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Whistler drops to fifth in Ski magazine’s resort survey

Scores for value, access, weather and grooming dropped this year

Whistler has dropped in the annual SKI magazine rankings from last year’s No. 2 spot to No. 5 this year.

And Whistler went down in several key categories that determine the ranking including value, access, grooming, snow condition, service, lodging, and terrain parks and pipes.

The good news is that Whistler-Blackcomb pulled in the number one spot for terrain, up from fourth last year. It also got fourth place this year for the challenge of the terrain, up from sixth last year.

Vail, Colorado took No. 1 again this year – that’s the 13 th time in the rankings 17-year history, and its third straight first-place finish.

However, Vail did not score the number one spot in any of the 17 categories surveyed by SKI magazine.

"They do everything at such a high level that the overall score brings them out on top," said Greg Ditrinco, executive editor of SKI, which is based in Colorado.

The magazine gave the number two spot to Deer Valley, Utah. In third place came Snowmass, Colo, and Beaver Creek, Colo was fourth.

Ditrinco said several factors were at work behind the scenes of this year’s survey, which combined, brought Whistler into fifth place. Among them were the increase in the value of the Canadian dollar, and poorer scores for weather, access and grooming.

"Those four categories working in concert, if they go down even just a few clicks, will drag the score down," he said.

He believes the drop in the value rating (in 2002 Whistler was ninth, last year 13th and this year 28th) follows the rising value of the Canadian dollar against the U.S. greenback.

"(Whistler-Blackcomb) were practically free for so long from the American perspective (since) the exchange rate was just ridiculously cheap," said Ditrinco.

"…Now it is at a more reasonable level so the value was taken away and people maybe responding to that."

Vail scored 75th for value, Deer Valley 78th, Snowmass 60th and Beaver Creek 72nd.

Whistler’s weather has long been a bone of contention for those who respond to the SKI survey.

This year some of the comments included: "In 10 days of skiing over two visits only saw the top for three days."

Another said: "Fog rain – too unreliable to plan in advance. Will never go again. Rained out three separate weeks."

But, said Ditrinco: "Whistler is such a big mountain and the vertical is so long that there are several micro climates in action and even if you have powder up top it is going to be soft at the bottom."

Obviously the best way to dry out is to get into one of the many restaurants and clubs and meet someone to warm you up. And that is clearly what happened as the survey ranked Whistler No. 1 for singles adventure.

"If you are flying solo this is the place to meet someone," states SKI.

Whistler dropped down again in the ranking for access to the resort. In 2002 the resort ranked 45 th for access, in 2003 it was ranked 62 nd and this fall it was down to 68 th .

No reasons are given but it may be a combination of many issues including border crossing hassles, challenges in getting flights to Vancouver, and delays on the Sea to Sky Highway.

Several respondents to the survey commented on how long it took to get from Vancouver’s airport to Whistler and many listed the time it took to get to the resort from the Eastern U.S. as a weakness.

Ditrinco also pointed out that for U.S. skiers Whistler was really at its zenith several years ago when it first splashed onto the ski scene.

"Whistler is getting a little bit of the been there done that feeling," said Ditrinco.

However, he said, Whistler may rebound from that with the 2010 Winter Olympics coming to town.

"I would expect to see a bump up," said Ditrinco.

Stuart Rempel, senior vice president, marketing and sales, with Whistler-Blackcomb was concerned with the drop in rankings.

But, he said, the SKI magazine reviews must be taken in context along with all the other rankings done each year by different publications.

"SKI magazine is one publication that ranks resorts and we are certainly eagerly awaiting the results from other magazines which we have traditionally done better in than SKI magazine," said Rempel.

He also felt that Whistler-Blackcomb attracts a more serious skier to its slopes and many of the readers of SKI are more in tune with the ski-lifestyle than they are with the challenge of the sport.

"It is all about adventure, it is all about a big mountain, and it is all about weather that can be wildly different top to bottom," said Rempel.

"We should never have to apologize as a resort for our weather here, because the weather is part of the adventure of Whistler.

"And the 8,171 acres is part of the adventure. There are multitudes of places that you can go that are dramatically different than any other resort. It’s like having five of the other resorts in one."

Dropping in the value category was no surprise for Tourism Whistler President Barrett Fisher.

"It is consistent with our customer direct research," she said.

It’s an issue the resort is facing head on with new marketing directives to drive the message home that Whistler does offer good value for money.

"We have been ensuring that we have competitive pricing," said Fisher.

"And we are making sure that we are adjusting our pricing and early season packaging to be competitive and ensure that we are compensating for our increased currency value.

"I think now what you are seeing is a real evaluation of how do we fit in the competitive marketplace and ensuring that we are being very proactive and very aggressive and also reflecting… good value for money.

"We want to make sure that we acknowledge what the customer is telling us and adapt to it accordingly."

More than 2,500 SKI Magazine subscribers of two or more years are surveyed by an independent research firm for the magazine’s Top 60 Resort Guide.

Respondents must have skied the resorts for the past two seasons.

This year, SKI added a new feature to their annual survey, Lifestyle Rankings to help skiers plan specific trips and vacations. Where's the best place to head for a Guys Trip? Jackson Hole, Wyoming. A Family Vacation? Snowmass, Colorado. A Romantic Getaway? Aspen, Colorado. The magazine also names the Best Weekend Escape Resort: Alta, Utah; Best Girl's Trip: Deer Valley, Utah: and the Best Singles Adventure Resort Whistler-Blackcomb.