Bernard’s. We simply moved from drinking a beer or two at the bar to the tables just behind.
Bernard himself ran the fine dining experience in the five star Fairmont Chateau Whistler for more than ten years. Now he cooks brilliantly, with finest ingredients still, but on a less formal and smaller scale.
It took us a couple of days to get used to some of the supremely well-groomed people we saw there who seemed out of place in what is essentially a pub. But they knew better than to settle for the pretentious, big budget eating in some of the big hotels.
That’s not to say I regret an invitation to stay at the new Four Seasons resort hotel. Its food was great, but so much more formal. The rooms and lounges and spa are immaculate – and there’s the great advantage of the Four Seasons ski valets as you come off the mountain.
You simply slip into a locker room right by the slopes and leave your boots and skis with a flunky. So if you’ve got the money, I recommend the Four Seasons unreservedly.
Transport on the mountain is good and being improved; snow can be a bit slushy early and late season because you’re only at 600 metres above sea level. Best to visit in January and February unless you can check conditions at other times and travel accordingly.
Facilities for snowboarders and all the younger ski and après ski activities are also excellent. There are five terrain parks and three half pipes. The two mountains cover more than eight thousand acres of terrain – and that’s more than enough for even an expert to cope with; particularly if you take into account all those non-ski, "must do" activities.
The lifts can move more than 59,000 skiers in an hour. And the longest runs on both mountains are a thigh-tingling eleven kilometres each. Whistler is big and Whistler is cool. Don’t settle for Europe this winter, give western Canada a try. They wouldn’t be preparing it for the Olympics if it wasn’t the best.
- You can reach Ziptrek ecotours at www.ziptrek.com. The Olympic website is www.winter2010.com The main resort website is www.whistlerblackcomb.com
Tim travelled with low-cost airline Zoom and made his own way to the ski resort, but several of the major British tour operators offer Whistler.
