WHISTLER, British Columbia -- Whistler and its twin neighbor, Blackcomb Mountain, about a two-hour drive north up the stunningly beautiful Sea to Sky Highway from Vancouver, is widely recognized as one of the top resorts in North America by skiers and snowboarders.

It's easily recognized by everyone else as a gorgeous paradise of snow amid the towering evergreens and jagged, rocky peaks of British Columbia's Coastal Mountains. Once nestled into Whistler Valley, you instantly forget you are just 70 miles north of Vancouver's urban sprawl.

In a couple of years, the entire world will be introduced to this prime winter resort. Whistler/Blackcomb will be the venue for downhill skiing and snowboarding in the 2010 Winter Olympics

Local merchants and many of Whistler's 3,400 employees -- seemingly all perky, in their 20s and many from New Zealand, Australia or Great Britain -- push the fact that theirs is a four-season resort.

Ski season runs from November through June, with the spring months usually spent on higher Blackcomb Mountain, elevation 7,500 feet (Whistler Mountain tops out at 7,160 feet). Blackcomb's summer glacier skiing and snowboarding are tentatively scheduled to run through July 27.

There's also vibrant mountain-biking season and a relatively new zip-line attraction. Some of Canada's world-class mountain bikers live at Whistler or at Squamish, the small town midway between Vancouver and Whistler along Highway 99.

But winter is the season in which this place reigns supreme.

Whistler's gondola takes you from the main base at 2,214 feet to above 6,000 feet. From there, chairs take you to the black-diamond runs off the top. Or you can swoosh off to the south, to the Dave Murray and Wild Card trails, which will be the runs for the men's and women's downhill and super giant slalom races in the Olympics. Those runs end at Creekside, another lodge with rentals, bars and restaurants about a 10-minute drive from Whistler Village.

In my multiple trips here over the years, I've liked the snow better and found the runs more wide open atop Blackcomb.

It is accessible from the bottom of Whistler's main village by the Blackcomb Excalibur Gondola, by walking 15 minutes north through Whistler Village along the well-marked Valley Trail System to the Blackcomb Daylodge, or five minutes by shuttle or car. Beginning late this year, there will be a peak-to-peak gondola that will connect the two mountains at the 6,100-foot levels.

In preparation for the Olympics, the only highway into Whistler is torn up in a widening project. And half of Vancouver is seemingly under construction.

But Ryan Proctor, Intrawest spokesman at Whistler, said the Olympics will consume only 10 percent of the skiable terrain at Whistler-Blackcomb. "We'll still be fully operational during the Olympics," he added.

Bring money, though. This is a resort for people who prefer luxury with their lift lines.

The standard daily lift ticket is $81. And fancy hotels such as the Four Seasons, the Fairmont Chateau, the Westin Resort and Spa and not one but two Pan Pacific palaces dot Whistler Village. The pulsing, main pedestrian walk features shops, bars, restaurants and two grocery stores.

IF YOU GO

GETTING THERE: From Vancouver International Airport, you can rent a car for the 2-hour, 15-minute drive to Whistler, or take the Perimeter Whistler Express bus ($33-58, 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. during peak snow season). If you are flying between the U.S. and Canada, you must have a passport.

COST: General adult lift ticket per day during peak season is $81.

INFORMATION: www.whistlerblackcomb.com; (800) 766-0449.

PLENTY FOR THE KIDS TO DO AT WHISTLER

For those of us who took last-minute ski trips on the cheap before we became parents -- sigh! -- it's not easy to get back on the black-diamond slopes.

Ahh, but let me introduce you to Whistler Kids.

The staff of young, perky 20-somethings was exceedingly warm, helpful and organized. And they understand just how complicated family ski trips can be.

The patient equipment specialists let you pick up the rental gear the night before -- until 5 p.m. in non-peak season, until 9 p.m. in peak winter time of mid-December through February. (They obviously have seen a fidgety preschooler before.) They also have a special, traffic-free road that ends steps from the lift and ski school area for morning drop-off and afternoon pickup.

You are better off pre-registering kids for lessons -- either online, on the phone or in person -- to ensure a space. We didn't see drop-ins and classes were full on the first day of the season they were offered.

There are Whistler Kids schools at Blackcomb, Whistler Village and Whistler Creekside, but equipment renters and lift operators tipped us off that the Whistler Village kids' school offers the best snow and best setup for beginners: a children's learning center at the midway stop of the main gondola that has a fenced-off training area and a clubhouse for warming breaks and lunch.

Our twins went into "The Corral," into the area signed "Age 3-4 Minis" and apart from the age 5 to 12 group for skiers and snowboarders aged 7 to 12. Their teacher spent a few frazzled minutes trying to meet parents' demands to keep friends inside the same class. Then she took our Sarah and Eric away at 9 a.m., with advisement that we wouldn't see them again until 3:15 p.m.

Parents with separation anxiety can arrange to carry a pager through the day, but my wife and I relish rare free hours -- we skied ourselves.

We spied on them once, steering a run to make sure we passed the learning area. Sarah walked up the "magic carpet" of green patio turf and did a respectable snow plow on a relatively flat run of about 100 feet inside the fence. Eric leaned too far back and fell, then got up to try his "french fry" go of straight skis. No tears, just cheers.

My wife wanted to be there when they emerged from the gondola exit at day's end, so they didn't feel abandoned. So we cut short our last run and waited to hear how it went.

Each kid gets a printed report card. As for the verbal report, I don't remember much about technical prowess. All I remember is the teacher saying, "They actually have no fear. They just want to go fast."

Of course kids also want time to fool around. At day's end, I noticed a boy no older than 6, engulfed in an oversized, down coat and knit hat, clomping his ski boots out of the gondola. He looked spent.

"Got to go back to your skiing lesson tomorrow!" his mother said cheerily. They were walking through a maze of people heading off Whistler Mountain at the end of what had already been six hours of lessons with the Whistler Kids program.

"Awww, I want to build a snowman," the boy whined.

Yes, at about $150 day for lessons, lift privileges and rental equipment, you can bet your Range Rover that Junior was back learning "pizza" snowplow stops and the "french fry" go position the next day.