Whistler Blackcomb Mountains & Ski Terrain
North America’s largest ski resort offers an abundance of skiing options across two magnificent mountains, Whistler Mountain and Blackcomb Mountain on the one ski ticket for a combined 8,171 skiable acres of groomers, bumps, steeps, gladed, tree, bowl, glacier and extreme skiing all readily made accessible by their extensive 37 lifts that deliver a capacity of moving 69,939 skiers per hour.
With an average snowfall of 38.4 feet of 11.7 metres and over 200 trails to choose from, one of the things that makes Whistler Blackcomb stand out over and above its size and scale is delivering a feeling of endless vertical thanks to its vertical drop of 5,280 feet or 1,609 metres, which means when you ski top to bottom a few times you are definitely going to want to take a break on one of their 17 mountain restaurants offering over 6,500 welcome seats to rest your weary legs.
A combined five terrain parks and one super pipe and one snowcross track on Blackcomb plus the mix of a combined 17% beginner 55% intermediate and 26% advanced across both mountains means there is definitely a run for the whole family including the 7 miles (11 kms) green trail down easy out on Blackcomb Mountain. Taking a look at the best terrain and places to ski on each of the mountains requires taking a look at them individually.
Whistler Mountain
Heading out of a Whistler Village you have a couple of options to clear the area. The Whistler Village Gondola is your fastest way to get to the top of the mountain, where you can stop off at Olympic Mid Station and drop the kids at the Children’s Learning Centre or stay onboard right up to the Roundhouse Lodge. From there you can head skiers left down and across to Peak Express for some steep and deep action, or take a couple of runs on the more moderate Franz’s chair to warm up. If parking pipe is more your thing, head skiers right across to Emerald Express chair that services Cougar, Bobcat and Chipmunk Parks.
Your other option out of Whistler Village is the Fitzsimons Express to Garbanzo Express which will see you out of any potential village crowd and onto the slopes. Heading out of Creekside, you jump on the Creekside Gondola and depending on the crowds and the conditions you can take a couple of blue warmup runs or jump on the Big Red Express that will deposit you up around the Roundhouse Lodge area and from there the day is yours to explore.
On a powder day, it all depends on conditions and what is open but for gaining confidence in building your skills head out to Symphony Bowl, for the more advanced skiers the Harmony Express six-seater will have you lapping up the powder and lapping up the runs in style. And for the advanced to expert skiers, the Peak Express lift will drop you into an area where heart rates naturally climb and you can test yourself and your skills amongst some of the most inspired and best skiers and riders in town.
Some Best Ski Runs To Look Out For On Whistler
For amazing views of the Garibaldi Provincial Park, that the whole family can enjoy, the green-rated Burnt Stew Trail seems to run forever.
To gain some experience in intermediate trees, head across to Ridge Runner, which skirts the edge of the resort, it offers fewer crowds but awareness is key around March, as the bears begin to emerge from hibernation.
For a great powder run, head over to The Bite and see if you can claim some first tracks before the locals tear it apart.
For the speed freaks, you can’t go past that Dave Murray Downhill, named after former Canadian ski team member.
For double black diamond adventure, West Cirque, holds the snow and offers some fun spines and lead into another great run called Christmas Trees.
Skiing And Boarding Blackcomb Mountain
Departing Whistler Village for Blackcomb Mountain you will find yourself on the Excalibur Gondola that connects with the Excelerator Express which opens up the options for you to take a warm-up run skiing down or headed skiers right to the juicy cream express which will take you up to the Rendezvous Lodge. Or you can head up the Glacier Express and from there you can head up and out over Blackcomb Glacier for an inbound heli-ski terrain experience on a powder day, or head up Horstman T-bar and across to 7th heaven for blue open gladed skiing, or cut skiers right back across and over to the Crystal Hut area.
Departing out of the Blackcomb base area you will jump on the Wizard Express and onto Solar Coaster Express and from there you can take a warm-up run down Springboard or head skiers left to 7th Heaven or head skiers right down Jersey Cream to the Glacier Creek area where the options are almost endless and the day is once again yours to explore.
If skiing with the family, and if the kids aren’t yet charging ahead of the parents then you’ll find sticking in around Solar Coaster Express and Jersey Cream area will give you boundless choices of easy greens and open blue fall line cruises. If the kids are more adventurous and the terrain park and pipes are more their style, head across to Cat Skinner Chair and let their craziness let loose.
Some Of The Best Runs on Blackcomb Mountain to Experience
Suitable for intermediates and ideal for race training, Ross Gold of the Solar Coaster Express, is ideal for practising high-speed turns and is named after pro snowboarder and gold medallist Ross Rebagliati.
For a rollercoaster ride experience, doing laps on Zig Zag, a blue run that’s located below the Jersey Cream and Glacier Express Chairs feels like you’re on a rollercoaster ride and is endless fun for the whole family.
Hugh’s Heaven, on Seventh Heaven, is a great area for intermediates looking for some powder stashes above the tree line with great views of Whistler Mountain on a sunny day.
Blackcomb Glacier descends over 13 km or 8 miles with a huge variety of terrain options to choose from and spectacular views.
Big Powder Days
On either mountain on a big powder day, the locals will be out early lining up so they can claim first tracks. Your day is going to be determined by which runs are open and by when as ski patrol open up runs once they have been declared safe after they have done their avalanche control. Always follow any avalanche or local warnings and stay safe.
Whistler Blackcomb Resort Statistics
| Skiable Terrain | 8,171 acres (3,307 hectares) |
| Vertical | 5,280 feet / 1,609 metres |
| Top Elevation | 7,494 feet / 2,284 metres |
| Base Elevation | 2,214 feet / 675 metres |
| Average Snowfall | 461 inches / 38.4 feet / 1170 cm |
| Beginner Terrain | 20% |
| Intermediate Terrain | 57% |
| Advanced Terrain | 23% |
| Trails | 200+ |
| Parks | 5 |
| Pipes | 1 |
| Snow Cross | 1 |
| Public Race Course | 1 |
| Winter lifts Total | 37 |
| Gondolas Trams | 4 |
| Chair Lifts | 18 |
| Surface Lifts | 15 |
| Lift Capacity | 69939 |
| Longest Run | Peak To Creek (Whistler), Green Road (Blackcomb): Both are 11 km (6.8 mi) |
| Nordic Cross Country | 160km |
| Mountain Restaurants | 17 |
| Snowmaking | 697 acres (283 hectares) |
| Village Bed Base | 30,000 |
| Season Opens | 6 November* (*estimate) |
| Season Closes | 15 May* (*estimate) |
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