Wild Whistler

Bonding time.

Whistler is best known for it's skiing and snowboarding during the winter, but apparently even more people visit during the summer months to have a go at downhill mountain biking, zip-lining and a bunch of other outdoorsy activities for those with the right amount of guts and medical insurance. We caught a bus up to Whistler from Vancouver to take on some of the fun stuff, but also to pay a visit to Kate's brother, Tim, who has been making a living up there for over a year now. 

We were only there for a few days, but Tim booked us into a couple of crazy days out, as well as showing us a couple of top little places to eat as well.

The first adrenaline charged outing was an ATV ride through the mountains outside Whistler. Kate and me, along with Tim and his lovely girlfriend Nicole were each given a gassed up all-terrain vehicle and a helmet, then we all followed our guide up and over rocks and rivers for a couple of hours of reckless adventure. Apart from one spill by myself, which could have ended a lot worse than it did, no one was hurt and we all had a tonne of fast paced fun. It was a very different way to experience the natural beauty of the mountains, and I would do it again, but not before my bruises heal from this latest trip.

The next day I could barely walk, so Tim thoughtfully arranged for us to go on a zip-lining tour, where I didn't really need to use my legs at all; I just had to clip onto the zip-line and fall forwards, then gravity took care of the rest.

I make it sound easy, but once we were up in the trees, standing on the edge of a platform, taking that first step into nothingness was quite terrifying at first. Once we were past that it was amazing, and the views of the mountains were really something as well.

It rained the whole time we were zip-lining, which made for some eerie scenery, and we arrived back in town looking and feeling like drowned rats, but with our hearts still pumping pure adrenalin after all the zip-lining.

Our hotel had a little hot tub outside, which Kate and I used as soon as we were back, and despite the rain falling on our heads, we were warm and cosy within minutes. It was amazing being able to sit outside in the freezing cold, in the rain, and still be so warm and comfortable.

Before we knew it, our short stay in Whistler came to an end, and we were saying goodbye to Tim before getting on the bus to take us back to Vancouver.

By the way, we were not on our way to spend more time in Vancouver, despite it being such a nice place. We were actually just passing through to collect our Wicked Campervan, who we named Darth. More on that in our next post, which covers our week-long tour of Vancouver Island.

Until next time! 
//Brendan