Whistler Blackcomb

Drive up the Sea to Sky highway from Vancouver for about an hour and a half and you will find yourself in Whistler, arguably one of the most complete resorts in the world. This place has more of everything, more lifts, more trails and more terrain than any other resort in North America.

The terrain on both mountains is very diverse from top to bottom, with plenty of wide open bowls and chutes up top and all kinds of trails and tree skiing on the lower portions. I would classify the snow in Whistler as dry coastal powder, as it is usually closer to the dry stuff you get in the interior than the heavy snow you find on the coastal mountains. It can get heavy on the bottom parts of the mountains during warmer weather, but is almost always dry on the upper parts of the mountains. The snow falls here all season long most years, there is plenty of backcountry to hike to from the resort and the parks are as about as good as they get.

With all of this attracting people to Whistler to shred the downsides are fairly predictable, there are a ton of people here slashing the pow to pieces and everything is expensive. Go during the week if you can and try to avoid any holidays as this place can quickly turn from everything you love about shredding to everything you hate depending on how many people are up there.