by You’re finishing the last dregs of mulled wine and looking forward to 2024 for something – anything! — to look forward to when you realize it’s too late again to book that ski trip you promised yourself.
Not to the Alps or the Pyrenees this time, but to the snowy peaks of British Columbia, Canada, which you have always dreamed of. Don’t worry now, why not get away this year and try all things summer in the town of Whistler, BC – after all, the mountain resort can now feel like it gets more more visitors during the hot and great festival. sunny months than when the snow flies in winter.
For me, a British Canadian transplanted from the forests of North Vancouver to London over a dozen years ago, skiing was never something that required much thought or effort. Or money, for that matter, unlike in the UK. It’s been more than seven years since I’ve been back on the slopes at Whistler-Blackcomb, 2,000 feet up in the glacier-covered Coast Mountains, and even longer since I came over in the summer, and not during the mountain’s more than ever. Bike festival around the world, Crankworx.
I couldn’t believe the difference a few years have made in transforming this Winter Olympic venue into a sunny al fresco nirvana filled with thousands of mountain bikers and over 300,000 visitors before the end of July.
Indeed Whistler, about 90 minutes north through rugged scenery from Canada’s jewel on the Pacific Ocean, Vancouver, can boast of being what PR loves to call an all-season resort – and I was here to experience everything that summer had to offer, both. on and off the mountains.
At the foot of two mile-high peaks both linked by a vast network of lifts (including as of this December Western Canada’s first eight-passenger chairlift, the Fitzimmons Express), the heart of the pedestrianized postcard village is everything fun. . All of this shares space within the traditional territories of the SkwxwuÌ 7mesh (Squamish) and LilÌ“wat7úl (Lil’wat) nation communities, and Whistler-Blackcomb (as the mountain operations are called) ranks as the largest mountain resort in the North. America year after year.
It’s no secret that Whistler also shares space with bears when they wake up from their hibernation, and if you’re like me, you’ll be determined to see some for yourself.
So, polish off those old-fashioned pies and join us for a rethink of that ski trip – and consider joining the more than 1.5 million visitors who make Whistler an adventure hub each summer.
What to do: on the mountain
Let’s start with what brought us back here in the first place: Whistler’s status as a mountain bike mechanic. Although the season runs from May to October, it’s late July when the 10-day Crankworx festival, which has been celebrating all things mountain bike for 20 years in Whistler, really heats up.
Imagine over 1,000 elite athletes hurtling down Whistler Mountain, launching 30 foot jumps, which makes it look easy until the *bangs* of burst inner tubes remind you that these riders aren’t as invisible as they look they. I’ve even heard it called the “Super Bowl of mountain biking”. We got to try the Whistler Mountain Bike Park and didn’t have a second thought when we were asked to dress up in head to toe armour, complete with back and chest plate. , before meeting our tutor for the day, who even came with a Devon accent.
After learning some basics (gears, brakes… loading a full-sized mountain bike up on its back wheel into an eight-passenger moving gondola), we headed into an alpine meadow and down to the entrance of the first green trail. Now I’m sure most of you have ridden a bike, but with gravity constantly pulling you down around every hairpin corner, this is a whole other experience – and one that I quickly matched with the thrill of skiing. He is cycling, but through alpine forests without damage to shock absorbers, and barely touching the pedals.
While I found my cycling legs after my first shot down the trails and pumped for the second round, my partner Fabio thought of sampling Canadian craft beers on tap on a sun drenched rooftop terrace overlooking the action at the Garibaldi Lift Co bar and there was a grill. better choice. Let’s be honest here – there isn’t going to be a bike like this for everyone. But in a place like this, you’re spoiled for choice for other outdoor pursuits: if après ski is half the fun, imagine après in the summer sun.
Post bike and post beer, we headed back on foot through landscaped forest trails to the Four Seasons Resort, where we were lucky enough to spend two nights, to pick up our gear for a hike up Whistler Peak : an embarrassingly large box from Whistler’s local village deli Picnic packed with more than we could handle. Local cheeses, spicy deli, fresh berries, biscuits and lows would keep us going. We were even asked where the party was on the way up.
