I joined a group of 88 people on a ski trip to Whistler in Canada.
My travels went smoothly, with all my flights arriving on time. On the Dallas to Vancouver flight, I had an aisle seat in the exit row (lots of legroom) and the middle seat was empty (even more space) so was almost as good as first class. On the return, I got upgraded into first class - very nice treat on the 4 hour flight. I flew into Vancouver, and this airport has glass jetways - first time I've ever seen such jetways. I booked my transfer between Vancouver airport and Whistler via RideBooker, an online tool for booking transportation to/from Whistler. Ridebooker partners with various transportation companies to arrange ground transportation to/from Whistler. Ridebooker ensures frequent service to minimize waiting times. Highly recommended.
We all stayed in Aspens condos. This ski in/ski out property is near the base of Blackcomb mountain, and is a short walk to Whistler village. There are two hot tubs, valet for checking in skis overnight, and even a ski shop for ski/snowboard/boot rentals. Whistler village has lots of restaurants and shops, a great place to look around after a day of skiing. One restaurant that we liked is El Furniture Warehouse - here, all entrees costs $4.95 though some have additional options that cost extra. Still, that restaurant has reasonably priced food and the food is good.
I spent most of my skiing time on Whistler mountain, which has more variety of trails and the trails are wider. I traveled between Whistler and Blackcomb mountains on the Peak-to-peak gondola. There are 2 units with glass bottoms, allowing you to see the ground below. There are some breathtaking views! The glass bottom units come by every 15 minutes, but we once got lucky and there was one approaching right as we arrived at the gondola entrance. My favorite run starts at the peak of Whistler mountain. There are some amazing views of the mountains up there. You take the Peak Express lift to get there, and although signs on the lift say expert only there is a green (easiest) trail to get down from the peak. That trail is not shown on the map. After getting off the Peak Express lift, turn left, then follow the markers with green circles.
One night, 32 of us traveled up the Blackcomb mountain to go on a sleigh ride. The sleigh is pulled by Perchoeron draft horses through Whistler's snow covered forested trails on a 50-minute sleigh ride. At the midway point, we went inside a warm hut and drank hot chocolate.
