The Road to Whistler

(I've been having trouble with Blogger not finding my pics so will add them once I figure out the problem). In the meantime, check them out at http://picasaweb.google.com/vanbookinginfo/RoadToWhistlerPartII/

So now it's well over due that I post to my poor, neglected blog. I see that the blog that got lost is now found - I'll leave them both to confuse you even more.

I've been playing way to much at Tagoria!!!

Last weekend, my friend and I took a day trip up to Whistler, a well-known ski & sun resort north of Vancouver. Whistler is one of the major venues for the 2010 Winter Olympics and Para-Olympics, as well as being a top world vacation destination.

I plan to take plenty of pics to share on this site and on Picasa so dutifully recharge all my camera batteries the night before while packing a picnic cooler with strawberries, Camembert, crackers, egg salad, juice and granola bars. Mmmm.

Early the next morning we leave town and head over Lion's Gate Bridge, through West Vancouver, and soon after passing the Horseshoe Bay ferry turnoff we quickly join the Sea to Sky Highway. The drive up the coast is gorgeous on a sunny day. Most of the reconstruction on the highway is complete with only a few spots left where you have to slow down, but there are no delays. Howe Sound is calm, it's early spring so the trees are that amazing bright yellowy green that gladdens the heart and quickens our sluggish winter blood.

Considering the first few pics were taken through the windshield, and while travelling at speed, they turned out better than expected, but by the time we come into sight of The Chief, my camera is beeping its low battery signal. Eeek! Change batteries. Eeek! Same response from said camera. At this point I'm really ticked because of the crummy camera. We pull into the Shopper's drug store in Squamish and I fork out $18 plus change for new NiMH batteries. Same thing. Bloody cheap technology! So I resorted to turning the camera off, then quickly turning it on and snapping a pic or two before the camera dies again. Typical. First trip in ages and this happens.

Hence the title "The Road to Whistler".

The Chief is a 450 m cliff face that pro climbers love. They even sleep there, hanging from little hanging nets and tents. Weird. But there are paths of varying difficulty along the back of the mountain for those who are brave but not exactly crazy, like my daughters. Named for Chief Mountain, an ancestral Nisga'a, there are 7-10 kms of return hiking trails, depending on your route. One of several in the area, it is estimated at 93 million years old; as volcanic monoliths go, it is one of the world's biggest freestanding mounts. On the Picas site I've placed markers on the google map for you.

I will post more later.

Oh...when I got home that night, I tried recharging the batteries again, but in a different wall outlet. It worked fine. So not only did I not get the pics I wanted, I also had forked out $18 for dead NiMH Duracells from a brand new still-smell-the-paint drug store. Go figure...

The Road to Whistler

I'm spending way too much time at Tagoria.com!!!

Anyway, I've decided to tell you about my trip to Whistler, one of the best sun & ski resorts on the planet (and probably one of the most expensive, too). This is one of the major venues for the 2010 Winter Olympics and ParaOlympics. I had planned to do a whole series of pics as the drive up the coast is as spectacular as the surrounding mountains. Half way up the highway my camera started blinking that the batteries were dead. I changed them. Same thing. Thinking it might be a problem with the camera, we stopped at a shop in Squamish and I forked over about $18 for extras. They didn't work either! Definitely the camera. Very depressing. It wasn't until I got home that night and plugged the recharger into a different outlet that I discovered it wasn't the batteries at all. It was the bloody wall plug I'd used the night before...which also meant I'd forked out $18 for 2 dead NiMH Duracells from the brand new Shopper's drug store...

Anyway, I did get a few shots before the batteries died. Some of them were taken through the windshield of a car going well over the speed limit, so take this into account when viewing. The lake shots were taken at Porteau Cove Provincial Park. There is a beautiful campground there. If planning to camp at any BC Provincial Park, book well in advance and have your credit card ready.



The very high (450 m), bare stone cliff is a very popular climbing wall, experts only. You can also climb up the back end to reach the top. Clearly marked paths, but still steep and not for the faint of heart...literally. Google Stawamus Chief Provincial Park for info. Might as well check out Pemberton info as well. It's world famous for the eagles and bears that enjoy salmon fishing priveleges. Cameras are de rigeur, but leave your weapons at home. Canadian folk don't take kindly to anyone messing with the wildlife. You won't be invited back EVER and the monetary penalties are very high, but still way too low in my humble opinion.


That said, British Columbia is a truly spectacular place to live and I love it here.