Whistler in Au Canada

Since I was turning 30, I wanted to take a trip someplace I'd always remember and that would be an adventure. The weather in Hawaii is fantastic, but I was missing the snow and in a strange way the cold that comes with it. So I decided on a ski trip to Whistler in British Columbia, Canada. There were also a few days in the city of Vancouver, but that will be another entry.



Me and Peggy actually flew into Seattle because it was much cheaper and faster due to it being a direct flight from Kona. We drove north to Vancouver (2.5 hours) and then onto Highway 99, called the Sea to Sky Highway because it leads from on-the-water Vancouver, along the sound and up into the mountains. Whistler was about an hour and a half drive from Vancouver.



Here's a shot riding up a chair lift. We stayed in a condo at the base of Whistler mountain. The gondola up the mountain was only a couple hundred yards from our building, just a quick walk. I bought a three day lift ticket and rental.



This is the peak of Whistler as seen from a chair lift.

Whistler is actually Whistler-Blackcomb because there are two mountains that make up the ski resort. Whistler is known as one of the best skiing/snowboarding resorts in North America and even the world. Vancouver is hosting the 2010 Olympics and the alpine events are being held at Whistler.

The altitude at the base of the mountains is about 2,100 feet and the peak elevation is about 7,200, so you can ski down one vertical mile, which is equal to the depth of the Grand Canyon. Whistler has 8,171 skiable acres, 39 lifts and receives 360 inches of snow each year. It was early in the season when we went in mid-December, but there was still plenty of snow.



Here's a look back as I was riding up the a chair lift. This is probably only a third of the way up the mountain. It probably takes about 40 minutes to ride to the top. This view astonished me the entire three days I skied. Classic Pacific Northwest kind of view — 8,000 foot mountains covered in snow and pine trees.



This is it. My absolute favorite view. This is from the top of Whistler, looking off the mountain's backside at the mountain range. I couldn't believe it when I got to the top, skied off the chairlift and saw this. The sunlight, crisp air, smell of pine and snow and so much more of the scene made it so amazing that is was surreal.



This is view from Whistler looking at Blackcomb. Those are trails you see. In the foreground, the mountain steepens and it's a bowl, an area without defined trails, where you just make your own path on snow that nobody else has skied on. Totally cool. Although I came upon a real steep section that I had to go around.



Sorry I couldn't deliver an action shot of me going down the mountain. One of the biggest challenges of this trip was having the clothes needed. You don't exactly have winter jackets and ski pants handy when you live in Hawaii. But I had some stuff and my dad shipped a box of gear.



But I got an action shot of Peggy. I was impressed with her skiing ability — she hadn't been since high school, but did ski a fair amount then in New York state. We would split up sometimes and I'd take a harder trail, and we'd meet at the bottom. As for her outfit, we won't go to much into it, but remember we had to patch together our clothes. Plus she was jokingly going for an 80's look. Functional though.