Whistler Blackcomb
Overview
Whistler and Blackcomb began as two competing mountains facing each other across the same valley, and their history is really two histories that eventually merged. Whistler Mountain, renamed from London Mountain, opened in January 1966; Blackcomb Mountain opened across the valley in December 1980, initially as a rival operation. Both were shaped in part by an unsuccessful bid for the 1968 Winter Olympics, whose planning got the region’s ski infrastructure moving even after the bid itself failed. The two mountains eventually combined under common ownership, and the Peak 2 Peak Gondola, a later addition connecting them at around 1,800 m, turned what had been two separate resorts into one continuous skiing system operating on a single lift ticket.
The scale that resulted is unmatched by anything else in this guide: 36 lifts, including nine gondolas, 16 chairlifts and nine magic carpets, serve 619 runs and 299.26 km of trail, spread across a 1,606 m vertical drop from 653 m at the base to 2,259 m at the highest lift-served point. The terrain covers the full range of ability levels in real depth rather than token amounts at either end — more than 95 km of advanced terrain and 3.44 km of expert terrain sit alongside over 74 km rated easy and 123 km rated intermediate, which is part of why the resort draws more than 2 million visitors in a typical season.
Whistler Blackcomb’s Olympic pedigree adds to its profile: it hosted the alpine skiing events for the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics, while bobsled, luge and skeleton ran at the separate Whistler Sliding Centre nearby, and the 2009-10 season brought one of the heaviest single-season snowfall totals recorded at the resort, 1,432 cm. Whistler Village itself, developed from 1978 with a deliberately pedestrian-focused layout, has become one of the more widely cited examples of ski town planning done well, built into the valley between the two mountains rather than off to one side of either.
Vail Resorts has owned Whistler Blackcomb since 2016, with Japan’s Nippon Cable retaining a 25% stake, and the resort sits on the Epic Pass and Epic Local Pass. Vancouver International Airport, about 101 km away, is the main gateway, ahead of Powell River Airport and Abbotsford International Airport as further alternatives, connecting a resort that, by lift count, trail distance and visitor numbers, operates on a different scale from every other resort covered in this guide.
The nearby cities of Coquitlam, Burnaby and Vancouver all sit within about 90 to 95 km of the resort, reflecting how tightly clustered Metro Vancouver’s suburbs are relative to the distances typical of other North American ski destinations in this guide, where the nearest major city is often well over 150 km away. That proximity to a large metropolitan population, combined with the resort’s own scale, is part of why Whistler Blackcomb consistently ranks among the most heavily visited ski destinations on the continent rather than relying primarily on destination travellers flying in from further afield.
Key stats
Official website — Last checked 2026-09-13
Lifts by type
| Type | Count |
|---|---|
| t-bar | 2 |
| gondola | 9 |
| chair lift | 16 |
| magic carpet | 9 |
Runs by difficulty
| Difficulty | Distance |
|---|---|
| easy | 74.09 km |
| other | 1.18 km |
| expert | 3.44 km |
| novice | 2.24 km |
| advanced | 95.09 km |
| intermediate | 123.21 km |
Maps
View official Whistler Blackcomb trail map (PDF) →
Run & lift overview
Whistler Blackcomb: 648 runs, 36 lifts. A schematic built from OpenStreetMap/OpenSkiMap data — this is not Whistler Blackcomb's official trail map. © OpenStreetMap contributors, OpenSkiMap (ODbL).
Typical conditions by month
Monthly conditions data for Whistler Blackcomb is not yet available.
Lift tickets & passes
- Epic Pass — Unlimited, no blackout dates
- Epic Local Pass — Unlimited with holiday blackout dates
Getting there
Nearest airports
- Vancouver International Airport (YVR) — 101 km straight-line
- Powell River Airport (YPW) — 115 km straight-line
- Abbotsford International Airport (YXX) — 125.5 km straight-line
Nearest cities
- Coquitlam, British Columbia — 90.2 km straight-line
- Burnaby, British Columbia — 91.5 km straight-line
- Vancouver, British Columbia — 94.2 km straight-line
Also covered by
Where to stay
A dedicated lodging guide for Whistler Blackcomb is not yet available.
Nearby resorts
- Grouse Mountain — 79 km straight-line, 355.9 m vertical
- Cypress Mountain — 80 km straight-line, 602 m vertical
- Mt Seymour — 80 km straight-line, 320.6 m vertical
- Sasquatch Mountain Resort — 106 km straight-line, 340.6 m vertical
- Mt Baker — 165 km straight-line, 449.6 m vertical
FAQ
- How big is Whistler Blackcomb?
- 36 lifts serve 619 runs and 299.26 km of trail, by far the largest single lift network and trail distance of any resort in this guide, with a 1,606 m vertical drop from 653 m to 2,259 m.
- How did Whistler and Blackcomb become one resort?
- They started as two separate mountains — Whistler Mountain opened in January 1966 under a name change from London Mountain, and Blackcomb Mountain opened across the valley in December 1980. The Peak 2 Peak Gondola, built later, physically links the two at around 1,800 m, and they now operate as a single resort under one ticket.
- Did Whistler Blackcomb host the Winter Olympics?
- Yes, it hosted the alpine skiing events for the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics, and the separate Whistler Sliding Centre nearby hosted bobsled, luge and skeleton.
- Which pass covers Whistler Blackcomb?
- The Epic Pass and Epic Local Pass, both from Vail Resorts, which has owned Whistler Blackcomb since 2016; Nippon Cable retains a 25% ownership stake.
- What's the nearest airport to Whistler Blackcomb?
- Vancouver International Airport, about 101 km away, is the main gateway, with Powell River Airport and Abbotsford International Airport further alternatives at roughly 115 km and 126 km respectively.
- Is Whistler Blackcomb good for beginners?
- Yes, alongside a large amount of advanced and expert terrain — 74.09 km of easy trail and over 95 km of advanced terrain both exist within the resort's network, plus 3.44 km rated expert, so it caters seriously to both ends of the ability range rather than favouring one.
- How much snow does Whistler Blackcomb get?
- It's had one of the highest single-season snowfall totals on record for the resort, with 1,432 cm recorded by the end of the 2009-10 season, and it draws more than 2 million visitors most years.
- What's the nearest city to Whistler Blackcomb?
- Coquitlam, about 90 km away, is technically closest among the larger cities on record, with Burnaby and Vancouver itself only slightly further at roughly 92 km and 94 km.
Data sources
Last verified: 2026-09-15
Base facts from OpenSkiMap (ODbL), OpenStreetMap contributors, Wikidata (CC0), OurAirports (public domain) and GeoNames (CC BY 4.0). See /data-sources/.