Tuesday, January 8 to Sunday, January 13, 2022
Relax in a five night stay at one of our all-time favorite properties, the beautiful Westin Resort & Spa, Whistler, located directly on the slopes of Whistler mountain. The location can't be beat. All our rooms are suites with built-in kitchens; they're perfect for hosting an après-get together with your new friends. With complimentary ski concierge, beautiful outdoor pools & hot tubs, a rental shop on-property and all the comforts of a 4-star ski-in, ski-out property, prepare to be pampered.
Our trip includes a 4 day lift pass, which is valid for all the full Whistler / Blackcomb ski areas. Our first day of skiing / riding will be Wednesday, January 9th. Tuesday and Sunday are travel days.
There's no need for a car at Whistler. The village is beautifully master-planned, and everything is within walking distance. There are also complimentary buses which serve the various hotels and base areas within the surrounding area.
Enjoy a prepaid gourmet dinner at Araxi, one of Whistler's very best restaurants. Early one morning, chow down at the Fresh Tracks Breakfast at the top of the mountain before taking an exhilarating ride down Whistler's untouched trails. We've included a free ticket. All other meals are up to you.
Here's what's included in the trip price: 5 night lodging, 4 day lift ticket, 1 breakfast, 1 dinner, personal assistance & trip coordination from the SKI BUMS trip leaders

Not included: Air transportation to Vancouver. See "air scheduling," above. | Ground transfers from the airport to Whistler | Most breakfasts and Lunches | Equipment rental | Four dinners
We are happy to arrange roommates for you. Typically, half of our participants sign up without a roommate in mind. We'll ask a few easy questions and accommodate your preferences.

Single occupancy: a limited number of single occupancy slots are available. Please contact us to inquire about availability before booking a single occupancy.
Upon arrival in Whistler, you'll have time to pick up rental equipment -- there are many well-stocked rental shops in town, including one in our hotel. The Westin concierge is happy to assist. Equipment rentals are not included in our trip price; roughly half the BUMS rent gear.
We recommend this trip for all levels of skiers and snowboarders.

Beginners: there's excellent beginner terrain here and top-notch instructors. We expect there to be very few beginners on this trip; this is a good opportunity to take lessons. Visit the ski school >

Intermediates: you'll be in big mountain heaven. You will love it here. Whistler affords the perfect levels of challenge; if you want to push yourself, you can… or you can find your rhythm on big wide uncrowded blues. The scenery is truly beautiful -- your camera will thank you.

Advanced skiers and riders: if you haven't been to Whistler yet, you know it's one of the places you have to go. January's storms deliver Whistler's driest powder, and you'll be blown away at how huge and wide-open the upper elevations are. The tree skiing is epic. The bowls are massive.
Unfortunately, SKI BUMS cannot assist with trip extensions on our trip to Whistler. If you'd like to arrive a day early or depart late, please make your own arrangements.
Vancouver International Airport is about a two hour drive from Whistler (and the drive is gorgeous as you weave along the coastline). We recommend booking a round-trip bus transfer on Pacific Coach Lines Whistler SkyLynx, the most popular charter bus. It picks up roughly every hour from 8:30 AM until 9:00 PM at the airport, and will drop you off directly at the Westin. You should reserve your ticket at least a week in advance; round-trip fare is about $140 CAD. Make a reservation >
The BUMS will fly into Vancouver from multiple locations. We recommend arriving in Whistler by 4 PM to get situated, pick up rental equipment, etc. Our welcome reception happens at the hotel at 8 PM on Tuesday, and you won't want to miss it. Sunday is a travel day.
For seven days from the date you sign up, you may cancel your spot at any time and receive a full refund. After seven days, the following cancellation fees apply:

For cancellations received after Sept 1 and before Sept 30: $100 fee. For cancellations received from October 1 - October 30, $700 fee. For cancellations received from November 1, 2021 - December 1: $1000 fee. After December 2: no refund.

