This is Whistler, and I'm an American Skier

Peak 2 Peak

It has been rated the top ski destination in the world.  Two mountains, unbelievable terrain, a village to die for, and people from all over the world.

It's the home of the Peak 2 Peak, the highest and longest lift in the world.

This is Whistler, BC.

My first trip there was memorable to say the least.  I realized it's a young persons world, but it wasn't stopping us.  We fully embraced what the village had to offer with our ski-in, ski-out condo that looked right out at both gondolas that take you to either Blackcomb or Whistler.

Choose your pain, both are awesome.

The T Bar (right)

Whistler, BC is just a 7 hour drive from our Tri-Cities home and you will find everything you ever wanted in a ski resort, and more.  All levels of skiers and snowboarders were there, some of which probably didn't belong, but that's the beauty of the sport.  My friend fell off the steep T-Bar twice, but it wasn't stopping him.   I still can't stop laughing at the expressions on the faces of the folks in the ski line when it happened.   It was like everything in the world stopped, many of the people looked like they stopped breathing.  It wasn't the first time he fell off that lift, we never saw him again on the hill that day, and I probably don't blame him.  I rode up to the top with a young gal from San Diego,  who was shivering the whole way up the lift.  Many would understand considering the average temperature in San Diego is 78 degrees year round.  When I saw her take a couple turns I was thinking she probably wished she was still there.

But that's the beauty of skiers and snowboarders.  There's no fear when you get up on the mountain, it brings out the tenacity in so many of us.

We ate seafood, Italian, Thai, you name it, we even munched on popcorn with truffle oil while we were enjoying a night cap after a wonderful meal.   We had oysters on the half shell, we enjoyed Poutine, a Canadian comfort food tradition.  We drank wine from all over the world.  We met people from all over the globe.  The world is much better than the media makes it out to be.

The line on Family Day

Canada has a holiday called "Family Day".  The lines that day reflected it after one of the gondolas broke down.  The line stretched all the way through the village.  That was an easy fix, we proceeded to down three bottles of bubbly.  We learned quickly it probably wasn't a good idea for these 50-something legs, but heck, we are American skiers.

Bulldog (Margarita with a splash of Corona)

The weather changes quickly at Whistler-Blackcomb because of its coastal location.  Our final day we were eating lunch at the top of Whistler and when we returned to our skis it was raining.  We took a cruiser all the way to the village to a jam packed Longhorn Saloon.  It was Super Bowl Sunday. We were soaked.  Time for a "Bulldog" to take the edge off the day.  Time to reflect on another great day.

This is Whistler, and I'm an American Skier.