Whistler in Summer - Last Day
Mon Aug 9 |
| Blackcomb Gondola - we were staying just on the left |
Nick had said we would like Whistler in summer. Past visits have been in the depths of winter when temperatures have reached as low as -16C, rather than the mid thirties we enjoyed last week.
It is an adventure playground and there is a huge amount to do. There are more hiking trails than we could walk in years. The lakes are well served with canoe and kayak rentals; it's possible to rent bikes and ski-lift them up the mountain if you are into that sort of thing. There an increasing number of e-bikes for those who prefer to take the strain out of the pedalling. Camping in the mountains is stunning, but proper bear precautions are needed. There are opportunities for sightseeing helicopter/float plane flights, organised 4wd/ATV bear-trips. The list goes on and it suits all ages. Oh and of course the wildlife.
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| Bear climbing Blackcomb |
No bears on this morning's Lost Lake circuit. I did though get chatting to one of the wardens removing the 'Toads Crossing' signs. The migration is largely over though it's still possible to see a few stragglers she reported. Whilst they don't monitor the migration, the toads are too small and there are too many; they do a count each year of adult toads in part of the marshy area. This year was the best ever she said. Having seen the number of fingernail-sized 'toadlets' leaving the lake over the last week, I'm not surprised.
I asked about the bears we'd seen. Apparently there are two youngsters, one tagged one not. Our slumbering bear yesterday she thought was the untagged one. They are concerned that they the bears are too comfortable around people and that this could later become a problem. It's likely the conservation office will be called in to try and move them on.
No bears around Lost Lake but we did spot one from an extremely safe distance as we went up Blackcomb Mountain in the gondola at lunchtime. This was after a quick canoe paddle around Alta Lake late morning, much to Jack's delight.
The cloud of the last couple of days had cleared and we had 360 degree views with a lovely light. We hiked a short trail loop at the top - Alpine Loop - and enjoyed watching Marmots grazing and sunning themselves. They appeared completely unbothered by human presence and I got within four feet of the one in the video.
The views from the top were breathtaking. Some pics below. We swung back via Nick and Lizzie's to pick up Jack (not allowed on the mountains) and as we were early we had a quick drink on the Nita Lake Lodge deck (also no dogs). When we stayed at the Lodge in Feb last year, people were walking across a frozen lake and the deck had 2' of snow on it!
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| Nita Lake - Feb 2020 |
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| Whistler Mountain's snowless ski runs |
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| Whistler Mountain |
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| Blackcomb Mountain - Rendezvous (top of gondola) and Peak2Peak station on right |
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| Whistler Mountain with Peak2Peak across to it (white cables in centre) from Blackcomb |
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| Young Marmot |
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| Alpine flowers |
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| Let us hope it's fixed by winter! |
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| Blackcomb Inukchuck |
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| Distant mountains from Blackcomb some snow on N facing slopes |
It has been a brilliant 10 days and we definitely like Whistler in the summer. But as with any trip as it comes to an end, we're keen to get back home to Gibsons.
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