Whistler or Bust

In all the years I lived in BC, I had NEVER been up to Whistler. This trip, I was determined to go! The forecast called for rain but I still wanted to go.

The Sea to Sky Highway was spectacular to me. There is a lot of work being done right now to widen it and make it "safer" for the 2010 Winter Olympics. The construction caused some delays but nothing really upsetting.

I was happy to see that parking was free. I expected there to be huge parking costs. For all the tourists to go through the town site, it would create a lot of revenue. So we parked and walked through the bustling town site until we found the gondola to the top of the mountain. Nathan and Nicholas could barely contain themselves with all the sights and people. Nicholas positively skipped the whole time. I didn't realize his face could grin that much.

The gondola ride was pretty. We could see other lifts taking extreme mountain bikers to various trails. I think it's great that Whistler as a whole has created bike trails and obstacle courses for the enjoyment of these adrenaline junkies. Nathan was gobsmacked about the whole thing. I think he was envisioning himself on those trails. I, as his over protective mother, was having heart attacks over the idea.

At the top, we walked around in the rain and I felt the most clear I have in a long time. I found a sort of peace that has been lacking for too long.

Stephen talked to a "host/guide" about the building of the peak to peak gondola from Whistler to Blackcomb. It seems like such an impossible idea to me but they are progressing on schedule. I think when it is done, it will be an amazing ride.

After a quick bite to eat, we took a couple of photos and headed back down the gondola to the town site. Poor Nathan was freezing. He doesn't have much meat on his bones. LOL Nicholas couldn't stay still if he'd wanted to. All that fresh air gave him super stamina.



On the way back down the Sea to Sky Highway, a work crew stopped us and told us to turn around and head back up to Squamish (a small town between Vancouver and Whistler). There had been a rock slide earlier in the day and they were having problems clearing it. They had cleared it once, got traffic moving then it had slid again. This was the one we were stuck behind. We chose to continue down the highway and wait until the it opened up again.

The only other choices were to sit in Squamish listening to the radio and then heading back down when they said the road was open again or heading back up to Whistler and down the other side which would apparently take us about 12 hours.

As it was, we sat behind the slide for just under 2 hours. We got out of the car, walked around, talked to strangers, and generally just took time to enjoy the stillness. Strange that I saw it that way. There were hundreds of people walking around and cars for as far as you could see but I saw the stillness of the mountain, the woods, and the stream we were close to. I was able to get back the serenity I felt at the top of the mountain, even for a short period of time.

The rock slide extended our day a little but the view was beautiful and I'd say our day was a success.