Whistler’s Other British Columbia’s Top Ski Resort Is Also A Great Place To Go When There Isn’t Any Snow Around

Ask skiers to name the Northwest’s most famous resort and they’re likely to reply with one word: Whistler.

And while August may seem to be a strange time of year to be writing about a ski destination, the months when there isn’t skiing are an excellent time to visit this British Columbia resort.

With the continued weakness of the Canadian dollar, another word comes to mind, too: thrifty. On a visit in late spring, for example, my family stayed in the heart of Whistler Village, in a condo-style suite at Crystal Lodge that included a full kitchen and loft bedroom, for only about $100 (in U.S. dollars) per night. This is not a bargain-basement destination, but it’s certainly cheaper than Sun Valley or Vail.

One of the most enjoyable aspects of Whistler in summer is getting there. It’s about a two-hour drive north of Vancouver on the Sea-to-Sky Highway. Your route begins with a fabulous over-the-shoulder view of Vancouver from the Lions Gate Bridge, then continues through fir forests along Howe Sound with the mountains of the Coast Range rising ahead of you, as enticing in the summer heat as a frosty snow cone.

The highway, mostly two-lane, is treacherous in winter from a combination of heavy traffic and wet or icy conditions. But in other months, it’s delightful, especially if you’re not in a hurry (and if you are in a hurry, you may well find yourself being greeted warmly by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police).

There are many hiking trails along the way, and a stop for a 10-minute walk to see Brandywine Falls is also a nice way to break up the trip.

Whistler Village, nestled just below the ski lifts, is designed so you can walk pretty much everywhere. The place is a European-style conglomeration of walkways, plazas, staircases and alleys filled with restaurants, bars, clothing stores, jewelers, gift shops, and rental operators (skis in winter; mountain bikes in summer). There’s also a grocery store with surprisingly reasonable prices. You could arrive here nude, with a credit card for a fig leaf, and buy everything you needed for a year-long visit.

Between Whistler and its neighboring mountain, Blackcomb (the two resorts are friendly competitors; in winter, lift tickets between the two are interchangeable), there are about 50 hotels, lodges and condos and about 25 restaurants.

Most of the priciest places to stay are in the heart of Whistler Village, where people-watching is fun while sipping coffee in one of the broad plazas (there is, of course, a Starbuck’s).

This resort is geared more toward adults than children, though my daughters, 3 and 6, had a great time, primarily because the ride on the quad ski lift up Blackcomb Mountain was one of the neatest events of their lives. It’s about a 20-minute ride to the 7,494-foot top (you change lifts halfway up), and the kids shrieked with excitement, especially with the rush of speed at the beginning of each segment. (If you’d like a tamer ride, you can take the enclosed gondola up Whistler, instead.)

Tickets to ride up either mountain are a hefty $13 (U.S.) but kids ride free if they’re with an adult. Mountain bikes are welcome, too.

There’s a casual restaurant at the top of Blackcomb, where you can sit inside or out. On the day we visited, hamburgers were being grilled over charcoal - quite a contrast to the skiers just below (the regular ski season generally runs to the end of April for Whistler and about a month longer for Blackcomb).

The Whistler area also offers a wide range of summer activities, including horseback riding, river rafting and jet boating, back-country tours in a four-wheel-drive vehicle, bicycle rentals, rock climbing with guides, fishing trips, flightseeing, paragliding lessons, and summer glacier skiing on Blackcomb Mountain from mid-June through early August, conditions permitting.

The area also has three championship golf courses and private and public tennis facilities (check out the two new courts behind Myrtle Philip Community School - they don’t seem to have been discovered yet).

Five lakes are within walking or biking distance, offering swimming, windsurfing, canoeing or sailing.

There also are special kids’ programs in summer featuring canoeing, sailing and swimming, field trips, arts and crafts, theaters and games.

Diners will find a wide range of cuisine in the village. Although, at first glance, every other restaurant seems to be offering upscale Italian, you’ll also find Asian, French, Greek, Mediterranean and Southwest, plus plenty of pub food (and the Whistler Brewing Co., with free tours, is five miles down the highway). Several bars are open until 2 a.m., many with live entertainment and dancing.

In short, there are many ways to be painlessly separated from your money, though it’s possible to be frugal; we cooked some meals in our condo-style kitchen and the view from our balcony was free.

About the only complaint I had during a long weekend at Whistler concerned parking.

The underground lot serving the complex was full (not unusual), so we were sent to an unpaved lot that was a circuitous 10-minute drive from our hotel (though a much shorter walk). The result was that our car was inconvenient to use and emerged filthy at the end of our stay. To add insult to injury, the hotel charged us an extra $5 per day for parking.

This is less of an issue in winter, when visitors basically arrive, unload their stuff and ski their brains out until it’s time to leave. But it’s annoying at other times of the year.

Like other downhill resorts, Whistler is working hard to attract year-round customers. Besides the wide range of activities, a variety of special events are scheduled, mostly revolving around music. Still to come this year are the annual Fall for Jazz Festival (Sept. 15-17) and Oktoberfest (Oct. 7-9).

And for those diehards who regard spring, summer and autumn at Whistler as frivolous departures from its true reason for existence, there are only four months to go until the first day of winter skiing.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: 3 Photos

MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: IF YOU GO When to go The main ski season at both Whistler and Blackcomb has usually ended by mid-May. There’s usually a two-week lull before summer programs gear up, so June through October are probably the best months for non-skiers. Serious hikers may want to wait until midsummer, since some trails can remain covered by snow through mid-June.

Getting there Whistler is about a two-hour drive from Vancouver, British Columbia, which can be reached by car, rail or air. Whistler also can be reached by: Frequent bus service from downtown Vancouver. Call Maverick Coach Lines at (604) 662-8051. A once-daily bus ride from Vancouver International Airport. Call Perimeter Transportation at (800) 663-4265 or (604) 261-2290. A once-daily train from North Vancouver. Call B.C. Rail at (604) 984-5246.

Staying there There are dozens of hotels and lodges in the vicinity of Whistler and Blackcomb. Accommodations outside the two villages will be cheaper, but slightly less convenient. For rates and information, call (800) WHISTLER. Make sure to ask if packages are available that combine lodging with activities (such as golf).

Activities Call the Whistler Activity and Information Centre at (604) 932-2394. Whistler has excellent brochures and maps available to help plan a visit.

Recommended reading “Vancouver Best Places” (Sasquatch Books) has recommendations about places to eat and things to do at Whistler. The same publisher’s encyclopedic “Northwest Best Places” also has an adequate section on Whistler. “103 Hikes in Southwestern British Columbia” (Mountaineers) has many hikes along the Sea to Sky Highway and in the Whistler vicinity.