How to find the Whistler Ice Cave on Blackcomb Glacier

While living in Vancouver we’d often go up to Whistler at the weekend, whether to go on some of Whistler’s best hikes, to do things other than skiing at Whistler, but, my favorite, to actually go skiing at Whistler Blackcomb!

One of my favorite days was recently when we spent more time on Blackcomb Mountain and came across the Whistler Ice Cave/Blackcomb Glacier Ice Cave.

If you’re looking for a fun adventure during your day of skiing at Whistler Blackcomb, then make the trip over the ice cave and marvel at its beauty!

Here’s everything you need to know to find the Whistler Ice Cave (or more correctly, the Blackcomb Glacier Ice Cave near Whistler) and how to get to the ice cave in Whistler.

Where is the Whistler Ice Cave?

The Whistler Ice Cave is located off Blackcomb Glacier and so is really the Blackcomb Glacier Ice Cave but I still refer to it as the Whistler Ice Cave since it’s up at Whistler.

It took me a while to find out where this was, but it’s not much of a secret.

To get there you should be an intermediate skier or boarder at least, as there is some fairly steep, off-piste skiing to get down towards it.

Is getting to the Whistler Blackcomb Ice Cave difficult?

When we went down to the ice cave we saw a lot of people who were clearly out of their skiing ability and were resorting to taking off their skis and bum-sliding down the (steep) slope.

This is dangerous for them and other skiers on the mountain.

If you’re not confident at black trails yet then don’t attempt to find the Whistler Ice Cave until you are.

I hope it goes without saying, but you should always wear a helmet while skiing or snowboarding.

How to get to Blackcomb Glacier Ice Cave?

To get to the Blackcomb Glacier ice cave you need to be skiing on Blackcomb Mountain at Whistler Blackcomb. As you look up towards the two mountains from Whistler Village, this is the mountain on the left.

You can get up Blackcomb from both Blackcomb Village and Whistler Village by taking the gondola.

Once you’ve arrived at the top of the Blackcomb Gondola from Blackcomb or the Excalibur Gondola from Whistler Village, you’ll need to head over to the Glacier Express Chairlift located at the base of the Glacier Creek Lodge.

From the bottom of the Glacier Express Chairlift, you’ll get an up-to-date signal to show whether Blackcomb Glacier and the Horstman T-bar are open.

The glacier is quite often closed after recent heavy snowfall and high avalanche conditions. This is for your own safety so do not attempt to go this way if the T-bar and glacier are closed.

There are quite often ski patrollers in this area preventing you from doing so and you will get your pass revoked if you break this rule.

The signals on the Glacier Express Chairlift also give an indication of the visibility. If the visibility is low, save this Whistler adventure for another day.

If the glacier and Horstman T-bar are open then you can proceed up the Glacier Express Chairlift, take the short ski down to the T-bar, and then head up the T-bar.

When you’re up the top of the T-bar, it’s time to take your skis off and boot pack 50 m or so uphill. It’s a short but relatively steep little climb and at the top, it’s time for a beautiful ski down the Blackcomb Glacier!

Read more Whistler winter activities: Ski-tour to Kees & Claires Hut, 3 Days Skiing the Spearhead Traverse

How to get to Whistler Ice Cave – Skiing Blackcomb Glacier

Blackcomb Glacier offers some great bowl skiing and the steepest lines are to the far left and right. The easiest lines are found right in the middle.

If there hasn’t been much snow recently or things are looking quite tracked out, then there may be some big ridges at the top of the bowl where people have traversed across before dropping in.

There were some huge traverse lines when we went to the Whistler Ice Cave. They were the hardest bit of the whole ski down as you had to also dodge skiers who’d bitten off a little bit more than they could handle that day.

As you enjoy your way down through the bowl, stick to the orange markers on your right.

How do you get into the Blackcomb ice cave?

As you continue down the more pisted look run keep glancing down towards your right and you’ll likely spot some other skiers walking around in a strange-looking area, or other people peering down off the side of the trail.

The top of the ice cave itself has some cliff signs and this is where the entrance is.

Ski around the boundary signs and loop back around to the ice cave. You will have to take your skis off a little before the entrance and walk into the ice cave.

It’s an amazing blue color, with cool patterns and colors.

Be careful walking into the ice cave as it can get very slippery!

When you’ve got your fill of the ice cave, clip back into your skis and head down Glacier Road (the run you were on before this detour) and down towards the Crystal Ridge Express.

Is the Blackcomb Glacier Ice Cave Safe?

Vail Resorts does not recommend entering the Whistler Glacier cave and you assume all risk and responsibility for doing so.

Can you visit the Blackcomb Glacier Ice Cave in summer?

Yes, you can! The ice caves in Whistler Blackcomb are there all year round thanks to them being on a glacier.

The Blackcomb ice caves lie within the Blackcomb Glacier Provincial Park boundary. The hiking areas from the Whistler Blackcomb side are off-limits, so you’ll need to access the ice caves from outside of these areas.

Alternatively, you can visit some ice caves on this Blackcomb Glacier ice cave tour.

However, they’ll look very different from season to season, year to year and my personal favorite time to visit them is winter since then you get a nice speedy descent on skis!

Final thoughts on how to find the ice cave Whistler

The Blackcomb Ice Caves Whistler has are something of a local secret that most people who ski at Whistler have no idea exists.

The Whistler cave is a magical place that you can only really visit in the winter and though it requires some skiing skills to get to, it’s well worth the effort if you’re a confident skier.

Visiting the ice cave on Blackcomb is one of my favorite things to do in Whistler in winter and I highly recommend following these instructions to find the Blackcomb glacier cave.

If you’re looking for more things to do in Whistler, be sure to check out this guide to Whistler in December, as well as these places to ice skate in Whistler, where to go cross-country skiing in Whistler and the best indoor activities in Whistler if it’s too cold to be outdoors.

I’ve also got guides to Whistler’s best lakes, the best easy hikes in Whistler, the best Whistler dog sledding tours, Whistler’s best snowmobiling tours, and the best snowshoe trails in Whistler!

Last Updated on September 5, 2023 by Hannah