Monday, January 15th: The Third Ski Day.
**Head over to the gallery from Whistler Blackcomb – January 2018 to see all of the photos from this incredible trip to Whistler, British Columbia!**
Another night of knocked-out sleep as if Muhammad Ali had stung me like a bee had me as rejuvenated as I could be. I’m sure the same could have been said for my Dad and brother, Shawn. It was Monday morning and we were mentally and physically preparing for what we knew would be a hectic and tiring day and night ahead. Monday was our last day of skiing and I sure did wish we had another week. We woke up and looked up the weather and noticed that Whistler was going to be hit by a few feet of snow during the succeeding days of our trip (they ended up getting 7 feet within a week). There is no way on this earth that one could actually plan a vacation knowing the weather over a month in advance. All you can do is make the most of the opportunity you are afforded and appreciate the beauty in each day because there will never be another one exactly the same. And man oh man, if we weren’t to get powder, Mother Nature gave us the next best thing. We had another clear day with incredible views and blue skies lightly painted with wispy clouds. The same lower layer of clouds was present, but once we rose above it, we had sights for miles from every spot on the mountains.
The Garbanzo (bean…) Express
The plan for the day was for Dad to check out of the Lost Lake Lodge at 9 AM, for us to ski until around 2 PM, grab a shuttle back to the lodge, change at the car, and to depart back to Vancouver to catch our 9:30 PM flight. Shawn and I ended up skiing the day together while Dad checked out and then hit the slopes himself. Shawn and I embarked to ski Whistler one last time before taking the Peak-2-Peak Gondola back to Blackcomb to finish off with the awe-inspiring Blackcomb Glacier. We took the Garbanzo Express up a few times on Whistler and played with some relatively fresh and fluffy snow. For our second run down from the top of the Garbanzo (bean…) Express **how can you JUST say Garbanzo Express?** , we ventured to the left of the lift to a trail that had a sign not recommending less-experienced skiers and boarders to take this route down due to some cliffs and steep terrain. We were all in and we made the right choice. With our legs beat from the previous two days of skiing and boarding, we made our way down this trail to find an overlook at the top of a 40 foot cliff (no joke) that overlooked on one of the surrounding mountain ranges. The view looked like this:
Stunning, right? I mean…..really…..stunning. We stood in snow up to our knees here for a few minutes and soaked in some of our final views from Whistler Mountain. The range that you are looking at is the range that has Blackcomb Mountain on it. Blackcomb is to the left in this photo. Looking over the edge, we decided that we should probably stay alive, so we made our way around the giant rock outcrop that we were just perched on. Our way down was still pretty steep but the challenge was rewarding and the snow and moguls were soft. We put our heads down, felt the burn, and were sweating in seconds. After we got past the steep section. I took a second to both breath and listen to my legs, who were screaming at me at the top of their lungs asking why I was punishing them. Too bad my legs can’t see what my eyes can. I looked up and appreciated what we had just done and the sights that we were soaking in.
View from Half-Way Down the Aforementioned Steeper Section
After this run we made our way over to the Peak-2-Peak Gondola to take us over to Blackcomb Mountain. Dad rode the Peak-2-Peak on the second ski day, while Shawn and I stayed on Whistler, so this was our second time riding the engineering feat. For Shawn and I, this was the first time where we had pretty great visibility and a sunshine-lit valley.
Descending Upon the Whistler-Blackcomb Valley in the Peak-2-Peak Gondola
View of the Valley from Mid-Span Nearly 1,427 Feet Above the Valley Floor
As we made our way up Blackcomb, we had the glacier in our sights. Below is a photo of the last leg of the climb to get to the glacier (above the t-bar).
Hiking to the Blackcomb Glacier
The views of the glacier were magnificent. The sun glistened over the snow and softened it like butter.
View from the Top of the Blackcomb Glacier
We made our way down the glacier under the blue skies and decided to begin making our way back down to the base, as we wanted to make sure we wouldn’t be late meeting up with Dad.
Venturing Down Blackcomb Glacier
As our ski day ended, we took the shuttle back to the car and changed, packed, and got ready for our drive back to Vancouver (roughly a 2 hour drive). I was excited to see the massive bays and mountains along the coastal drive that we were unable to see due to the fog on the way to Whistler. Monday was a perfectly clear day that would end up giving us this opportunity. Along the drive, there was a pull off area that gave an incredible and expansive view. The parking area also had information boards that educated us about the local tribes and features of the area and its history.
View from Pull Off on Drive Back to Vancouver
Fun Fact Board
DID YOU KNOW….. that salmon literally means to give oneself as food? I bet you didn’t know. There were a few boards that had a lot of interesting information about this area. We got back in the car and continued our journey back to catch our flight.
Driving into Vancouver
We ended up getting to the airport super early and had to wait roughly 4 hours for our flight to depart. Better to be early than late, but I was still wishing I was on the slopes for a few more hours. We ate and waited until it was time to board. We departed, and began our journey home. It was an action packed few days that I’d relive over and over like groundhog day if I could. Whistler Blackcomb is an incredible resort that one would think only exists in heaven. I recommend checking it out at some point in your life. The views are incredible and there is something to do for everyone – from shopping in Whistler Village to having a beer on top of Whistler Peak and from skiing powder-packed glades and bowls to cruising down groomers with views for miles. Thank you for reading and I hope you find these photos and stories inspiring such that you find and are able to follow the freedom that mountains provide.
Until next time,
-Ryan
