Squamish ⇔ Whistler (1)

□ Day 2 (13 Feb) Squamish ⇔ Whistler (1)

When we woke up, a lovely blue sky had spread out. In the distance we could see pure-white snowy mountains. On the road to Whistler the snow walls at the roadside were big, but the snow clearing was perfect. Again, there was roadwork in several places. There was a fair amount of traffic. Along the Sea to Sky Highway we went from the sea to the mountains. After about an hour of winding road we arrived at Whistler Village.

First we went to the office of a company called Japanada Enterprise to buy lift passes. The receptionist was Japanese, and it was a relief to be able to speak in Japanese. When we said we were going to drive to Yellowknife in a rental car, we were told it was probably impossible. Do even people who live in Canada think driving to Yellowknife in winter is crazy?

We took the Whistler Village Gondola and finally hit the slopes! The Whistler ski area is split across two mountains: Whistler Mountain at 2,182 m and Blackcomb Mountain at 2,440 m. The plan was to ski Whistler on the first day, Blackcomb on the second, and both on the third and fourth. The gondola felt packed and a little cramped, but it's very fast. In no time Whistler Village below became tiny. Getting off the gondola, something was glittering in the air! Diamond dust. The temperature was about −15 °C. The snow was dry, like powder. Kick it and it floats up. A vast ski area spread out, and in the distance we could see snowy mountains continuing on and on. Because it's at a high latitude, about 50° north, at this time of year the sun doesn't rise high even at midday. Even so, the snow on the slopes shone pure white.

After a commemorative photo, we finally started skiing! We enjoyed the best slopes, with powder snow flying up at every turn, and headed for the upper part of Whistler Mountain. The quad lifts were comfortably spaced and fast. As the summit approached, the trees got shorter until we reached the tree line. Above that spread a world of rock and snow. Near the summit there are many cirques called "Bowls", and reasonably advanced skiers can ski down freely from anywhere in the vast Bowl area. The crazy experts are skiing down what are practically cliffs. What's surprising is that these are properly marked on the map and signs as Expert Trails.

You can take a lift right to the summit of Whistler Mountain. From here you get a superb 360° panoramic view. There's also an Inukshuk, a figure of stacked stones that is also the symbol of the Vancouver Olympics. Inukshuks apparently come from Canada's Indigenous peoples. From the summit we skied straight down 1,530 m of vertical to Creekside at the base! The whole run is intermediate, and you can ski at an exhilarating speed. But even for an intermediate run there are mogul slopes here and there. They aren't very steep, so they're good mogul practice, and before long the moguls become fun. A long, varied run: recommended!

Lunch was at a restaurant at the base. We thought the prices were a little high, and ordered one burger each and one salad for the four of us. The result left us dumbfounded. It didn't say it was a set, but each came not only with a giant hamburger but with a huge pile of fries and salad. The salad we shared was heaped on a big plate too, with lots of chicken on top. Of course we ate everything, but we were far too full for skiing. The taste was faultless. We were more than satisfied. Is this the Canadian standard? After lunch we enjoyed the vast slopes of Whistler Mountain again. Skiing above the tree line in particular feels wonderful.

After skiing we toured the supermarkets. We were looking for salmon roe. But neither the supermarket in Whistler Village nor the one in Squamish had any. There were large amounts of many kinds of fresh meat and ham, but few kinds of seafood. Among them we bought fresh salmon and smoked salmon. Tonight's dinner: a double-salmon rice bowl with soy-marinated fresh salmon and grilled smoked salmon! The melting texture and savoury flavour were the best. We also had pumpkin soup and crab-stick salad. The "buttermilk" we used in the soup wasn't ordinary milk but something sour like drinking yoghurt, so the soup turned out sour. An odd taste. By the way, crab sticks are called "Imitation Crab" in English. I didn't expect Canada to have crab sticks too.