Travel Postcard 

British Columbia's Whistler Village is the Place to Ski

by
George and Ninette Medovoy

WHISTLER, BRITISH COLUMBIA - The day started out early, with a leisurely two-hour drive from the sparkling waterfront city of Vancouver, northward along the scenic Sea to Sky Highway through British Columbia’s alpine interior.

Destination: Whistler Village, the world-class golf-and-ski resort with a snug collection of restaurants, outdoor cafes, shopping and lodging, all connected by cobblestone pedestrian walkways.

Which all adds up to this: with winter skiing around the corner, it’s time to consider what Whistler has to offer.

And remember that this British Columbia gem has these important extras going for it: the flight from San Francisco to Vancouver is just under two hours, and the value of the U.S. dollar is definitely in your favor.

On that latter point, a friend in Whistler drew this rather sweet analogy: if you buy a chocolate bar in the U.S., you get one chocolate bar - but for the same U.S. dollar in Canada, they’ll give you one-and-a-half chocolate bars.

That doesn’t work too well for Canadians vacationing in the U.S., but for Americans visiting Canada, it’s a very sweet deal!

Where to stay up here? Consider the comfort and convenience of the Pan Pacific Lodge. 

The hotel has 121 suites with awesome views of Whistler’s two mountains - Whistler and Blackcomb - studio rooms, a health club, a contemporary restaurant with slope-side dining, and an outdoor heated pool and spa facing both mountains.

The Lodge’s sister hotel is the Pan Pacific Vancouver, a spectacular 23-story waterfront location atop the magnificent Canada Place complex - with unforgettable views of Vancouver harbor and the Coastal Mountains.

The hotel is very close to downtown shopping, historic Gastown, and Stanley Park, with its woodsy feel in the center of the city, its bike paths, and the wonderful Vancouver Aquarium.

The eighth-floor, 50-foot outdoor heated pool and Jacuzzi offer still more great
vistas of the harbor and mountains.

The hotel’s varied restaurants, playing on a Pacific Rim theme, feature Cafe Pacifica, an informal place with operatic selections every Friday night at the Italian Opera Buffet, and a jazz trio for Sunday Brunch; the 92-seat Misaki Restaurant for Edomae-style Sushi; the Cascades Lounge, a lobby bar perfect for light lunches or cocktails; and Aromaz Coffee Bar, for a sweet pastry and what most Vancouverites go crazy for - their morning coffee fix.

But best of all, I think, is the Five Sails Restaurant, where chef Jean Yves Benoit, newly arrived from Provence, oversees fine international cuisine.

Get a seat near the window, and the harbor-mountain skyline is yours for the evening.

Combining Vancouver and Whistler is a great twosome holiday -- a chance to
sample more of that special country called Canada, which the writer Horace Sutton once described as “clean, healthy, young, polite, unspoiled and...just upstairs.”

And meanwhile, back “upstairs” in the mountains of British Columbia, at
Whistler’s Pan Pacific Lodge, it was just a few paces from both the Whistler and the
Blackcomb Excalibur gondola base stations.

Whistler and Blackcomb combine 7,000 acres of ski slopes that stretch over eight miles, including North America’s steepest vertical drop.

From spring through fall, the village is decked out with flowers. But I did spot a hint of winter on this sign in front of a small cafe: ‘PLEASE LEAVE YOUR SKIS AND SNOWBOARDS OUTSIDE.’

From July 1 - Sept. 4, the free shuttle bus will take you to Lost Lake, a 15-minute ride from the village center.

On a recent trip, I walked the Lost Lake Loup through the trees that surround the water. The grassy area at water’s edge offers picnic benches and barbecues.

When evening comes, Whistler offers many fine dining options. My recommendation is Bearfoot Bistro, hands down one of Canada’s best restaurants.

Between the formidable wine cellar and the upstairs dining room, Bearfoot Bistro also stocks about 16,000 bottles of wine, including varietals from British Columbia’s Okanagan Valley, a 100-mile wine region where 51 wineries produce 95 percent of BC’s emerging international varietals.

Located in the center of Whistler Village, the bistro is modestly decorated with a large, open kitchen, ceiling fans, high-backed chairs and a wall lined with hundreds of wine bottles.

The main course at dinner, representing many local British Columbia products, was pan roasted silver gray rock fish with a herbal chanterelle risotto, truffle chive salad and New Zealand spinach. 

Dessert was a consummate organic white peach and lemon verbena pastry cream tartellete with ginger caramel and cherry basil sorbet, a dish that was delicate and freshly made. 