Visit our
cancellation policy page for more details, or to submit a cancellation.
Buy travel insurance. We can't stress this enough.

A travel insurer can provide a refund even when SKI BUMS cannot. Just in case you need to cancel your trip because of work or health reasons, you should purchase travel insurance within 30 days of your initial trip deposit.

We especially recommend
travelinsured.com.
$1599 per person | double occupancy (single occupancy upgrade is available)
$500 deposit at sign up | Balance due by November 5 >

-- or --

Pay in full at signup and save $50 | Limited time offer ends on Sunday Sept 16

Select your payment option when you sign up.

Late payments are subject to a 5% late-payment fee. It is up to you to submit your payments on time. You may always pay early.
You may pay with any major credit card, cash or check.

We use PayPal to process online credit card payments. PayPal is the internet's most trusted online payment portal, and you do not need to be a PayPal member to submit a payment.

If you would ever like to use PayPal to send a manual payment (from a smartphone, for example), our account address is: payments (at) ski-bums.org.


PayPal mobile apps: iPhone / iPad / iPod TouchAndroid

Relax in our Junior Suite rooms, which feature a kitchen, the Westin Heavenly Bed, in-room wi-fi and a cozy gas fireplace. Select a room with two queens or a single king bed. All rooms also have a queen sleeper sofa. View the hotel photo gallery >
Historically, September / October is the best time to buy a January flight to Vancouver. We recommend setting up a weekly price alert at kayak.com
Whistler is a place of superlatives. It's the largest ski area in North America. The distance from the top of its glaciers to the bottom of its charming village inspires that "huge mountain" feel that European resorts are famous for. Today, it still basks in the glow of the 2010 Vancouver Olympics; you can even ski and ride down the Olympic courses. Whistler is undeniably one of the very best ski resorts in the world, the sort of place that every skier or snowboarder should visit at least once. We last visited in 2009, and we're excited to return!

Sign up now for our trip to Whistler >
Upon arrival at Whistler, all participants receive a detailed itinerary with meeting times, events, & helpful tips. Here is an overview of our trip, to help you think through scheduling, packing, etc.
This is one of the 2013 trips we most highly recommend if you have a friend / boyfriend / girlfriend / partner / spouse who doesn't ski or snowboard. We can easily remove the lift ticket from the package; just email us to set it up for you.

Whistler's a fantastic destination for anyone, with amazing spas, galleries, shopping and every outdoorsy winter activity you can imagine.
Learn more about all the awesome stuff you can do >
Travel day. The trip officially begins at 8 PM at our Welcome Reception inside the hotel, where you'll meet the other participants, meet the SKI BUMS trip leaders, get your itinerary & lift tickets.
All SKI BUMS trips begin with a skill level meet up, where we'll help you connect with other skiers and snowboarders who enjoy the same kind of terrain that you do. Allowing for some adjustments along the way, most groups end up with about four to six people, but it's common to mix it up.

Each day, we ski and ride in small groups, then meet up as a big group for lunch and après-ski. We may adjust our itinerary based on the conditions; the trip leaders post regular updates via Twitter and text message. Our four days of skiing / riding are Wednesday through Saturday.

We'll have a dinner reservation Wednesday and Thursday night within Whistler village. Friday night is a "free night" for you to make your own plans. All meals are casual; no formal attire is needed.

Learn more about how our trips work >
Celebrate our final night with cocktails followed by a pre-paid dinner at Araxi, one of the best restaurants in Whistler. Afterwards, we're invited to be special guests at a monthly party hosted by a group of LGBT locals. :)
Sunday is a travel day. After an informal "goodbye breakfast," participants will head home. We encourage you to stay in touch with your new SKI BUMS friends by sharing messages & photos on Facebook.
Vancouver is the nearest city. About two hours north is the village of Whistler, where the Whistler Blackcomb ski resort is located.