IM GOING TO WHISTLER

[Droopy]

Fucking right bitches, yes I lost my wallet today, and yes i just spent an hour canceling credit cards. But i just realized im going to whistler in January, and that my friends, is great. Every time i get down about having to wake up on a Saturday morning to go to work, all i have to do is remember why im doing it. Ski season is worth the sacrifice, worth the waiting, and worth the money. I feel free on the mountain, I feel real, I am as the Buddhists say in nirvana, in a state of quiet mind where all things can be seen for what they are.

So Canada here I come, January 4th - 11th
It will be a week to remember

By the way, I want to thank all of you that helped me with tips and hits. I was able to do the whole trip for $719 a person, and we are coming all the way from Maryland. Shoestring lodge here I come!

[Ski Beaver]

If you went last year at that time, I would have met you at Shoestring.

Watch out for the glass doors at the front, you cannot walk through them.

[Droopy]

Watch out for the glass doors at the front, you cannot walk through them.

Glass doors, got it.

canada must love me, in the 4 days i have been up there i have spent 300 bucks on beer.

How did you like the shoestring?

[Shake Zula]

Congratulations on the trip. I finally got the wife to agree to a W/B trip in January also. Did you use a travel agent or book online? Are you renting a car or using the bus from Vancouver? Sorry for all the questions but this is my first time planning an out of state skiing trip.

[Droopy]

I found out a few things while planning the trip, first off it is far cheaper to fly on Tuesdays and Thursdays than on any other day of the week. And yes, i used expedia.com to book the plane tickets. I found that you can save about hundred per person more by flying to Seattle and driving to whistler ( a 4.5-5 hour drive as best i can tell). When i rented the SUV i found the cheapest way to do it is not to go through expedia, but instead to go right to the thrifty car rental website. I am staying at the shoestring lodge in one of their 4 share rooms, basically like a hostel situation. Of course I am a cheap ass college kid, but the shoestring does have nicer rooms and a fair price. The one thing i could not find a discount on is lift tickets, and that has actually been the most expensive part of the trip. I think my lift tickets and my travel expenses are about the same.

Here are the numbers...
Plane Tickets:
Frontier Airlines (Baltimore to Seattle)
round trip $228.20 per person
Car Rental:
Thrifty Car Rental - Standard SUV (Jeep liberty or similar)
$237.49 (total, I am spliting it with friends so it comes to under 75 per person for me)
Accommodations :
Shoestring lodge
$150 USD (my estimate for 6 nights)
Lift tickets:
$261 USD (my estimate)

Total: is just over $700

Granted you are going with the wifie (and family??) so you are going to do it nicer than i am, but thats what I have found thus far. OH and also the sooner the better, when you book things ahead of time it is much cheaper!

[Shake Zula]

Thanks for the info. Muchas Gracias

[cj001f]

Thrifty Car Rental - Standard SUV (Jeep liberty or similar)
$237.49 (total, I am spliting it with friends so it comes to under 75 per person for me)

Make sure you get confirmation you can take the SUV over the border; some companies won't let you.

[Droopy]

Make sure you get confirmation you can take the SUV over the border; some companies won't let you.

As long as it is only to BC they said it was fine.

[Max Gosey]

Ski season is worth the sacrifice, worth the waiting, and worth the money. I feel free on the mountain, I feel real, I am as the Buddhists say in nirvana, in a state of quiet mind where all things can be seen for what they are.

I like you, man. You know what's up...

My friends used to get pissed at me for working all the time. I just told them to shut up because I was working for something worthwhile. I know exactly the feeling. It's a good feeling...

Edit: Congrats. Whistler is awesome. The whole village is like the coolest place I have ever been. You'll love it.

[Ski Beaver]

As long as it is only to BC they said it was fine.

Yep, Alberta is a pretty dangerous place.

[fiddler]

Don't forget your birth certificate or passport. Don't forget to stop at the Duty Free store to get a giant bottle of theraputic spirits before you cross the border. Whistler is great fun and this season they are opening up the new terrain that goes down to Creekside.

[ak_powder_monkey]

I'm going to whistler too

[teledave]

Last I was there, there was a grocery store in Squamish where you could buy disocunt lift tickets. You had to buy either Whistler or Blackcomb though, no dual mtn discount passes available. Maybe someone can chime in with the name of the place, right across the highway from the huge granite face.

[G]

I made a trip up a couple of years ago, and bought day tickets in a vancouver 7-11 for a few bucks off.

[Shredhead]

Don't forget to stop at the Duty Free store to get a giant bottle of theraputic spirits before you cross the border.

