OK, Whistler it is. Flights booked & B&B booked for March
....and yes, the exchange rate does look pretty good - so much so I'm taking
my son skiing in Austria in February now too as I can do that plus Whistler
for what I expected to spend on my US/Can alone )


"Steve Haigh" wrote in message
...
William Ball wrote:

Hi
planning another jaunt across the pond [from Scotland]. I did Colorado
a
couple of years back, and this time I'm pretty set on Whistler with
Tahoe
running a close second.

My concern about Whistler though is the weather/snow, as I've heard it
can
get foggy and the snow gets heavy. When's the better chance of having
good
weather/snow - early March or late March? If I want to ski mush in the
fog
I can do plenty of that 80 miles up the road here in Scotland without
flying
4000 miles.
You can't compare Whistler to Scotland. Even if Whistler is mush at
least it'll be deep mush. I've skied excellent powder at Whistler in
March. Whistler stays open until June, so don't worry about the snow.
Yes, it can rain. Take a waterproof. Don't bank on getting a tan.


Is the risk of bad weather/snow in March enough for anyone to
think Tahoe's a better bet? Other attraction of Tahoe is I could do a
different area every day [I cover a lot of miles and get bored easily],
not
sure how much variety/size there is at Whistler - sure its big for North
America but it's not "European-big".
Yes it is. If you look at the total number of lifts it may not be as
many as the 3 valleys or Espace Killy, but if you look at the quality of
terrain the lifts access and the amount of trails they have it easily
competes with the big European resorts. Whistler is comparable in size
to places like Flaine or St Anton. For the back country and steep skiing
I'd say Whistler has as much as Val d'Isere and a lot of it it is even
easier to access. The tree skiing (good at anytime, essential in poor
weather) is better and more extensive than any I've seen in Europe.

Current attraction of Whistler is the
transfer, as I'll be using up some air-miles and I can get flights to
Vancouver or SF, but not Reno, so Tahoe would be a drive from SF.
(Can't
get a free flight to SLC either, to that was Utah out).
Yep, the Xfer from Whistler is easy. Take a bus unless your accomodation
is a long way out in which case you may need a car.

Anyone any idea of relative costs too? The Pound/US Dollar is great for
us
Brits right now, and having been to the States many times over the last
20
years I know what my pound/dollar will buy. Never been to Canada
though, so
interested in the relative costs of Whistler versus Tahoe.
The Canadian dollar has been very weak against the pount (and U$) for a
long time now, Whistler is cheap for a Brit used to skiing in Europe and
is considered cheaper than the US (but it is catching up, Whistler is
very expensive compared to other Canadian resorts).


Any any other comments gratefully received. I should maybe add that as
this
is my annual break from the wife and kids so I go to ski [early to bed,
hit
the slopes early] so relative merits of nightlife and non-skiing
activities
has no real interest.
What a shame! There are some great pubs in Whistler.