A Weekend in Whistler

Many of you will hear of Whistler and picture Swiss-style snowy mountains, ski lodges, and beautiful scenery, with a village teeming with restaurants and bars for apres ski. You’re pretty much there. Chuck in several truckloads of British, Aussie, and Kiwi twenty-somethings, and you’re spot on.

At the weekend, I headed up to Whistler in beautiful British Columbia from Vancouver.

I’ve only visited this pretty little village once before, and that was in the summer whilst it was boiling hot.

This weekend showed me something a little different. It certainly wasn’t as hot! Having been promised temperatures of -5 for the weekend, we set off, dreaming of crackling log fires and hot tubs.

Let’s start with the drive up…

It’s most definitely one of my favourite drives in the whole world.

You travel up the Sea to Sky Highway, or Highway 99, and are spoilt most of the way with incredible views of the turquoise ocean and mountains.

My pictures certainly don’t do it justice.

Once we arrived, we settled in at our suites and set off to explore the deceptively sunny village.

We spotted the first sprinkling of powder over Blackcomb Mountain, getting ready for the first few skiiers of the season.

The village itself is pretty quaint and beautiful. I love the style of the buildings that accommodate a whole host of shops, restaurants, and bars.

Back in 2010, Whistler Blackcomb was of course a primary host of the Winter Olympics, and saw thousands of athletes and tourists in either to compete or spectate.

I can imagine the atmosphere would have been pretty incredible!

With fall just about beginning to turn, winter is starting to settle in to the village.

As a frosty day, a glimpse of snow, and sparkly fairy lights turning on in Whistler, it all started to feel a little Christmassy.

You can see exactly how cold it was by this river which has completely turned to ice!

Having stopped for lunch in one of the local restaurants and browsing the shops, we headed back to the hotel for a sneaky hot tub having had our faces frozen out in the cold.

In the hotel, we were treated to a typically Canadian winter scene – a moose head resting above a crackling log fire.

Afterwards, we got dolled up and headed back into the village to experience the local nightlife. We discovered the Dubh Linn Gate, a wonderful Irish pub that served delicious grub. I can vouch for the amazing bangers and mash!

We had several drinks before heading to Garfinkel’s nightclub for 1920s evening with burlesque – it all got a bit merry!

We woke up the next day with slightly sore heads, craving comfort food. Finding the creperie completely rammed, we headed elsewhere for brunch before heading out on a hike to walk it off.