You don't really need an excuse to book a winter ski trip to Whistler; after all, it has the highest vertical drop in North America, the biggest skiable area, the most off-piste terrain and the best spas and restaurants. However, if you did need one, the announcement of the new Piccolo lift on Whistler Mountain might just fit the bill.

The Piccolo Express Lift on will run to the Piccolo peak from the bottom of Flute Bowl and will open up more than 1000 acres of the most spectacular high alpine terrain available in North America. This is terrain that has historically been available only to the hardiest of ski-mountaineers, since each vertical metre of descent into this legendary bowl had to be paid for with perhaps half a minute of hard climbing. And given that this lift will be 2112 metres long, with a vertical elevation of 509 metreswell, you can do the math. Flute Bowl will now become a hike-in, ski-out bowl thanks to the Piccolo lift.

The new acreage is a mixture of open bowls, deep snow and gladed sub-alpine terrain. It will appeal to advanced and intermediate skiers alike, since it will have both runs through the trees and wide open groomed areas. The path back to Whistler Village or Creekside will be via the Burnt Stew Trail to the bottom of Harmony Express. It is expected to provide significant relief to the frequent queues at Harmony. Plans call for construction to be completed within the summer of 2006 and for the lift, which will be a high-speed detachable quad, to be ready by November. Locals expect that the Piccolo lift will further extend the preference for Whistler over Blackcomb mountains by expert skiers.

So if you did need that excuse, you've got it.