We had a leisurely breakfast and get ready before we set off on foot to the Whistler Gondola. I had pre booked tickets and soon collected this and we were on our way some 3 miles up the mountain.
We were not too sure what to expect but the long journey passed quickly chatting to an American lady and her daughter who come every year to Whistler to go hiking. We knew that there was a newly opened suspension bridge at the top. What we hadn't realised was that we needed to go up another open chairlift to reach it. These really scare Karen. Our Gondola companion described in such a terrifying way to really put the fear of god into her. She talked about the sheer drop on the chairlift over the Ice field and then how once we reached the bridge how much it really swayed as you walked across it.
We were surprised how warm it was at the summit. The only real shame was that the forest fires meant that there was a smoke haze that was not only blocking a lot of the sun but almost meant that we could not see anything of what apparently spectacular vistas.
The suspension bridge was between two peaks and swayed precariously as we walked across it. It did make it almost impossible to walk without holding on firmly with both hands. There was also a triangular platform that jutted out from the mountain and Karen actually felt more nervous on this than the bridge. Because of the smoke haze both the bridge and platform looked more impressive from a distance than the views we could actually see from them.
After wandering around for a while we then took the open chairlift back down the main Gondola station, still some 3 miles up the mountain. We decided that Karen had more than earned a coffee so grabbed some drinks from the cafe and sat outside on the patio to enjoy them.
It is the longest ride I have ever ridden. I must admit when got to the pylon with the start of the long gap it was a 'Wow' moment. We could not see the next pylon at all. We dropped with the cable droop. We were so high up over the forest below it was like being in an airplane. There was absolute silence and it hardly seemed like we were moving.
I have to admit I felt relieved when eventually we reached the next pylon and Karen started breathing again.
We then took the Peak 2 Peak Gondola back to Whistler mountain and it was no less scary the second time.
By this time we thought we deserved a proper drink at the great bar we had seen on Whistler mountain. It was an idyllic setting and a real sun trap. We had a couple of chilled glasses of wine. The price was rather steep but its not everyday you get to sit in the sun on the top of a mountain chilling out. Now we put it down to the thinness of the air but we felt the impact of the alcohol straight away, which led us to immediately having another. We had a good chat with the barman who was an exuberant character and lots of fun.
We then got the Gondola back down to Whistler village and walked back to the apartment where relaxed for a while.
