Whistler Canada
February 7-14, 2009

Trip Leader:  Lee Grigsby

 We had the awesome experience skiing at one of the premier ski resorts in North America. Our close knit group of six skiers embarked on our journey across America Feb. 7 only to have to return to reality a week later. Our trip went without a hitch, including clearing customs on both sides of the border.

Whistler easily lived up to its reputation of being the #1 ranked resort for numerous years by a variety of ski magazines. Between Whistler and Blackcomb there are 8,171 acres of terrain and a total of 10,300 of vertical feet (Vail in comparison has 5,289 acres). The new PEAK to PEAK Gondola was an extremely smooth 11 minute ride connecting both mountains at their upper-mid levels.

Our Florida Ski Council evenings were very well organized with plenty of food and dancing to be had, if you still had the legs to wiggle on the dance floor after skiing. The snow and weather were excellent throughout the week. Our very nice accommodations allowed us to “ski-in” with a brief 5 minute shuttle ride to the mountain base to catch the lifts in the morning.

The European style village at the base offered extensive shopping and dining venues. Melba treated us all to a home cooked chili meal one evening and on another we enjoyed a horse drawn moonlight sleigh ride followed by a “fondue” dining experience. Our trip ended with an elegant dinner at the Bearfoot Bistro.

The only “casualty” of the trip was John donating his 20 year old skis to the local ski museum.

The 2010 Winter Olympic preparations are underway and the Olympic spirit is in full swing. It will be exciting to see the world’s athletes congregate this next winter at the area we had the pleasure to experience firsthand.  I just wish I could have fit a totem pole into my suitcase as a souvenir. 

Jacksonville Ski Club
P.O. Box 551352 Jacksonville, Florida 32255-1352
email JaxSkiClub