WHISTLER, BC, APR. 1, 2026
BC Parks officials announced earlier this morning a landmark deal between Vail Resorts, parent company of Whistler/Blackcomb, and the BC Government for a transfer of Blackcomb Glacier Provincial Park
“This is a monumental exchange that will bring much needed revenue to the BC government, while at the same time providing more value to the shareholders of Vail Resorts,” BC Parks spokesperson Joseph King announced. “After 40 years of a shared agreement for grooming and ski patrol, we felt that the resort deserves to benefit from the expansion into terrain that was already under their watch.”
Unlike the rest of the Whistler/Blackcomb ski resort, which operates on a crown land tenure lease, this deal will see ownership of the park go straight to Vail Resorts to reduce the permitting and approval process, as well as for the BC government to receive a $50 million CAD windfall.
“With crown land leases, there is significant red tape that hinders development”, King explained. “By transferring ownership, Vail Resorts will have a much easier and faster path to buildout, thus cutting development time by five or more years. Ultimately, it will result in a significant rise in skier traffic, which will benefit both business and tax revenue.”
The expansion is set to take place over the next five years in a phased rollout that will eventually see 8 new lifts, two new lodges, a base area at the bottom of Ruby Bowl, and a staging area for Whistler Heliskiing at the top of the new Corona Express quad.
Thinking into the future
With climate change already causing devastation on the lower mountain this year, and the Horstman Glacier all but a memory, a BC government insider says this is only the beginning. Speaking on the condition of anonymity, a senior BC Parks official shared the master plan for the area.
“We need more alpine ski terrain. If you look at what happened with the snow (or lack thereof) this year, it’s only going to get worse. Thankfully, though, we have a ton of terrain within Garibaldi Park that is only used by a handful of ski tourers. If the Blackcomb Glacier expansion goes well, I don’t see why we can’t keep pushing further back.”
Critics of the plan argue that it will ruin the backcountry skiing experience within the park.
“We can’t just let them get away with this,” said Wanda Komplain, head of communications for the BC Snowshoe Federation. “We will be putting up a fight until the end, mark my words.” The group has planned a series of staged “walkouts” where they will stop using the park in protest, and occupy Whistler village.
“We’ll see how long they last,” RCMP Sgt. Stan Dardick said of the protestors. “One side has billions of dollars in the bank and a team of lawyers, the other has some B-grade weed and a sitar.”
It is unknown how long the deal has been in the works, but Mr. King stated that the low snow year was certainly a catalyst.
“Look, the BC government is in serious deficit, and we need to be creative if we want any hope of balancing the budget,” King stated. “There is a literal gold mine in those mountains behind Whistler. It’s time we had them generating some revenue instead of just sitting there.
Public Commenting
The project will have an open house for public feedback later this week, and will be open to feedback throughout the weekend. Due to the fast-tracking of the project, an extended consultation period will not be occurring.
Members of the public interested in providing feedback on this expansion are advised to first look at the date of this article’s publication.
And if you still haven’t figured it out—April Fools!
