I love Whistler. Love it. great skiing, no altitude adjustment, great town. It is my favorite place to ski in North America.

I agree with dmmack. If you've already been to Vail/Beaver Creek, then you must try Whistler/Blackcomb. It is an amazing place to ski. Though I actually preferred to do most of my skiing on the Blackcomb side. They are attached, so it's easy to ski both.

Skiing at Whistler is also a great excuse to spend a day or two in Vancouver, which is an absolutely beautiful city.

I'll jump in line. Whistler is great! On the other hand, because it's near the coast the weather can be unpredictable, especially during years with strong a El-Niño. It's been known to rain pretty steadily on the bottom half of the mountain during those years. Luckily the mountains are so tall that the top halves are perfectly fine. So, as long as they are already having a good year, you'll probably have very good skiing conditions. This year I believe Whistler may even be having a better year than Vail.

If you do go next year, you'll be able to ride the new Peak-to-Peak gondola between Whistler and Blackcomb. I'm not usually afraid of heights, but being over 400 meters above the ground in a gondola just sounds ridiculously scary!

Looks like Whistler has a few fans! Thanks for your comments. I really must try it...

Well, Vail has its advantages too. The snow is just better at Vail.

Being inland so much and the fact that Vail's base is at a higher altitude than Whistler's highest peak, you'll find that the snow at Vail is much drier and fluffier. And you can't beat that kind of quality of snow for skiing. This is why Vail can get by with less snow than Whistler, and still have better skiing conditions.

Of course, on the other hand, Whistler has a Four Seasons now, which outshines the Chateau Whistler. The "Fifty Two 80 Bistro," at the Four Seasons is an experience that is not to be missed.

Whistler used to be cheaper and now thanks to Georgie Poo, our dollar has plummeted. Also, it depends where you are located, if you are on the East Coast, do you want to cross the country to get to Whister when Vail is certainly excellent?

Having enjoyed skiing at both locations, I must say that I would choose Whistler over Vail any day. As Jensen and Marcie have noted above, in addition to the fine skiing conditions at Whistler, you can easily switch over to skiing on the Blackcomb side for a change of pace. Whistler's close proximity to Vancouver, in my opinion, one of North America's most culturally interesting and picturesque cities, is also a big plus. (For those of you who haven't been there, Vancouver is a fascinating city, wonderfully combining both Western and Asian influences.) Finally, if you're planning on coupling your skiing in Whistler with a visit to Vancouver, I would highly recommend driving along the coastline as you travel between the two destinations. The views you will see during the drive are absolutely breathtaking.

Breathtaking, yes. But a word of caution for those attempting the drive on the Sea to Sky Highway between Vancouver and Whistler. It's considered to be one of the most dangerous highways in North America, with hundreds of accidents and crashes every year. In recent years the Canadian government has been trying to expand the road to allow for dedicated passing lanes to get ready for the 2010 Olympics and to make it safer.

I recall that even Andre Agassi recently commented about the safety of the highway after visiting Whistler.

Jen - you're absolutely right. I totally agree with you! Driving that highway is quite dangerous. Usually, I would recommend taking the train. For example, see my posts on Extravigator earlier this year about avoiding the dangerous roads in Italy and, instead, traveling by rail:

http://extravigator.com/discussion/141/driving-in-italy-or-hiring-a-driver/#Item_4

However, taking the railroad between Vancouver and Whistler doesn't work in this case, as the train travels only as far as Squamish:

http://www.bcpassport.com/vancouver-public-transportation/vancouver-train-travel.aspx

So, it seems that the best way of getting to Whistler, nevertheless, is to drive along the coastline. For safety's sake, I guess the trick is to have a "designated driver" that keeps his or her eyes on the road ahead, while only the passengers are allowed to look out the side windows and marvel at the beautiful scenery!

Decision made!
Decided to go for a change and Chateau Whistler is now booked. Hope the skiing lives up to expectations- from the comments above, looks like it should...

