Whistler is having an EPIC snow year (606 cm / 19 feet to date!) and that has caused a fair amount of chaos on the Sea to Sky highway due to cars (and drivers) that aren’t prepared for the road conditions.

BC law states that you must have winter tires once you pass the warning signs on the highway just north of Squamish. If you get pulled over then you may face a $109 fine and will likely get turned back. Not a cool way to start your vacation! Unfortunately, almost all rental cars (except some large SUVs) don’t have the appropriate tires to pass this requirement. Even if they did, most all season tires are TERRIBLE in snow. This is especially true of the wet snow that typically falls on the highway to Whistler.

The moral of the story? Unless your car is equipped with winter tires, think twice about driving to Whistler between November and April! It may sound self-serving, but you are probably further ahead to book a whistler airport shuttle or a private transfer.

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I’m not sure why, but most people seem to assume that the trip to Whistler is much shorter than it actually is! Our client’s are consistenly surprised when they find out that the trip from Vancouver to Whistler is actually 2.5 hours in good weather and traffic!

The trip itself it actually only 138 km, but you have to keep the following in mind:

• The route goes directly through downtown Vancouver. Unfortunately, Vancouver is renowned for its traffic “issues”. My urban planning professor constantly used Vancouver as his example for how NOT to design a city.
• Once you’ve passed through downtown Vancouver, you have to go across the Lion’s Gate bridge. They could make this bridge 6 lanes wide and it would still be busy. Of course, it only has 3.
• Thanks to the 2010 Olympics, The Sea to Sky highway is MUCH better than it used to be. However, it is still prone to bad weather (ice & snow) and heavy traffic during holidays and weekends.

What can you do as a visitor to minimize your travel time?

• Try to travel midday if you can. Traveling during peak traffic periods in Vancouver will result in a longer trip.
  • Traveling at night may result in delays due to construction on the highway.
  • Traveling in the early morning, or late at night, will signifcantly limit the transportation options that are available to you. Buses and shuttles don’t run between 2300 and 0900 the next morning!
• Weekends are always busier due to increased local traffic. If you can travel on a weekday then your travel time will usually be shorter.

Whistler has seen 97 cm (38 inches) of fresh snow in the past week! Mild temperatures and LOTS of snow means the Christmas crowd is in for a great vacation.  Here’s the official snow report.

Now if I could just stop working all the time and get out on the hill to enjoy it!

Whistler has had 35 inches (89 cm) of snow in the past 7 days and the forecast is for the snow to continue through the weekend. It’s looking like it will be a very white Christmas indeed!

Heading up to Whistler for Christmas or New Year’s? If so, then we suggest that you not wait till the last minute to book your transportation from Vancouver International Airport (YVR). Demand is high and we’ve already had to suggest alternate transportation options to a few clients due to lack of availability!

If you’re looking for a last minute option, there’s a good chance that we’ll be able to accommodate you on our whistler airport shuttle service.