by Congratulations, you’ve saved enough for a dream ski holiday. Now the question is, where do you spend it?
For British skiers, two resorts almost always top the charts: Whistler Blackcomb, in Canada, and Niseko, in Japan. Both have appeared in countless ski films over the years, building on their already legendary reputation, and are brilliant in their own way. But a visit to either is likely to blow your ski holiday budget for the season, especially when you factor in the cost of long-haul flights.
So, if you can’t visit these two dream destinations, which one should you choose?
A whistle
Why go?
The largest ski resort in North America, Whistler (or Whistler-Blackcomb as it is officially known) has 37 lifts, providing access to 8,171 acres of ski terrain. There are over 200 designated pistes, but if you want to find the really good stuff, you’ll want to read between the colored lines on the piste map.
It’s the “inland backcountry” – patrolled, off-piste areas that are controlled for exchanges – that make Whistler special for passionate skiers. Scoring the first tracks down the Symphony Bowl on a powder day, or cutting through a “super” run, where the trees have been deliberately thinned, is the stuff dreams are made of.
There is also a lot of variety. Iconic descents like Spanky’s Ladder or Stefan’s Walk, both above the tree line, are steep and technical. Easy greens like Sunset Boulevard, which winds through the woods on Blackcomb, will keep the intermediates happy. The ski schools are some of the best in the world with no language barriers between students and instructors, and there is plenty of terrain that is perfect for families. If your kids are older, or you’re younger at heart, Whistler’s three massive snow parks are among the best freestyle facilities anywhere in the world.
The resort is also famous for its snow. Located in the coastal range, just a short drive north of Vancouver, its proximity to the Pacific Ocean means that storms often dump their load here first, before heading inland to the resorts of the Rockies.
For reference, Whistler’s average annual snowfall of 10.8m is about twice that of Tignes in France.
If you’re used to stereotypically grumpy French waiters, North America’s strong service culture will come as a surprise – even if it takes a while to get your head around when and how much to please (if in doubt, the answer , and all the time).
On the hill, attentive lifters will group parties together to minimize chairlift queues, and off the hill, smiling waiters will happily take requests for off-menu items. Public transport is also significant for a North American resort – if you’re staying in Whistler village, you don’t need a car, which is unusual in this part of the world.
Why not?
Even before Vail Resorts bought out the previous owners in 2016, Whistler had the unmistakable vibe of being a company town. The lifts, ski schools, rental shops, as well as most of the accommodation, bars and retail outlets have long been owned by a single corporation.
Ski instructors used to joke that they essentially worked for free, as most of their pay went straight back into their employers’ pockets through a company-owned bar or restaurant.
To its critics, Vail Resorts, which owns more than forty destinations across North America, is the McDonald’s of skiing – homogenizing the ski experience, and squashing individuality in the ski towns it owns. There are independent businesses, but they are often left to fight each other.
You certainly won’t see many of the third-generation family restaurants you’d find in the mountain towns of France or Italy, and you usually eat on the mountain in a huge cafeteria, tray and shuffle. There is always a great variety of food available, but little atmosphere. Prices are pretty high in the village, and the pesky urge to quote them without tax only makes them look better.
Although Whistler is large by North American standards, it is not to big in the grand scheme of things – the size of the mountain is important compared to its equivalent in Europe for example.
The Paradiski area (La Plagne-Les Arcs) has more than 35,559 acres of ski terrain, making it more than four times the size of Whistler-Blackcomb. Peg points at the base of Whistler and Blackcomb mountains mean queues can get bad on busy days. And while this may not be a contradiction for everyone, it is loads of Australia.
Niseko
Why go?
The case of Niseko begins and ends with snow – some of the most consistent and deepest in the world. Perhaps Whistler would benefit from being beside to the Pacific Ocean, but Hokkaido, the northern island of Japan, is basically in it.
Cold winds from Siberia carry moisture from the Sea of Japan, which they then dump on the first obstacle they encounter – the mountains around Niseko. The resort receives an incredible 15m of snowfall each winter on average.
When I visited, it felt like the weather changed every 45 minutes, cycling through sun, light snow, to heavy snow, and back again. Tracks from the previous day – and sometimes even from the previous run – were quickly covered.
Every morning, without fail, we had to dig out the steps of our chalet. Accommodation is in shared rooms or, increasingly, in upmarket hotels. Renting a car allows you to visit nearby resorts, which can be fun, but you don’t need one to get around Niseko itself.
Another great reason to visit Niseko is the culture – in particular, the food. Everything from five-course, sit-down meals to fast food bites from petrol station warming counters is delicious.
For British palettes at least, it’s also incredibly diverse. Other cultural highlights include a visit to an onsen, or Japanese hot springs. The pools are gender segregated, and although the mandatory nudity may feel strange at first, you quickly get used to it.
Why not?
Given its reputation, you might be surprised at how small Niseko is. There are only a handful of lifts, and about 800 acres of skiable terrain – barely a tenth of Whistler’s. Like most Japanese resorts, the lift infrastructure was laid out in the late 70s and 80s, when skiing was booming, but the long recession of the 90s means that much of it has barely been touched since then.
Many of the lifts are still old, small and slow, especially those used for European high-speed chairs and gondolas. This means that there are often queues, and you are better off going to nearby resorts such as Moiwa or Rusutsu on weekends. Niseko has great ski schools and good facilities for beginners, but the huge amount of snowfall – and lack of clear sunny days – means it’s not the easiest place to learn. Plus, unless you and your party are skiing at a level where powder is on the menu, you’ll be spoiled for choice at this all-you-can-eat buffet.
In a society that is one of the most ethnically homogenous of any developed nation (97.8 percent of Japan’s population is ethnic), Niseko is one of the minimum Japanese places in the country. Walk around the main resort and you’ll find plenty of foreign-owned bars and businesses. While some people will appreciate that you can get around without ever resorting to Google Translate, if you want a real Japanese cultural experience, you might want to try somewhere with less Australians, again.
The verdict
In some ways, the two centers are quite similar: both have a reputation that is far greater than their actual size. Both hold the promise of incredible snow, and the opportunity to explore a completely different skiing culture.
Whistler is bigger, arguably has better facilities, and is certainly easier to navigate as an English speaker. In the end, however, the quality and quantity of Niseko powder, the famous “Ja-pow” that people ride in “Japan” every year, tips the balance in Niseko’s favor.
The acreage of the indoor terrain is not particularly important unless you are concerned about expectations. But that’s never a problem in Niseko, where there’s a good chance your tracks will be covered within an hour.
Part of the joy of skiing in different countries is the very different ski culture, and while the influx of Australians means Niseko isn’t quite the undiluted Japanese experience it once was, it’s still Vail Resorts’ version of it. North America’s ski town.
Fundamentals
How to ski in Whistler
Crystal Ski Holidays (0203 451 2821; crystal ski.co.uk) offers seven nights at the four-star Aava Whistler Hotel (1 800 663 5644; paradoxhotels.com/aava-whistler), from £1,600 per person, one room, including flights from London Heathrow to Vancouver and transfers, based on two sharing.
How to ski in Niseko
Mabey Ski (0 20 8144 5687; mabeyski.com) offers seven nights at Aspect Luxury Apartments in Niseko from £1,395, one room, including six days skiing with a private guide, concierge service and transfers from New Chitose. Excludes flights, based on six people sharing an apartment.
