Whistler

RonanC

Heading to Whistler for a week in January and just wondering if anyone has any useful info on where to buy ski passes and rent equipment.

http://www.whistlerblackcomb.com/index.htm seems to offer a decent deal on ski passes and discounted rentals - is this my best bet?

Thanks

OneWayBet

I went there in '09 on which I was hoping would be trip of a lifetime - we hired a huge RV in Vancouver for 10 days and it should have been magic, unfortunately it was little more than mediocre due to freakishly bad snow that year, I still remember catching stones on the low runs on my favorite snowboard at the end of the day! I'm sure you'll fare much better as it is normally "awesome".

I found everything connected to the resort very expensive, lift passes and in particular ski school which my wife used was about double what you'd pay in Europe. The two mountains (Whistler and Blackcomb) are owned by the same investors so they have a monopoly and there isn't much in terms of competition north of the border.

I wouldn't worry about lift passes and rental too much, there is a large kiosk outside the main gondola selling lift passes (though check in case it's cheaper to order in advance - either way you need to go to the kiosk for the RFID card). There's plenty of rental shops in the village and I expect they're all around the same rate. Just pop in the evening you arrive and you'll get set up.

All the best, I'm really jealous would love to give it another bash

oxysept

Been there 3 times in the past 5 years - good snow 2/3. my mates from California go up twice every year. Great skiing for all levels. (word of warning don't expect much by way of apres ski)
We've always found good deals on ski rentals looking on line takes a bit of effort. we look to the more independent / smaller stores. Ski passes we find work out best booking in combination with Hotel - compare hotel normal & hotel package rates with the lift pass rate from the resort site. Again can take a bit of work but works for us. One of the guys is a real deal hound, I'll drop him a mail see if he has the site he booked it on last year.

Giving whistler a skip this year probably be back there next year.

RonanC

Great, thanks for the advice.