Zip me up

Yesterday I went on a Zipline Tour, which was SO COOL! I can't recommend this highly enough. Unless you're scared of heights - then it would basically suck.

The tour consists of gliding along a series of steel siplines supsended high above the river that divides Whistler and Blackcomb Mountains. They just opened a new, higher and longer course that I opted for, which takes you as high as 450 feet and one line almost a half mile long.

In between ziplines, you take short hikes, some through suspended bridges and platforms high in the trees of an old-growth forest. The guides give an overview of mountain ecology, and it was pretty cool to learn that Whistler is working to become the world's most sustainable community.

I'm very impressed that they came up with this method for people to be able to see the old-growth forests with minimal impact, and this is yet another example of how Whistler is more than just a ski destination. In fact, one of the guides told me they operate the zipline tours every day of the year.

There were about 10 of us on the tour, including a kid who looked to be about 8 years old. Most of us didn't find out until later that he had a bit of a breakdown after he got out of the van at the first zipline, but his mother worked some magic and he did the tour with gusto. I suppose the prospect of admitting you're scared in front of your two older brothers is enough to get any kid to fling himself across a river several hundred feet in the air. His oldest brother proved the gutsiest though - he went across one of the lines upside down.

Also on the tour were three Japanese guys who didn't speak much English, which became evident on the longest line. The guide had asked us to do a "cannonball" the whole way across, because on that particular line the wind can slow you down so much that you won't make it all the way to the other side. At which point they just desert you, since you clearly need to learn a lesson. (Okay, actually they extend a hook along the line and drag you in by your gear.) Anyway, one of the Japanese guys clearly didn't get the concept of the cannonball, because as he was coming across we could see he had his arms and legs extended as far as he possibly could. Pretty much the exact opposite of a cannonball. Needless to say, he got the hook.

On the drive up, we also got to see some of the construction for the 2010 Olympics. This shot is where one of the bobsled runs will be. The tour didn't end with another van ride though - it turns out the final zipline drops you right into the village. Cool!

More photos at http://babas.typepad.com/photos/great_northwest/.

Comments

[Jan]

The Zipline looks like great fun. Awesome pictures as usual. What's the weather like up there? Does it cool down a lot at night?

[Barbara G.]

The weather has been, as the locals put it, "unseasonably warm." 90's most days, with a pleasant dip down to 80 yesterday. It does cool down at night, though I was quite comfortable having dinner outside in short sleeves at 10pm the other night.