We have just finished our third day’s skiing at – what some would say – the best ski resort in North America. Whistler, British Columbia. And it is not hard to see why: over 8,100 ski-able acres, spanning one vertical mile; more than 200 trails serviced by 37 lifts. A skier’s paradise. A paradise that leaves us bushed at the end of every day! And we have four more ski days left – if we can make it.
While we are nicely settled in now, we came from a shaky start on Sunday. Firstly, we missed our bus from Vancouver to Whistler. (A misunderstanding of the departure time. Lesson 1 = confirm when in doubt!) Then later in the day I lost Andy on the mountain for about half an hour while he was having technical difficulties with his ski. (Lesson 2 = agree on a contingency plan should you lose someone in your party.) Then, when we finally checked into our condominium at the end of a long first day, we had to immediately ask for a transfer. A maintenance fault made the place so noisy, we wouldn’t have been able to sleep a wink. This meant that we had to replace our ski-in ski-out place to one which is 10 minutes by bus out of town. (Lesson 3 = learn to re-adjust your expectations. Evidently our new condo is much nicer, even though we had to compromise on the location.)
But things have been great since then. From glorious sunny days with spectacular vistas from the mountain, to snow flurries which made for great powder skiing (what north america skiing is known for). This morning we got up a little earlier to enjoy a breakfast buffet at one of the restaurants on the mountain, and then were able to be amongst the first skiers to hit the powder coated corduroy. (Corduroy is the term referring to the condition of the snow when it has been groomed/combed by a snow plow over night.)
Bodies are sore; muscles are tired. But we are loving every minute!
Below are some pics I’ve taken so far:
Our backdrop while skiing
The roofs have to be strong here
The beautiful village of Whistler
Peak to Peak Gondola
Us on the ski lift
Andy takes a tumble