Whistler (Lillooet: Cwitima, [xʷetemɛ]; Squamish: Sḵwiḵw, [sqʷɛqʷ]) is a resort municipality in Squamish-Lillooet Regional District, British Columbia, Canada.

Its pedestrian village has won numerous design awards, and Whistler has been voted among the top destinations in North America by major ski magazines since the mid-1990s.

During the 2010 Winter Olympics, Whistler hosted most of the alpine, Nordic, luge, skeleton, and bobsled events.

Although there are a few other routes through the maze of mountains between the basin of the Lillooet River just east, the Cheakamus-Green divide is the lowest and most direct.

In the Late Pleistocene era, long before European settlement, Sk̲wx̲wúmesh and L̓il̓watú shared a village known as Spoez at the confluence of Rubble Creek and the Cheakamus River at Function Junction in Whistler.

From this point forward both Nations continued to co-habitat within the region travelling to the area in the warmer months where they established seasonal camps for hunting and trapping.

Evidence was found of an Istken pit-house on the land that became the Squamish Lil’wat Cultural Centre, which was used by the Wolf Clan (now known as the Wallace Family) as shelter.

[9] In the late 19th century, a trail was cut through the valley, linking Lillooet via Pemberton with Burrard Inlet via a pass from Squamish to the Seymour River.

The Philips had relocated from Maine to Vancouver in 1910 and had heard rumours of the natural beauty of the area from Pemberton pioneer John Millar.

Summer activities enjoyed in Whistler include golfing, fishing, trail running, mountain biking, outdoor yoga, and hiking.

In 1962, four Vancouver businessmen began to explore the area with the intent of building a ski resort and bidding for the 1968 Winter Olympics.

Garibaldi Lift Company was formed, shares were sold, and in 1966, Whistler Mountain opened to the public.

Later, the town, then still known as Alta Lake, was offered the 1976 Winter Olympics after the selected host city Denver declined the games due to funding issues.

Alta Lake Whistler declined as well, after elections ushered in a local government less enthusiastic about the Olympics.

[19] The seaplane base is located at the Nicklaus North subdivision on the South end of Green Lake.

The wet West Coast marine temperate climate in the valley floor is characterized by a coniferous mixed forest, with a preponderance of western red cedar—a continuation of the rainforest of the Pacific Northwest.

[26] The higher slopes transition to many species of scrub juniper, Rocky Mountain juniper (Juniperus scopulorum), and many species of scrub willow in the genus Salix at the tree line, and to Arctic tundra-like conditions in the high alpine above the tree line.

Both the valley floor and the mountain sides are characterized as mixed forest, predominantly conifers, but with a peppering of a few deciduous trees like the Pacific dogwood (Cornus nuttallii), locally extinct Pacific crabapple (Malus fusca) or Pryus fusca,[27] bitter cherry (Prunus emarginata), pin cherry (Prunus pensylvanica), choke cherry (Prunus virginiana),[28] red alder (Alnus rubra), Sitka alder (Alnus sinuata), paper birch (Betula papyrifera), big leaf maple (Acer macrophyllum), and Douglas maple (Acer glabrum).

The Oregon grape Mahonia aquifolium (AKA hollyleaved barberry)[30] and highbush cranberry Viburnum opulus were accidentally re-introduced as escaped landscaping plants, and may all be Oregonian subspecies.

Once abundant on the forest floor, lingonberry (Vaccinium vitis-idaea) is no longer found because of the loss of habitat through the clear-cutting.

Other tourist-oriented, print media such as FAQ, Visitors Choice and Whistler Magazine are published from quarterly to once or twice a year.

Whistler, the series is a Canadian television drama centering on the aftermath of the mysterious death of a local snowboard legend.

The community also appeared as the location for Shane and Carmen's wedding in The L Word (season 3, episode 12) Whistler was also featured on The Real Housewives of Orange County and ABC's Extreme Weight Loss.

The show follows the life of Kiss bassist and vocalist Gene Simmons, his longtime partner and wife Shannon Tweed, and their two children, Nick and Sophie.

[38] Besides the 2010 Winter Olympics broadcasters from the United States, Australia's Today Show,[39] and Japan have done daily up to week long segments from Whistler.

Most videos of Whistler Backcountry skiing, snowboarding, and snowmobiling are filmed in the Pemberton Valley or area.

It features top-ranked American snowboarder Kevin Pearce, who because of injuries missed the 2010 Winter Olympics, dealing with his rival Shaun White.

(2008), which was directed, written and starred Tyler Perry, was shot on the slopes of Whistler Blackcomb ski resort.

Liam Neeson sips cocktails in The Cure Bar at Whistler's Nita Lake Lodge.