Rosie is venturing out on a solo excursion to ride the Whistler Peak 2 Peak Gondola which spans the valley linking the Blackcomb and Whistler Mountains. This ride is listed as a must do in Whistler and the views are supposed to be epic. This will be Rosie’s only foray onto the mountains of this famed ski resort so she cant wait to see what all of the fuss is about.
The Operator would have been by my side and I really would have liked to share this excursion with him, but alas, he is already home in New Zealand hard at work. He missed out as the Gondola is already on reduced winter hours between the summer and winter season and open only on the weekends till October 14, when it shuts for maintenance before opening again for the start of the ski season on November 25th.
To catch the Gondola Rosie has to walk to the Upper Village which is about an 8 minute scenic stroll along picturesque walking, jogging and cycling tracks that this village has in abundance. Its a beautiful autumn day and Rosie strolls through the forest, along the riverside, past beautiful art installations, across the bridge and hey presto, we are there.
Okay, here is the queue for Gondola tickets, best get in line, Rosie cranes her neck to assess the snaking line and estimates it will take twenty minutes to get to the ticket booth. No worries, Rosie unzips her puffer, turns her face to the sun and breathes in the cool, fresh mountain air and watches the gondolas as they snake up the mountain.
When Rosie and The Operator arrived in Whistler the top of the Blackcomb was snow free, two days later there has been a slight snowfall overnight, and wow, what a difference, it will be so nice to see some snow up there Rosie is pondering when she is tapped on the shoulder and offered a free ticket on the gondolas by two girls.
TRUE!! There friend couldn’t make it today and the ticket was already bought. Wow, Rosie does not know what to say, she is so grateful she does not have to wait in line! She fumbles for her purse and tried to pay for the $65 ticket, they declined and just asked that Rosie pay it forward one day. Double Wow!! Rosie has tears in her eyes. Guess what there names were? Ashley and Natalia….the friend that couldn’t make it….was called Michelle. Cosmic or what?! Thanks girls, Rosie will most certainly pay it forward and feels very humble, girls, you have completely made my day!
Boarding the glass carriage that will whisk us up the Blackcomb Rosie is so glad that they do not stuff the gondolas full of people like at other places we have been too. It was lovely to have room to wriggle around and take pictures because this ride was incredible.
It was a nice, slow gentle glide up the mountainside over the huge swath of green grass between the forest. The ride went straight uphill from the beginning and it wasn’t long before Rosies ears were popping and Whistler Village was a tiny spec in the distance surrounded by other mountain ranges that Rosie didn’t even know existed from down in the valley.
We then entered the patchy new snow zone that Rosie photographed from the village, crested a ridge and wow, we were in full snow! This area you cant see from the village! It was incredible, a whole new winter wonderland world had opened up just like that. Higher and higher we went and there rising before us from behind a snowy hill was The Rendezvous Chalet and there behind it, was the top of the Blackcomb, 2284 meters above Whistler Village.
Lets run a few stats, you know Rosie likes them. Whistler is one of the largest ski resorts in North America and comprises of the Blackcomb and Whistler mountains. Their skiable terrain tops 3,307 hectares with more than 200 ski runs, 35 easy tracks, 110 intermediate, 35 difficult and 20 double black diamond or expert runs. The longest run is 11km which is the Peak to the Creek on Whistler Mountain. The ski runs are accessed by 38 lifts with this gondola being one of them and these 38 ski lifts can move 65,507 skiers…per hour….that’s a heck of a lot of people on the mountains.
The gondola stops its ascent at The Rendezvous Ski Lodge. It is a huge complex which has a bar, restaurant and terrace for the skiers and those who just want to venture up for a look around. Judging from the stats above and the number of ski racks stacked away for summer which stretched for hundreds of meters…this place will pump in the winter. Rosie muses, how would you ever find your skis again amongst the thousand or so when you hung them up to nip in for a pee.
The view from the Chalet was expansive and as you can see when Rosie went off piste, the snow was not very deep as you can tell with the alpine grass still poking through in my selfie.
Rosie slithered and skated over the packed snow and ice to transfer to the Peak 2 Peak carriages that take you from the top of the Blackcomb over the valley to the top of Whistler Mountain and found a new friend on the way.
These carriages are huge and roomy, once again there were minimal people per carriage and you could actually walk around in these ones and take plenty of pics.
Immediately it was amazing, the coniferous forest just went on forever, and with a touch of snow on the branches looked magic. Tracks cut into the snow made from vehicles looked so decorative from up above and then the white capped mountains appeared in the distance.
Is this not amazing, one minute we are on the top of one mountain in the snow and as we travel down the sagging gondola wire we are back in the green of the valley with the incredible wriggly line of Fitzsimmons Creek below us. Out the back window of the carriage is the straight line of the gondola path cut into the forest and it looks amazing from up here on high
Whilst travelling from the Peak of one mountain to another look at the distance we have traveled and there are no support poles! Hence this Gondola holds the Guinness World Record as the highest cable car above ground at a dizzying height of 500 meters. Plus, it also holds the World Record for the longest unsupported span between two cable car towers which is 4.4 kilometers! It really is the best gondola ride in the world!
The gentle glide from peak to peak takes 11 minutes and it was a little breezy up that high in the valley and the carriage was slightly swaying and shuddering at some points which was a little unnerving for some aboard.
Rosie was so lucky, there where were only two weekends left to travel between the peaks before it shut down for a couple of months maintenance before re opening again for the winter season and Rosie was so glad she got there in time before it closed. This was a ride of a lifetime alright. Once we stopped at The Whistler gondola terminal, at this time of the year, you could only turn around and ride straight back the way you came. In the summer you can do a short hike and walk an amazing suspension bridge with this drop below you and not for the fainthearted.
In total, the ride was about 40 mins on the two gondolas, and it was a great way to spend a couple of hours, counting photo taking time, enjoying the views and exploring at the gondola exchanges.
Rosie is nearly home again and look at all the snow grooming ploughs and ski patrol snow mobiles parked up waiting for winter. What a huge logistical job it would be running this mountain Rosie muses.
After seeing all of the naked, snow covered ski runs in amongst the trees on this mountain and how steep and death defying they are as Rosie glided over the top of them Rosie cant get over how fearless you would have to be standing at the top looking down the steep run and then actually pushing forward. No way, not for this girl, Rosie is quite happy in her seat flying over the top.
Rosie is nearly back in the village and look! Right under the gondola is a black bear on the ski slope! Yay, Rosie has seen in the flesh, one of the 100 or so that live in the forest around the village, it was just cruising from one side of the forest to the other and pausing in the sunshine to probably look up at us flying overhead and thinking we were crazy.
Rosie thoroughly enjoyed her one and only excursion up the Blackcomb and Whistler Mountains today. The views. the infinity and the thrill was amazing….even though it was from a glass bubble and not hurtling unfettered, at breakneck speed down the side of the mountain. See, there really is something for everyone here in this amazing Alpine Village.
Tomorrow Rosie will introduce you to a few of the excursions Rosie and The Operator did outwith the Village a little further afield. Think frozen lakes, American Bald Eagles and axe throwing…non of them related.
