Our long-awaited skiing trip to Whistler, Canada, finally arrived, and we were eager to fly to Seattle for our eventual 4-hour drive to Whistler. Our original flight on Delta 5741 from San Jose to Seattle was delayed by 1 hour, and we departed at 10:40 a.m., landing in Seattle at 12:50 p.m. This was a small Bombardier CRJ700 plane (so there was little room for luggage).
When we arrived in Seattle, we rented a Kia Sorento SUV from Enterprise (Costco had the best weekly rate for the mid-size SUV - $349/week) and started our drive to Vancouver (on the way to Whistler). We stopped briefly for a quick lunch at Chipotle in Seattle.
Our drive to Canada was uneventful, but Seattle was heavily congested. I used the Garmin Nuvi 3590 LMT GPS for directions, and it worked well (even warning me of impending traffic).
We also hit a big logjam at the border crossing, where we waited about an hour to cross into Canada. Once over the border, we drove nonstop to Whistler along the beautiful Sea-to-Sky Highway. The weather was warm and relatively straightforward, and I was worried about the lack of snow on the road. Last year, at about the same time, we saw plenty of fresh snow on the road to Whistler.
When we arrived in Seattle, we rented a Kia Sorento SUV from Enterprise (Costco had the best weekly rate for the mid-size SUV - $349/week) and started our drive to Vancouver (on the way to Whistler). We stopped briefly for a quick lunch at Chipotle in Seattle.
Our drive to Canada was uneventful, but Seattle was heavily congested. I used the Garmin Nuvi 3590 LMT GPS for directions, and it worked well (even warning me of impending traffic).
We also hit a big logjam at the border crossing, where we waited about an hour to cross into Canada. Once over the border, we drove nonstop to Whistler along the beautiful Sea-to-Sky Highway. The weather was warm and relatively straightforward, and I was worried about the lack of snow on the road. Last year, at about the same time, we saw plenty of fresh snow on the road to Whistler.
I was surprised that our Kia Sorento had free Satellite radio and a USB port in the car's dashboard. The USB port charged my iPhone 5S and played its music (in iPod mode). Most cars require a special adapter to work with Apple's iPhones, but this Kia worked right out of the box. The car drove very well and got excellent gas mileage - I was pleasantly surprised and liked it more than the Jeep Liberty I drove last year.
We arrived in Whistler around 7:20 p.m. and quickly checked into our Pan-Pacific Mountainside Hotel. We got our usual room, #211, on the second floor (it's one of the cheaper rooms in the hotel). Since Inna's feet hurt from her ski boots, we decided to quickly see what Surefoot could do to help. Surefoot makes customized ski boots and inserts (using Lange ski boots). We had Surefoot make special inserts for Inna (to prevent her from losing her toenail). Last year, after a few days of skiing, Inna was in so much pain that she could hardly walk (and lost one of her toenails in the process). The customized insoles are made by an automated machine, and the existing ski boots looked like a good match for her. She no longer had the toe pain. Inna already had Lange ski boots, so the inserts matched well.
After picking up the customized inserts, we returned to our hotel, where we rented all our ski gear for the trip. I picked up a Burton Custom 162 snowboard; Alex also picked up a Burton snowboard, while Inna got her Salomon skis and poles. We put all the gear into our sports locker and returned to our room. Alex was tired, and we were late for our Valentine's Day dinner at Quattro Restaurant. We decided to reschedule our Quattro dinner for another day (the next day) and eat at Earl's Restaurant instead. Alex was not very hungry, so we ordered him a slice of local pizza.
Our dinner at Earl's went very well. It's our favorite eatery in Whistler, because the food is well prepared and served quickly, and all the staff is exceptionally friendly and courteous.
I ordered a "Thai Vegetable Bowl," which was light and delicious.
Inna ordered a "Reuben Sandwich," which was also well prepared.
After dinner, we strolled through the village (noticing the absence of snow) and returned to our room for some needed sleep. We were both exhausted from the flight and the long drive.
Sunday, February 15, 2015
Since we did not have time to get groceries, we decided to get our early breakfast at the Dubh Linn Gate pub downstairs in our hotel. We ordered the typical Irish breakfast and were not disappointed.
