Whistler Blackcomb
| Whistler Blackcomb | |
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Panorama of Whistler Blackcomb
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| Location | Whistler Mountain and Blackcomb Mountain |
| Nearest city | Vancouver |
| Coordinates | 50°06′30″N 122°56′33″W / 50.10833°N 122.94250°WCoordinates: 50°06′30″N 122°56′33″W / 50.10833°N 122.94250°W |
| Vertical | Whistler: 1,530 m (5,020 ft) Blackcomb: 1,565 m (5,133 ft) |
| Top elevation | Whistler: 2,182 m (7,160 ft) Blackcomb: 2,436 m (7,992 ft) |
| Base elevation | Creekside: 653 m (2,140 ft) Village: 675 m (2214 ft) |
| Skiable area | Whistler: 4,757 acres (1,925 ha) Blackcomb: 3,414 acres (1,382 ha) |
| Runs | 200+ 35 – Easiest 110 – More Difficult 35 – Most Difficult 20 – Expert |
| Longest run | Burnt Stew (Whistler), Green Road (Blackcomb): Both are 11 km (6.8 mi) |
| Lift system | 39 5 gondolas 1 high-speed six-pack chairlift 12 high-speed quad chairlifts 5 chairlifts 16 surface lifts |
| Lift capacity | 65,507 skiers/hr Whistler: 34,345 Blackcomb: 31,162 |
| Snowfall | 10.22 m/year (402 in.) |
| Snowmaking | Whistler: 215 acres (87 hectares), 4.5% Blackcomb: 350 acres (142 hectares), 10.3% |
| Website | Whistler Blackcomb |
Whistler Blackcomb is a major ski resort located 121 km (75 mi) north of Vancouver, in British Columbia, Canada. By many measures it is the largest ski resort in North America; it is 50% larger than its nearest competitor in terms of size, has the greatest uphill lift capacity, and until 2009, had the highest vertical skiable distance by a wide margin. Whistler Blackcomb also features the Peak 2 Peak Gondola for moving between Whistler and Blackcomb mountains at the top; Peak 2 Peak holds records for the highest and longest unsupported cable car span in the world. With all of this capacity, Whistler Blackcomb is also often the most-visited ski resort, often besting 2 million visitors a year.
Whistler was originally conceived as part of a bid to win the 1968 Winter Olympics. Although they lost the bid, construction started anyway and the resort opened for the first time in January 1966. Blackcomb mountain, originally a separate entity, opened for business in December 1980. The two resorts underwent a period of intense rivalry through the 1980s and 90s, with constant upgrades and improvements that was unseen at other resorts. By the mid-1990s the area was repeatedly named the best resort in many skiing magazines. Intrawest, the BC real estate firm that developed Blackcomb, purchased Whistler in 1997 and fully merged their operations in 2003.
Whistler Blackcomb was the centrepiece of a renewed bid on the part of nearby Vancouver for the 2010 Winter Olympics, which they won in July 2003. Whistler Blackcomb hosted the alpine skiing events, including the men's and women's Olympic and Paralympic alpine skiing disciplines of downhill, Super-G, slalom, giant slalom and super combined.
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