New Whistler Gondola Connects Whistler and Blackcomb Mountains

New Whistler Gondola, originally uploaded by nickphotos.

I'm not sure if construction is on schedule but this year a new Whistler Gondola is expected to link Blackcomb and Whistler mountains. You can buy a dual mountain day-pass but Blackcomb and Whistler are pretty big mountains and skiing down from the peak of one and then riding up to the peak of the other can take a long time. The idea of the new Gondola is to cut down on cross-mountain trip-time. The new gondola is scheduled to open in December 2008.

This year Whistler and Blackcomb mountains open for the 2008-2009 ski season on November 27, 2008.

Roundhouse Cafe Winter - Whistler Mountain

Roundhouse Cafe - Whistler, originally uploaded by willtardy.

This is the view from below the Roundhouse overhang. There's lots of seating behind all those windows so you can sit and eat your lunch looking out over the gorgeous winter mountain landscape. It's also a good time to check the Whistler trail map and see where you've been and plan where to go after lunch. Whistler Mountain is big so it's best to ski a few runs at a time before heading cross-mountain to another area.

Roundhouse View from the Top of Whistler Mountain

whistler roundhouse view, originally uploaded by Tim in Sydney.

The Roundhouse is a non-round building at the top of Whistler Mountain - well, maybe not the very top - but The Roundhouse is at the top of the main Gondola ride up the mountain. It's the main amenities building on Whistler mountain including a variety of food services. It's come a long way from $5 for a burger and fries!

Rock Slide - Sea to Sky Highway

Rock Slide - Sea to Sky Highway taken from seaplane, originally uploaded by mozillamarcia.

On Tuesday sometime after 10pm a huge rock slide narrowly missed a shuttle bus and shut down the Sea to Sky highway between Whistler and Vancouver. The slide happened between Lions Bay and Furry Creek burying both lanes of Highway 99 and the train tracks under up to 10 metres of rock. Initial reports expected the highway to be closed for up to 5 days but it sounds like crews may take even longer to clear the debris even though blasting has already begun in an effort to restore transportation between Vancouver and Whistler. With the Sea to Sky highway closed the detour trip between Whistler and Vancouver is expected to take 7-10 hours by car.

Of course the big question is what kind of contingency plans will be in place for the 2010 Olympics? Although another rock slide of this magnitude is unlikely within such a short time-frame - the highway obviously can't be shut down for 5 days during the Olympics. Whatever backup measures are established and presented through the media - I suspect the real plan will be for all VANOC members to keep their fingers crossed at all times during the 2010 Olympics. Maybe we could finally use those fast ferries that were mis-engineered a few years back. Now where did we put those things?

Whistler Canada 2010 Olympics

Whistler Canada 2010 Olympics, originally uploaded by mothernature.

Some fresh pictures are long overdue. There's been lots of news coverage in the papers regarding the 2008 Summer Olympics being held in China. I don't think Whistler will have the same concerns of poor air quality or signs written in mangled English. I sure hope the upcoming Winter Olympics in Whistler goes smoothly because down here in Vancouver our roads have been clogged ever since Whistler won the bid to host the Olympics. I've never seen so much construction go on at one time. This photo of Whistler Mountain looks so peaceful and serene. I'll have to look for a shot that shows what kind of chaos all the construction has caused.