A visit to Whistler would not be complete without a ride on the PEAK 2 PEAK Gondola.
The highest and longest lift in the world, the PEAK 2 PEAK Gondola spans 2.7 miles between Whistler and Blackcomb Mountains, offering guests a spectacular viewing experience of the stunning vistas and snow-covered terrain over an 11-minute ride.
Holding Guinness World Records for Longest Unsupported Span (3.024 kilometres) and Highest Lift of Its Kind (436 metres above the valley floor), the PEAK 2 PEAK Gondola offers skiers and snowboarders the ability to quickly and easily go from mountain to mountain, while sightseers will enjoy the spectacular scenery.
After a morning of ski lessons, our family took a ride on the PEAK 2 PEAK Gondola.
One cabin departs every 49 seconds
Large windows in each cabin allows for an optimal viewing experience.
Large windows
A cabin departs every 28 seconds, and can hold up to 28 guests (22 seated, 6 standing).
The cabins travel at 7.5 meters per second, allowing for lots of photo ops of snow-covered trees and mountains, as well as skiers and snowboards zipping down the mountains.
The views from the PEAK 2 PEAK Gondola were simply breathtaking. I can imagine how beautiful the views are during the summer as well.
On the way to Blackcomb Moutnain
Skilled skiers
At Blackcomb Mountain
Stunning views atop Blackcomb Mountain
Back to Whistler Mountain
At Whistler
At each mountain are dining options, Nintendo gaming lounges, and lots of photo ops!
Photo op at Whistler
No matter what type of adventure you're seeking - skiing, hiking, dining, or sightseeing - the PEAK 2 PEAK Gondola can help you find it!
Mahalo to Whistler Blackcomb for hosting our ride on the PEAK 2 PEAK Gondola.
Planning our family's trip to Whistler was really fun, and I was extremely excited once we arrived in Whistler, but one thing on my mind kept me a little nervous - ski lessons!
None of us had skied before, and for me personally - the thought of falling and getting hurt, or simply making a fool of myself, was constantly on my mind.
However, after meeting our instructor, Ben, who is one of over 1,000 instructors at Whistler Blackcomb collectively teaching as many as 250,000 lessons a season (including lessons in 26 different languages), I was immediately put at ease.
His enthusiasm for the sport and the priority on safety was immediately apparent. After a quick chat, he checked to make sure all of our ski boots and helmets were on properly, and attached Flaik GPS trackers to the boys, just in case one of them wandered off somewhere during the lesson.
We then rode in the Whistler Village Gondola and got out at the first stop.
We picked a spot as our base, and began our lesson.
The area quickly filled with others taking lessons.
During our lesson we pretty much learned the basics - how to put on our skis, how to glide on one ski, how to slide, how to go up a hill, and how to stop by placing our skis in the shape of a pizza.
For the kids, Ben used a lot of visual cues and terms that were engaging and easy for them to understand - "get small like a mouse," "walk like a duck!" - the visual cues really helped me as well! We also came up with a saying to yell whenever someone fell - "Man Down!"
Bend your knees!
Small like a mouse!
Man down!
I admit - being in a private group with my kids, I couldn't resist telling my kids "Listen to Ben!" and "Be respectful!" while repeating his instructions. But after a while, I realized I was probably impeding the lesson more than helping, so eventually I backed off and let Ben do his magic.
There were periods where my kids were crying or not listening, which made me feel bad for Ben, but he said it's normal - patience is key!
And some treats never hurt! He would give my boys Fuzzy Peach gummy candies whenever he felt they needed them.
Time and treats are exactly what my youngest needed!
My youngest was ready to give up
At one point he took off his skis and was just not willing to try anything.
He kept seeing my other kids fall, and he didn't want to fall himself. For a while he just sat on the side and watched, while my kids and I continued with the lesson.
Fortunately, midway through the lesson we took a hot chocolate break.
Hot chocolate break
After sipping hot chocolate, and with a little encouragement, my youngest son later got on his skis, and worked with Ben. Ben used a special clip attached to the front of his skis to help with the pizza stop.
I was very happy that everyone in our group participated.
There were quite a few falls (I probably had the worst fall - but thank goodness for helmets!), but there were also a lot of laughs, and even though we only had a half day lesson, we all accomplished something.
Ben commented how I was doing well and I needed to work on equally balancing my legs when it came time to stop, and I really just needed to get the fear of falling out of my head.
My oldest son did wonderfully. He could easily glide down the hill on his own - he just had to work on how to stop as well.
If we had a full day lesson, perhaps we would have made it to the bunny hill with the magic carpet, but because of the vast age, learning, and ability differences, Ben had to work with the kids individually to get them to focus.
