Whistler - Gondolas and Hiking!

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Yes, we went hiking (can hear the laughing from here!), but the real story of the day was the weather!

An early start again today for our day tour to Whistler. We have been watching the weather forecast, and yesterday it changed from rain in Whistler to showers, an improvement at least, but not great if you are going up a mountain. And the forecast for Vancouver changed from showers to cloudy, so it looked like we would be following the rain.

However, there were little patches of blue sky as we walked to our tour pick up spot, and we found the high rise office buildings, not the part of the city we are staying in. Then on to the bus heading through Stanley Park and over the Lions Gate Bridge, on our way to our first stop near Squamish. The scenery along the Sea to Sky Highway was amazing (even in the clouds - which were decreasing). The road follows the shoreline of Howe Sound with views over coastal towns, the water and nearby islands, and mountains (again, most of which were hidden by clouds).

Arrived at the Sea to Sky Gondola, which rises 885m above sea level. Was actually sunny by this time, at least at ground level, but the gondolas disappeared into the clould. Jumped on board (no queue) and up we went. The views looking back down were beautiful, but then came the cloud, and that was all we could see. But then we were above the cloud, and could see the mountains above us, little bit of snow, and the summit station where we got off. We walked around the building at the top, and the clouds gradually moved away, so we could see to the bottom. Trina (very bravely) walked across the suspension bridge (I took her photo!), and then we walked the Spirit hiking trail (yep, but not going to mention that it was a 400m loop), again, beautiful views across to the mountains and down to the water. It was apparently 12° at the bottom, and only 4° at the top, didn't feel that cold - must have been all the hiking!

Back down in the gondola, and another hike to Shannon Falls, third highest waterfall in Canada, great to see and very loud.

On the bus again, next stop Brandywine Falls, another hike from the highway, this waterfall not as high, but looking from above, so equally beautifull (however it is raining, just lightly, as we head back to the bus).

Finally on our way to Whistler, through rain and sunshine, then arrive at Whistler Village, with 4 hours to fill in before the return trip to Vancouver.

Lunch first, at one of the many pubs in Whistler, the food was very nice, and they had NZ wine, studied the map while we ate to decide what to do next.

There is a Peak to Peak Gondola in Whistler which goes across from the top of Whistler Mountain, to the top of Blackcomb Mountain - weren't sure if we could handle that one, but to get to it, you first need to go up the Whistler Village Gondola to the top of Whistler Mountain. Decided to do this, and maybe check out the peak to peak at the top.

Every second gondola is used by mountain bike riders, and their bikes, who ride up then bike down. Must be nuts, but they are everywhere (covered in mud). Off we go again, weather still dicey, so not sure what we will be able to see, but as we rise above the clouds, what we do see is snow! Lots of snow (not visible from the bottom), and then we think it is raining in the gondola (top window louvres are open), but the French Canadian couple in the gondola with us assure us that it is not raining, but snowing! It is June! When we leave the gondola at the top, it is still snowing, freezing cold, and windy. Looked at the Peak to Peak, and decided it wasn't for us, so very quickly back down in the gondola (to thaw out), and spent the rest of the afternoon wandering round the village (in sun and rain).

Driving back to Vancouver, the scenery was even more spectacular, because there was blue sky and sunshine. We could see snow capped mountains that we couldn't on the way up.

The bus driver/tour guide told us this morning of a weather forecast he heard some time ago for Vancouver - "Sunny, with clouds, chance of a shower or snow" - that was exactly what we got today, a little bit of everything.

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