Whistler: Coming back to Canada's mountain ski destination

Having spent six years working in the Canadian ski resort, Cian Byrne returned recently as a visitor and fell in love with Whistler all over again

Whistler village, in front of the Blackcomb mountain.

Heavy snowflakes blow against the foggy gondola windows as I begin a familiar ascent up Whistler Mountain on a dark winter morning. 

The lilac haze of sunrise starts to pull itself up over the alpine peaks before turning brilliant orange and squeezing the night away, opening the mountains for the day. 

“I’ve had more winters than years in my life,” notes Lucas, an Argentinian ski guide who hops from hemisphere to hemisphere when the temperature starts to rise.

I know exactly how Lucas feels. 

Back in 2012 I moved to Whistler for a six-month ski season and ended up staying for six years. This is my trip home to the place that made me.

Whistler, and the entire Sea-to-Sky Corridor that runs from Vancouver in the south to Pemberton in the north, is like Disneyland for outdoorsy people.

The jewel in the crown is Whistler Blackcomb, a ski resort with a brilliant variety of terrain, 37 chairlifts, and a community that gets the very best out of the mountains. 

When I moved here, it was a hugely popular destination but when I left there were clear signs of the resort reacting to climate change and more unpredictable weather by backing activities that don’t rely on the elements. 

I’m excited to see what has changed and if the magic of the place is still here.

Whistler ski resort in British Columbia.

SKI BUMS, NUDISTS & HIPPIES

The story of Whistler as a ski town started in the 1960s when a gravel road took ski bums, hippies, and the occasional nudist from Vancouver to the mountains. 

More and more people followed and the area was developed for skiing. Amid all this buzz, Whistler’s first soon-to-be skiing superstar, Dave Murray, arrived in town and went on to be part of the Canadian Olympic alpine ski team, known as the Crazy Canucks for their incredibly aggressive racing style. He helped put Whistler on the map.

Grabbing my skis and relearning how to walk in ski boots again, I meet his daughter, Julia. An Olympian in her own right, she competed in the ski cross at the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics. 

Julia is a true Whistler local, she’s laid back, an expert in the mountains, and just happy to be skiing.

Hopping off the brand new six-seater Fitzsimmons Chair from the village, we make a quick detour to the top of Dave Murray Downhill, a ski run dedicated to her dad and one that she raced on growing up. 

Dave passed away a few months short of Julia’s second birthday and, as we stand under the memorial to her Dad, I can feel the life-changing power of these mountains all over again. 

Whistler at sunrise

The early-season conditions try their best to take some shine off my morning skiing with an Olympian. Heavy snowfall here is usually expected from mid-January until the end of March, but nothing can ruin being back on skis.

Getting into the flow again, carving turns as I try and fail to keep up with Julia, and having the odd stumble or two, it feels like I’ve never been away.

In my previous life here, I worked any job that let me ski during the day and work nights. I was a busboy at the Irish pub, served late-night poutine, and delivered pizza to the fanciest hotels.

Coming back, I want to see how the other half lives and do some of the things I could never afford on minimum wage.

Top of my Whistler bucket list has always been heli-skiing. 

The thoughts of climbing into a helicopter in my ski gear, hearing the thud-thud-thud of the rotors as we take off, and landing on a dreamy, faraway mountain to ski knee-deep fresh snow, called powder, has been on my mind for years. With snow forecast overnight, this is my chance to live out my fantasy.

Checking the weather on my phone, the conditions look great. But I’m reminded that when you’re in the mountains, you’re at the mercy of nature, and word comes through that visibility won’t be good enough for the pilots to fly. The dream will have to wait.

This can happen, though. Heli-skiing relies on lots of weather conditions lining up to go safely. As weather events like El Niño and Pineapple Express continue to impact snowfall, Whistler Heli-Skiing has adapted to cheer up disappointed skiers. 

I’m offered a chance to be one of the first people to go on Dawn Patrol, a new tour that lets me join up with my would-be heli-skiing guides in the pre-dawn dark and take the gondola up before anyone else.

Whistler's world-class pedestrian village filled with shops, hotels and restaurants blanketed with fresh snow at dusk

OLDER THAN TIME

Whistler Mountain stands silent, the snowflakes catch and trap sound as they fall. Normally this is the busiest part of the mountain, but it’s empty and must be what it looked like for millions of years before people arrived.

Skiing powder is an almost indescribable feeling. 

Gone is the chattering of skis against groomed runs, instead, everything is quiet and I float down the mountain, letting it guide me over the ridges and creases as I make effortless turns in gentle snow. 

This is the magic of skiing, this is why people do back-to-back winters, and this is why my six months turned into six years.

The mountains are older than time, they don’t change. But what has changed is Whistler Village. Walking around I see a remarkably different place as the food scene now rivals Vancouver, though on a smaller scale. 

Seafood at Wild Blue, Whistler

Leading the charge of Whistler’s restaurant revolution is Wild Blue. Voted North America’s Best New Restaurant by the World Culinary Awards, this spot is no stranger to Hollywood celebrities — Hugh Grant was in just a few nights before my visit.

Focusing on local seafood, Wild Blue plates exquisite dishes with such elegance and flavour that I feel like I’m in a chic city, rather than high in the mountains. 

The menu here has so many standouts, but one dish will stay with me for a very long time, the geoduck linguine. 

Geoduck is one of the largest clams in the world and burrows itself deep in the sand, making finding them tricky work. But the result is worth it.

The bar at Wild Blue, Whistler

Staying in the luxury Fairmont Château, which I’d only ever visited to deliver pizza, makes me realise how much I’ve changed since I lived here and slept in a broken sauna for my first season. 

That’s not the only change though. 

Whistler Blackcomb has taken what nature has given and shaped it from a resort that lived or died by the snowfall into a destination that’s now many great things to a great many people — a feat that’s extremely hard to pull off, but Whistler does it.

• Cian was a guest of Tourism Whistler

Classy cocktails and budget bites

Whistler has also upped its cocktail game too. Bar Oso has grown from a small corner unit into a fully-fledged cocktail bar that glows gold with its resin-filled wooden bar and warm lighting. 

The menu is mainly based around gin drinks, with distilleries from Canada, Scotland, and Japan represented, but I find it very hard to say no to their Firecracker Margarita with bird’s eye chilli. 

For a cheap grab-and-go, local favourite after a day skiing, you can’t go wrong with a slice of beef and blue cheese pizza from Fat Tony’s Pizza. 

The generous size, fair price, and the fact that they’re open until 3am every night means this spot is always busy.

Snowy spa revival

After a morning on the mountain, or late night in the bars, the Scandinave Spa is a peaceful escape from life in the village. 

The thoughts of an outdoor spa in winter might make you wince, but the thermal pools and dry sauna will soon warm you up. 

Follow the recommended ‘Thermal Journey’ from hot to cold to get the most out of your visit, or just snuggle up by the outdoor firepit in your cosy dressing gown. 

You’ll need to leave the phone behind though, this place is all about a digital detox as well as a mental and physical one.

Escape notes

• Air Canada flies to Vancouver via London or Toronto. Depending on the layover, the London route is often quickest at 13h35m.
• Stay at the Fairmont Gold in Upper Village at the base of Blackcomb Mountain for a ski-in/ski-out stay.
• To plan your own trip to Whistler Blackcomb and find out about all the other brilliant things to do, visit Tourism Whistler.