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.

The 2010 Olympics are more than 12 months away, but fans can see the world’s best winter athletes in action throughout Vancouver, B.C. this winter.

The World Cups for alpine and freestyle skiing, figure skating, bobsleigh, luge and other sports take place throughout the Vancouver area between now and March. These competitions give organizers a chance to test the venues that will host Olympic events in 2010.

Among the highlights:

• Jan. 24-25 FIS Ski Jumping World Cup
• Feb. 2-7 FIBT Bobsleigh & Skeleton World Cup
• Feb. 2-8 ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championships 2009
• March 9-14 IPC Alpine Skiing World Cup Finals

Vancouver also marks the one-year countdown to the games with a star-studded concert featuring Canadian-born Grammy winner Sarah McLachlan on Feb. 12. The concert, at the Queen Elizabeth Theater, is part of Cultural Olympiad 2009, a series of more than 400 concerts and events that take place across the region between Feb. 1 and March 21.

Winter hotel rates and relatively small crowd sizes—compared to those expected in 2010—are just a couple of things that make visiting Vancouver for the World Cup events a fun, stress-free alternative to the actual Olympics. A recent surge in the value of the American dollar compared to the loonie doesn’t hurt, either.

As the countdown to 2010 continues, mounting Olympic fever is palpable throughout Vancouver. New hotels seem to open each month, and major infrastructure improvements are also quickly coming on line. Whistler Blackcomb Ski Resort unveiled the Peak 2 Peak Gondola on Dec. 12, and new sections of the Seawalk are expanding the promenade’s reach around the city. It’s just a matter of time before the expansion of the Sea-to-Sky Highway and the extension of the Sky Train rapid transit system linking Vancouver International Airport to the Waterfront Centre are complete.

Of course, there’s never a bad time to visit Vancouver, as I was reminded during my most recent visit in late November. For this trip, I stayed at The Listel Hotel, just a few blocks from Stanley Park along Robson Street. The Listel takes a proactive approach to the arts and the environment. Many of the rooms are adorned with original paintings or limited-edition prints from regional artists. The hotel has also earned high marks for its eco-friendly programs that include the recent installation of solar panels and an energy-efficient heat-recovery system. O’Doul’s, the hotel’s restaurant, is firmly entrenched in British Columbia’s sustainable foods movement and features live jazz every night. On one evening, I lingered in the lounge to listen to the music after a dinner that included ravioli stuffed with locally grown butternut squash. The next morning, I feasted on flavorful free-run eggs and bacon for breakfast. The hotel’s commitment to culture and conservation, combined with extremely reasonable room rates, helped me feel good about feeling good.

A 15-minute walk from The Listel brought me to the Vancouver Aquarium in Stanley Park, where I had a chance to see Tiqa, the baby beluga whale born in June. Tiqa seems pretty happy following her mother, Qila, around in the tank with grandmother Aurora close by.

In between checking out the city’s attractions and Olympic sites, I also took some time to visit local food landmarks that were highly recommended by locals. One morning, I ventured out to Kitsilano for breakfast at Sophie’s Cosmic Cafe. After walking around the city on a rainy afternoon, I settled in for a bite at The Irish Heather, a popular Gastown “gastropub.” Even casual spots such as these have embraced the sustainable foods movement. Sophie’s, a diner whose bright yellow walls are covered with kitschy collectibles that range from vintage Coca-Cola signs to a framed Village People album cover, offers free-run eggs in its omelets and gets its produce from local farms. The Irish Heather, which recently relocated to an old brick building restored with a modern vibe, uses sausage from a nearby charcuterie in its bangers and mash. In the Irish Heather’s rendition of this classic pub dish, the plump, juicy sausages are covered in gravy and share a plate with separate mounds of mashed potatoes and mashed carrots. This may not be part of the diet of many of the Olympians who will be coming to the city in the months ahead, but, in my mind, the dish deserved a gold medal of its own.