A few snapshot from this morning Whistler Village Stroll for a morning coffee and breakfast:

A fun way to spend an afternoon in Whistler area (Callaghan Valley) is to experience dogsledding on one of the trails outside of the town with the Blackcomb Adventures. I did just that today, for 2.5 hours with a guide and nine dogs (I got to be both a passenger and the driver):

It was a fantastic weather today in Whistler, a perfect day for a Peak2Peak Alpine Experience which spans between Whistler and Blackcomb Mountains providing a 360-degree window into Whistler Blackcomb’s alpine environment…

I took a village gondola just outside of Hilton Hotel where we are staying all the way to the top. From there I took the Peak 2 Peak Gondola which is a tri-cable gondola lift that links Whistler Mountain’s Roundhouse Lodge with Blackcomb Mountain’s Rendezvous Restaurant.  It is the first lift to join the two side-by-side mountains. It holds world records for the longest free span between ropeway towers – 3.03 kilometres (1.88 miles) and highest point above the ground – 436 metres (1,430 feet). The views coupled with amazing weather outside were spectacular, it is a must to-do when you are in Whistler and well worth it!

I stop around 1pm at the Blackcomb Mountain’s Rendezvous Restaurant for quick lunch as well.

Tip: wait for the silver Peak 2 Peak gondola car, which has a glass bottom for extra thrills and view! See a photo below with the glass bottom:

Despite the fact the morning plans had to change, the afternoon made all up… there was something on my bucket list which now I can tick off as “been there and done that” – Blackcomb Mountain Safari. I have spent 3 hours venturing through old growth forests on a snowmobile at dusk to the top of the mountain! Once we reached the Crystal Hut, we warmed up with a hearty soup while watching a sunset over the snow capped peaks of the Coastal Mountain rage thanks to Canadian Snowmobile Adventure who provided us with both the snowmobiles, guide and full snowsuits.

This was my first snowmobile experience and I am totally hooked now! Our guide was super friendly, gave us quick lesson on how to use and handle snowmobiles before we all step on the gas head up to 6000 feet above the sea level. This snowmobile adventure advanture alone makes me want to come back to Whistler! It was so much fun! I highly recommend it to anyone who visits here. All you need is a regular drivers licence and they will show / teach you how have a tone of fun!

Once we reached the Crystal Hut, we watch a spectacular sunset and warmed up with a hot chocolate and hot soup before heading down back to the base. The entire adventure took 3 hours and it is well worth the money! Below is a picture of me and a several photos I took during the mountain safari:

Thanks to Tourism BC for hooking us up with an amazing BC Ski Vacation Gateway! We really appreciate it and looking forward to next few days enjoying everything that the Whistler has to offer! So far it has been a fantastic experience and everyone has been very helpful and accommodating making me want to come back to British Columbia again in the future.

It was our first full day in Whistler British Columbia today, the prearranged plan was to take a helicopter tour at 11:00am from the Whistler Municipal Heliport called Peak Experience. Helicopter Tour by Blackcomb Aviation suppose to take 30 min flying over the gorgeous Garibaldi Park and it mountains. However we had postpone it to another day (most likely Friday or Saturday) for personal reasons. That left us with a wide open morning to explore Whistler Village, including the Olympic Plaza where some of the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics events took place. Here are some of the photos as I explored the area, its many shops, restaurants and coffee shops.

Thanks to Tourism BC for hooking us up with an amazing BC Ski Vacation Gateway! We really appreciate it and looking forward to next few days enjoying everything that the Whistler has to offer! So far it has been a fantastic experience and everyone has been very helpful and accommodating making me want to come back to British Columbia again in the future.

It has been a long day so I will be brief… Friend of mine and I took a 5 hour flight this morning out of Toronto to the beautiful city of Vancouver  in British Columbia, Canada with Air Canada. Flight was smooth and on time, the weather was spectacular on departure, but very cold as it is after all the middle of winter in Toronto. We arrived in Vancouver International Airport to a much warmer temperatures and rain; classic winter day on the West Coast. I love airports:

After a quick car rental pick up (Enterprise Car Rental had a super friendly and accommodating staff who helped us pick just the right car for our 200km drive to Whistler), we hit the road. Well, almost… we couldn’t help ourselves so we stopped in the city for quick Fish & Chips lunch, picked up half a dozen cups cakes from a bakery and Starbucks coffee, of course before taking the highway going north of the city to Whistler.

The drive offered some amazing views, unfortunately the rain did not stop and kept us company all the way so I could not snap any photos this time. However we are planning and hoping to do so on the way down / back as the weather supposed to be nothing but sunny on Sunday. Keep your fingers crossed!

Once we arrived in Whistler Village, we have a checked into our fabulous Hilton Whistler Resort and Spa, where rooms are well appointed and huge! The hotel offers outdoor pool  and a hot tub which looked quite busy tonight despite the mix of rain and snow this evening. The staff was very helpful and professional, a pleasure to deal. One of the most surprising things about the this hotel was its location, it is right in the Whistler Village surrounded by shops, stores and restaurants. You don’t need to drive anywhere, as everything is simply right out your front door. I would highly recommend this hotel for this reason alone.

To wrap up the long day, we hang out for a while in the Whistler Village, did some shopping before crushing for the night right now… after all tomorrow is the first full day of fun in Whistler, BC! We have morning Helicopter Tour called Peak Experience and afternoon Blackcomb Mountain Safari… where we will venture through old growth forests on snowmobiles to the Crustal Hut for a soup! We cannot wait for it already… Stay tuned!

Thanks to Tourism BC for hooking us up with an amazing BC Ski Vacation Gateway! We really appreciate it and looking forward to next few days enjoying everything that the Whistler has to offer! So far it has been a fantastic experience and everyone has been very helpful and accommodating making me want to come back to British Columbia again in the future.