$66M Transformative Investment at Whistler Blackcomb

One of the world’s great resort destinations is getting its biggest facelift ever, with improvements for both winter and summer sports lovers.

Vail Resorts Inc. today announced “an historic investment” of $66 million Cdn. at Whistler Blackcomb, focusing on three new lifts at the heart of the British Columbia resort.

Officials are calling it a “transformative investment” that features a new gondola on the Blackcomb side of the mountain near Whistler Village, as well as other lift upgrades that will give skiers faster, easier access to all levels of terrain on the mountain.

Whistler Blackcomb staged the Winter Olympics in 2010, but even novice skiers can find tons of easy, long and beautiful runs on the mountain, as this relative beginner can attest.

Vail Resorts also said it’s making improvements to its popular mountain bike park, which brings in tons of cyclists and thrill-seekers in spring, summer and fall.

“We are incredibly excited to bring to life the spirit of the Whistler Blackcomb Renaissance with a focus on the on-mountain experience that lies at the heart of our resort,” said Pete Sonntag, senior vice president and chief operating officer of Whistler Blackcomb. “Over the past few years, Whistler Blackcomb has seen tremendous enthusiasm from guests from around the world. This transformative investment, the largest in the resort’s history, will offer a dramatic improvement to the experience for all of our guests as they explore and enjoy the largest and most popular resort in North America. We intend to continue to pursue other base area and village improvements that were part of the Renaissance, but we believed it was critical to start at our core, on the mountain.”

A new 10-passenger gondola will replace the Wizard and Solar chairlifts and ascend from the base to the top of Blackcomb Mountain, terminating adjacent to the existing PEAK 2 PEAK Gondola, which transports guests to and from Blackcomb and Whistler. Upon completion, the new gondola will offer guests a more comfortable and weather-protected experience in the first three-gondola connection in the world, enhancing the longest continuous lift system. The new gondola is expected to represent a 47-percent capacity increase and move 4,000 people per hour, the highest capacity in North America.

In addition to the new gondola, the capital plan also includes lift upgrades in Whistler Blackcomb’s Family Ski Zone, an upper-mountain area renowned for intermediate trails tailored to families. The Family Ski Zone’s Emerald Express four-passenger lift will be replaced with a new six-passenger high-speed lift, increasing guest uphill capacity by 29 percent and maximizing time on the snow for families on the mountain’s premier intermediate learning terrain.

Finally, the existing Catskinner triple-passenger lift will be replaced with a four-passenger, high-speed lift, which will increase uphill capacity by 56 percent and allow Whistler Blackcomb guests to enjoy faster, more convenient access to Blackcomb Mountain’s beginner and intermediate terrain.

While they’re upgrading the lifts, officials said they’re deferring consideration of a new waterpark for Whistler Blackcomb. But the historic investment does include an expansion of Whistler Blackcomb’s summer season offering and world-renowned mountain bike park. The mountain bike park is currently in the middle of a two-phase upgrade that will add 21 kilometers (13 miles) of biking trails in the summer of 2018, representing the single largest new terrain opening in the history of the park.

All capital projects are subject to regulatory approval.