I ordered the "Pancakes with Apples" with maple syrup (of course!)
Alex ordered "French Toast" and got a huge serving.
Inna also ordered the "Eggs Benedict" - her favorite breakfast dish - and enjoyed it.
After breakfast, we picked up our ski/snowboarding gear and walked to the nearby Whistler Village Gondola. Here is a map of the Blackcomb and Whistler mountains.
Since it was already past 10:00 a.m., the Gondola was not very busy, and we got right on. (There are days when it's crazily crowded.
Once we got to the Roundhouse Lodge, we got photos from the nearby Olympic Rings (Whistler and Vancouver hosted the 2010 Winter Olympic Games).
We put on our skis and snowboards and skied down our average Upper Whiskey Jack (an easy green run) to the Chic Pea Hut. The weather was pretty warm, and the snow was icy.
As I was a bit cold, we stopped by Chic Pea for hot chocolate and a delicious croissant. The croissants here were so delicious!
We continued to ski for a while, mainly doing green runs (Upper and Lower Whiskey Jack) to the Emerald Express quad chair.
Here is a short video clip of our skiing on Sunday and other days of the week:
Thankfully, Inna's ski boots were much more comfortable than last time, and she enjoyed skiing.
Alex had fun re-learning his snowboarding and quickly returned to his previous form.
After a half-day of skiing, we returned to our Pan Pacific Hotel.
After skiing, we went to our hotel's outdoor hot tub and pool to relax, then to dinner at Quattro. On the way there, we marveled at the beautiful lights and decorations that make coming to Whistler a joy.
Our dinner at Quattro was delicious, as usual. Quattro is an Italian restaurant that tries to instill a Venetian flair and is lavishly decorated inside.
We started our dinner with an appetizer of Burrata Mozzarella, which was delicious.
I ordered a dish of "Spaghetti with shrimp and clams." It was pretty good.
After dinner, we stopped by the local grocery store to pick up some eggs and breakfast items.
Monday, February 16, 2015
In the morning, Inna made an omelet with ham and cheese, and Alex ate his cereal. We decided to do another day of skiing. Since the Whistler gondola was very busy (it was President's Day in the USA), we took the Fitzsimmons Express chair and the Garbanzo Express chair. It was definitely faster than the Gondola.
Since I was still a bit cold and hungry, we skied to the Chic Pea Hut, and I indulged myself with a cup of hot chocolate and a fresh croissant.
We continued skiing down to the Emerald Express quad chair, then took it to the Roundhouse Lodge.
We had a fun time skiing and snowboarding. Inna's feet started to hurt (despite the special insole from Surefoot).
We decided to take it easy and end skiing early (around 2:00 p.m.). Since the last part of the slope was very mushy (and Inna's feet hurt), she took the Gondola down. Alex and I decided to snowboard all the way down.
The snow was a bit slushy as I approached the village.
After returning to our room at the Pan Pacific hotel, we rested and snacked on chips. We also did our daily pilgrimage to the outdoor jacuzzi and pool. The steam room was also quite good, and we enjoyed feeling the heat.
Later on, we decided to get dinner at Earl's. Inna ordered a "Cajun Chicken Cheddar Sandwich."
I ordered the Jeera Chicken Curry, which was spicy but delicious.
Alex ordered a "Bronx Burger" with a Caesar Salad. He enjoyed both of them.
After dinner, we had to stop at our favorite Whistler Ice Cream parlor - Cows.
Both Inna and Alex like Cow's ice cream and their funny T-shirts.
Alex had fun re-learning his snowboarding and quickly returned to his previous form.
After a half-day of skiing, we returned to our Pan Pacific Hotel.
After skiing, we went to our hotel's outdoor hot tub and pool to relax, then to dinner at Quattro. On the way there, we marveled at the beautiful lights and decorations that make coming to Whistler a joy.
Our dinner at Quattro was delicious, as usual. Quattro is an Italian restaurant that tries to instill a Venetian flair and is lavishly decorated inside.
