Whistler Blackcomb

For Canadians, Whistler is the mountain resort within reach of a city weekend: about two hours from Vancouver along the Sea-to-Sky Highway, past Howe Sound and the Stawamus Chief. Winter means the ski season and the village by night; summer brings alpine hiking, lake swimming and golf. Many travellers pair it with a few days in Vancouver, in either season.

North America's largest ski area combines vast terrain with coastal-mountain weather and a walkable village. Its scale and season length make it a destination for travellers who measure a winter in vertical metres.

Whistler lies in the Coast Mountains of British Columbia, about two hours north of Vancouver by the Sea-to-Sky Highway. Whistler Mountain opened in 1966 and Blackcomb in 1980; the two were merged under one company in 1997 and joined in 2008 by the Peak 2 Peak Gondola, which spans more than four kilometres between the summits. The 2010 Winter Olympics held their alpine events at Whistler Creekside.

The resort was planned around a pedestrian village at the foot of both mountains, with Upper Village at the base of Blackcomb and Creekside to the south. The terrain includes alpine bowls, glaciers, long cruising runs and deep coastal forest, and the vertical drop on each mountain exceeds 1,500 metres.

The ski season runs from late November to April on Whistler Mountain and, on Blackcomb, into May. Coastal snow falls heavily from December to February; Christmas, New Year and the February holiday weeks are the busiest. The Whistler Film Festival takes place in early December, and the World Ski & Snowboard Festival brings concerts and competitions to the village in April.

March and April offer longer days, spring snow and some of the best conditions of the year in the alpine. In summer the lift-served mountain bike park, Crankworx in July and August, lake swimming and golf make Whistler a second-season resort in its own right. Autumn and late spring are the quiet periods between the two.

Fairmont Chateau Whistler stands at the foot of Blackcomb in the Upper Village, with ski-in, ski-out access to the lifts, its own golf course in summer and a large spa. Four Seasons Resort Whistler, a short walk away in the same quarter, offers spacious rooms and residences with a shuttle to the slopes. To the south, beside Nita Lake at Creekside, Nita Lake Lodge offers a quieter lakeside stay close to the Creekside gondola.

The Upper Village suits skiers on Blackcomb; Creekside a calmer stay with the lake on the doorstep. LVXVRY books the Fairmont and the Four Seasons through Accor Preferred and Four Seasons Preferred Partner — at the official hotel rate, with the privileges each programme attaches to the stay — and advises on and arranges stays at Nita Lake Lodge.