Poster: A snowHead
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Morning all,
Next year (May) I hit the big 40, so wanting to do an extra special trip as my celebrations.
Whistler is one place I've always wanted to goto.
I have a BA voucher, and some BA miles so I can get the whole family of 4 out to Vancouver for sub £500 in Feb.
So a few questions
a. Any accomodation recommendations for a family of 4? The kids are 6 (7 in March) and 3 (4 in April) so the 6 year old may ski all day, the 3 year old 1/2 days.
b. Is their a kids club or something similiar for afternoons if the kids don't want to ski, or are too tired?
c. Is it best booking all this seperately, or using a package?
d. Lastly, one aim is for me to get lots of off-piste in, is it similiar to Colorado in that I can ski off marked trails, "in bounds"? Does it all get tracked out quickly?
e. Is there a "better" resort from Vacouver or is Whistler as good as the hype says?
Cheers,
Greg
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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kitenski,
I have been to WHistler a couple of times with the kids.
I booked accommodation with Allura who are a homeowners cooperative and it was of very good standard.
There is a kids ski school which has a large building at midmountain level so the kids can ski go there for meals and the younger ones take a bit of time out from skiing. I was actully slightly dissapointed with the kids club after having read all about North American ski schools, but it did the job, though the food that the kids were offered was dreadful. (A few years ago now and things may have changed.)
I havent been to colorado but there is a fair bit of off piste that is avalanche protected and excellent. Being a big popular resort I would guess it gets skied out pretty quickly but I found it a lot of fun even though the tracks were not exactly fresh by the afternoon.
The terrain is damn good and personally I think the hype is about right the only real niggles I would have is the lift queues are a bit long particularly to get up after you drop the kids at ski school. (You can bypass them with an instructor) The on mountain eating was very crowded and not particularly good. (Though V8 has posted to say I was in the wrong places.)
I don't know if there is a better resort nearby not having skied any though have heard that the interior gets lighter snow being further away from the sea.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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kitenski, My one comment i would like to make about going to Whistler with the kids, is please, give them a chance to get over the jetlag, and therefore i dont think it is worth going for less than 10 days, or preferably 2 weeks.
The ski school is good, IMHO, i have friends who work for it. Some good info here: http://www.whistlerblackcomb.com/rentals/schoolkids/tips3to12.htm
If you want a hotel, rather than a condo, quite a few of the village hotels have loft rooms, so seperaeta beds upstairs for the kids, which can work quite well. But i would say that the condos you can rent thru Allura are excellent.
I would book independently. Source your own flights, and then accomodation thru Allura, and then via the allura site you will get discounts on ski school/liftpasses etc.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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kitenski, we used the allura link to book our accommodation in Whistler, stayed in Glaciers' Reach, just opposite the ski bus stop. Supermarket across the road, private hot tub on deck, large communal one in the grounds. Double and twin bedrooms.
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Sounds good kitenski, and the Hilton in W has just undergone a big refurb this last summer I think, so should be good. Is a good location in the viallge, less than 5 mins to the lifts i would say. Good luck.
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Quote: |
less than 5 mins to the lifts
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If you crawled on all 4s it'll still take you less time!
Plus the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Shop is just around the corner.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Quote: |
If you crawled on all 4s it'll still take you less time!
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That could be helpful info for Hels_T
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veeeight, I'm a very slow walker
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Quote: |
or is Whistler as good as the hype says
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Hype is only hype when it fails to live up to your expectations.
So my take is to go with very little expectations, and then if you're pleasantly surprised, it;s a bonus!
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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+1 for AlluraDirect. We always rent a condo in the Glacier Lodge, in the Upper Village.
For the last few years, the early booking of the adult lift pass through Allura (before 15th November) has always come with the option of free tickets (matching days) for kids. (I don't have any, so I've always donated mine to people staying in the same lodgings).
Pretty much everyone says the Whistler Kids programme is very good, and the kids I've seen on the mountain (and shared a lift with) all seem to have a load of fun.
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You know it makes sense.
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pintsizepilot,
Nice guide!
(unlike my comment above from 2006, I do now have children!)
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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i thought kitenski was blatantly lying about his age until I saw the date of the OP
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Poster: A snowHead
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The Whistler kids programme is outstanding. When we did our season mouth junior did the adventure camps and loved it. It puts Europe to shame I have to say.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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ahem
sarah, looks like this was resurrected for some tasty spam
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