Getting in the spirit

'Be bear aware!' says the sign on the garage door. You'll find similar notices all over Whistler, all with the same message. Bears live in these mountains. They're clever, resourceful and hungry. If you give them access to food of any kind, they'll have it and then some. 'Access' could be a locked freezer inside a locked garage. Like I said, clever, resourceful and hungry.

The garage which houses our apartment complex rubbish bins is bear-proof. And, after around a minute of pushing, pulling, twisting and the odd kick, I'm making no headway. I'm coming to the conclusion that the bears are brighter than I am. There's probably one watching me right now. When I do finally figure out how to open the door, he'll be making notes.

I love the fact that the bears are here. If I encountered one I'd run a mile screaming, of course - but they're beautiful animals and great efforts are made to preserve their habitat, to enable humans and bears to co-exist as happily as possible. While not tame by any means, they're quite used to people and are regularly seen in the summer months. Some of the gladed ski trails (the trails which run through woods) have 'bear habitat' warning signs. As if knee-deep powder, trees, and steep fall-lines weren't enough to be going on with...

So we've been skiing a lot. You know this. The last couple of days has seen the high terrain finally open after nearly a week of harsh weather, and we've made the most of it. Harmony Ridge is still wonderful. And I still get a twinge of fear every time I get on the chairlift.

Talking of which... it occurred to me today that in order to get to these amazing places, we use a transport network which to the uninitiated would seem... precarious, shall we say. Any skier or boarder will think nothing of sitting four (or six, or eight) abreast on a metal bench suspended from a moving cable up to a hundred or more feet in the air, with only a single metal bar for protection. Boarding and disembarking can be a dicey business, too. You never forget your first chairlift ride, but it becomes routine amazingly quickly.

And then there are gondolas - cable cars. Whistler has four: three lines which lead up from the valley, and the new Peak2Peak gondola which links the two mountains. Even for the most jaded seasonnaire, this is a spectacular ride. Nearly three miles of cable supported by just two towers on each mountain, it's the highest cable car of its kind in the world. At the centre point, you're over 1400 feet above the valley floor.

With two days remaining, Odyssey 2012 is drawing to a close. It's been memorable mostly for the right reasons; here's hoping for a fitting last hurrah.

All smiles, but look at the whites of our eyes... Odyssey 2012 finds Harmony. Whistler Mountain, 16 March 2012

The Album Cover shot, on the appropriately named 'Freefall'. Blackcomb, 16 March 2012

Going down... Peak2Peak, Blackcomb to Whistler, 17 March 2012

Man meets bird... Whistler's famous - and well fed - Whiskeyjacks. Symphony, Whistler Mountain, 17 March 2012.

It was THIS narrow... and THAT steep. Marianne, Steve and I celebrate conquering 'In the Spirit', a tricky gladed trail. And I know the bears were watching. Blackcomb, 17 March 2012.