Six Star Magazine Six Star Magazine 2012 | Page 23

it’s a major transit route, neighbouring
the British Columbia and Alberta borders.
A new ski area, the 3121-acre
Revelstoke Mountain Resort, previously
noted for heli-skiing now boasts North
America’s highest lift-serviced vertical at
1,713 metres. An unusual place to stay in
the area is the Mulvehill Creek Wilderness
Inn and Wedding Chapel, whose Swiss
hosts pride themselves in being off the
grid, with their own waterfall power
source and fresh eggs from their own
hatchery every day.

Completed in 2009 in time for the
2010 Winter Olympics, the 104-km,
the corridor to improve safety, provide
additional capacity and safeguard the
aesthetics of the driving experience.
The highway traverses extremely steep
and hazardous slopes in addition to its
immediate proximity to a mainline railway.
The viability of construction and the cost

the outline of the mountains high above.
Alta Lake is the great divide in the Sea

Cheakamus and Squamish Rivers, while
the River of Golden Dreams eventually
reaches the ocean through the Harrison
watershed and the Fraser River.” No

British Columbia
One doesn’t really need a guide to
enjoy a drive in British Columbia.
But there are two drives that we
Highway and the newly expanded
(thanks to the 2010 Olympics) Sea to
Sky route to the Whistler Blackcomb
ski area. The drive from Port Alberni to
inspiring landscapes, including spotting
whales and other marine life, vast
forests, and bustling towns; these are
only parts of what visitors encounter.
Highway can be an inspiring
experience of Vancouver Island’s
Lake Louise, Alberta
culture and natural wonders. There is
also the eco-tourism of Clayoquot Sound.
of the work was always a concern
for project developers.
Certainly, Whistler’s success as a resort
destination has propelled development,
Canada) will not want to miss
both commercial and recreational, in
the town’s Botanical Gardens.
other parts of the region, particularly
Intensely scenic, the Sea to Sky
Squamish and Pemberton. So too has
Highway (Highway 99) crosses paths
the popularity of the mountain bike and
with two historic routes, the Pemberton
the sport-utility vehicle – know anyone
Trail and the Gold Rush Heritage Trail,
who makes a great one?
which linked the coast with the interior
Something magical happens when
in the days before the automobile.
you arrive at the summit of the small
(britishcolumbia.com)
valley that contains Whistler. “A cluster

21

other valley in the Sea to Sky region
has such “a wealth of small and mediumsized lakes. No other lakes have scenery
quite like this to mirror. When you let
admire the real thing, the contours of
the ski runs on Blackcomb and Whistler
Mountains pattern the forested slopes.”
Above the tree line, you can still see
“remnants of the most recent ice age
in the glaciers that encrust the highest
peaks.” Take a deep breath of
the freshest air imaginable.