AW Travel Blog

I flew into Vancouver yesterday morning and did a morning trolley bus tour of the city (well worth doing to get an orientation of the city - what a gorgeous place and I wish I had allowed more time here) and then caught the afternoon bus up to Whistler. The journey along the Sea to Sky Highway was spectacular so the 2 and a half hours went really quickly.

Today I skied, skied and then skied some more for my last day of skiing in Canada. The snow was not as plentiful as the other resorts I went to (but then they were further into the Rockies) and there were a lot of snow machines here whereas I didn’t see those at the other resorts I went to.  But then I have to remember that for only a 2½ drive from Vancouver, it’s awesome skiing and far better than any I have experienced in NZ!

Ideally though, I would have skied at Whistler first (as it would have been really wow to ski here after NZ, and then make my way over to the others, which had even more snow). So, the other resorts ruined me for Whistler I have to say.

There are two large mountains to ski here - Whistler and Blackcomb and the lift pass covers both. There is a huge gondola which connects the two and it was recommended to me to ski one mountain (which gets the sun in the morning) and then swap over to the other mountain in the afternoon. This is exactly what I did and I had a brilliant day skiing in my bright pink crash helmet!

In the late afternoon I decided to have a nosey around the Whistler village, Blackcomb village and then took a taxi to Creekside Village also to have a look.

Whistler has a decent sized pedestrian village with rather expensive shops but lots of variety for those wanting a spot of retail therapy. There were a lot of people walking around in their ski gear and carrying their skis and poles. Then I walked through a carpark, and through a quaint covered walkway over a small stream to Blackcomb village.  There were a few restaurants and shops here and it was quieter than Whistler but with a load of ski-in/ski-out accommodation.  This felt more like the ski resorts I visited in the Rockies and I really liked the feel of it. Creekside was like a mini Whistler village with gorgeous accommodation, some ski-in/ski-out and there was also a lift up the mountain from here.  I was really impressed with all the three areas and would have been happy to stay at all of them.

What an amazing trip!  A trip of a lifetime….or at least until the next time I come over here.   What next….well, Whakapapa here  I come!!!!!!!