play, rest and work in Whistler

Much desired, especially after such an amazing season last winter, but the darn visa is still an issue, Whistler is the biggest and best that North America has to offer. Fantastic resort with the most incredible terrain and plenty of excitement, on and off piste.

The whole mountain is run by one giant company; Intrawest, but don't let that put you off - Whistler is what North American riding is all about. Once bitten you'll find it hard to go back to Europe.

Piste Map | Website | CdS

Play
Bars and Clubs
Off-piste
Moguls
Speed
Snowparks
Events

Rest

Away Days
Internet Cafés
Eating Out
Mountain Restos
McDo

Work
Shopping
Transfer Day
Après-ski
Living

MyNatives

Join
Gallery
Blog

Links
Snowcanada
Work Whistler
SkiHolidayExtras


Bars and Clubs
The social scene is excellent with a variety of bars and the infamous 'Moosehead' beer to avoid:

Merlins at Blackcomb
- After work hangout for lifties and instructors
GLC- Slopeside and amazing nachos!
The Longhorn - Brash and loud
Murphys - Overpriced Irish theme
Crystal Lounge - Quiet, cheaper prices
Cinnamon Bear - Pool, Moosehead
Citta's - Busy and cramped
Crabshack - Lifties hangout
Buffalo Bill's - Night club for thirtysomethings
Savage Beagle - Quieter club
MAXX Fish - Loudest club, also shows movies
Tommy Africa's - Hiphop club
Garfinkels - Posh club
The Brewhouse - Own beer

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Off-piste*
Whistler:
* There is really no such thing as off piste in North America, instead there is a boundary which encompasess all the runs, everything inside the boundary is avalanche tested, and there are groomed and un-groomed runs which means fresh powder for all! Going outside the boundary is frowned upon and breaks all the rules...

Chyber Pass - Follow Highway 86 until it swings right back to town, go straight into the trees, you end up at Creekside.

Blackcomb:
Chimney - Traverse right above Crystal Road, after Spankeys, climb the 'chimney'. Drops back to crystal hut.
Fraggle rock - Hike the obvious hill just below the Crystal Hut.
CBC Trees - From Crystal Hut, go hard right, very steep trees to glacier road.

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Moguls
Whistler Bowl to Shale Slope
Couloir Extreme

(Not really a bashers resort, the wrong sort of snow)

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Speed
The Saddle to Franz's to creekside
Dave Murray Downhill
Ross' Gold or Springboard to Cruiser
Try and beat Top of Showcase T to Merlin's in 11 mins.

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Snowparks
The Habit Terrain Parks, under Emerald on Whistler and the highest level terrain park on Blackcomb are the biggest. Blackcomb even has a DJ and sound system!

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Events
Winter start Nov 22 2007
Park Rider Series: Rail Jam on Whistler
Whistler World Cup, presented by TELUS and runs Feb. 18-24, 2008
Kokanee valley race series etc. and that's all before Xmas

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Famous visitors
Prince Charles + children. Lots of America stars. 

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Away Days
Vancouver, very cosmopolitan city. Gastown, Granville Island and Chinatown are some of the more interesting parts of town. Downtown for posh shops, West Broadway (about halfway to the airport off Granville St) for outlet/warehouse stores. Try MEC for outdoor stuff.

Grouse Mountain, Cypress Bowl and Mt Semouyr are three small resorts overlooking Vancouver, worth about a day each. Grouse has the best views and all are open at night.

Seattle (USA), the Emerald City. A bit futher afield but worth the trek, Pike place market and Pacific Center worth a look. Don't forget the fish market at Pike Place if you've seen the Intrawest customer service video.

