Journey Staff Room

Now that the Olympics have come and gone, this spring and summer may be the best times of all to visit Whistler and Vancouver, B.C., simply because the new amenities that came on line in the run-up to the 2010 Winter Games still retain their luster.

This became clear on my drive up to Whistler Blackcomb Ski Resort last weekend when I caught a glimpse of one of the Canada Line trains outside of Vancouver zipping on down to Richmond. A few minutes later, my traveling companion and I were enjoying a delay-free drive up the expanded Sea to Sky Highway.

Several feet of fresh snow had blanketed the mountains the week before, but we left our skis behind. On this visit, we were seeking adrenaline rushes from zip lines at Whistler and at the WildPlay Elements Park at Cougar Mountain, about 15 minutes up the highway from the ski resort.

WildPlay seems to be the latest rage for people seeking family-friendly adventure in British Columbia. During the past four years, WildPlay Ltd. has opened its Monkido Tree Courses in Nanaimo, Whistler and Victoria. A fourth course in Maple Ridge, about 20 minutes east of Vancouver, is on track to open this summer, pending permit approvals. Similar in concept to those ropes courses used for military training and corporate team-building, Monkido courses let you walk, climb, swing or slide over a series of obstacles, or games as they call them, set in the trees at heights ranging from 10 to 60 feet above the ground (you are connected to safety cables the entire time). The obstacles, which get progressively more challenging, playfully test your sense of balance and adventure. The courses are designed for everyone from preteens to senior citizens, and smaller courses for kids aged 7 to 13 are available at all of the parks.

At WildPlay Whistler, one of the more challenging games requires you to balance yourself on all fours on a twin-set of cables stretched between two trees, about 50 feet above the ground, and pull yourself across. Another requires you to use a rope-swing to cross over a stream. You land in a net and then climb onto a platform in a nearby tree, where the next game awaits. In addition to being one of the best core workouts you’ll ever have, the Monkido course is a total blast. Even though the 11-year-old girl in our party crossed most of the obstacles faster and with more grace than I did, I still felt pretty good about completing the course. WildPlay charges $49.99 (CAD) for the regular courses and $29.99 for the kids’ courses. For comparisons sake, a full-day adult lift ticket at Whistler Blackcomb costs $93.

The safety precautions at WildPlay leave you constantly fastening and refastening the carabiners that connect you to the safety cables. You also have to clip your bracket onto zip-line cables that help you make several crossings along the way (the folks who manage WildPlay Whistler also offer separate zip-line, ATV and whitewater-rafting tours). This and the amount of physical exertion it takes to complete the course offer contrasts to an afternoon soaring among the trees at Whistler with Ziptrek Ecotours. In between strapping your harness onto lines up to 2,000 feet long, Ziptrek’s guides discuss the area’s natural history and conservation efforts during the nearly three-hour long tours. Of course, when you’re getting ready to jump from a platform about 150 feet above the ground to essentially fly across a canyon, it’s a little tough to pay full attention to your conservation lesson. Luckily, Ziptrek’s harnesses and cable systems are so well conceived that all you really need to do is lean back and enjoy the rides. Our party consisted of 10 people, including four children appearing to be between the ages of 4 and 12, and after we finished, you couldn’t wipe the smiles off of our faces if you tried. Ziptrek charges between $79 and $119 per person per tour, and in my opinion, it’s worth paying the few extra bucks to go one of the Eagle Tours, which offer the longest zip lines—and highest speeds—of all of Ziptrek’s offerings.