March Break is looming....and so is the prospect of entertaining the family for a week or more. Here's why it will be better for everyone if you do that entertaining at Whistler.
Longer days & warmer temps
Forget the frigid temperatures of January and be glad you saved your ski dollars for March Break. The powder will still be deep, you could enjoy the warmest ski weather of the winter, and you'll have more daylight on the hills.
Go to the dogs
If dogsledding has always topped your bucket list, there’s no better place to try it than Whistler. Whether you choose to ride in style, snapping selfies as you go, or try mushing yourself, you’ll love exploring the old-growth Callaghan Valley forest.
Ski two mountains, two seasons & 200 runs
March Break skiing at Whistler/Blackcomb means starting at 2,284 metres at the top, where the air will be at its coldest and the powder at its best, then skiing down to warm spring conditions.
Toshi Kawano
Make tracks
There’s nothing quite like making first tracks on a freshly groomed mountain – even if you have to hoist yourself out of bed early to do it. The Fresh Tracks breakfast at Roundhouse Lodge is the reward for early risers who ride the Whistler Village Gondola to the top of the mountain between 7:15 a.m. - 8 a.m. (Book in advance because the Lodge can only accommodate 650 people in a morning.) Chow down on a breakfast of champions, then catch the early morning sunshine as you make your mark on the mountain.
Celebrate with a saber
At the Bearfoot Bistro, one of Whistler’s most popular dining spots, owner André Saint-Jacques puts a whole new spin on chilly libations. Start your evening with a visit to the sub-zero Ketel One Ice Room, featuring a bar, walls and even glasses made of ice where you’ll enjoy a flight of vodkas that’ll warm you right up. After a gourmet dinner, make your way to the Champagne cellar where André, holder of the Guinness World Record for Sabering Champagne bottles (he sliced off 21 bottlenecks in just one minute) will show you how to hold a bottle just so, swing the sabre at exactly the right angle, carve off the neck and release the bubbly. He’ll even let you keep the cork!
Build your own board – or boards. You choose.
Always wanted a custom built snowboard? Or bespoke skis? Invest 15 hours over three days at the Whistler Adventure School and you’ll literally make your dream come true. Design and build a custom snowboard or skis, using a template to ensure a solid ride, then choose the ideal length, camber and rocker. Add your own graphics, then get ready to shred that pow.
Toshi Kawano
Chill out…and up
Skiing down isn’t the only way to conquer Whistler this March Break – you could climb up instead. Book a full day, guided ice climbing experience with Mountain Skills Academy that will have you grappling with some of the most spectacular ice formations in western Canada.
Bungee, baby!
Take a leap of faith when you jump off the bridge that spans the glacier-fed Cheakamus River, British Columbia’s highest year-round bungee jumping venue, Whistler Bungee. Don’t be scared. Once you make that initial leap, it’s only a 50 metre drop…straight down!
Live your Olympic fantasies
If you were imagining yourself competing for Team Canada at Pyeong Chang, bring your fantasies to life in Whistler’s Olympic Park. Strap on your cross-country skis and hit more than 90 kilometres of groomed trails, or grab your snowshoes to tame 40 kilometres of wilderness. Burning to try Biathlon? Sign up for a training session and learn to shoot straight and ski like the wind.
Back-country bashing
Leave the pack behind and explore some of the untouched snow in the backcountry. Ski Hanging Lake, climb to the summits of Rainbow or Sproatt Mountains or snowshoe to Beverly Creek.
Justa Jeskova
Explore the Ice Kingdom
During March Break, British Columbia’s largest-ever snow sculpture exhibit, featuring 40,000-square-feet of interactive fairy-tale themed ice creations will be on display at Whistler. You’ll want to be there when the sun goes down and the lights come on, causing the ice to shimmer in a frigid rainbow of colour.
Light it up with Fire & Ice
Every Sunday night at 6:30 p.m., Whistler Village explodes with the Fire and Ice show, an extravaganza of live ski and snowboard big air displays, rocking DJs, fire spinners and fireworks. It’s fun and free – après ski at its finest and great family entertainment for your March Break adventure.
Escape to The Lake
When you've had all the fun you can handle on and off the slopes, find your cozy retreat at the Nita Lake Lodge, the only hotel in Whistler that offers a lakefront view. Loll around your luxe room, warm up by the fire, or replace all the calories you burned with a gourmet meal in the new Aura Restaurant. Note: The art installation in the dining room, called The Herd, will be an Instagram hit. You'll swear those brightly-coloured deer are coming right out to get you. If the budget allows, treat your burned-out muscles to a Kundalini massage at the spa where a talented therapist will align your chakras and press every pressure point button you can imagine.
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