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Internet Cafés
Two between Village Center and Market Place. The library has free surfing but no e-mail. Lots of pubs and staff housing have internet machines, even creekside Laundromat!
More details

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Eating Out
If you work for Whistler Blackcomb it's a 50% discount at their venues, and if you work in Food and Beverage, you get one $12 meal per 8-hour shift. Again you're spoilt for choice, 7 Japanese, 1 Chinese and many many more. In case you don't want to leave the room Dominos delivers (they have the best bumper sticker in town 'Bad Cop - No Donut'


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Mountain Restos
Unfortunately all run by the same company so they get a bit repetitive. Rendezvous, Roundhouse and Glacier Creek are all huge and 50% off if you work for the resort. Crystal Hut and Hortsman Hut have some character

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McDonalds
Mc D's is opposite the IGA in Marketplace.

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Shopping
IGA, the biggest in town, lots of parking. Almost everything you can get in Europe. Try Nesters for specials on meat.

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Transfers
Only Vancouver - some Billy's hire cars and try to drive, not realizing how much snow there is. The 'Sea to Sky' highway is a two hour spectacular in good weather, a 4 hour nightmare in bad. The airport is well organized with a good Starbucks. The train; the Whistler Mountaineer is a more scenic trip to Vancouver, designed less for back-and-forth travel and more for tourist day/overnight trips to and from Vancouver.
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Après-ski
Snowmobiles, Big Ice Rink, Ice Hockey in Vancouver.

Apres is a not-to-be-missed tradition in Whistler. Venues are open for lunch and dinner, and offer both child-friendly apres, and adult-only nightlife.

Dusty's Bar & Barbeque in the Creekside - Whistler's original apres-ski bar is the local's first choice for patio days, award winning BBQ, and evening entertainment.

The Garibaldi Lift Company at the base of Whistler
- Known to locals as the GLC, it is conveniently located at the base of Whistler Mountain. Warm up in front of the GLC's roaring fire and order up an icy Kokanee beer and some of the signature appies like Sex Cheese, Chicken T&A or a heaping nacho platter.

Merlin's Bar & Grill at the base of Blackcomb - Blackcomb Mountain's apres-ski headquarters - Merlin's boasts the largest outdoor patio in Whistler. The party begins all afternoon and goes well into the night.

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Living
Glacier Park
Glacier Park, located near Base II on Blackcomb Mountain, is perfectly situated for mountain access via the Blackcomb Gondola. We offer 5 buildings consisting of 3 different types of units. Each apartment holds 3 to 4 people. Single rooms are available in Glacier Park, subject to availability.
Brio
Brio is located just on the outskirts of the Village, approximately a 5 minute walk into town via the Valley Trail. We offer 1 and 2 bedroom units holding 2 or 4 people respectively. There are no single rooms in Brio. All accommodation is shared.
Westside
Located a couple of kilometres south of Whistler Creekside, Westside is our newest building. Westside apartments contain spacious living rooms, dining areas and balconies. The closest bus stop is steps from the front door. Whistler Creekside offers a grocery store, various retail and rental stores, restaurants and 2 pubs. Uploading at Whistler Mountain is just 5 minutes away from Westside. This building is a mix of 1 and 2 bedroom units, similar to Brio, holding 2 and 4 people respectively. All accommodation is shared.
Valley Housing
Only our employees on the Foreign Recruit program are eligible for Valley Housing. Foreign Recruits are employees who have been sponsored to work as ski instructors by Whistler Blackcomb. Each winter from December 1 until April 30, Whistler Blackcomb rents homes from people within the community of Whistler. These homes are located from Creekside to Emerald Estates. All of our Valley Housing must be vacated by the 22nd of April. For further information on the Foreign Recruit Program, please see the Employment section.
For more information on WB staff accommodation: http://www.whistlerblackcomb.com/employment/residence/index.htm

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CdS
Search
If you’re thinking of doing a season in Whistler then why not search through the Club des Saisonniers to see who else has worked there and what advice they may be able to offer.

Discounts
There are numerous benefits available to members of the CdS.

MyNatives
Search
If you’re thinking of doing a season in Les Arcs then why not search through the MyNatives to see who else has worked there and what advice they may be able to offer.
Why not join yourself and tell us about your season, in a blog, or post some photos in our Gallery.

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