Whistler Blackcomb will open Nov. 22 for the 2024-25 winter season if conditions allow.
In a release on Aug. 14, parent company Vail Resorts touted the new goodies and the tried-and-true favourites guests can expect in the coming season, including new chairlifts, the Invictus Games, and changes to the ticketing system.
First up, the coming season will mark the first season with a brand-new Jersey Cream chairlift in operation.
The old chairlift was removed at the end of the 2023-24 season, with Blackcomb closing before Whistler to allow crews to get in and do the work with a head start for summer.
In early July, Whistler Blackcomb staff reported construction of the new six-pack chairlift was ahead of schedule at the time, and it was expected to be ready for operation ahead of the coming winter season.
As of mid-August, the resort remains confident it will be operational for the 2024-25 winter season.
“Coming on the heels of last season’s upgrade to Fitzsimmons Express, this new high-speed, 6-person chair will significantly improve uploading capacity and efficiency and get guests on snow faster in the Glacier Creek Zone of Blackcomb Mountain,” reads the Vail Resorts release.
“It’s one of several lift upgrades Whistler Blackcomb has invested in in recent years, showcasing a commitment to continuous investment into the guest experience at the resort.”
February 2025 will also bring the Invictus Games to Whistler, with key events to be held on the mountain in conjunction. The games, which were founded in 2014 for wounded servicemen and women, features winter sports for the first time in its coming to Whistler.
Those looking to buy passes for the coming season have under three weeks to get ahead of the coming price increase of Sept. 2.
Currently, the cheapest Edge card option is a restricted 10-day pass, which excludes peak days, which are Dec. 26 to 31 in 2024, Jan. 18 and Feb. 15 and 16 in 2025. The total price for a restricted 10-day Edge pass is $808 before taxes, and $848.50 after taxes are included, making each day on the hill worth $84.85.
A big change for guests for the coming season will be the implementation of previously advertised changes to ticketing, with Vail Resorts reporting in February it will do away with most physical passes on the hill.
The changes, touted by Vail as making the mountains “hands-free,” are for a mobile pass and mobile lift-ticket technology made possible through the My Epic app from Whistler Blackcomb.
“This innovation will allow guests to skip the ticket window and buy their Pass (or lift ticket) online, then activate and store it in the My Epic app,” reads the press release.
The app will remain active on guests' phones, with passes to be scanned thanks to Bluetooth technology.
Physical passes will remain for the season, however, even with the new pass technology being rolled out. Physical passes will be provided all through 2024-25, and going forward, guests that cannot or do not want to use their phones to access the mountain will be able to request physical passes.
The mobile pass technology has been rolled out and active at Vail Resorts’ flagship mountain, Vail, since the 2023-24 season, with the company reporting positive guest feedback.
In regards to conditions, forecasts for the coming season are a long way out, but hopes will be high for a better season than the last. At the start of the 2023-24 season there was no snow on the valley floor while guests on the mountain spent weeks skiing on man-made snow up top.
While the season did pick up in early 2024, the impacts of the poor start were lasting: Vail Resorts reported visitation at Whistler Blackcomb was “down significantly” in 2023-24 primarily due to the poor conditions, which the company noted could have knock-on effects on later seasons due to a potential lack of return visitors.
In June, the company reported sales for next season passes were down through 2024 because of low visitation in what had been a poor year across its operations in all of North America.
