It all started as a plan to visit one of the must-visit places while in Vancouver. Then the semester happened and the plan faded away into the mist of the unrealised, like many other before it. Luckily, I happened to be one of the winners of the Study In BC contest was awarded a voucher for an adventure activity up in Whistler. Thus the plans to visit the place had to be dug up, resurfaced and the mist wiped off with the rag of determination.
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| Whistler, here we come! |
The Planning Stages
Clearly, this was going to be a drive and not a bus ride. I would've regretted missing this opportunity to drive along a very beautiful highway: the Sea to Sky. I also wanted company since the gift voucher was for two people and also because I had spent enough time here in Vancouver to know enough people whom I could request the company of with genuine intentions.
After a whole lot of plan & company changes, especially with regards to the activity in Whistler itself, we settled on a zip-lining tour (snow mobiling was impractical due to insufficient snow) and the company of Hadi, Jackie and Ammad.
Next step was renting a car, for the first time. Enterprise had high ratings on Yelp which was enough for me to make a decision. Unfortunately, their downtown office didn't have any sort of sporty car so I had to settle with a Mazda 5 minivan.
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| From driving a city car at home, to a minivan in the snow and on the wrong side: quite an upgrade! |
The Day Itself - Friday, 20th Dec 2013
I woke up to a snowing Vancouver, immediately realising that our drive was going to be more exciting than anticipated. I wasn't wrong.
I got ready and headed down to the car rental company's office. The costs were a bit of a surprise: the car rental in itself is only about $50, however being young is expensive and cost another $70 to cover my 'being-young' charges, additional insurance, taxes, blah blah and etc. Just when my desperation of sitting in the driving seat of my most expensive car yet was almost at a maximum I was told that prepaid credit cards were unacceptable for a 'hold'. I then returned and got my Australian 'jack-of-all-trades' card which they gladly accepted.
Within five minutes from then, I was sitting behind the wheel of a modern minivan, parked in an almost white (snow-covered) car-park. Taking my sweet time to get adjusted to all the controls, adjusting the mirrors and my throne I then set off to SFU to pick up my entourage.
Admittedly, I was a fair bit worried driving on my own. Sure, I'd done about 3 hours of driving lessons in the past week just to make sure I was confident enough driving on the right side of the road so as not to lose an argument with another car, or a pole for that matter, but all that time had been in the company of an instructor which is completely different from doing it alone.
I'd set off and with the help of my trusted Google Maps' navigation I was getting confident with every kilometre driven and every left turn made. The lady residing within my phone seemed to really know her way around and got me to SFU without a hitch (aw...Hitch, we miss you). Towards the end of the drive where the snow hadn't really been cleared, I noticed the traction control kicking in and depriving one of the wheels of torque to maintain traction on the snow - both comforting and exciting at the same time.
We all loaded up, said our prayers (not really), brushed the ice off the car's roof & windscreen and set off. Jackie volunteered/fought her way through to be the navigator, calling shotgun in the process.
The car's dynamics had changed: I could feel the slightly increased traction as a result of the increased weight, wipers had to be on continuously for the snow (wiping solids off the screen - didn't think I'd experience that ever) and the brakes seemed to have gained a few years. We filled up gas for $20 - enough to make a one way trip - after debating on the methods of 'guesstimation'. The whim one won.
The drive through the city was pleasant but slow. Things got better when we hit the highway (as per my Persian driving instructor's advice I remembered to "push! push! push!" the accelerator when merging) and things went smoothly for the first half hour or so.
The Highway Incident
Just as the highway was merging into another, there was a bit of road that was not cleared (snow-covered), curved and going downhill - a dangerous combo! While making the curve, we noticed a line of cars that weren't moving and had their hazard lights on. Realizing something was wrong I immediately hit the brakes. However, it turned out that we had a bare minimum of traction and car was so not in the mood to stop.
Amidst all this, we noticed that the car just ahead of us - an old sedan - seemed to share our car's emotions about stopping. It continued going forward, sliding with its tyres likely locked up, and crashed into the already stationary cars up front!
Focusing back on our situation I realised we weren't stopping either. However, due to my hard braking the ABS had kicked in and I could feel the pulsation on the brake pedal - all that gizmo-gadgetry perhaps once coded by some programmer high on alcohol just waiting to go home. I bet he was riding the Ballmer Peak. Now, in normal circumstances and in a car without ABS, one would be wise to step off the brake pedal a little to gain traction and steer away from a potential crash rather than keeping the tyres locked up. But, thankfully, from my obsession with learning how cars work back in high school - back when I couldn't be bothered doing the wretched, repetitive, useless and intellectually insulting homework - I remember reading the 'How Stuff Works' article on ABS and recalled that a common mistake drivers in cars equipped with ABS make is letting go of the brake pedal when it starts pulsating, effectively rendering the system useless. Hence, I kept a firm pressure on the brake pedal and felt the ABS reducing the braking effects on individual tyres as it saw fit to maintain control of the vehicle. Not long later, we came to a complete stop before hitting anything. Phew!
