Editing Whistler Blackcomb (section)

===Whistler opens===
By the fall of 1965 the ski area featured a four-person gondola to the mountain's mid-station, a double chairlift to the alpine tree line (the Red Chair), and two T-bars, all provided by [[GMD Mueller]]. In addition, a day lodge was constructed and six ski runs cut into the hill. Whistler officially opened for skiing for the first time on January 15, 1966. The new mountain won instant acclaim for its vertical drop, good snow conditions, and huge alpine area. The only problem at the time was the road, it was a dirt logging track, which was only plowed on Saturday, to the detriment of Friday travelers.<ref name=walk/>

With real infrastructure in place, in 1968 GODA made another bid for the [[1976 Winter Olympics]], and this time the joint Vancouver/Garibaldi won the Canadian nomination. However, in 1970 when [[Montreal]] won the voting for the [[1976 Summer Olympics]], Vancouver/Garibaldi was removed from further consideration and the games eventually went to [[Denver]], Colorado. In a stunning turn of events, Denver turned down the games after winning the bidding.<ref>John Sanko, [http://denver.rockymountainnews.com/millennium/1012stone.shtml "Colorado only state ever to turn down Olympics"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090601181029/http://denver.rockymountainnews.com/millennium/1012stone.shtml |date=June 1, 2009 }}, ''Denver Rocky Mountain News'', October 12, 1999</ref> The games were then offered to the other North American entry, Vancouver/Garibaldi, but political turmoil due to the recent [[1972 British Columbia general election|change in government]] led to their bid being withdrawn as well, and in desperation the [[International Olympic Committee|IOC]] returned the games to Innsbruck for a second time in a row.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.olympic.org/innsbruck-1976 |title=Innsbruck 1976 |website=IOC|date=April 24, 2018 }}</ref>

The gravel road was paved to Whistler in 1966, and on to Pemberton in 1969. The Blue and Green chairlifts were added in 1970, providing access to additional terrain. In 1972 these were joined by the Olive and Orange chairlifts. A parallel lift to the Green Chair to alleviate crowds came in 1974, and the Little Red Chair came in 1978. The Roundhouse, an on-mountain lodge and restaurant, was completed in 1980. This new lodge provided respite for cold skiers who had survived the long ride up on the Red Chair.