You’re finishing off the last bits of mulled wine and looking ahead to 2024 for something – anything! — to look forward to when you realize you’ve made it too late again to book that ski trip you promised yourself.
This time not to the Alps or the Pyrenees, but to the snow-capped peaks of British Columbia, Canada, where you’ve always dreamed. Don’t worry, why not make this the year to think off-piste and try it all out in the summer in the town of Whistler, BC – after all, the mountain resort can now boast of receiving more visitors during the spectacular warm and sunny months than when the snow flies in winter.
For me, a Canadian Brit who emigrated to London from the woods of North Vancouver over a decade ago, skiing was never something that required much attention or effort. Or money for that matter, unlike in Britain. It had been more than seven years since I had been on the slopes of Whistler-Blackcomb, 2,000 feet up in the glacier-covered Coast Mountains, and even longer since I passed here in the summer, and never during the biggest mountain. world cycling festival, Crankworx.
I couldn’t believe the difference a few years have made in transforming this Olympic host venue into a sun-drenched outdoor nirvana filled with thousands of mountain bikers and more than 300,000 visitors until the end of July.
Whistler, some 90 minutes north through the rugged landscape of Vancouver, Canada’s jewel on the Pacific, prides itself on being what PRs like to call an all-season resort – and I was here to to experience everything that summer had to offer, both on and off the mountains.
At the base of three kilometer high peaks, both connected by an extensive network of lifts (which, as of December, includes Western Canada’s first eight-person chairlift, the Fitzimmons Express), the car-free, picture-postcard village is the center of all things fun . All of this shares space within the traditional territories of the SkwxwuÌ 7mesh (Squamish) Nation and LilÌ“wat7úl (Lil’wat) Nation peoples, and Whistler-Blackcomb (as the mountain operations are called) is ranked as the number one mountain resort in North America. America year after year.
It’s no secret that Whistler also shares space with bears as they wake up from hibernation, and if you’re like me, you’re determined to see some for yourself.
So polish off the stale pies and join me in thinking about that ski trip – and consider joining the more than 1.5 million visitors who make Whistler their center of adventure every 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 biking mecca. Although the season runs roughly from May to October, it’s late July when things really heat up for the 10-day Crankworx Festival, which has been celebrating all things mountain biking in Whistler for 20 years.
Imagine more than 1,000 elite athletes charging down Whistler Mountain doing 30-foot jumps, making it all look easy, until the *pop* of bursting inner tubes reminds us that these riders aren’t as invincible as they seem. I even heard it called the “Super Bowl of mountain biking.” We had to give the Whistler Mountain Bike Park a try and didn’t hesitate when we were asked to don head-to-toe ‘armor’, complete with back and chest plate. , before meeting our instructor for the day, who even came with a Devon accent.
After learning a few basics (gears, brakes… loading a large mountain bike on the rear wheel into a moving eight-passenger gondola), we set off into the alpine meadows and descended to the entrance of the first, green trail. I’m sure most of you have cycled before, but with gravity constantly pulling you down around every hairpin corner, this is a very different experience – and one that for me quickly rivaled the thrill of skiing. It’s cycling, but through pristine alpine forests on shock absorbers, while you barely touch the pedals.
As I found my cycling legs after my first shot around the trails and got pumped for a second lap, my partner Fabio thought sampling Canadian craft beers on tap on a sun-drenched rooftop deck overlooking the action at the Garibaldi Lift Co bar and grill was an option. a better option. Let’s be honest: these types of bikes won’t be for everyone. But in a place like this you’re spoiled for choice for other outdoor activities: if après-ski is half the fun, imagine après activities in the summer sun.
After the bike and after the 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 feast for a hike to Whistler Peak: an embarrassingly large box of goodies from local village deli Picnic Whistler packed with more than we could handle. Local cheeses, spicy meats, fresh berries, crackers and dips would more than keep us going. We were even asked where the party was on the way up.
We hopped back on the Whistler Gondola and this time rode all the way to the high mountains (picnic box in tow). This is where the mountain magic really comes into its own: soaring peaks, thawing glaciers and jewel-like turquoise lakes set the scene for a day of mountaintop hikes and some great Insta posts from the top of the world. We continued on the vertiginous Peak Express chairlift as it climbed sheer cliffs to the top, revealing the jagged rocks beneath their winter blanket. Not long ago this was reserved for skiers, snowboarders and a few experienced hikers, but with the opening of the Cloudraker Suspension Bridge a few years ago it has become a mountaintop must-see. Once you’ve endured the adrenaline rush of the bike park below, your heart will pound faster, dangling above a boulder-strewn glacier almost 2,000 meters above sea level.
A word of warning: any unattended picnic box will quickly be claimed by some wild animal, whether it be the hoary marmots that scurried past us on Whistler Mountain’s alpine terrace, hungry squirrels or the ever-curious blue jays, which haunt our hotel balcony among the treetops. visited. the next morning to quickly work through our leftovers while we refilled coffee inside.
What to do: Get out of the mountains
The village center, a buzzing replica of the most beautiful Alpine towns, has busy pedestrian streets – an inviting refuge amid the North American penchant for driving, well, anywhere for everything. Almost all hotels are within walking distance, so make the most of the long summer evenings by exploring the cafes, bars and restaurants.
To dine
There is no shortage of options for 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 a donut in his home country. But the best people watching is on the street side of the village. Mountain bikers may not win many awards for fashion, but Bar Oso is still at the center of the action. Pull up a stool along the windows and get your hands on the Spanish-inspired small plates and house-made charcuterie, perfect to enjoy with a glass or two of BC Pinot Noir.
For morning (or afternoon) brews, there’s the central, cool Moguls Coffee House overlooking the main square, with one of the friendliest caffeine services in the city. And you can’t go wrong sitting on the terrace across the cobbled village square of canary-yellow La Bocca with a bottle of wine before the sun sets.
Cycling
Whistler Valley is connected by the 25-mile Valley Trail, a paved, car-free recreational ribbon that winds between the area’s five beautiful lakes. An e-bike is my top choice for seeing the most the valley has to offer from two wheels, and Can-Ski Blackcomb in the Upper Village has everything you need to get started (they even call their bikes after the former members of One Direction).
Grab a towel and take a surprisingly balmy dip at Lost Lake beach or watch the seaplanes land on glowing, glacial (read: not balmy) Green Lake further along the trail.
Where to stay
There’s no shortage of places to get a wink in Whistler – there’s room for around 30,000 visitors in the city every night, from five-star giants to boutiques and B&Bs. Nestled in the woods at the foot of Blackcomb Mountain, the Four Seasons Resort (from £330 per night) stands out from the rest – and that’s just the bedding.
If you’ve never sunk into the Four Seasons line of pillows and sheets, you haven’t fully lived. We could barely pull ourselves out of the cloud-like cocoon, but once we did, there was a gym, spa, curved outdoor pool and Scandinavian-style wooden sauna to enjoy. Even if you’re not one of their overnight guests, it’s worth a visit to Sidecut Steakhouse for the Epicurean Seafood Tower alone, in addition to perhaps one of the most artfully presented cocktails you’ve ever ordered, like the Sunda Punch.
What about those bears? On our last day, as we pulled up to the hotel on our e-bikes, the icing on our mountain cake came: a big brown bear minding his own business. Warned by locals shouting from our neighbor’s rolled down car windows in the bushes, we kept our distance and followed the lumbering beast as it crossed a parking lot, hoisted itself over some tree trunks, and slipped back into the woods completely undisturbed.
A perfect ending to a fantastic few summer days in the Canadian mountains – and besides the tan, something we would never have experienced on a winter ski trip.