Evanescent Photography : Whistler BC

This post comes a bit late. Our trip was back in February but as I sit here sorting through pictures I can't help but want to share with you one of the most beautiful places in the Pacific Northwest.

We chose to fly into Vancouver then make the drive to Whistler. The drive along the Sea to Sky Highway takes about two hours and is approximately 85 miles (137 km). Appropriately named the highway offers vast and magnificent views. On one side of the highway is the Howe Sound fjord, (a wide body of water carved out thousands of years ago by glaciers)and on the other side of the highway are the Coast mountains. If it were up to me I would have stopped 100 times along the way to take pictures, but as it was our trip was a short one and we wanted to get to the mountain as quickly as possible. I got one stop on the way there and one stop on the way home. If you've ever traveled with me you know how torturous this was for me!

Horseshoe Bay

ferry headed to Victoria

A little bit about Whistler Mountain.

Whistler is located in the Coast Mountains, two hours north of Vancouver. Together Whistler and Blackcomb mountain have the largest ski area in North America, with just over 8,000 acres of skiable terrain and more than 200 marked trails. The Peak 2 Peak gondola is the highest and longest lift in the world and takes you from Whistler Mountain to Blackcomb. The gondola travels at 7.5 m/s and travels the distance of 2.73 miles between the two resorts, with the highest point being 1,427 feet.

Whistler has been on my list for awhile now. Whistler itself is an amazing place. The village is pretty badass and between the two mountains there is plenty of terrain to explore. Unfortunately, the conditions were pretty bad while we were there. As you can see from the photo below they needed snow and they needed it bad. According to the locals this season was one of the worst on record. With no new snow and pretty cool temperatures, the mountain for the most part remained a sheet of ice for the whole weekend we were there.

taken from inside the peak 2 peak gondola

(looks like summer!!)

View of Whistler Mountain from the top of Blackcomb

So what do you do when life throws you sheets of ice instead of snow?!?!

1. You eat poutine. You eat a lot of poutine.

2. You drink at the local pub. You try all the local beer.

3. You learn the rules of G.N.A.R. (Gaffney's Numerical Assessment of Radness)

4. You work on your slo-mo video skills.

5. You play trivia with an Asian and you lose every time.

6. You eat your first Aussie meat pie. You instantly want another.

7. You eat a DQ blizzard while holding Dominos pizza on your walk home from an expensive Japanese lobster dinner.

8. You master the T-bar. Or you don't...

9. You find ways to entertain yourself. This may involve twerking.

10.You eat. You drink. You eat and drink some more.

Zog's Dogs in the Village - our daily meeting spot after riding

In case your aren't familiar poutine is a dish that originated in Canada, made with french fries, topped with a brown gravy sauce and cheese curds. Perfect after a day on the mountain!!!