Whistler Blackcomb is consistently Ranked the No.1 Ski Resort in North America
Whistler Blackcomb has more terrain than anywhere else in North America with 8.171 acres. During Games time, Whistler Blackcomb will be over 90 per cent open for skiers and riders to enjoy. That’s still more terrain than any other ski resort in North America!
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Inspired by a trip to the 1960 Squaw Valley Olympics, Franz Wilhelmsen formed Garibaldi Lift Limited with the aim of building a ski area on London Mountain in Whistler, BC. Building on the dream of one day hosting the Winter Olympics, it would take 50 years and four Olympic bids before Whistler would realize its Olympic dream.
London Mountain was renamed Whistler Mountain in August of 1965, in honour of the local alpine marmot who “whistled” when communicating, and opened for skiing in 1966. Boasting the biggest vertical drop in North America and a ski season that stretches from November to late May/early June, Whistler Mountain is considered to have re-invented the modern ski experience. Whistler Mountain’s neighbour Blackcomb Mountain opened for business in 1980, with five triple chairs and an additional 1,240 vertical meters (compared to Whistler Mountain) triggering a decade and a half long battle between the separately owned mountains to “one up” one another.
With the drive for infrastructure improvement, and the village of Whistler forming at the base of the two mountains, big-mountain skiing was suddenly no longer exclusive to the European Alps. In 1991, Whistler Resort became the first mountain resort outside of the USA to be ranked No. 1 by a major American ski magazine. But, the biggest news was yet to come; in 1997 Intrawest, the company that owned Blackcomb Mountain, purchased Whistler Mountain, combining the two-in-one lift ticket to create one of the biggest and most exciting mountain resorts in the world.
In the years after the merger, the newly united Whistler Blackcomb would go on to win numerous accolades, including being ranked the No. 1 Ski Resort by Skiing Magazine for an unprecedented thirteenth year in the October 2009 resort rankings issue.
On December 12, 2008, Whistler Blackcomb made its boldest move yet with the opening of the three world record-breaking PEAK 2 PEAK Gondola. With a strong foundation set, Whistler Blackcomb is primed to realize its long, sought after dream of hosting the Winter Olympics.
