Canada 08/09 – Whistler – Day 7

Day 7 started a little later than other days, as we all felt that we were getting quicker at the getting ready process. We were up and about by 8am, and were very pleased to see snow falling across the village – rather than the rain that had been falling the past few days. It was a bit cooler outside, at around -1, and the trees were just starting to turn their nice frosty white.

Both Ed and Kerrie were up once Pip and I had showered and got dressed, but we sat around for considerable time over breakfast while Pip tried every excuse in the book to stop us going skiing today. She was tired from all the ‘go go go’, but we convinced her that a few runs wouldn’t do too much harm – although she did come to the conclusion that if she hurt herself on the slopes, that Ed would get a refund for the lift tickets and she wouldn’t have to ski much more this time around. While we certainly didn’t wish for this to happen, it made a point that we may need to consider having more rest days next time around – otherwise this ‘holiday’ may turn into more work than actually working!

We caught the hotel shuttle to the base of the mountain, and on the way had a debate with Ed about the lyrics for California Dreaming – a debate that had to include the shuttle driver for an independet opinion. Soon however we were jumping on the Excalibur Gondola by about 10:30am. While we were fairly sure we would be skiing Whistler today again, Pip wanted to ride in the glass-bottom gondola cabin on the Peak 2 Peak lift – Blackcomb was the obvious choice, therefore. The top of the gondola took us to the Excelerator, and from there on to the Jersey Cream. As in past days, the conditions at the top of the Jersey Cream were just nasty – very strong winds, cold temperatures and snowfall to boot. We certainly weren’t looking to spend much time here.

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We skied directly to the Peak 2 Peak station where one of only a few glass-bottom cabins had just arrived. We quickly made a move to get on board, and managed to do so being the very last few people to make the ride. The glass-bottom cabin was good fun, although not as impressive as we had originally thought it would be. It was only a small square in the middle of the cabin, rather than an entire glass floor. It was nice to see some views, as the clouds had lifted a little, and we were standing up – so looking out the windows was awesome.

Arriving at Whistler, the winds were still just as strong – but luckily it didn’t feel quite as bad as it did over the other side of the valley. We skied down towards the Emerald Express, trying a new set of runs we had only seen from a distance previously. They had some great snow and gentle terrain, and made for good skiing when the conditions weren’t quite so nice up top. We cycled round a few times, until we were sick of the cold wind at the top of the Emerald lift. From here, we decided that the Olympic Station of the Whistler Gondola was the next target, and headed this way down our usual mix of Whiskey Jack and Ptarmigan.

The gondola was very busy on the upload from the midstation, and we got separated in the process of waiting in line. Pip and I followed Ed up a few cabins later, and we met at the top after the 15 minute ride. By the time we reached the top, it was well and truly lunchtime – at just after 12:30pm. We dined at the Roundhouse Lodge, as done previously, and had similar delicacies to days gone by. I, however, decided to have a sandwich – possibly the healthiest lunch since 2008 (although I must admit that it was supplemented with a shared serve of fries). Lunch was also a time of learning for Pip and I, and we discovered about a staple fast food that Nick and Astro had mentioned – Poutine; a bowl of fries, topped with cheese, followed by a healthy serving of gravy.

By the time we left the Roundhouse, it was nearly 2pm and so we only had time for another run or two. We decided to ski to the very bottom of the hill, where Pip called it a day while Ed and I returned up the Fitzsimmons chair, followed by the Garbanzo Express. Although we’d been here before, we wanted to break some new ground and so went in search of the run, Tokum, that Jasmine had told us about last night. Unfortunately, although all of the signs told us that Tokum came off of Bear Paw, we skied Bear Paw and found no sign of Tokum. Bear Paw would have been a great run, with a little more snow, but for us it was icy and a bit mogully – and we had to dodge the twigs and trees that were poking out of the run.

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Ed took a little spill near the bottom of the run, and this marked the end of the day for us. We took the rest of the run slowly, and then an easy route down to the base of the hill. Although I was happy to ski another one, Ed took our lead from yesterday and pulled the pin. We caught the hotel shuttle back to the room, and met up with Kerrie and Pip who were relaxing.

An hour or two after we had been back in the room, we decided to go for an evening spa – it was much nicer tonight with snow falling rather than the rain of previous days. It appeared it had be snowing for most of the day, and the trees, roads and everything else were starting to turn completely white. We spent half an hour in the water, and then headed back to the room.

Kerrie had spent most of the day hanging out in the apartment and had spent some time preparing a meal for dinner tonight. While we had only eaten in once before on this trip, we appreciated even the thought of eating a healthy meal in the comfort of the room. We ate soon after returning, and dealing with some pesky neighbours – who thought it was the best of fun to run past our room and knock loudly on the door. Ed soon fixed them, and management was on the case soon after.

Dinner was great, and most certainly enjoyed by all. Although it was only a spaghetti bolognese, it was a great change from burgers, fries and other not-so-healthy foods. We finished dinner with a final serve of our take-home Cow’s and settled down to enjoy some more TV – not CSI for once, but a mix of Mantracker and Man vs Wild.

Although we were planning on doing some shopping tonight, we abandoned this plan when we noticed how much it was still snowing – and because of how tired we all were. Our plan is to take tomorrow off to do some shopping – and hopefully make some purchases this time around – and also go tubing.

It is supposed to snow through tomorrow, and possibly rain a little in the village, but we’ll have to see what happens when tomorrow comes.

Keep enjoying yourselves, and we’ll see you in a week’s time now. Stay in touch, and let’s just hope it snows a little bit longer!

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