|
|
|
Early in the 20th century, a small fishing camp known as Rainbow Lodge thrived on the
shore of Alta Lake. It was run by Alex and Myrtle Philip. Cattle were also raised in the valley, and logging grew
to be an important part of the economy. The community later came to be known as Alta Lake. Then in the early
1960's, several people had a dream of creating an alpine ski area to attract the Winter Olympics. Whistler Mountain opened as the Garibaldi Lift Company in 1965.
In 1980, Blackcomb opened right next door. Over
the years, more lifts were installed on both mountains and the village grew. Whistler is now a world class ski resort, and has been
voted the number one North American ski resort several times. For years,
Whistler held the record of being the ski area with the greatest
lift-serviced vertical in North America, but that title went to Blackcomb
when the 7th Heaven T-Bar went in. Some years later, this was replaced by
a high-speed quad chair and Blackcomb has a vertical mile of skiing
available. It was announced in 2004 that Vancouver / Whistler has been
chosen to host the
Winter Olympic Games in 2010.
Whistler-Blackcomb is now owned by the same company,
Intra-West Development. Primarily a real estate development company, they
own interests in a number of major ski resorts. Whistler
now attracts nearly two million skiers and snowboarders every year. Blackcomb has the greatest lift-serviced
vertical in North America with a vertical mile of skiing. It's pretty tough having to choose which mountain to ski
each morning, so why not ski both?
If you are into cross country skiing, visit
Callaghan Country Wilderness Adventures. They offer year round wilderness adventures in their secluded
mountain lodge.
|