We started our dinner with an appetizer of Burrata Mozzarella, which was delicious.
I ordered a dish of "Spaghetti with shrimp and clams." It was pretty good.
After dinner, we stopped by the local grocery store to pick up some eggs and breakfast items.
Monday, February 16, 2015
In the morning, Inna made an omelet with ham and cheese, and Alex ate his cereal. We decided to do another day of skiing. Since the Whistler gondola was very busy (it was President's Day in the USA), we took the Fitzsimmons Express chair and the Garbanzo Express chair. It was definitely faster than the Gondola.
Since I was still a bit cold and hungry, we skied to the Chic Pea Hut, and I indulged myself with a cup of hot chocolate and a fresh croissant.
We continued skiing down to the Emerald Express quad chair, then took it to the Roundhouse Lodge.
We had a fun time skiing and snowboarding. Inna's feet started to hurt (despite the special insole from Surefoot).
We decided to take it easy and end skiing early (around 2:00 p.m.). Since the last part of the slope was very mushy (and Inna's feet hurt), she took the Gondola down. Alex and I decided to snowboard all the way down.
The snow was a bit slushy as I approached the village.
After returning to our room at the Pan Pacific hotel, we rested and snacked on chips. We also did our daily pilgrimage to the outdoor jacuzzi and pool. The steam room was also quite good, and we enjoyed feeling the heat.
Later on, we decided to get dinner at Earl's. Inna ordered a "Cajun Chicken Cheddar Sandwich."
I ordered the Jeera Chicken Curry, which was spicy but delicious.
Alex ordered a "Bronx Burger" with a Caesar Salad. He enjoyed both of them.
After dinner, we had to stop at our favorite Whistler Ice Cream parlor - Cows.
Both Inna and Alex like Cow's ice cream and their funny T-shirts.
Tuesday, February 17, 2015
After breakfast (Inna made another delicious omelet), she decided to relax at the Scandinave Spa (her feet hurt too much to do another day of skiing). In contrast, Alex and I did another day of snowboarding.
It was another beautiful, clear day at Whistler with no wind and beautiful, clear skies.
Alex and I decided to skip the Whistler gondola and took the Fitzsimmons Express chair. Of course, we had to stop by the Chic Pea Hut for hot chocolate and a fresh croissant.
We decided to explore another part of Whistler Mountain that we had not gotten to last time.
Alex and I initially followed the Pony Trail. This is a charming, long, green run.
After the run, Alex got a bit cold, so we decided to stop by Raven's Nest for some hot apple cider.
After warming up, we decided to go to the top of Whistler and do some Blue runs. We took the Peak Express to the top.
Here is a beautiful view from the Peak Express quad chair.
It was sunny but a bit cold at the top of Whistler.
We took a few photos and marveled at the beautiful scenery all around.
Many nearby runs are Black Diamond, but we decided to skip those.
We decided to follow the Peak to Creek Blue run to Midstation - a nice, long Blue run.
We had a great run to the bottom. The Peak to Creek sections were steep and icy, but Alex did well.
Alex had a nasty fall on our second attempt at Peak to Creek. Afterward, we returned to Pan Pacific as Alex was not feeling well.
Inna had a great time at the Scandinave Spa. She had an excellent massage and a relaxing day. We decided to enjoy the outdoor jacuzzi and get dinner.
We had another dinner at Earl's. We always get excellent service and delicious food.
Wednesday, February 18, 2015
Today, we decided to take a day off skiing and relax at Scandinave Spa. Alex was still recovering from his nasty fall the day before, so he decided to watch TV and relax in the outdoor jacuzzi.
After a quick breakfast, we picked up our Kia and drove to the spa, which was only a few miles away.
We were at the Scandinave spa last year (around the same time), and it was all covered in snow; it was truly magical walking barefoot on the snow between Saunas and cold-water pools. It was all green this time - like it was spring or summer.
We arrived right at the opening - at around 10:00 a.m.
We spent 3-4 hours switching between various saunas/steam rooms and cold-water pools. I really enjoyed the facilities and felt much better afterward.
