Whistler, British Columbia – future home to 2010 Winter Olympics events, provides a festive atmosphere throughout the year. In winter it’s all about snow, where 33 lifts have the capacity for transporting 59,007 skiers/riders per hour up Whistler or Blackcomb mountains.

In the summer the adventuresome take their mountain bikes up on the Blackcomb gondola and ride down one of the mountain’s more than 100 trails. The longest ski run is seven miles. Staggering statistics, since organized downhill skiing didn’t begin there until 1965.

While in your T-shirt and shorts, you can imagine the thrill of swishing and traversing down those Alpine slopes in winter as you watch mountain bikers two-wheel it down to the village square. It takes your breath away – watching.

Long before boards were strapped to boots and pointed downhill on snow. Long before European explorers and settlers came to southwestern Canada, the St’at’mic people lived 25km north of Whistler around what is now Pemberton. They spent their summers on the shores of Green Lake, at what is now Whistler, where they camped, fished and gathered berries. They returned to their valley, around Pemberton, for the winter.

Today, summer activities in and around Whistler Mountain include canoeing or kayaking on the beautiful rivers and lakes, as well as fishing, golf, hiking, rock climbing and horseback riding. Whistler Village offers plenty of interest for children of all ages who sign up for their summer camp, or take their skate boards and rollerblades to the Meadow Park Sports Center next to the basketball court. The Village 8 Cinemas and Rainbow Theater show movies for adults as well as children. There are two swimming pools at the sports center, or picnicking and swimming at Alpha Lake park area.

To help you plan your vacation, day to day, and week by week, activity schedules are available at www.whistlerchamberofcommerce.com.

For history buffs, there is a museum, of course, and the Whistler Public Library. You will discover that during the hundred years following Captain George Vancouver’s 1792 exploration of the area, several expeditions sought an easier route to the Cariboo gold fields. By 1911, the Pacific Great Eastern Railway had been pushed through to Alta Lake on its way toward Prince George.

In 1914, Alex and Myrtle Philip opened Rainbow Lodge on the north-west corner of Alta Lake, with guests arriving by rail. For decades Alta Lake was the most popular summer fishing and tourist’s resort area west of Banff.

In the mid-1950s a group of Vancouver businessmen started looking for a site to develop for a bid to host the 1960 Winter Olympics. They settled on London Mountain, known locally as Whistler Mountain because of the whistling marmots on its flanks.

Though unsuccessful in their bid, they were inspired by the Winter Olympics at Squaw Valley, California. As a result, Norwegian entrepreneur Franz Wilhelmsen formed the Garibaldi Lift Company to explore the recreational skiing potential of the mountain. Wilhelmsen put in the first ski lift at Whistler Creek, in what is now known as Creekside, and downhill skiing began winter season 1965.

On July 2, 2003, the Vancouver-Whistler 2010 Bid Corporation realized their dream when the International Olympic Committee (IOC) voted them the host city for the 2010 Winter Games.

Whether drawn to Whistler for the snow or following Highway 99 north on the Gold Rush Trail from Vancouver to Lillooet, through Whistler, you are promised some of the most spectacular scenery British Columbia has to offer.

Hotel or RV park reservations are recommended any time of the year. Riverside is the only full-service and dry-camping RV park in the area. They also offer year-around log cabin accommodations. The nearest Provincial Parks are Callaghan Lake, 15km to the south, and Nairn Falls, 25km to the north – without showers, hookups, or water.

There was a time when overnight RV parking or camping was permitted in the Whistler Village lots – not today. And, the rule is enforced with towing and a fine.

From Riverside, you can take a long walk over the Fitzsimmons Creek and through the woods to Whistler Village. Trails are beautiful and well marked. Maps are available and advisable. Many people ride bikes, and the wide trails are also kid-stroller friendly.
As the sun sets slowly behind the mountains it becomes downright chilly in the village square because generally there is still snow somewhere. So, bring a warm sweat shirt, or buy one in the Village so you can sit outside and eat Wiener schnitzel and mashed potatoes. Too tired to walk? Catch a taxi cab back to the RV park.

If your Canadian loop takes you along the old gold miners trail, through Whistler, Pemberton and Lillooet, then you can head toward Merritt, on to Kelowna and down the Okanogan Valley—where fruit is abundant in June, July and August.

IF YOU GO
Lodging or RV space is at a premium in and around Whistler, both summer and winter. There are 5,200 rooms at Whistler Village. Following are suggested contact numbers and web sites.

•Whistler’s Central Reservations Service – Toll free: 1-800-WHISTLER; 604-932-2394 or www.mywhistler.com.
•Hotels, Chalets, Town homes, condos – Toll free: 1-877-905-4044; 604-905-4013 or www.whistlerplanner.com.
•Bed & Breakfast accommodations and other information offered through Whistler Chamber of Commerce – 604-932-5528 or www.whistlerchamberofcommerce.com.
•Riverside: Whistler’s year round RV resort and campground – Toll free: 1-877-905-5533 or www.whistlercamping.com or Email: info@whistlercamping.com.

Provincial Parks information at www.bcparks.ca:
Brandywine Falls, 20km south of Whistler; Callaghan Lake, 15km south of Whistler;
Alice Lake, 45 minutes south of Whistler; Nairn Falls, 25km north of Whistler; Birkenhead Lake, 54km north of Pemberton.