Just a few comments on a few points...

kevin wrote:
: terrain - whistler has more lift serviced terrain than any other resort
: in north america. it also appears to be the ultimate big mountain resort
: with more alpine terrain than anything else on this side of the atlantic.
: i've never heard a single person criticize the quality of whistlers terrain
: so im assuming it isn't a matter of quantity over quality.

Whistler/Blackcomb does have some very expansive terrain, bowls that
would encompass whole ski areas. It's got some very challenging
terrain. The terrain is great. BTW, Vail+Breck total claim is 7332
acres, Whistler/BC claims 7071. In my opinion, however, quantity is far
from the top measure. What kind of terrain is it? What type do you
want to ski - trees? alpine? How much beginner/intermediate/expert
terrain is there?

: snow quantity - whistler averages 360 inches a year

Vail claims 346 inches per year - pretty close. Steamboat gets ~360.
SLC west areas ~500. Jackson ~450. All much, much better snow in
general.

: snow quality: so far all anyone has said is that it rains a lot at the
: base, and that the snow is wetter than snow in the interior. my question,
: for the tenth time, is the snow above the tree line so wet and heavy that
: it is unenjoyable for a skier, or is it still nice snow just not AS nice
: as certain other parts of the country?

I've never had heavier, wetter, more impossible snow than at Whistler,
above treeline ("in the alpine"). You simply would never get that kind
of snow in the Rockies, or even in CA in my (limited) experience. It
was RAINING on the lower ~3K feet. In *January*. Ok, I didn't have fat
skis - they would've helped in that glop. Otherwise it was pretty much
unskiable (unless groomed) - tips dove to China unless you were
forcefully leaning back. On the other hand - the snow can be good too.
It's just that the bell curve is a lot flatter - a lot more variation is
possible. It don't rain in Utah or Colorado in January.

I can't address the party or convenience features of the more interior
resorts of Canada or the US (and those appear to be very important to
you), but I'd much rather be in Jackson or in Sandy UT or near Kicking
Horse than a winter at Whistler. But plenty of people do it and love
it. It's a great place to visit, but... If you're really enamored of
the bigness of it all, then no place will match it. I found most of
Blackcomb to be kinda Vail-like, myself - but certainly not all of it.
Whistler seemed to be quite a bit more interesting overall. I'd
take Jackson over either of them in an instant.

One of the latest ski mags has a piece on the 10 best ski-and-live towns -
check it out for yet another view of this and a some more actual data.

Best of luck with whatever you decide for this winter!

-Paul C.