Day Trips - Whistler-Blackcomb

Winter at Whistler is, in a word, huge. Over 8,000 skiable acres encompass groomed schusses, snowboard pipes, brutally steep mogul fields and some of the world’s best bowl skiing. This last category got a boost last year with the opening of Flute Bowl, formerly the sole turf of avalanche-taunting locals (but you still have to earn your fun with a serious trudge along Harmony Ridge). For those who prefer not to mix gravity and low-friction surfaces, there are other ways to spend your time besides shopping the village and drinking consecutive Irish coffees. An experienced musher and team of huskies will tour you via dogsled through the Soo Valley Wildlife Reserve, or you can work up a sweat on a guided snowshoe trek through forests of hemlock and old growth cedar.

Whistler broke new ground and aroused the envy of resort operators worldwide in 2001 with its summer Mountain Bike Park. Open May to October, the terrain park gets bigger every season; everyone from green beginners to logjumping experts can improve their trail-riding skills and put the vertical to good use. Wildlife tours, five golf courses and nearby flyfishing and river kayaking round out the warmweather action. Be careful of the après-ski nightclub culture, though: it’s seductive in a whole other way.

THE SIGHT: Sunrise over Symphony Bowl during the 7:30-8:30 a.m. Fresh Tracks run (buy your ticket ahead — only 650 Freshies are allowed per day).

THE SOUND: Believe it or not, the resort got its name from the high-pitched whistles of resident rodents — the chubby, scowly marmots you see perched on the alpine rocks.

THE SOUVENIR: A stuffed marmot (polyester of course) from Bear Pause in the Village, 19-4314 Main St., 604-628-7143.

GETTING THERE:

Drive north on Highway 99, the scenic “Sea to Sky Highway,” or bus it with Perimeter’s Whistler Express, 877-317-7788. Call Tourism Whistler, 877-991-9988, for more info.

Whistler-Blackcomb: 866-218-9690.
Dogsledding: Cougar Mountain Adventures, 888-297-2222.
Guided snowshoe trek: Outdoor Adventures, 604-932-0647.
Horseback riding: Adventure Ranch, Pemberton, 604-894-5200.