The reputation of Canada’s Whistler/Blackcomb resort is massive — as massive as my desire to go there, which has been growing over my years of involvement in the ski press. After some invasive badgering of the Canadian Tourist Board, they agreed to help set up a trip to the world’s top ski resort.

The excuse for my visit was to report on the annual World Ski and Snowboard Festival, the biggest winter event behind the Olympic Games — 10 action packed days with spectacular competitions, celebrity events, demo days and live bands.

Arriving at the small city of Whistler gives one the impression of a really modern, fast growing resort with dozens of flash hotels. The place is besieged by hundreds of condominiums and the car-free boulevard style avenues are paved with cafes, restaurants and bars leading to the town square. The square is the focal point from which the state of the art lift system arises to both resorts.

Whistler and Blackcomb were once separate resorts, but are now joined by one ticket. They overlook each other on opposite mountains, divided by a steep gully. Between them they have nearly 7000 acres of terrain, 30 lifts (12 high speed) and more than 200 marked trails. They have the biggest vertical of any North American field with 1609m, yet the top station is only a breatheasy 2182m altitude. The terrain breakdown is 25 per cent expert, 55 per cent intermediate and 20 per cent novice.

Surpressing the urge to start exploring their infamous 12 blissful bowls, I went to report on the worlds steepest ski and board competition, the Couloir Extreme Race. One hundred and thirty contestants pay £60 to drop into a 48 degree couloir with race gates running through a rutted mogul coarse with 10m visibility at most. If they make it down the couloir they’ll be doing over 100km/h as they turn through the gates of the middle flatter section of the course. Their thighs will start burning with pain as they complete the 1000 vertical meters.

With the low visibility I was able to test out Blackcomb’s double black diamond terrain, parallel to the course. It was definitely the fastest way down, which was just as well because I needed to catch the most popular half pipe competition in North America. The Westbeach Classic is held on the longest of Whistlers’ three impressive half pipes.

Watching the world’s elite professional snowboarders demonstrate their spins and flips was challenging considering the weather was closing in. This provided the perfect excuse though, to forget about reporting and be lead astray by some local luvies into the trees to their favourite runs. Wild card and Jimmy’s Joker cut through the pine forest, fast, fab and funky.

The final night of the festival focused on the West Beach Big Air demonstration followed by a stage diving rock concert, both of which were blessed by clear weather. The atmosphere here was cranked up, you couldn’t help have a good time.

The closing day of Whistler’s season couldn’t have been more perfect. The crisp sunlight glistened in the stunning picture postcard view of mountain ranges, all coated with a fresh 20cm of snow. A typical April day which is generally the best month to visit Whistler and Blackcomb as the earlier season sees a lot of cold wet weather from Pacific storms.

Riding up Whistler Peak Chair the prospects couldn’t be betterwith five massive bowls to choose from. They are all above tree line which provide an infinite number of different lines. No matter what route you choose, it takes an amazing amount of turns and effort to get to the bottom. The only drawback with the back bowls is that it takes two lifts to do laps, fortunately the lift lines in Whistler are nearly always minimal.

This is true of the numerous cafes and restaurants on both mountains. Seldom did I see a queue and remarkably the food was good and cheap in comparison to every other mountain eating establishment I’ve been into. Queues definitely existed at the best après ski bar in the village below, though. The Longhorn bar is a magnet for sunshine and happy punters, but getting a drink at its outdoor bar took some perseverance — getting a seat was really against the odds.

My investigation now concentrated on Blackcomb which had a season last a month longer than Whistler then carries on through the summer on the glacier. After taking a free orientation tour just to show me the huge resort’s nooks and crannies, I met up with Peter Smart, the head of Extremely Canadian, an advanced ski clinic. Peter took me on a radical tour to show me the best Blackcomb had to offer.

Our destination was Ruby Bowl, one of a number of bowls over the ridge from the glacier, requiring a small hike which accessed the massive back country area with an easy run out to the lifts. Taking the tricky entrance to Ruby Bowl required tight turns through a steep couloir which then expanded into the huge bowl. Because of it’s orientation and size, you could choose which side to ski on according to which had the best snow. The middle and sides were the occasional well shaped rock or cliff — great for taking air. It was so much fun I couldn’t stop from going back for more and more.

My last day was spent discovering some more great runs of Blackcomb and hit Ruby Bowl for the last run. Between these combined resorts, intermediate and advanced skier and riders could spend seasons and seasons exploring and still find new lines and hits, totally awesome.

As for being the best resort in the world it’s definitely the best all round resort I’ve been to, but I will have to visit a few others on my list before passing judgement on the worlds best ski resort!