I believe you are allowed 1 liter of hard stuff and a case of beer each, which would save your group a fair bit of money. Also fill the tank before you cross
at the truck crossing on the way up.
The first 7-11 in Squamish on the left had the discount tickets.

[Mechmaster]

Actually, last season you can get the "Fast Tracks" discount W/B lift tickets at any 7-11 in the lower mainland with the exception of the Whistler location.

[Theodore]

You'll enjoy the drive from Seattle. It is beautiful when you get up into Canada along the coast. Try to use your passport instead of the license/birth cert. route. We ran into some peoblems with them, but the war on Iraq started on the 3rd day of our trip. If there is a huge line at the border crossing, there is another one ~20 miles to the east that is much less crowded and easier to get through. Have fun, that place is HUGE!!!!

[Droopy]

I am soooo stoked you have no idea. Or maybe you do.

AKPM - when are you going to be there?

Edit: For any of you that have stayed at the shoestring, where in the village is it located, and how did you like it?

[skieast]

Edit: For any of you that have stayed at the shoestring, where in the village is it located, and how did you like it?

Never stayed there, but it's not in the main village, north a bit, about a kilometer from the main village. There's a shuttle that the shoestring runs to the base, otherwise a fair walk.

[The AD]

I noticed the directions from Seattle to Whistler on their website (http://ww1.whistlerblackcomb.com/get...ions/index.htm)now tell you to go through Vancouver. The problem with this is it involves traveling along surface streets through Van, which will slow you down. The way I always go is using the truck border crossing (exit 275 off I-5), then north into Canada until you get to Hwy 1. Hwy 1 leads you west through North Vanocuver and to Hwy 99 (Sea to Sky), which leads to Whistler. Here are directions for that route:
http://www.tourismwhistler.com/getting_here/driving.asp

Here's a pdf map of the entire Whistler area: http://www.tourismwhistler.com/resou...valley_map.pdf

I believe the Shoestring is at the intersection of the highway and Nancy Greene Drive.

One of the things I like in Whistler, that I bet 90% of the visitors don't even know exists, is the Meadow Park Sports Centre. It's just down the road a couple kms north of the Shoestring. If you're interested in any kind of non-ski workout, this is the place to go. There's a pool, skating rink, squash courts, weight room, etc. http://www.whistler.ca/recreation/

[TomK]

If there is a huge line at the border crossing, there is another one ~20 miles to the east that is much less crowded and easier to get through. Have fun, that place is HUGE!!!!

Take the exit from I-5 to Sumas, cross into Canada there, and head up to Hwy 7 & 7A on the north side of the Frasier River and turn left/west. This avoids the whole downtown Vancouver traffic.

[Droopy]

what about the map quest directons?

map quest

Edit: As far as going into town at night, do the shuttles run at night? Or does my drunk ass have to walk back?

[Tippster]

...If you're interested in any kind of non-ski workout, this is the place to go. There's a pool, skating rink, squash courts, weight room, etc. http://www.whistler.ca/recreation/

I never understood that. If you feel like you didn't get a good enough workout in a day's skiing, you weren't charging hard enough, IMVHO.

"Gee, let's hit the elliptical trainer, Madge - my quads are in need of a workout!! "

[The AD]

what about the map quest directons?

map quest

Edit: As far as going into town at night, do the shuttles run at night? Or does my drunk ass have to walk back?

The only real difference in the mapquest directions is the border crossing. They say to use the main border crossing, whereas the route I take uses the truck crossing. I think the truck crossing is usually less busy, and I think that route is slightly more direct.

Yes, the bus runs at night. Here's a schedule for the route you want, I think: http://www.busonline.ca/regions/whi/...=43%3A0&day=1&

This is a combined route. Check the schedule for route 4 for the times you'd be going or coming back from the mountain. EDIT: I see the Shoetstring has their own shuttle, too. No idea if this runs at night.

And Tippster, some of us do other sports besides skiing. I never feel like swimming when I'm on a ski trip, but the consequences of getting back in the pool after being out for a few straight days encourage me to try to get in a workout or two after skiing.

[Max Gosey]

Semi-unrelated here, but just curious about that through-Vancouver route...: aren't they supposed to build a highway or something for the 2010 Olympics that would circumvent all that traffic through the city from the south side (a new one, I mean)? I heard that somewhere... That would be really cool.

The drive through Vancouver (if you take that route) really is a pain in the ass . But Vancouver is seriously the coolest Metropolis I have ever seen. Very modern looking. And you drive by Stanley Park and you're soon in this big forest. Garibaldi juts out in the background. It's purdy once you get through. You just can't go more than 10 mph through downtown (which is huge)...