‘Tis I! I’ll begin this terrific travelling tale first with some regrettable news. It is, in fact, the very final time that you will hear my rhetoric of the World’s greatest skiing ports (pistes).

Now, if you’ve quite finished being emotional (I doubt you’ll ever recover from this news), then I shall begin.

We’ve been a little claustrophobically restricted purely to Europe - myself and The Beginner. It is perhaps time that one of us revealed what the rest of the skiing world has on offer - so it is to Canada that I take you next. 

The resort of Whistler, to be specific. The area has been enjoying its 50-year anniversary celebrations recently, having opened back in 1966. That’s the trivia/quiz/fact fun out of the way - for now, at least.

Whistler is rather a longer flight than I had enjoyed whilst visiting Europe’s many and varied mountainous regions. Upon arrival at a rather delightful hotel room (chocolates on the pillow!), I went through my usual routine of unpacking and laying out my salopettes, helmet, gloves and the like before heading out onto the pistes for a short late-afternoon run.

Back in 2010 (I lied), Whistler achieved its greatest goal of hosting the Winter Olympics. It’s easy to see why the World’s TV cameras were so keen to broadcast the event from the Canadian resort, with the resort’s immediately visible scenery and stunning variety of pistes, giving the phrase “something for everyone” new life.

The resort’s apres scene is a lively one too - the Whistler tradition of drinking Margaritas at the side of the slopes, still remains. The less I discuss of my dealings with these, the better.

The delight of having no cars in the centre of the Whistler village is an excellent one - with this giving a more pleasant atmosphere to the hub of the resort, instead of the roaring 4x4 engines which you often encounter at some of the European resorts.

My visit to Whistler was a particularly suitable ending to my brief (but I hope important) part in your lives. I hope I’ve proven, at the very least, that to be an excellent skier does not qualify one as ‘The Expert’. Thanks for the memories.

The Expert’s Rating: 8/10

Next Time: You’ll meet The Party Animal, as he visits Pas De La Casa, Andorra.

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