Perhaps no other mountain resort in the world can boast the sheer magnitude and scope of improvements that Whistler Blackcomb has delivered over the past 40 years. And as we celebrate our anniversaries in the upcoming 2006/07 season, we're keeping up the tradition!

For those of you who ski and ride Whistler Blackcomb on a regular basis, you'll be thrilled to see some of the changes we've made to terrain this year. Moving thousands of cubic metres of materials around the mountains – taking material to create better fall lines through some zones, and adding that material to other sites to widen runs and gathering zones – is what our expert crews have spent the summer doing. When the mountains open, these improvements will help you navigate more efficiently and enjoyably through some of the more popular spots on the mountains.

For those of you who'll be visiting Whistler Blackcomb for the first time this winter, then enjoy! We've been working hard to ensure your experience here is world class, in every way.

BIGGER AND BETTER FAMILY ZONE.

Families and beginners alike will absolutely love Whistler Mountain's BIGGER AND BETTER FAMILY ZONE. With its increase in size and move to Ego Bowl, it's creating a better experience for families and beginners . Plus traffic flow will be better this year as access to the terrain park and the Family Zone has been separated, ensuring that everyone can head to their own favourite spots safely.

TUBE PARK

TUBE PARK.

Get ready to have a blast - day or night - in Blackcomb's new TUBE PARK. Complete with 6-8 lanes rated from green to black diamond, and accessed via a new tube-friendly, carpet-style lift, the TUBE PARK is expected to go off this winter! It'll offer family fun for all ages – whether young or simply young at heart – and will include a concession stand and fire pits to warm cold fingers and toes. It's located just above Base II by Parking Lot 8, and will be accessible via the Excalibur Gondola long after the lifts close to skiing and riding.

IMPROVED TERRAIN FEATURES

MAINLINE

Everyone will enjoy the IMPROVED SKI-OUTS on Blackcomb Mountain with wider runs and more gradual slopes that will help to ease end-of-day traffic. For example, 60,000 cubic metres/2.1 million cubic feet of earth, plus 20,000 cubic metres/706,000 cubic feet of rock has been moved from MAINLINE to widen and grade. Plus, major work has taken place on EASY OUT to improve the terrain for Ski and Snowboard School and beginners.

EASY OUT

HARMONY RIDGE

HARMONY RIDGE has been widened and graded, the landing zone (gathering area) at the top of the JERSEY CREAM lift has quadrupled in size, and the bottom of the BLACKCOMB GLACIER (before you reach the Blackcomb Glacier Road – don't get too excited), has been smoothed out and widened to create a much better experience.

JERSEY CREAM

NINTENDO TERRAIN PARK riders will be stoked to find out that this zone will open way earlier this year. The material removed from EASY OUT has been moved to this zone and dirt table tops and various other features have been built already. According to Blackcomb's Grooming Manager, this zone will open with just a foot of snow on it!

TERRAIN PARK

Over on Whistler Mountain, the top of the RED CHAIR gathering zone has been expanded in size and is four times the width that it was, plus skiers/riders will be encouraged to ski off the right side from the top of the chair directly down to the PEAK CHAIR. UPPER WHISKEY JACK is wider this year and is now 35 metres/115 feet wide from just 12 metres/39 feet wide, and we've already told you about the great improvements to the Family Zone.

UPPER WHISKEY JACK

All these improvements will benefit all ability levels of skiers and riders as they explore our mountains. For those craving more extreme adventures, don't worry, we haven't taken away any of your fun. There are still dozens of steep, tight chutes to navigate down, cornices to launch off, tree glades to explore, and natural features to hit to your heart's content.

ADVANCED SNOWMAKING

To improve your early and late season mountain experience, ADVANCED SNOWMAKING technology as well as increased capacity will be in place on Whistler Mountain by November, including the addition of automatic guns to improve snowmaking efficiency.

• Whistler Blackcomb purchased 10 new automated snow guns, the latest in snowmaking technology.
• Quieter models of snow guns will be installed near the Timing Flats residential area at the Whistler Mountain Creekside base.
• The snow making water reservoir located at Whistler Peak has doubled in size to 20 million gallons of water.
• Snow guns installed in Ego Bowl on Whistler will extend the early and late season skiing/riding in the Family Zone.

PEAK RESERVOIR

Our snowmaking crews have been busy testing equipment and got the guns fired up for the first time on September 21st – the earliest date ever. We're primed for winter! Are you?