With two days in Vancouver before jumping on the Rocky Mountaineer train on the way to Banff, we decided to visit the mountain town of Whistler. Greyhound offers a relatively affordable option by combining a round trip bus journey with unlimited tram/gondola rides on Whistler/Blackcomb Mountains. This makes it quite doable to see Whistler in a day with an early start from Vancouver.
As soon as we arrived in Whistler Village (partly home to the 2010 Winter Olympics) we boarded the Gondola and were almost immediately met with the “whistler mists” – thick fog and drizzle that covered both Whistler and Blackcomb Mountains. Hard to believe, coming from California but people were still skiing and snow boarding at the 7th Heaven Express chairlift.
The distances on these mountains are great – and it can easily take an hour just to get high up on the mountain from Whistler Village. Each ride is typically 15+ minutes either by gondola, tram car or open air chairlift. Whistler has some of the highest vertical distances for ski slopes in all of North America
The Peak to Peak experience did not exist the last time I was here. Each tram car can seat 22 passengers and literally ferries people in about 15 minutes between Whistler and Blackcomb mountains. This is a distance of nearly 3 miles and at one point you are suspended high above an impressive valley and river.
Besides all the winter activities, Whistler boasts some intense downhill bike riding tracks – the rating system for these tracks unbelievably starts at “intermediate” and tops out at the “pro line” – described as “extremely difficult rating – mandatory jumps, gaps and elevated features with no ride arounds”. These bikers are serious – we saw them, full helmets, pads and other protective gear. Course then we saw the tracks they were riding on – huge drop offs, rocky ridge cliff like tracks, massive jumps which allow for no mistakes and other scary obstacles!
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- 7th Heaven Express – still skiing in late July!
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- Summer wildflowers on Whistler Mountain
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- Heading down on the gondola to Whistler Village
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- Delicous oysters in Whistler Village
Very good story, Dave. We enjoyed it very much. Vancouver is a beautiful city. We spent 4 days there before boarding a Celebrity Cruise trip to more beautiful Alaska. Then, after the cruise 4 more days enjoying the flavor of the city, especially Stanley Park and the Gaslight district.
Just found your site Dave after google searching myself – which is a bit strange! I love the design of your site and your writing style – I’ve always had Whistler on my list, when I end up there I’ll let you know. 🙂
Dan – how odd my site came up when you were searching yourself. My site comes up on the most random searches I guess. Yes Whistler is beautiful esp if you can hit it on a clear day – last few times I’ve been there its been mostly cloudy but eventually I’ll get some sunshine. Thanks for dropping by 🙂
Thanks Michael. Next time your up in Vancouver, check out the Rocky Mountaineer train – my wife and I made this journey a few weeks ago through some truly spectacular Canadian Rocky Mountain scenery. I’ll have an article about this journey coming out soon.
I’ve recently come across your site through trying to find other traveler bloggers. Never been to Vancouver but have heard great things about the city. Sounds like you had a great time needless to say. Look forward to seeing future posts. FYI: definitely like the content of your site.
Dejav – thank you very much for stopping by. I will be sure to add your website to our main list of http://www.domain.com travel blogs. I’m on the road now with bad internet, but will do this as soon as I can 🙂
Vancouver is such a fantastic place. I love the natural beauty, especially how Stanley Park is located so close to the main urban part of town. Your notes and photos have inspired me to start planning another trip there 🙂