Though Scout is decidedly Vancouver-centric, we often adventure north up the Sea To Sky highway for kicks. Whistler offers so much more than just the slopes its famous for, and both Squamish and Pemberton are magnetic small communities that seduce with incomparable scenery and genuine character. Each town (and the wild spaces in between) is an essential facet of the complete British Columbian experience, and we encourage our readers to get out there and explore each of them.

Right now we see the red of the Peak 2 Peak gondola; the tri-colour of the Whistler Mountaineer train; the peak of Blackcomb when it catches the last rays of the sunset (five colours); drooping epiphytic moss on the trees surrounding Alice Lake; the freezing Vodka Room at Bearfoot Bistro; the tri-colour of the exterior of Nita Lake Lodge; Australian green and gold; charger plates at Araxi; turquoise meltwater off Squamish; and a turkey vulture’s pink head.

BRIGHTLY COLOURED JACKETS FALLING DOWN MOUNTAINS
AN OPEN AIR OBSERVATION CAR ON THE WHISTLER MOUNTAINEER
THE LONG, DEEP “WUP WUP WUP” ECHO OF RESCUE HELICOPTERS
TOURS OF WHISTLER BREWING COMPANY
GREAT STACKS TO BROWSE AT ARMCHAIR BOOKS
PLAYING “AVOID THE BEAR” ON THE 40KM WHISTLER VALLEY TRAIL
DAWN SKINNY DIPPING AT ALICE LAKE
MASS CAVORTING AT THE CORNUCOPIA FOOD & WINE FESTIVAL
EXCELLENT FARMER’S MARKETS IN BOTH SQUAMISH & WHISTLER
STELLAR’S JAYS WAKING CAMPERS UP WITH HIGH PITCHED SCREECHES
A LITTLE SNAKE RUN & MELLOW BOWL AT THE WHISTLER SKATEPARK
GLACIAL POWDER BEACH CAMPING ON THE SQUAMISH VALLEY CAMPGROUND
CALM CANOEING ON ALTA LAKE
2,500+ AUSTRALIANS WHO HAVE LEARNED HOW TO TIP
OLYMPIC LEGACY CABINS AT PORTEAU COVE
THE PRETTIEST HOLE IN CANADIAN GOLF (14TH AT FURRY CREEK)
VINYL HUNTING AT KELLY’S ECLECTIBLES

AL FRESCO SUPPERS AT NORTH ARM FARM IN PEMBERTON
16OZ DELMONICO STEAKS AT SIDECUT
BIG GUNS SUPPERS AT ARAXI
HOT COFFEE & COCONUT BANANA LOAF AT PUREBREAD
FIVE COURSE TASTINGS AT BEARFOOT BISTRO
BREAKFAST BURRITOS AT ZEPHYR CAFE
AUSSIE PIES TOPPED WITH MASHED POTATO, MUSHY PEAS AND GRAVY AT  PEAKED PIES
EINSTEIN SMOOTHIES AND SUPER FOOD SALADS AND GREEN JUICE AT GREEN MUSTACHE CAFE
PRE-SLOPE WARM UP AT LIFT COFFEE
ALMOND SOUP AT BAR OSO
CHAI AT CAMP COFEE + LIFETYLE IN FUNCTION JUNCTION
SMOKED SALMON EGGS BENEDICT AT FERGIE’S CAFE
SCHRAMM ORGANIC GIN FROM PEMBERTON DISTILLERY

– The great granite monolith known as the Grand Wall of the Stawamus Chief was first climbed in 1961 by Jim Baldwin and Ed Cooper. It took them 40 days to get to the top.

– Pemberton Distillery’s Lorien Schramm was named after the fair forest realm of the Elves in J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord Of The Rings.

– Bearfoot Bistro chef Melissa Craig won the country’s biggest cooking competition, the Canadian Culinary Championships, in 2008.

– Squamish’s Britannia Mine produced 56 million tons of copper in its 70 years of operation from 1904.

– The “Sea To Sky” highway from Horseshoe Bay to Whistler is considered one of the most beautiful drives in the world.

– Whistler was named after the call of the Hoary Marmot, North America’s largest (and loudest) ground squirrel.

– Porteau Cove is a 20 minutes drive from the city and offers 44 drive-in campsites and 16 walk-in sites on the water.

– Australians make up a third of the workforce at Whistler Blackcomb

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