After returning to our hotel, we had lunch at Inna's favorite creperie, Crepe Montagne.
Inna ordered her favorite drink - "London Fog" - Earl Grey tea with cream on top.
For dessert, we ordered a "Normandie Flambee" crepe. It's a crepe stuffed with apples and cinnamon. It was truly outstanding!
Since we returned around 4:00 p.m., we decided to exercise by tubing at the nearby Coca-Cola Tube Park.
We got on the Blackcomb Gondola and rode one stop up.
Then, we walked to the Coca-Cola Tube Park and got one-hour tickets and tubes.
We had a great time riding down the long runs.
Here are a couple of short videos of our tube runs:
After breakfast (Inna made another delicious omelet), she decided to relax at the Scandinave Spa (her feet hurt too much to do another day of skiing). In contrast, Alex and I did another day of snowboarding.
It was another beautiful, clear day at Whistler with no wind and beautiful, clear skies.
Alex and I decided to skip the Whistler gondola and took the Fitzsimmons Express chair. Of course, we had to stop by the Chic Pea Hut for hot chocolate and a fresh croissant.
We decided to explore another part of Whistler Mountain that we had not gotten to last time.
Alex and I initially followed the Pony Trail. This is a charming, long, green run.
After the run, Alex got a bit cold, so we decided to stop by Raven's Nest for some hot apple cider.
After warming up, we decided to go to the top of Whistler and do some Blue runs. We took the Peak Express to the top.
Here is a beautiful view from the Peak Express quad chair.
It was sunny but a bit cold at the top of Whistler.
We took a few photos and marveled at the beautiful scenery all around.
Many nearby runs are Black Diamond, but we decided to skip those.
We decided to follow the Peak to Creek Blue run to Midstation - a nice, long Blue run.
We had a great run to the bottom. The Peak to Creek sections were steep and icy, but Alex did well.
Alex had a nasty fall on our second attempt at Peak to Creek. Afterward, we returned to Pan Pacific as Alex was not feeling well.
Inna had a great time at the Scandinave Spa. She had an excellent massage and a relaxing day. We decided to enjoy the outdoor jacuzzi and get dinner.
We had another dinner at Earl's. We always get excellent service and delicious food.
Wednesday, February 18, 2015
Today, we decided to take a day off skiing and relax at Scandinave Spa. Alex was still recovering from his nasty fall the day before, so he decided to watch TV and relax in the outdoor jacuzzi.
After a quick breakfast, we picked up our Kia and drove to the spa, which was only a few miles away.
We were at the Scandinave spa last year (around the same time), and it was all covered in snow; it was truly magical walking barefoot on the snow between Saunas and cold-water pools. It was all green this time - like it was spring or summer.
We arrived right at the opening - at around 10:00 a.m.
We spent 3-4 hours switching between various saunas/steam rooms and cold-water pools. I really enjoyed the facilities and felt much better afterward.
After returning to our hotel, we had lunch at Inna's favorite creperie, Crepe Montagne.
Inna ordered her favorite drink - "London Fog" - Earl Grey tea with cream on top.
For dessert, we ordered a "Normandie Flambee" crepe. It's a crepe stuffed with apples and cinnamon. It was truly outstanding!
Since we returned around 4:00 p.m., we decided to exercise by tubing at the nearby Coca-Cola Tube Park.
We got on the Blackcomb Gondola and rode one stop up.
Then, we walked to the Coca-Cola Tube Park and got one-hour tickets and tubes.
We had a great time riding down the long runs.
Here are a couple of short videos of our tube runs:
After a fun ride, we returned to our room for rest and dinner. We enjoyed walking through the nicely decorated Whistler village.
We hoped to try dinner at a new place - The Brewhouse restaurant -but the wait was over 90 minutes, so we headed back to Earl's.
Alex ordered his favorite "Bronx Burger" with Caesar salad.
I decided to be adventurous and ordered the "Thai Vegetable Bowl."
Inna decided to try the "Kung Pao Noodle Bowl."
Afterward, we stopped at Cow's Ice Cream for some obligatory dessert.
