Whistler's Visitors to Reach New Heights With Summer Activities

As many of you know, Whistler Blackcomb has become a true destination resort for cyclist. What many of you forget is all the other things going on up on the mountains. Bring your hiking boots, your snowboard and even your binoculars, as you'll find so much to do up here in our playground.ALPINE SIGHTSEEING AND HIKING

For the first time, Whistler Mountain's premier chairlift - the Peak Chair - will operate for summer alpine sightseeing and hiking, starting June 25, 2005. After a short walk from the top of the Whistler Gondola, The 3,300 foot (1006 metres) long chairlift will whisk summit seekers over glaciers up to panoramic views of snowcapped peaks and volcanoes.

"The Peak Adventure offers an exhilarating open-air chairlift ride to the very top of Whistler Mountain at more than 7,100 feet above sea level," said Rob McSkimming, vice president of Business Development for Whistler Blackcomb. "To date, only skiers and snowboarders have had the thrill of riding this chair, but we think it will be the new summer highlight for Whistler visitors."

A new interpretive trail at the Peak highlights Whistler Mountain's unique ecology, and visitors looking for a dose of local lore can opt to do a 2.5 hour guided hiking tour around the Peak.

Picture courtesy of Toshi Kawano.



MOUNTAIN BIKING

On the lower two-thirds of the mountain, Whistler Blackcomb continues to forge new tracks as a world leader in downhill mountain biking. With a 33% growth in biker visits over the previous year, and 700% growth since Whistler Blackcomb opened for biking in 1999, trail designers have been hard at work building new trails for advanced and beginner riders.

The latest adrenaline fix for advanced riders is Freight Train, a trail modeled after the notorious A-Line. Freight Train features 2,200 vertical feet (670 metres) and 100 table tops, hips, step-ups, step-downs and other airborne features. Riders looking to build skills through a progression of dirt jump lines will love the schooling options offered in the new Kona Jump Farm, designed by world famous Kona Clump rider John Cowan.

For those who prefer to keep both wheels on the ground, The Magic Bike Park is the new lift-accessed park to add to the excitement of the family Adventure Zone at the base of Blackcomb Mountain. The Magic Bike Park will feature two trails designed with beginner riders, kids and families in mind.

Photo courtesy of Jeremy Bekken


SUMMER GLACIER SKIING/SNOWBOARDING

With the longest snow season in North America, skiers and snowboarders can put on a t-shirt, grab the sunscreen and their boards, and head up to Blackcomb's Hortsman Glacier. For visitors who want to put their summer and winter toys to work, Whistler Blackcomb will offer the first ever "Uber Pass", a ticket that allows guests to bike in the Whistler Mountain Bike Park, hike via the Peak Chair on Whistler Mountain, and ski or ride on Blackcomb Mountain, all on the same day.


STILL NEED MORE?

Other new summer activities include alpine yoga and the Via Ferrata - Italian for "iron way" - which will offer a guided four-hour excursion to the summit of Whistler Peak via a series of metal ladder rungs. Three-hour alpine watercolour workshops taught by professional artist and Whistler local Lyle MacDonald, will be offered. For an adrenaline rush, visitors can "rap jump", which is a face-forward rappel down a dramatic rock face accessed via the Peak Chair. The popular sunset Mountain Top BBQs offer a more mellow experience each Saturday evening starting June 25.


"Locals often say they came to Whistler for the winters, but stayed because of the summers," McSkimming says. "These new experiences for 2005 summer visitors will build on all the other magical summer activities our resort has built over the past years," McSkimming says.

In addition to gifts from Mother Nature - beautiful fresh lakes, clean revitalizing air, cool mountain breezes - Whistler has developed four world-class golf courses, black bear viewing excursions, outstanding valley biking and hiking trail networks, and relaxing lakeside parks.

"Our efforts to build a four-season resort community continue to create the kind of mountain recreation experiences visitors to Whistler have come to expect, at any time of the year," McSkimming says.

Whistler Blackcomb is an Intrawest resort. Intrawest Corporation (IDR:NYSE; ITW:TSX) is one of the world's leading destination resort and adventure travel companies. Intrawest has interests in 10 mountain resorts in North America's most popular mountain destinations, including Whistler Blackcomb, a host venue for the 2010 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games. The company owns Canadian Mountain Holidays, the largest heli-skiing operation in the world, and a 67 percent interest in Abercrombie & Kent, the world leader in luxury adventure travel. The Intrawest network also includes Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort in Florida and Club Intrawest - a private resort club with nine locations throughout North America. Intrawest is developing five additional resort village developments at locations in North America and Europe. Intrawest is headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia. For more information, visit www.intrawest.com.

Proud to be a venue for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.

Editor's note:Title photo courtesy of Dean Thompson