When Mary initially approached me about going to Canada during a winter season, I immediately perked up and made sure we were going snowboarding, no matter what or where. Luckily for Landon and I, our first time snowboarding was in the world-renowned ski village of Whistler, Whistler Blackcomb.

Whistler Blackcomb is the most visited ski resort in North America and only 121km/75mi away from Vancouver. From first timer seeing snow to advanced backcountry skier/snowboarder, this little community has become a great place to visit if you are a looking for your next snow thrill.

Seeing that we don’t own any snow gear, we checked in at the ski & snowboard rental area. It wasn’t too busy (opening time in March) when we first arrived and the staff were enthusiastic to help us.

Once verifying what we needed to borrow, the workers assisted us in getting the right fit for everything. Just like The Adventure Group, they had all types of jackets, boots, boards, tools, and more. Anything you want or need as a Skier/Snowboarder could be found here, except goggles. No goggles are rented out due to potential sanitization problems. Our fit was perfect; our shoes were comfortable and boot lockings were firm. The boards we received weren’t too bulky or small for our respective sizes. A prefect fit.

Fine tune your gear. Station like this are located throughout the base and mountain.

About 30 minutes after checking in and strapping up, we headed to the gondola! Contrary to the horror stories we kept hearing about how busy Whistler Blackcomb can be, we experienced very short waits and quick service. There were a few days where we saw large crowds; good thing we missed those on snowboarding day! The gondola had no wait time. The first one, located in the heart of Whistler Village, is free to ride up to the first stop.

Perfectly laid out map of where you can or cannot go. We sure used this a lot…didn’t want to end up on the hardest slope heading into the back country!

There are a few base camps as you move your way up the mountain via gondolas or lifts. It’s a great spot for some refreshments, lunch, or a nice warm coffee!

As we got higher, we experienced heavy snow falls! NOW it was truly a winter wonderland. Of course, we had to take time and make a snow angel (Landon’s first snow angel)! The snow was soft and powdery. That softness definitely had an impact of how sore it was when falling.

We wouldn’t have learned as fast if it wasn’t for Uncle Phil! Thank you for teaching us! Phil, without your patience and calm demeanor, I doubt Landon, and I would have been snowboarding as efficiently as we were. We cannot thank you enough man!

More lifts that go up-up-up!

I had envisioned my first time snowboarding many times over throughout my life, but as the saying goes, reality is more than fantasy, my deepest imagination could not compare to Whistler. Having proper gear was more comfortable than I thought it was going to be. Snowboarding and Skiing looked, at the time, to be bulky and tough to get around. It was not. Snowboarding overall was much more fun and at the same time, difficult than I could imagine; for about a week after visiting I still had sore muscles in weird areas.

As for the scenery and weather, it was everything I hoped for: Snow fell heavily while we were snowboarding which was elegant – We snowboarded through clouds, through heavy snow falls, and watched as the sky opened up and let the sun kiss us, all in one run! Beautiful weather, good company, great gear, and even better facilities (restaurants) make Whistler a top in my book, even though I cannot compare it to any other resort, I have a feeling there is no competition.

For more information on Whistler Blackcomb, visit here.
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Whistler Blackcomb
4545 Blackcomb Way
Whistler, BC V0N 1B4, Canada
+1 604-967-8950