Thursday, February 19, 2015
This was the day snow was promised - but it didn't quite happen. We decided to do another day of skiing and snowboarding.
I decided to swap my Burton snowboard for a set of Salomon skis. I was tired of the icy surface and wanted to practice skiing on the ice.
Since I have been snowboarding for the past 20 years, my skiing skills were rusty. I used to be able to do black diamond runs without any problems, but now even Blue runs give me problems.
Overall, I had a good day of skiing, and Inna's toes did not hurt. It looks like she just needed more time to break in the boots.
After a full day of skiing, we rested and finally reached the Brewhouse restaurant.
I ordered the "Grizzly Brown Ale," which was smooth and delicious with no aftertaste.
We sat down quickly, but the food took forever to prepare (over an hour). I ordered the "Thai Chicken Salad".
Inna ordered the "Greek Poutine," French fries with a lot of stuffing.
Alex ordered the Margherita pizza.
As it was late, we went back home to sleep. The Brewhouse is an excellent restaurant, but it's a bit slow.
Friday, February 20, 2015
Today was my last ski day. Alex decided to stay home and rest, while Inna agreed to have another spa day at Scandinave Spa.
It started out as another beautiful, sunny Whistler morning. However, at the top of Whistler, a brief snowstorm erupted for an hour or so.
I skied all over the mountain, stopping for lunch at Raven's Nest. The "Thai Soup" was okay, but the food at Chic Pea Hut was much more delicious.
I had a great day of skiing and even managed to fall once.
When I returned home, Inna was having lunch at Crepe Montagne, and Alex was in the jacuzzi.
I got to rest a bit, and then we reunited for our final day at Whistler.
We had our final dinner at Earl's - what else! Earl's had a special on Stella Artois, and I enjoyed it (though other Belgian beers are much better). The "Grizzly Brown Ale" in the Brewhouse was also far superior to the Stella.
Inna ordered the "Jeera Chicken Curry" and enjoyed it.
I ordered "Fish & Chips" and was not disappointed.
We had a great time in Whistler and were eager to enjoy our one remaining vacation day in Vancouver.
This was the day snow was promised - but it didn't quite happen. We decided to do another day of skiing and snowboarding.
I decided to swap my Burton snowboard for a set of Salomon skis. I was tired of the icy surface and wanted to practice skiing on the ice.
Since I have been snowboarding for the past 20 years, my skiing skills were rusty. I used to be able to do black diamond runs without any problems, but now even Blue runs give me problems.
Overall, I had a good day of skiing, and Inna's toes did not hurt. It looks like she just needed more time to break in the boots.
After a full day of skiing, we rested and finally reached the Brewhouse restaurant.
I ordered the "Grizzly Brown Ale," which was smooth and delicious with no aftertaste.
We sat down quickly, but the food took forever to prepare (over an hour). I ordered the "Thai Chicken Salad".
Inna ordered the "Greek Poutine," French fries with a lot of stuffing.
Alex ordered the Margherita pizza.
As it was late, we went back home to sleep. The Brewhouse is an excellent restaurant, but it's a bit slow.
Friday, February 20, 2015
Today was my last ski day. Alex decided to stay home and rest, while Inna agreed to have another spa day at Scandinave Spa.
It started out as another beautiful, sunny Whistler morning. However, at the top of Whistler, a brief snowstorm erupted for an hour or so.
I skied all over the mountain, stopping for lunch at Raven's Nest. The "Thai Soup" was okay, but the food at Chic Pea Hut was much more delicious.
I had a great day of skiing and even managed to fall once.
When I returned home, Inna was having lunch at Crepe Montagne, and Alex was in the jacuzzi.
I got to rest a bit, and then we reunited for our final day at Whistler.
We had our final dinner at Earl's - what else! Earl's had a special on Stella Artois, and I enjoyed it (though other Belgian beers are much better). The "Grizzly Brown Ale" in the Brewhouse was also far superior to the Stella.
Inna ordered the "Jeera Chicken Curry" and enjoyed it.
I ordered "Fish & Chips" and was not disappointed.
We had a great time in Whistler and were eager to enjoy our one remaining vacation day in Vancouver.
