O Canada (Part Three)

A synopsis of my latest road trip in four parts:
Day 3: Skiing!
Impressions:
#1 - Whistler and Blackcomb probably do deserve their number one ranking. With two mountains of equal magnitude side by side, the terrain is spectacular in every way. Riding the gondola up to the snow fields it seemed that the mountain would just keep going and going and going. At around one mile of vertical rise from the bottom of the lifts, I finally reached the top. There was about 1,000 feet of vertical rise still open (mostly above timberline) on Memorial Day weekend! In mid-winter starting at the top, one can ski over 8 quad burning miles to the bottom (compared to 3-4 miles at Breckenridge, Keystone, Copper Mountain, and Vail).
#2 - There is nothing quite like skiing in 60 degree weather, with brilliant sunshine and 360 degree panoramic views of endless peaks thrusting their jagged black lava and granite spires upward through massive snowfields and bluish white glaciers. Skiing on the narrow catwalks going around some of the lava formations allowed the cheap thrill of looking over the precipice thousands of feet straight down to the valley floor. Below the snowline, the dark green forest was decorated with white ribbons of melted snow cascading down various mountains to entangle together at the bottom in a braided torrent of water. I was compelled to take far more photos than anyone else will probably be able to stand to view.
#3 - Thanks to spf 40+, I was able to have a day without regrets. T-shirts, bikini tops, and shorts were the rule. Unfortunately, other skiers likely would not be able to make that same statement.
#4 - In the summer Whistler is nearly as popular for mountain biking as it is for snow sports in the winter. After the snow melts from the lower portions of the mountain, many of the ski runs are converted into mountain bike trails. Riding up and down in the gondola, I could see dozens of bikers hurtling themselves downhill, winding through trees, balancing across log "bridges", and flying over built up dirt ramps (lots of big air). Like the ski patrol, there is also a bike patrol. The paramedics were kept busy at the base of the mountain.
#5 - Whistler village is swank, international/multilingual, and very expensive. Altogether very similar to Vail - nice to visit if one can afford it. However, camping there was great - much more in line with my price range and definitely a good option for others who might want to visit. (You'll just have to ignore the prominently displayed photo at the check-in office of a dozen or more nude hippies in ski boots holding their equipment. Ski equipment that is. Evidently the owners were pretty uninhibited back in the day.)