Whistler: What’s doing

Whistler: What’s doing

Getting to Canada’s pretty, meticulously planned ski town of 8,600 residents is half the fun

Published: New York Times, Hamilton Spectator (NY Times Service) November 1998, Travel
by Deborah Jones/Whistler

If you think getting there is half the fun, the Sea to Sky Highway, a scenic two-hour drive linking Vancouver and Whistler shared by logging trucks, limos and sport utility vehicles, is for you.

Exhilarating and harrowing, the hairpin turns on British Columbia's coastal cliffs are a warm-up for a long climb through two- lane chutes, eventually disgorging into an alpine valley designed as a very large, very serious playground at the bases of Whistler and Blackcomb mountains.

Now, with the black bears in retreat in their dens and falling thick on alpine meadows, Whistler is into ski season and the resort is getting to show off new and remodelled chair lifts, a new roundhouse restaurant and four new or expanded hotels.

A pretty, meticulously planned town of 8,600 permanent residents, Whistler meanders for 16 kilometres along a valley. Clusters of condos perch beside improbably large log houses, spaced out by parks and ski-in-and-out pedestrian villages including Creekside, Whistler Village, Village North and Upper Village, all connected by a charming walking and biking trail and public buses. The buses are free among the three main villages, $1 to Creekside.

A building boom is steamrolling over the ramshackle ski cabins and clubhouses that are the scant reminders of a more spontaneous era. But while old-timers say that the place now looks contrived, modern visitors are happy -- nearly 1.9 million came last winter, with Americans and Europeans replacing the Japanese who are at home tending to economic woes. The weak Canadian dollar means Americans save big-time.

Luxury spas offer pampering, while boutiques sell Cuban cigars, Waterford crystal, handmade chocolates and haute couture dog collars. Most clubs rock with rowdy 20-somethings, although a few cater to a more sedate crowd.

One element of spontaneity remains: the weather, which can produce rain at any time of the year, the tradeoff for dependable if sometimes damp snow. Temperatures usually hover just above freezing in the valley and average -8C on the mountains.

Activities:
Together, Whistler and Blackcomb mountains offer 7,000 acres of slopes on a vertical rise of 5,280 feet at Blackcomb and 5,020 feet at Whistler. There are over 200 marked runs, nearly 30 lifts, including three gondolas and 10 quad chairs, and trails for all ability levels.

Whistler's new four-person Peak chair takes skiers over sheer cliffs to the rocky top of Whistler. Until now only experts dared venture onto the bowls below, but new trails ease the way for the less experienced. Dual-mountain lift tickets cost $57 a day, $48 for ages 13 to 18, and $28 for 7 to 12. Ages 6 and under ski free. Five- day packages are $275, and most hotels offer ski packages. Call (800) 944-7853; www.whistler-blackcomb.com

Crystal Hut, an intimate 68-seat log cabin 6,000 feet up on Blackcomb Mountain, caters to hungry skiers and more leisurely evening events. At night, it is turned over to snowmobile and Sno- Cat tours that include a three-and-a-half-hour trip up the mountain, a fondue dinner and live entertainment (from $150 a person); call (604) 938-1616.

For those who want different snow adventures, Whistler companies offer heli-skiing (from $300 a person for two hours), snowmobiling (from $40 for one hour), snowshoeing (from $20 an hour) and nordic skiing (from $10 an hour); (604) 932-2394.

Blackcomb Horsedrawn Sleigh Rides will bundle you onto a sleigh under a blanket and take you from Base 2 of Blackcomb Mountain up a wooded trail to a clearing with a view of Whistler's night lights, hot chocolate and a campfire cowboy singalong. The cost is $44.50, $25 under 12, free for under 2; the tour takes one hour in all. Call (604) 932-7631.

A visit to Brandywine Falls, a provincial park eight kilometres south of Whistler on the Sea to Sky Highway, reveals the raw volcanic and glacier power that carved out the Pacific Northwest. Follow signs from the parking lot along a wooded trail for a flat 15- minute hike to the falls, a stunning 65-metre drop into a gorge, with mist swirling about the basalt columns and layers of lava.

If your hotel has no pool or hot tub, a five-minute drive north from Whistler Village, at 8107 Camino Drive, is Meadow Park Sports Center, (604) 938-3133, with hot tubs, a sauna and steam room, and a six-lane indoor pool with attached fun pool for children. There's also a fitness center, squash and skating. Rates: $6, $12 for a family with children under 18.

Whistler was once known as Alta Lake. Such lore -- along with artifacts from stuffed animals to carvings -- is the business of the Whistler Museum and Archives, a modest museum at 4329 Main Street in Whistler that makes up in friendliness what it lacks in size. Open Thursday to Sunday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. (604) 932-2019. Admission $1, under 18 free.

Where to stay:
There's a good range of accommodation at Whistler, but the accompanying price range starts at expensive and goes past extravagant to not-for-mere-mortals. Bottom-end, off-season room rates begin at about $90 a night and the prices top out at $1,000 or more a night for a multi-room suite. Be sure to ask about package prices that include lift tickets and/or meals.

Some places to consider are:
Chalet Luise, 7461 Ambassador Crescent, (604) 932-4187. Styled like a Swiss inn; eight guest rooms, each with private bath, down comforters and pine furniture. Included is a full breakfast, afternoon tea with home-baked goods, ski lockers at the foot of the gondolas at Whistler Village, hot tub and sauna. Room $105 and up (off season).

Club Intrawest, 4580 Chateau Blvd., (604) 938-3030. There are 50 rooms, with fireplaces and whirlpools, available to the public at this time-share complex. Guests have use of a movie theatre, fitness centre, outdoor pools and hot tubs. Off-season rates $200 to $1,000, increasing by one third to one half in season.

Crystal Lodge and Suites, 4154 Village Green, (604) 932-2221. It overlooks the pedestrian Village Stroll linking Whistler Village to the North Village and has comfortable rooms from $90 until Dec. 19, then $200 and up.

Chateau Whistler, 4599 Chateau Blvd., (604) 938-8000, at the base of Blackcomb Mountain, embodies the traditions of the grand railroad hotels -- from the Great Hall entrance to the men's club atmosphere in the sitting room areas. An off-season double is $355, a deluxe two-bedroom suite $710. Rates rise by a third over Christmas and in the regular season.

The Summit Lodge, 4359 Main St., (604) 932-2778. It opened in September. Off-season prices are $90 to $112, and the Christmas season is $350 to $435. The 81 rooms all have fireplaces, and there's an outdoor pool, hot tub and small workout center.

Where to eat:
The Rim Rock Cafe, (604) 932-5565, in the nondescript Highland Lodge complex, has a homey atmosphere. The menu includes lamb and beef but concentrates on seafood. Dinner for two is about $100.

The Bearfoot Bistro, 4121 Village Green, (604) 932-3433. Entrees on the costly menu start at $30 and include game dishes. Dinner for two with wine: $105.

Caramba near the Village North, 12-4314 Main St., (604) 938- 1879. Service is fast and friendly and it attracts both families and couples. The roast leg of lamb with baked beans and roasted potatoes ($15) is the ultimate comfort food.Dinner for two with wine, $50.

The Old Spaghetti Factory, in the basement of the Crystal Lodge hotel, (904) 938-1081. A one-price deal, such as spaghetti with tomato sauce ($8.29) in this bustling family restaurant with old- fashioned kitsch decor includes soup or salad, sourdough bread, ice cream, tea or coffee.
Copyright Deborah Jones 1998
About this website: Text and photos by Deborah Jones except where otherwise noted.
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Exhilaration begins with the drive to mountain resort

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