Whistler for 3 full days of ski! A break on my way to a full week of meetings in Kuala Lumpur. A discovery - first time here. They say you haven't ski until you have done Whistler - I think they are right! Runs like you have never seen - long, wide, fast, scenic, with glacier high peaks as a backdrop. Lucky with the weather - blue sky 2 out of 3 days. Could have used a little bit of fresher snow, hey but can you always have it all! Unusual visibility over the surrounding mountains I am told. 2 first days on Blackcomb Mountain - well studied slopes; wherever you go you have a choice: green, blue, black diamonds trails to select from. Cynthia loved it. Then the last day, Whistler Mountain. Wow! The Gondola ride, then the last bit to the peak - unrivalled and breathtaking! Much less studied - no comparison an old habitué tells us (Whistler predates Blackcomb: 1968 versus the 80’s). Skied the last afternoon with a bunch of Whistler aficionados, surely in their (early) sixties, going down these slopes like teenagers; I follow, with a gap! But boy, that was exhilarating! Sure clears the mind - the only focus is the slope under your feet, the turn ahead of you, which direction to go, and whether you will hold up to the bottom or the next lift! The cold air zipping by, the sun in your face...and the fire in your thighs!
The coming Winter Olympics are everywhere. The road from Vancouver, a veritable construction site. It’s everywhere in town. Real estate is of course booming. It’s President Week – the US holiday. The drop in their dollar hasn’t make a dent in the Americans coming here; as one guy put it to us, for those who come here from the US, the low dollar doesn’t make a difference. It is true, money must not be a factor; it is an expansive place – just try the Barefoot Bistro: only bistro by name, and certainly not for the barefooted! Reconciled ourselves with the place at Umberto’s Trattoria… It’s also the World Cup competition this week. These guys and gals go down at 120/130 km/h! Crazy. Busiest weekend ever. It’s busy in the winter and busier in the summer: trekking, mountain biking, fishing, and of course golfing. 2.5 million visitors a year; 1.5 million in the summer. A great place, no doubt. No wonder so many people that come here never leave, as some of the people we talked to; they came 20, 30 years ago never to return where they were from and settled in the area. Not a bad choice…
The coming Winter Olympics are everywhere. The road from Vancouver, a veritable construction site. It’s everywhere in town. Real estate is of course booming. It’s President Week – the US holiday. The drop in their dollar hasn’t make a dent in the Americans coming here; as one guy put it to us, for those who come here from the US, the low dollar doesn’t make a difference. It is true, money must not be a factor; it is an expansive place – just try the Barefoot Bistro: only bistro by name, and certainly not for the barefooted! Reconciled ourselves with the place at Umberto’s Trattoria… It’s also the World Cup competition this week. These guys and gals go down at 120/130 km/h! Crazy. Busiest weekend ever. It’s busy in the winter and busier in the summer: trekking, mountain biking, fishing, and of course golfing. 2.5 million visitors a year; 1.5 million in the summer. A great place, no doubt. No wonder so many people that come here never leave, as some of the people we talked to; they came 20, 30 years ago never to return where they were from and settled in the area. Not a bad choice…
