Canada 2001 - a skiing oddity

The last week of the tour was to be in Whistler, Canada's largest ski resort and, in my opinion, one of the 'big' resorts on this planet. My last visit, 4 years previous, left me in no rush to come back. This was mainly due to the crowds that go with such a large resort and city infrastructure. However, as 3 of our group of 5 who were to travel from Fernie to Whistler were experiencing their first trip to Canada, it was appropriate to include Whistler in the itinerary. This turned out to be a blessing in disguise as the snow depth at Whistler was somewhat better than what a third week at Fernie had on offer.

Even more noticeable than in Fernie was the huge number of Australians working in the resort. That old joke "What is Australia's largest ski resort - Whistler" was even more applicable than ever during any of previous trips to Whistler.

We did, however, find solace deep in the trees where the snow quality was significantly better than on the exposed off piste chutes and bowls that Whistler and Blackcomb mountains are so well renown. The 11cm of fresh snow at the end of the week only temporarily hid the ptex-hungry nasties littering the couloirs.

Being our last week and with much more night life on offer, I went out on the town most nights - but could I get the others to join in? Whether it was the long days of skiing or too much food I will never know but it was a bit like extracting teeth trying to get the others interested in a night out. Luckily for me, I found the locals friendly and ready to accept passing through travellers into their circle of hospitality.

During the day, with less than perfect snow conditions, we started on a gourmet food crawl around the mountains. This culminate on Thursday with a feast of morning hot chocolate and ooey gooey sticky buns at Chick Pea on Whistler, followed by great soup and fresh bread rolls at Glacier Lodge on Blackcomb and an afternoon snack of waffles (with strawberries, raspberries and cream) at Crystal Hut on Blackcomb. And yes, we went out that night and dined on prawn and artichoke fettuccini at Uli's Flipside. While giving free plugs I must mention that the best meal we had out together at Whistler was at the Dubh Linn Gate Irish Pub and the entertainment was a treat.

No, I didn't put on any extra weight. May be it was the night life because some of those who preferred to sleep rather than party did add a few extra centimetres to the waistline.

Sure we could have done with more snow but in all it was a great week. Mostly clear blue sky days, pleasant temperatures, wonderful food and good entertainment. And for two of us a rewarding bonus to help make up for the lack of normal great Whistler snow - a very valuable, full day of ski instruction by one of Canada's best. Steve Smart (Performance Skiing Programs) provided us with the latest in carve-ski skiing techniques together with video analysis. Now I can't wait to get back on the slopes here in OZ to perfect these new found skills.