I was simply impressed with how wonderful Ben was with each of us, adapting the lesson to each person.
Speaking of adapting - Whistler Blackcomb offers adaptive lessons for those with physical and cognitive disabilities, allowing all guests to enjoy winter recreation. I had considered adaptive lessons for my oldest son, who has an autism spectrum disorder, but ultimately decided we should experience the family private lesson together.
I am so glad our family took ski lessons.
Even though we still have a lot to learn, we had a great experience, and that's simply because of Ben!
He was supportive, encouraging, patient, kind, and simply an awesome instructor!
For more information on the types of lessons Whistler Blackcomb offers, click here.
A big mahalo to Whistler Blackcomb for hosting our ski lessons, and to our amazing (and patient!) instructor, Ben. Gratuity was paid on my own.
While in Whistler, we new one of our must-dos was to go tubing at the Coca-Cola Tube Park at Whistler Blackcomb.
Located on Blackcomb Mountain, the Coca-Cola Tube Park is accessible by taking the Excalibur Gondola to the first stop (no cost to take the gondola), crossing a ski run (be careful for approaching skiers and snowboarders!), until you get to a fairly lengthy stairway that leads to the tube park (if you have a car, you can drive to a nearby parking lot for easier access).
Upon arrival at the Coca-Cola Tube Park we went to the office to get ties to secure our tickets to our jackets, picked up our tubes (there are two tube sizes - one for adults and one for kids up to 41"), then made the trek up to the tube lift (the tickets are scanned at the beginning of the lift to ensure they are still valid).
There are 7 tube lanes, ranging from a "kids" lane, to lanes that are longer and faster (each lane varies in difficulty from Green, Blue to Black).
Everyone in our family went on the easiest lane first. When it was my turn, I admit I was a bit nervous, but really excited. The ride down was quite exhilarating and scary at the same time!
My older two kids had no problems going down the tube lane, but my youngest was very worried about falling out. Fortunately, with a little persuading, he made it down the tube lane with no tears, only to remark how fast the ride was! If you have a child under 41 inches, you can tube together - child goes in a kid tube, which you hang on to while you ride in an adult tube (conditions permitting).
View from the top of lane 2
After the excitement of the first ride, everyone except for my youngest son tried out the longer lanes.
Top of lanes
Bottom of lanes
The look on my kids' faces after they completed each ride was truly memorable, and I knew they were having such a great time.
Be sure to advise your kids to watch for other tubers coming down before exiting the lanes. Although there are signs posted advising tubers to make sure the lane is clear before crossing, we observed some kids crossing the lanes as others were tubing down. We witnessed one little girl who had to get saved by a tube park employee. If the employee did not get her out of the way of an oncoming tuber, it would've been disastrous! Kudos to all the tube park employees who helped to ensure everyone's safety!
Be careful when exiting!
A snack bar, benches, and washrooms are available at the tube park.
There are also places below the tube lift where kids can just sit and rest and play in the snow on the side.
It can be quite exhausting repeatedly making the walk up to the tube lift, and the excitement of simply sliding down the lanes was enough to knock my littlest one out!
Exhausted from the excitement!
We had 2-hour park tickets, and we were told by one of the employees we could easily get 4 to 5 rides in an hour. Depending on the crowd and lines for the different lanes, you could easily get more (some of us got 6 to 7 rides an hour).
Be sure to dress appropriately. - warm clothing, appropriate shoes, snow pants, and goggles/sunglasses to protect eyes from the flying ice/snow are recommended.
Tubing at the Coca-Cola Tube Park is the perfect family activity. I loved that all we had to do was show up - no rentals, no special equipment, no skills necessary!
The young and young-at-heart alike will truly have a blast zipping through the Coca-Cola Tube Park!
Coca-Cola Tube Park
Whistler Blackcomb
4545 Blackcomb Way
Whistler, BC V0N 1B4, Canada
(800) 766-0449
Thank you to the sponsor for providing complimentary tickets.
The posts published on Hawaii Mom Blog are personal experiences and opinions only. Press releases and other information from business are shared if believed they may be of interest to Hawaii Mom Blog readers. Press releases/information from businesses do not reflect personal opinions. Unless otherwise specified, products are provided by the sponsor free of charge, and no monetary compensation is received. Hawaii Mom Blog assumes no liability for any malfunction, injury, or other loss or damage, whether direct, consequential, or incidental, arising out of services, companies, or products that have been featured, reviewed, given away, advertised, or written about on Hawaii Mom Blog. Click here for the Terms of Use.
The cabins travel at 7.5 meters per second, allowing for lots of photo ops of snow-covered trees and mountains, as well as skiers and snowboards zipping down the mountains.
