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There are two mountains developed for skiing, Whistler Mountain and Blackcomb Mountain. The highest lift elevation, on Blackcomb, is 2284 metres (7,494 feet), and the terrain is accessed by 24 major lifts. The vertical drop of 1609 metres (5,280 feet, or one mile) at Blackcomb is the highest of any ski resort in North America. Blackcomb has a glacier that allows for summer skiing from June till August.
Whistler Mountain opened for skiing in February, 1966, with a gondola lift, double chairlift (the Red Chair) and T-Bar . The new mountain won instant acclaim for its vertical drop, good snow conditions, and huge alpine area. The only problem at the time was the road—it was a dirt loggingFor another article about a different type of logging, see data logging. Logging is the practice of cutting down trees, then cutting out their central boles (the clear trunk or central stem) and possibly branches in order to use the wood directly or to ma track, which was only plowed on SaturdaySaturday is the day of the week between Friday and Sunday. Its name is unique among the names of days, in that it is derived from the Roman god Saturn, while the other six names are derived from Saxon gods. By tradition derived from ancient Jews, Saturdays—meaning FridayFriday is the day of the week between Thursday and Saturday. Its name is derived from the goddess Frige of Germanic mythology. In most areas with a five-day working week, Friday is the last workday before the weekend and is therefore viewed as a cause for travellers had one heck of a time.
The mountain soon expanded, adding the Blue and Green chairlifts in 1970Events January events January 1 Construction begins on Arcosanti, by Paolo Soleri, in Mayer, Arizona, located 65, miles north of Phoenix, Arizona. January 1 Unix epoch at 00:00:00 UTC. January 12 Biafra capitulates, ending the Nigerian civil war. January, as well as a mountaintop lodge, the Roundhouse, which provided respite for cold skiers who had survived the long ride up on the Red Chair. After the Sea-to-Sky Highway was paved in 1969For other uses, see Number 1969. For the movie, see 1969 (movie). Events January January 1 Australian media baron Rupert Murdoch purchases the largest selling British Sunday newspaper The News Of The World January 5 The Derry Riots leave over 100 people i, more people than ever came to Whistler Mountain, which is conveniently located two hours north of Vancouver.
The mountain added the Olive and Orange chairlifts in 1972. A parallel lift to the Green Chair to alleviate crowds came in 1974, and the Little Red Chair came in 1978.
Because the number of visitors was rapidly increasing, the town in the valley had to expand as well to accommodate them. A plan was drawn up, and the village of Alta Lake was incorporated into the Resort Municipality of Whistler in 1975. The new municipal government, which had powers that enabled better management of the growing community, immediately initiated construction of Whistler Village .
Whistler Village opened in 1980. Along with it came a succession of three triple chairlifts, the Village, Olympic, and Black Chairs, that carried skiers from the Village to the Roundhouse in no less than 45 minutes.
The next major addition came in 1986, when the Peak Chair to the summit of Whistler Mountain was constructed. This lift revolutionized skiing on Whistler Mountain, allowing access to the largest alpine ski area in North America.
In response to Blackcomb Mountain’s construction of three high-speed quad chairlifts, Whistler Mountain undertook one of the biggest ski lift construction projects ever realized in Canada, the construction of the Whistler Express Gondola. Carrying passengers 1,157 metres vertically and 5 kilometres horizontally over 62 support towers, the lift opened on November 24, 1988.
In 1990 Whistler Mountain reached another milestone, the addition of its first high-speed quad chairlift. The Green Chair Express, which replaced the Green Chairs, was built by Lift Engineering (Yan), and substantially cut long lift queues in the Green area of the mountain.
A year later, in 1991, Whistler Mountain continued in its construction streak, replacing three double chairlifts and the original gondola with two high-speed quad chairlifts, the Quicksilver and Redline lifts, also built by Lift Engineering.
1994 saw the removal of the Blue Chair, and the construction of the Harmony Express, which started from the base of the former Blue Chair, but ran all the way to the top of Little Whistler Peak.In 1995, tragedy struck. On December 23, the lift operator on the Quicksilver lift pressed the button to make a routine stop, to allow a fallen skier to get out of the way of the unloading ramp. Instead, the emergency brake activated, sending shockwaves down the cable. Grips on at least two of the chairs slipped, and caused chairs to slide down the cable and slam into each other. In all, 70 were injured, and two were killed in the worst ski lift accident in North America. The disaster ended up causing the bankruptcy of the lift’s manufacturer, Lift Engineering.
In 1996, the Whistler Mountain Ski Corporation was bought out by Intrawest, which had owned Blackcomb since 1986. As well, the Quicksilver lift was replaced with a gondola.
In 1997, big changes were made on Whistler Mountain. The Green Chair Express and Redline lifts were removed and replaced with modern Doppelmayr lifts. The original Roundhouse was demolished, and a new lodge was built in its place.
2000 brought more changes, as the Black Chair was replaced with a high-speed quad, and another was added, following the line of the long-gone Village Chair.Whistler Mountain will host some events in the 2010 Winter Games.