You won't regret it. Whistler is absolutely the best ski area in North America hands down. This winter is predicted to be a cold one, which is good news for Whistler snow!

I'll certainly cast my vote with dmack, jensen, marcie, Don Pablo and Erik - I'll take Whistler over Vail any day of the week. In my opinion, Whistler/Blackcomb has the best skiing in all of North America.

Counting down to February! Can't wait to compare Whistler to Vail for myself...

Hope the predictions come true and we have tons of snow!

In terms of the road, I thought they were widening it in preparation for the Olympics... Also, (not for me due to a weak stomach), the Helicopter option from the airport is fast and supposedly, amazing. It is not ridiculously priced either.

Ahh I see the decision was made already :)
Was about to say Whistler too! :)

I grew up in Aspen so I guess I am partial to both resorts. Honestly, I would say go to Vail. Whistler is great but the two times I have been there the weather has been less than ideal. I think Vail is usually a guaranteed win and in Colorado you can expect to be skiing with perfectly clear sunny skies. Soon there will be a Four Seasons Hotel in Vail so that might be something to wait for. Vail is cute, getting it's come back with new boutiques, a more international crowd and new slopes. If you do go to Whistler be sure to stay at the Four Seasons, suites are beautiful, comfy and the dining is far above par... Have Fun!!!

I would go Whistler and I agree with C.Phipps, the four season Hotel is the premium choice, or the Chateau Whistler. There are also a lot of great private properties worth checking out.

Whistler weather can be an issue, but its also why Whistler has some of the best snow in North America. It also has amazing heli and cat skiing available.

Whistler is much more exotic, plus the olympics will be there soon so you can check out all the great new venues pre crowd!

Even though this winter hasn't got off to the best of starts weatherwise, my vote is for Whistler every time.

FYI…If you've been watching the Olympics, you've seen the effects of the common poor weather problems at Whistler that c.phipps and I was talking about.

I love Whistler, you really feel like your tucked away in the mountains. Being close to Vancouver is also great!

Since it's June, it's a little early to talk about skiing. But, that said, I'll always choose Whistler over Vail any time of the year.

What a hard pick! Two beautiful ski towns, I'm sure you'd have a great time at both places. If you want some more help narrowing it down though and want to read about some actual experiences around both towns, give Diary of The Purple Passport a read. Both Whistler and the Vail area are covered--I hope that helps!

Well it's about time to start thinking about skiing again as the days are getting shorter and the nights are getting colder. Although I enjoyed skiing at both Vail and Whistler, my wife didn't like Vail at all. So I'm sure we'll be visiting Whistler well before we go back to Vail again.

I'm a huge fan of Whistler! Deer Valley is also an awesome resort. If you have several people going that are willing to pay you should check out Black Diamond Luxury Rentals. www.park-city-Utah-rentals.com.
If it's just a couple I highly suggest the St. Regis hotel, gorgeous!

It's that time of year again. It's getting cold outside and one's thoughts turn to skiing.

If forced to make a choice I'd go with Whistler over Vail. I've never been much of a fan of bowl skiing.... The skiing in Whistler-Blackcomb is great....and I think the people who go to Whistler are much friendlier than the Vail crowd.

Except, once again, the skiing conditions are already better in Vail right now versus Whistler. That's what happens when you build a ski area right next to the Pacific Ocean. If average annual temperatures continue to rise, Whistler will only provide nice green hiking trails during the winter months.

In spite of what I said earlier this year in this discussion... I will admit that jen has a point. The weather conditions have definitely been changing on the West Coast of North America recently -- as evidenced by the torrential rains that have been battering California this month -- and consequently the lower sections of Whistler-Blackcomb are becoming much less conducive to good skiing than they were a decade or so ago. All of this is happening while Colorado is being buffeted by snow. So, if this keeps up, I guess I might have to admit the skiing conditions are better in Vail.

Putting the skiing aside for a little while, one of the greatest things about Whistler is its close proximity to Vancouver, British Columbia, which -- in my opinion -- is one of the nicest and most interesting cities in North America.