Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
SUMMER SKIING AND BOARDING
Just because the calendar, thermometer, and sun's angle say it's summer doesn't
mean winter sports are months away. Whistler Blackcomb is one of just two North
American resorts offering lift-served summer skiing. Between mid-June and late
July (but very dependent on weather), a T-bar on Blackcomb Mountain's
Horst-
man Glacier
opens up a small 45-hectare (110-acre) area with a vertical rise of 209
meters (520 feet). The lift opens noon-3pm daily; lift transportation from the valley
floor costs $61 for adults, $31 for children. The slopes can get crowded, with local
and national ski teams in training and with visitors enjoying the novelty of summer
skiing. But if it gets too bad, just goback to the valley floor forgolf orwater sports.
Between Whistler and Blackcomb Mountains, a gravel road leads 5 kilometers (3.1
miles) to the trailhead for the
Singing Pass Trail.
From the parking lot, this trail follows
the Fitzsimmons Creek watershed for 7.5 kilometers (4.7 miles) to Singing Pass, gaining
600 meters (2,000 feet) in elevation; allow 2.5 hours each way. From the pass, it's another
2 kilometers (1.2 miles) to beautiful
Russet Lake,
where you'll find a backcountry camp-
ground.
On the opposite side of the valley, an eight-kilometer (five-mile) trail (three hours each
way) leads from Alta Lake Road just north of the Whistler hostel up Twenty One Mile
Creek to
Rainbow Lake.
The elevation gain is a strenuous 850 meters (2,800 feet).
MM
Biking
The Whistler Valley is a perfect place to take a mountain bike—you'd need months to ride
all of the trails here. Many of the locals have abandoned their cars for bikes, which in
some cases are worth more than their cars! You can see them scooting along
Valley Trail,
a paved walk/bike path that links the entire valley and is the resident bicyclists' freeway.
Anotherpopularplaceformountainbikersisbeautiful
Lost Lake,
2kilometers(1.2miles)
northeast of Whistler Village.
Onthemountainslopes,
Whistler Mountain Bike Park
(
www.whistlerbike.com
,mid-
May to early Oct., $61 per day) is perfect for adventurous riders to strut their stuff. Using
the lifts to access a vertical drop of 1,200 meters (3,900 feet), it features three “Skill Cen-
tres” filled with obstacles for varying levels of skill, a Bikercross Course, and a variety of
trails to the valley floor.
