Cross-country skiing the Callaghan Valley

Over the holidays I spent nine days in Whistler with my family. Days were spent skiing (four day of cross-country and five days of downhill for me), late afternoons were spent napping and reading and evening were spent enjoying good food (homemade in our condo’s kitchen), good wine and the best company of all – family.

One of the highlights for me was Mom, Matt and my New Year’s day trip to the Whistler Olympic Park in the Callaghan Valley about 20km outside of Whistler. This is the site of the 2010 Nordic events: cross-country, biathlon and ski jumping. We were to first people to purchase recreational day ski passes in 2008 and headed out on the trails. We didn’t actually do the Olympic routes (they were black (i.e. difficult) trails). The scenery in the valley was beyond beautiful. In fact, it was almost too beautiful to comprehend! Near the end of our route we skied right up to the base of the ski jumps and watched juniors practice for the National Championships that were starting the next day. Then we skied through what will be the cross-country ski stadium. We ended the trip sipping hot chocolates on the drive back to Whistler.