What do I need to drive to ski resort (Whistler)?

Snow tires will get you most of the way there. The first part of the road follows the coastline. The rest of it is inland and is more prone to heavy snow. Chaining may be necessary depending on road conditions that day. Chains may be helpful once you get to the village as the parking lots and stuff may not be plowed. But considering you are driving a AWD, good set of snow tires will be all you need.

I just did a search on costco.com and they have something called "sno-claws"

for sale. Has anybody tried it? Is it very easy to install? I am not ahandy person and so the easier the better. Thanks!

This is the link to a winter safety publication of the BC Ministry of Transportation.

I live in the Vancouver area, and have driven to Whistler in the winter a bunch of times. Up to Squamish (about 1/2 way from Vancouver) you're not going to see heavy accumulations of snow. You're pretty much at sea level until then, and right on the coast. Beyond that, the weather varies considerably.

Most of the time, all you need are a good set of wipers and rain boots.

All the other times a set of All Seasons with good tread was enough. I've only ever had to pull over for chains once, and by the time we got them on, the snowplow drove by and we had to take them off to follow.

How much snow driving experience do you have? If you are a snow rookie, then I'd recommend snow tires. The Whistler web site recommends snow tires - and I can see their point.

A few hundred bucks in tires is cheaper than a more than a few hundred bucks in repairs. Most places, however, suggest that All Seasons with chains is the minimum. (ie: ) The biggest thing to remember when driving in the snow with an AWD vehicle is that you cannot STOP better than you would in a non-AWD car. This is deceptive because you don't notice how slippery it really is UNTIL you brake - unlike cars that have trouble getting going. ;)

Not familiar with the road, but we travel in the Sierra Nevada mountains all winter with all-weather tires and chains onboard.

We've never had to mount the chains.

'99 Outback and '04 WRX.

I went to Whistler and all local (WA) skiing resorts (much more then once) in my 1995 Toyota Tercel with all season tires and chains in the truck. I never had any problems.