Whistler, British Columbia  - In just over a year, the Olympic Winter Games will open in Vancouver, British Columbia, and for now the ski area that will host the games is earning superlatives.

In December, officials in Whistler, British Columbia opened the Peak 2 Peak gondola stretching from the summit of Whistler Mountain to the summit of Blackcomb Mountain, a distance of 4.5 kilometres. It is the longest unsupported lift span in the world.

Visitors should be aware that it could also cause an acute attack of acrophobia as the gondola, which has a glass bottom, travels between the two peaks 436 metres over the valley. The ride lasts 11 minutes.

Skiers and other winter sports enthusiasts rave about Whistler's terrific pistes and its fast lifts. Located in the Coast Mountains a two-hour drive from Vancouver in Canada's western-most province, Whistler is a place to enjoy multi-cultural flair and good restaurants with international cuisine. On average, nine metres of snow falls in Whistler annually.

Well over 200 pistes and downhill runs lie right outside the door in the truest sense: The lifts start behind the house and the pistes end at the hotel entrance. Such perfection can only emerge from a drawing board. Indeed, the ski area is not even 50 years old. With its winding streets, small plazas and a cityscape of stone and wooden buildings, Whistler sets itself apart from other ski resorts.

Whistler Mountain (2,188 metres) and Blackcomb Mountain (2,449 metres) have a few things to offer. The steepWhistler Bowl and free- ride district Symphony Amphitheatre drive up the pulse of skilled skiers. Those who never get enough of the sport can exhaust themselves well into the summer on Blackcomb Glacier.

On 7th Heaven, skiers flutter by groves of trees on softly undulating slopes. All the sites that will be used for Olympic competitions in 2010 are finished. Those who are confident in their abilities can race down the men's or women's ski-runs into the stadium, which can hold 7,600 spectators, in the Creek Side section of Whistler.

Cross country skiers find their runs in Olympic Park. Three stadiums have been built there only 400 metres apart to host the events Nordic skiing, biathlon and ski jumping. The arena for the sledding events at the foot of Blackcomb Mountain can already be toured.

From Harmony Hut at the peak of Whistler Mountain, the view to the north sweeps over a white no-man's land with deep-snow slopes. The snow, disturbed only by a few tracks made by snow rabbits, glistens in the sun. These ski-runs are reserved for heli-skiers. Whistler Heli-Skiing offers a three-run trial for beginners.

Internet: www. canada. travel; www. whistlerblackcomb. com, www. vancouver2010. com. (dpa)