I sampled two lovely Okanagan Valley wines by Burrowing Owl Vineyards: a Chardonnay with a light golden color and definite hints of nectarine, and a Merlot with
flavors of black currants and plums

Ski Facts about Whistler:

If you come up to Whistler to ski, here are some useful facts:

At Whistler Mountain, the top elevation is 7,160 feet, with a base elevation of 2,140 feet. The vertical rise is 5,020 feet.

The mountain has 16 lifts, with the following terrain types: 25% expert, 55% intermediate and 20% beginner. There are 100-plus marked runs.

At Blackcomb, the top elevation is 7,494 feet, with a base elevation of 2,214 feet. The vertical rise is 5,280 feet.

Blackcomb has 17 lifts with the following terrain types: 30% expert, 55% intermediate, and 15% beginner. There are 100-plus marked trails.

The Whistler area has an average of 30 feet of snowfall per year on the summit. Temperatures in December-February range from 11 degrees to 23 degrees and from
March-May from 19 degrees to 42 degrees. 

If golf is your sport, four award-winning courses with breathtaking views are the Arnold Palmer-designed Whistler Golf Club, the Chateau Whistler Gold Club designed by Robert Trent Jones Jr., the Nicklaus North designed by Jack Nicklaus, and the Big Sky Golf and Country Club designed by Robert Cupp.

Cuban Cigars, Anyone?

Canada has had diplomatic and economic relations with Cuba for some time, and while they must account for a very small amount of trade, Cuban cigars are one of the most popular items, especially for Americans, who are prevented from buying the cigars back home due to the U.S. embargo.

The Canadians know this, obviously, because signs advertising fine Havanas seem to be everywhere.

“Ninety percent of customers are Americans who want to try them,” says Steve S. Shokar of “Castro’s Cuban Cigar Store” in Whistler Village, a cozy shop with no
connection to Castro or the Cuban government, despite its name. 

Shokar reminds Americans before they indulge that Havanas “are innately spicier” than other brands.

He sells top-rated Cuban cigars, including the Cohiba, the Cuban diplomatic cigar for over 20 years that was produced for Castro’s personal use or to be given out on behalf of the Cuban government to foreign dignitaries.

The cigars range in price from $14 -- $25 U.S., though there is one, the Cohiba Pyramid commissioned for the millennium and the anniversary of the Cuban revolution, that sells for a mere $180 U.S.

“In a resort that most people find absolutely stunning,” says Shokar, “if they have a great experience like a golf game in summer or skiing in winter, they can cap their day with one of the world’s finest cigars.”

If You Go...

Whistler is a year-round playground with an endless array of activities like alpine hiking, biking, children’s camps, family entertainment, flightseeing, paragliding, horseback riding, fishing, tennis, water sports on five lakes and countless rivers, and, of course, skiing, snowboarding (including summer skiing and snowboarding on Blackcomb Mountain from June to August), and golf. 

Important BC information numbers and web sites: Province of British Columbia tourism: 1-800-HELLOBC, or www.hellobc.com; Whistler tourism: 1-800-WHISTLER,
or www.tourismwhistler.com; Pan Pacific Hotels and Resorts: 800-327-8585 or www.panpac.com; Vancouver tourism: www.tourismvancouver.com. 

Would you like to celebrate an American Thanksgiving in Canada this year?

The Pan Pacific Whistler is dishing up a “Turkey Package” over the weekend of November 23-27, including three nights accommodation in a studio suite, three-day ski passes for two adults, three-day ski passes for two children (under 7), breakfast each morning for two, and a full turkey dinner with all the trimmings for a family of four. The price is $1,069 U.S., plus taxes.

One-night packages through Nov. 22 are: Bed & Breakfast (from $139 CDN), with breakfast for two; Mountain Sightseeing (from $169 CDN), with breakfast for two and two sight-seeing passes; Romance (from $209 CDN), with breakfast for two, champagne and fruit basket on arrival and two lift tickets; and Golf Packages (from $259 CDN), depending on time of year and course.

The Pacific Plus Leisure special at the Pan Pacific Vancouver is available 

November 1 -- December 31 and includes: 

Superior Room ($269CDN) or Deluxe Room ($299CDN) 

Benefits: 
Single/double rate 
Full American Breakfast for up to 2 adults 
Extended check-out (ask during your stay) 
Children's policy for room and meals (ask at the time of reservation) 
Complimentary International Herald Tribune or local newspaper on published
days. Check for other specials.

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Email: George and Ninette Medovoy