The Peak to Peak

The first time I rode on the Peak to Peak, I felt like I had never been in a gondola before. Considering I've been snow sliding for twenty-six years, this is saying something. From the moment I stepped booted foot on board, I was hooked.

Not only does the gondola shorten the commute from Whistler Mountain to Blackcomb from nearly an hour to a mere fourteen minutes, but it opens up a whole new experience for our sightseeing and summer visitors.

In the summer months I was privy to seeing first hand what the good folks behind the Peak to Peak had in mind when installing this signature piece. Employed with the passenger train that travels into Whistler from the Rockies and Vancouver, I found that more than half of my guests had come just to see our new lift. Many of these visitors were only in town for three hours and they chose the ride on the Peak to Peak over any other activity.

The scenery is beyond breath taking. On a clear day the entire valley opens up to you, revealing her lakes, forests and other gems often hidden when you're exploring far below. At a vantage point of over 1400ft above the Fitzsimmons Creek you get an all access pass to a view that previously required wings.


There are many local stories that go along with the Peak to Peak, and most people I know can easily recount their first ride on the gondola. My favourite local story is of opening day, when three generations of one family rode together on the first car.

Access to the first car was a coveted position. People wrote in to Whistler Blackcomb and nominated individuals who they thought should be on that car, then from the names provided a lucky 28 were chosen. Of those, three were from the Huxtable family. In his nineties, Grandpa George, a well known local fixture, was accompanied by his son, Gord and his grandson, Ryder. Between the three of them their family have had roots in Whistler since the sixties. With the arrival of Ryder and his two sisters to the family clan, it looks as though those roots will only deepen and grow.

It makes me wonder about the conversation that Ryder might have with his own children on the Peak to Peak gondola some day. I wonder what he'll remember then about all of the fuss of the ribbon cutting and the photographs. I wonder if he will remember that his community was watching, hearts on their sleeves as he and twenty seven others rode the fourteen minutes into engineering history.

I am proud that people from all over the world have heard the rumors of our fabled gondola and come to experience it first hand. It is without a doubt a welcome wagon worthy of their journey.