Tag: Whistler

Whistler – Green River Rafting

Our rafting was booked for 9am which seemed a good idea a few weeks ago. We squeezed ourselves into wetsuits and took a short bus ride to Green River.

The Green River tour included class 2 & 3 rapids. The scale is 1-6 which broadly translate as mill pond through to ‘you will die’!

Our safety briefing took place on calm, still water with Victor, our guide.

And we paddled out to meet our fate.

It was an experience, no-one fell in the water but we did get wet and Kim is hooked.

Matt disappeared for a run and John and Kim settled down for an early lunch. Beer, tea and Poutine.

You have to love a country that considers chips, gravy and cheese a meal!

Next we followed the Culture Trail around Whistler Village.

We saw bears…….

Ok, they’re not real but they’re very lifelike. According to our leaflet, they are so realistic dogs bark at them, not sure we believe that!

Finally, we ended back at the Squamish Lil’wat Cultural Centre…. someone had seen a handbag on day 1 and her life was incomplete without it.

It’s Labor Day weekend and Whistler has become much busier. Hopefully it means there’s no one left in Vancouver when we get there tomorrow.

Whistler – Ziptrek Eco Tours

Our first plug of the trip – our zip-line experience was brilliant! We signed multiple disclaimers, were kitted out with harnesses and hard hats and transported up high over Fitzsimmons Creek, which separates Whistler and Blackcomb Mountains, past the 2010 Olympic Bob Sled run.

John and Kim did the Bear Tour (aka Zip-lines for the elderly!), five zip lines ranging in length from 400m to 1.1km. Our guides were very good keeping us entertained with history and geography facts, while talking us through the easiest way to walk off the edge of a wooden platform into oblivion. It was all very well organised but does rely on a couple of trees to keep it all together,

Matt was booked on the more extreme Eagle Tour – higher, longer, faster!

Kim is not built for zip lining and was the only one of the group who refused to go down the last run upside down!

John enjoyed every minute and wants to do The Sasquatch, the highest and longest in Whistler

Matt videoed his runs, enjoy this for the next 30 seconds!

A well earned cup of tea was required, so we whiled away the afternoon in the Longhorn Saloon, which has great views of mountain bikers taking their bikes up on the ski-lifts and then hurtling back down the mountain at extreme angles and returned this evening to watch some more of the spectacle.

Whistler…..

…..rather like Bicester Village on speed!

Matt went for a run, while John and Kim visited the Squamish Lil’wat Cultural Centre. These two First Nations communities lived in the Whistler area and, in 2001, signed a protocol to live and work together. The cultural centre celebrates their deep connection and respect for land and water.

We were greeted by our guide singing a native welcome song, before learning about the history of the two Nations and how respectfully they make careful use of natural resources.

Canoe building was interesting, made from a single hollowed out Cedar tree, using fire and water to help shape the boat and fish oil to help keep it watertight.

The tour concluded with a practical lesson in how to make a bracelet from cedar bark. Kim was in her element!

We wandered into Whistler Village and found ourselves in a very lively, very manicured environment, dodging extreme downhill mountain bikers and skateboarders

Ziplining for us tomorrow!

Whistler here we come

The sun was shining when we woke up but, honestly, Kamloops didn’t look an awful lot better!

Last night’s walk into town had seemed like a scene from American Graffiti with big V8s cruising the strip!

Breakfast was an adventure, making our own waffles. The last time we tried that, in Norway, it had been a disaster. Canadian waffle maker instructions are better!

We left Kamloops and joined the Gold Rush Trail on the Trans-Canada Highway.

We reached Cache Creek, the satnav recalculated and added an hour to our journey. We over ruled her, stuck to our original route and came to a halt 100m up the road. The road was closed while a mudslide was cleared. We were advised it would be quicker to wait than take the other route.

We pulled it to the Bear Claw Cafe to sit it out in a proper Canadian log cabin.

The door handle was a little alarming…

We continued our journey and were grateful we hadn’t attempted Jasper to Whistler in one go, in yesterday’s rain. It was only 100 miles but, on the Cariboo Highway, the speed limit reduced to 60kph and it twisted and turned along mountain and riversides. At one point, the highway was reduced to to a single carriageway – the other side had disappeared in a landslide!

Whistler couldn’t be more different to Kamloops. We have a two bedroomed suite, with a balcony and a rather nice view! Perhaps we should have attempted the long drive, another night here would be good!