The first thing you notice about Whistler Blackcomb when you arrive, is its sheer, overwhelming size. The two mountains, Whistler mountain and Blackcomb mountain, are connected by a massive twenty odd person gondola, which takes approximately eleven minutes to ride. There are numerous parking lots, restaurants, lifts, and trails. It was inundating at first as I took it all in.
There is a plethora of parking at Whistler, which makes it hard to know where to go. My favorite lot I found for parking on the Blackcomb side was lot six. It is situated right next to the gondola and after a day of hard riding, you can ride straight to your car. Best of all: it’s free.
If après ski is your favorite aspect of skiing, I would not recommend parking here. There are no restaurants or bathrooms here so if you came to Whistler to drink in the village, I would suggest parking in lot four. It is a bit further from the village than lots one through three, but it is free. The village also has a gondola and chairs. So if you park here, no need to fret. You can still access the mountain.
I would recommend parking only at these lots if you plan to ski Blackcomb since to get to the Whistler side of the resort could take a minimum of thirty minutes. If your plan is to ski Whistler, the garage at Creekside offers free parking as well. It is only a short, two minute walk to the gondola on Whistler. Parking can fill up on weekends and the during the busy season, so if you are set in parking somewhere, make sure to get there early.
After you obtain your lift ticket, the biggest challenge is knowing where to go. I recommend downloading the Whistler Blackcomb app, which will give you live updates on trail conditions, lift times, and terrain status. It even includes a map to help you get around the mountain. Also, I suggest picking up a good old fashioned paper one that you can carry with you while skiing.
While the map is perfect to know where you are and what the main runs are, there are guide books in the shops for sale. These guide books, offered in either intermediate or expert, show you where some of the best runs are in the resort, ones not on the map. This guide book shows how to get to these secret runs by hiking. If you are on a budget try the next best approach. Asking around. In general, people at ski resorts tend to be very friendly, and if you ask for advice they love to give you some pointers. For me, I got a free tour of some of the best runs on Blackcomb just by asking.
You have to know who to ask as many people are not regulars at the mountain. If you get on with a big group, as entranced with the incredible views as you are, most likely they will not know the secret powder caches. Still, talk to your neighbors, you might make some new friends.
If you are an expert skier/rider and are looking for someone to point out some good runs, ask your neighbor who has gotten on by themselves on a lift where more expert runs exist. Most likely this person knows the mountain well enough they are comfortable hitting expert terrain by themselves. They know where the hidden cliffs are, where coverage can be thin, and where the best runs of the mountain are. If you get lucky, they may offer to show you where some of these spots are. Sometimes, people like going with others down the expert terrain and would love to have you join them. After all, safety in pairs.
Make sure that they know your skiing ability though and you have an understanding of theirs. If they ask, “can you ski a black?”, don’t say yes if your version of skiing a black is side slipping down the mountain. There is no shame in this as we all had to start somewhere. The last position you want to be in is one where side slipping is not an option and you are stuck with nowhere to go but down. Keep in mind every mountain is rated differently. A green run at one mountain could be a blue run at another. At Whistler Blackcomb, be aware that some blacks may be more difficult than the ones you are used to.
