Whistler - Part 2

Shop till you drop heaven!!

This is certainly an improvement over the landfill that destroyed the valley floor and floodplain of history. And in all fairness a real effort has been made to insert lots of nature.

Bobsled and luge will take place at Whistler and the related facilities will be one of the legacies. For now old folks can relive their youthful dreams. (4526)

And their youthful activities – perhaps not quite so successfully as at 15 or 16. But hey not bad for 45 years later, eh? Lyn demonstrates while Roger’s brother Ian looks on with approval.

Like many others, we missed out on the Whistler real estate boom (in fact we missed out on a few others as well). At one point we had a chance to pick up a 2 year old, very large 1 bedroom apartment in the village for $90,000. A few years later we were able to buy a Christmas week timeshare (3 stories with in-suite hot tub) for $30,000 in this building (Village Gatehouse). We had a lot of fun in it with family and friends for 15 Christmas weeks and sold it for the purchase price. So as a fun investment it was worth every penny. But as real estate investment it sucked big time. Well maybe the fun was more important. At least we hope it was. Naw, we KNOW it was.

To escape the “urban” nature and perhaps the urbanity of today’s Whistler a short drive towards Pemberton, followed by a 30 minute hike along this old First Nations trading trail,

brings us to Nairn Falls. Over 150 million years ago this area was near the shore of a vast ocean. Gradually the earth’s crust moved upwards and crushed nearby volcanic islands against the shoreline. Further upheavals and other movements of the crust changed this area from seashore to mountains. The Green River over the centuries and the glaciers of this area brought many changes. The glaciers wore away rock as they ground their way down the mountains, creating silt in the river, and indeed creating the river itself. The silt of the river wears away the bedrock and when the river water moves in a circular motion it carves potholes. Sometimes the collapse of the floor of one pothole creates an underground passage between two potholes as at this site.

For the sports-minded Whistler offers many opportunities to be athletic or to watch athletes, although normally in summer you wouldn’t see skiers practising aerials.

The air induced bubbles provide a cushion for a good landing or for a crash.

Whistler has lots to offer, winter, spring, summer or fall. Go and experience it.