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| ABS saved us all. "Science, it works, bitches!" |
It wasn't over: we were still stuck in the middle of the highway around a corner with no idea of how things were going to be resolved and an activity appointment in just a few hours in Whistler, which the possibility of making seemed bleaker by the minute.
We turned our hazard lights on to signify the incoming drivers that we were now a part of the line up that they should avoid. I was rather worried about another rusty old car coming along and crashing into us like the car ahead of us did. Luckily, that didn't happen.
While waiting, Jackie and Ammad decided to hop off and have a few words with the drivers of the cars up ahead to get a feel for the situation. 911 was also contacted notifying them of the situation and also of another that was soon to develop. Apparently (I missed the first-hand visuals), one of the cars up ahead decided to drive away thus leaving the car that was resting behind it with no support. The driver of the latter likely did not have the brakes on either which caused her car - with her dog still inside
- to roll off and into a ditch almost turning it upside down. Not surprisingly, the lady shrieked about her dog being still in. Thankfully, the dog was physically fine but seemed to be in shock as evidenced by its refusal to budge. Poor thing.
Not long after, a few cars moved away and we were able to drive through the mess safely. We continued on our path as per the plan and in the hope of being able to make it in time for the zip-line tour. We did, barely.
The Zip line Tour
The zip-lining tour was fun. Jackie and I had to run to the bus to make it in time but it was smooth sailing from there on. We got geared up and boarded a Snowcat to be taken to the top of the mountains from where we would make our way down zipping.
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| Snowcats are cool. |
There were a total of 4 zip lines, each with its own speciality.
The first one was the highest one in the country, atop a mountain, and carried us across a valley. The views were stunning, the weather worse-than-freezing and the breeze eye-watering.
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| You'll need a pilot's license to go any higher. |
After finishing the first line, I couldn't feel my feet and my glove-enclosed hands hurt from the cold. This is perhaps the closest I've come to hypothermia and it wasn't a pleasant feeling. Thanks to a few tips by the guide - involving warming the hands using my armpits and acting like a maniac to heat the body up, I recovered soon.
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| Messing around in the snow helps with the hypothermia. True story. |
The second one was the longest - over 1.3 km long!
The third one - aka the Godzilla - had the largest drop of them all over a short distance. This one caused the notorious 'stomach-in-mouth' feeling that I hate as the negative g-force was significant but it was short lived.
The fourth one was a bit deceiving as it started out slow but, because of its continuous downhill gradient, by the time we reached the destination and the arrestor springs came into action the momentum was significant and it hit hard.
Once finished, the feeling of walking on our own feet was surreal.
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| Jackie & I: Zip-lining buddies. Also, taken using a Canon L lens. |
Whistler Wrap-up
After having spent about 3 hours disbanded from Ammad and Hadi, we regrouped in the village and headed to an Irish pub for some food and drinks to conclude our trip.
The pub - Dubh Linn Gate - was bustling with patrons. We settled in and ordered two salmon burgers, a beef burger and, for myself, a beef pie (as recommended by the waiter). The burgers were pretty good but the pie was terribly suited for my palate. Anyway, the company was good and many laughs were to be had, especially the part where Ammad, despite his religion induced anti-pork insistence, called my bacon mayo dip as "heavenly" while being unaware of its constituents.
A few pics can be found on my food journal entry of our supper.
The drive back was uneventful, except that we managed to get the Bluetooth to work and the group had to suffer through my playlist. I was kind enough, and perhaps a bit forced, to skip Marilyn Manson's sweet voice.
Post-Whistler Cool-off
After dropping off Ammad and Hadi to SFU, Jackie and I headed to the Amsterdam Cafe where I spent the next few hours checking out, among other things, what the weedy fuss was all about. Also, staring at a pair of completely stoned cats was a sight that has been burnt into my mind. Despite cats already being the epitome of indifference, these two went a step further to being super-indifferent.
All in all an excellent day with lovely company, a beautiful & exciting drive, mesmerising zip-lining, going green, loving cats and reflecting on how such a day is unlikely to occur any time soon.
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