Getting high at Whistler
Whistler Resort is set to construct a new lift. Unlike the Symphony Express Chair unveiled this year that opened up a thousand acres of new terrain, this one won't be to get up to a new set of runs. Instead, it will link the two mountains, Whistler and Blackcomb. The "Peak to Peak Gondola" will set a height record, 415 metres (1,316 feet) at its highest point, and run a length of 4.4 kilometres. The travel time will only be 11 minutes and it will carry 28 people at a time.
The cost? Only a mere 51 million dollars.
It does sound great, and I am sure it will bring loads of new visitors. In the summer, it will be fantastic, no doubt, for those mountaintop and glacier views.
Personally, I think Whistler is beautiful as it is. And it's easy enough to get to one mountain from the other. Enjoy a ride down to the village and take the other gondola up. Better yet, spend a weekend at the resort and do Whistler one day and Blackcomb the next. The fact is, it's impossible to do every run on one mountain in a day anyway, kind of like Disneyland.
Well, the men of the mountain have spoken, and ground will be broken soon. The Peak to Peak Gondola is set for completion December 2008.
