This troop is pooped! We woke up to find Snaily passed out, wasted on the bed; Moo is showing signs of wear and tear and Carolyn and I are starting to feel the effects of all this outdoorsy stuff. Her bum knee is achy, my neck and back are starting to stiffen and my hip is wonky. Not to mention we are both covered in black fly bites (mine look like regular bites, Carolyn's well... let's just say Miss "I'm allergic to EVERYTHING" is swelling up quite nicely). Poor kid, I know I'm itchy with my little bites, I can't even imagine :( BOO! Luckily we didn't have to be up and at it first thing this morning. We got to lounge around, watch some classic music videos (can anyone say "Hit Me Baby One More Time!"... Yes we did!!! And now I bet that song is stuck in your head now isn't it?)
Our last scheduled expedition was the Glacier Hike up on Whistler Mountain. We had to take the 20 min gondola ride bac
k up to the Peak-2-Peak where we would suit up to start our hike. It's July 26th and we got to go play in the snow!!! WOOHOO!!! We were the only 2 in our lesson/tour so it was great! I think we've worn at least 1 helmet everyday since we've been here. I think my chin has got a permanent groove in it from the chin straps! We've only signed our lives away...6 or 7 times so far? The joys of tackling sports that could potentially send you tumbling to your doom. For the Glacier Hike they even gave us each an ice ax. :) The ice ax is my new best friend! It saved Moo and I a few times climbing that giant block of ice. I even got to practice "safe arrest" which allowed me to run and slide down the snow/ice, flip over and jab the ax into the snow to stop me from killing myself. Good to know :) Carolyn didn't want to try that one... haha. We are all connected to each other with a rope which forces everyone to climb at the same pace and not leave anyone behind if they get into trouble. It's tough because if there is too much slack, you trip over the rope and if it's taught then it pulls on you. The climb up is slow and steady and deceivingly steep. You're always just looking 
for your next step so you don't realize how steep the climb really is (until you come back down...). At the top of the glacier there is a road that leads to the summit of Whistler where the famous Inukshuk from the 2010 Olympics is located. We had time to climb up and check it out. Unfortunately the fog was so thick up there, there wasn't much to see from the summit, but still cool to be so far up like that.
The hike down the glacier was MUCH MUCH sketchier than the climb up. Now you have no choice but to look down. And from that angle... you DO see how STEEP it is. OY!!! I'm not going to lie, I may have freaked internally just a little. Although with the ice pick by my side I felt perfectly in control. Glacier hiking is also a great means to take out your anger. It requires alot of kicking, stomping and stabbing with the ax. It was very therapeutic. Nature didn't get the best of us and we made it back down safely and I'm wickedly proud and impressed with what we did. It was a 3 hour hike and well worth every second. Next time: scrambling and Va Ferata! (Google it)
Our last scheduled expedition was the Glacier Hike up on Whistler Mountain. We had to take the 20 min gondola ride bac
k up to the Peak-2-Peak where we would suit up to start our hike. It's July 26th and we got to go play in the snow!!! WOOHOO!!! We were the only 2 in our lesson/tour so it was great! I think we've worn at least 1 helmet everyday since we've been here. I think my chin has got a permanent groove in it from the chin straps! We've only signed our lives away...6 or 7 times so far? The joys of tackling sports that could potentially send you tumbling to your doom. For the Glacier Hike they even gave us each an ice ax. :) The ice ax is my new best friend! It saved Moo and I a few times climbing that giant block of ice. I even got to practice "safe arrest" which allowed me to run and slide down the snow/ice, flip over and jab the ax into the snow to stop me from killing myself. Good to know :) Carolyn didn't want to try that one... haha. We are all connected to each other with a rope which forces everyone to climb at the same pace and not leave anyone behind if they get into trouble. It's tough because if there is too much slack, you trip over the rope and if it's taught then it pulls on you. The climb up is slow and steady and deceivingly steep. You're always just looking 
for your next step so you don't realize how steep the climb really is (until you come back down...). At the top of the glacier there is a road that leads to the summit of Whistler where the famous Inukshuk from the 2010 Olympics is located. We had time to climb up and check it out. Unfortunately the fog was so thick up there, there wasn't much to see from the summit, but still cool to be so far up like that.The hike down the glacier was MUCH MUCH sketchier than the climb up. Now you have no choice but to look down. And from that angle... you DO see how STEEP it is. OY!!! I'm not going to lie, I may have freaked internally just a little. Although with the ice pick by my side I felt perfectly in control. Glacier hiking is also a great means to take out your anger. It requires alot of kicking, stomping and stabbing with the ax. It was very therapeutic. Nature didn't get the best of us and we made it back down safely and I'm wickedly proud and impressed with what we did. It was a 3 hour hike and well worth every second. Next time: scrambling and Va Ferata! (Google it)
We had to purchase a 2nd Peak-2-Peak gondola lift ticket to get us up the mountain for the hike so we decided to ride it again with the glass bottom gondola. The wait was much shorter this time, What a dissapointment. All the glass bottomm gondola is, is a small window in the middle of the gondola floor (surrounded by a protective fence). Woopty-do! Glad we didn't wait an hour for that! We stopped on Blackcomb for some hot drinks because we were both freezing after the hike and then rode down Blackcomb on the ski lift. On the ride down we came accross a man mowning the lawn randomly on the mountain... a riding mower but still... why would they mow the lawn on the mountain? MYSTERY... We also got to see a ski jump practicing pool. COOL!
After quite a bit of debating, Carolyn decided to join me at Scandinave Spa. Our bodies will thank us. She doesn't like the idea of the peace and quiet. I'm the chatterbug - you would think I would hate the silence part... NOPE! I think Scandinave is the happiest place on earth! It's beautiful and I totally fell asleep in a hammock. Spent 3 hours there and then had an amazing meal at a restaurant in the Village. Earls. Fantastic food, delicious shots and fabulous service. A+. An excellent way to end another excellent day.
Scandinave is a little ways away from the Village, probably a good 25-30 minute walk (if you know where you are going) and so we took the super awesome fuel cell bus! Definitely a highlight of the trip - the bus looks like a regular bus only it is virtually silent, no gross bus smell (you know that exhaust smell I'm talking about) and very little vibration (which makes this girl very happy considering my tendency to be prone to nausea in such vehicles). Obviously Whistler benefited from all these cool upgrades when the Olympics came to town but the future is at hand and Whistler is very very Green and environmentally conscious and I can honestly say, if they can do it here, we can do it anywhere. Everything here is so clean, the air is some of the best air I've ever experienced.
Carolyn is already down for the count. Moo and Snaily and snoring away and I'm about ready to fall into a blissful coma. 1 more day of this awesome adventure that has been our holiday. Reality is going to suck when it sinks in 2 days from now...
Carolyn is already down for the count. Moo and Snaily and snoring away and I'm about ready to fall into a blissful coma. 1 more day of this awesome adventure that has been our holiday. Reality is going to suck when it sinks in 2 days from now...
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