Jumping back on the Whistler Gondola, this time we rode all the way to the high alpine (picnic box in tow). This is where the mountain magic really begins: soaring peaks, melting glaciers and turquoise lakes like gems as the backdrop for a day of mountain hikes and a few Insta-worthy posts from the top of the world. We continued up the vertigo-inducing Peak Express car lift, climbing steep cliffs to the summit, jagged rocks exposed beneath their blanket of winter. Not many years ago this was the preserve of skiers, snowboarders and some hard walkers, but when the Cloudraker suspension bridge was opened a few years back it has become a big mountain. If you went on the adrenaline rush of the bike park below, this will get your heart racing, hanging above a boulder-filled glacier at nearly 8,000 feet.
A word of warning: any unattended picnic box will quickly be claimed by a wild animal, be it the gray marmots that passed us on the alpine terrace of Whistler Mountain, hungry chipmunks or the ever-inquisitive blue jays that visited our hotel balcony among the trees . the next morning to make quick work of what we had left while refilling coffee inside.
What to do: away from the mountains
In the center of the village, a hip replica of the prettiest Alpine towns, there are bustling pedestrian streets – an inviting respite for tourists in North America, well, everywhere for everything. Almost all hotels are within walking distance, so make the most of the long summer nights exploring the cafes, bars and restaurants.
Eating
There is no shortage of options to suit every budget. To save a few ‘Loonies’ (that’s Canadian dollars, to you) be sure to stop by Tim Hortons in the village for a coffee and donut in his hometown and hometown. But on the side of the street in the village is the best place to people watch. Mountain bikers may not win many fashion awards, but Bar Oso is front and center of the action, nonetheless. Pull up a stool along the windows and get your hands on the Spanish-inspired small plates and house-made charcuterie, perfect for grazing with a glass or two of BC Pinot Noir.
For morning (or afternoon) brews, Moguls Coffee House is a stalwart above the main square, with some of the friendliest caffeine service in town. And you can not go wrong located on the terrace around the cobbled Village Square at the canary yellow La Bocca with a bottle of wine before the sunset.
Cycling
The Whistler Valley is connected by the 40km Valley Trail, a paved, car-free recreational ribbon that runs between the area’s five beautiful lakes. E-bike is my favorite option for seeing the most of what the valley has to offer from two wheels, and Can-Ski Blackcomb in Upper Village has everything you need to get started (they name their bikes even after the old castle). -members of One Direction).
Pack a towel and take a surprisingly balmy swim at Lost Lake beach or watch the floatplanes land on the glowing, (read: not balmy) Green Lake further up the path.
Where to stay
There’s no shortage of places to get your groove on in Whistler – there’s room for something like 30,000 visitors every night across town, from five-star behemoths to boutiques and B&Bs. The Four Seasons Resort (from £330 per night) stands in the woods at the foot of Blackcomb Mountain, away from the rest – and that’s just the bedding.
If you’ve never delved into a Four Seasons line of pillows and sheets, you haven’t lived well. We could barely drag ourselves out of the cloud-like cocoon, but when we did there was a gym, spa and curved outdoor pool and Scandi-style wooden sauna to enjoy. Even if you’re not one of their overnight guests, Sidecut Steakhouse is worth a visit just for the Epicurean Seafood Tower, along with one of the most artistic cocktails you’ve ever ordered, like the Sunda Punch.
So what about those bears? On our last day, pulling up near the hotel on our e-bikes, the icing on our mountain-sized cake came: a big brown bear minding its own business. With warnings from locals shouting from the windows of cars rolled down the neighboring visitor in the bushes, we kept our distance and the lumbering beast continued as it crossed a car park, hoisted itself over some logs and slipped back into the woods, completely unhindered.
A great end to a few great summer days in the Canadian mountains – and alongside the sun tan, something we would never experience on a winter ski trip.
