Canadian Mountain Holidays

As of mid-July, the construction of Whistler’s world record breaking gondola is safely on track for opening in December 2008!

With two of the track ropes already hauled right across the valley and under tension, the third track rope is already on its way up the slopes of Whistler Mountain, having been hauled down from the Blackcomb station. The fourth and final track rope will follow, and then will come the gondola haul rope.

Once the haul rope is across, securing it will take a while because it will have to be spliced to form a loop. This job is scheduled for completion by mid-September.

Meanwhile, work on the terminal buildings is moving along apace, too! To compliment the other records being set by this gondola, they will be the largest lift terminal buildings in the world! At this moment, crews are installing the roof cladding on the Blackcomb terminal, while brick-, concrete- and mechanical work is being done on both sides.

The culture of mountain lift building has brought some interesting customs to the project! Each of the lift towers has borne the Swiss flag, because the construction crews originate in that alpine nation. In addition, as the last piece of steelwork has been installed at the top of each tower, a large tree has been placed atop the structure. Depending on who you talk to, this custom - known as Topping Out - celebrates a job completed without loss of life, or is a talisman for good fortune in the future.

On a project of this scale and nature, I think we can take both as great signs for the future of the Peak 2 Peak Gondola!

We have received several inquiries about the recent fire in Panorama Mountain Village, so decided to put up a post about the incident. Please be aware that this article is written from a casual observer’s point of view and contains opinions and conjecture that have not be confirmed by the relevant authorities.

On the night of June 20/21, a Friday night, one block of the Horsethief condo complex caught fire. All sixteen units in the 300 block sustained serious damage.

It is believed that the fire started at about 12.30am, apparently caused by an electrical fault.

Here are some photo’s taken on the Saturday morning:

Fortunately, there is no word of any injuries caused by the incident, nor were any firefighters harmed while dealing with the blaze.

It is believed that twelve units had resort staff living in them. Some had literally just moved in a couple of nights previously, and others had been living there for several years. These people lost everything they owned, destoyed either by the fire, or damage from the chemicals and water used to douse the flames.

Word is that the central check-in office received complaints from guests in nearby units about the noise made by the fire alarms, and how the fire had impacted on their enjoyment of their visit to Panorama. What can I say? Its amazing how self-centered people can be, when their neighbours have just lost not only everything they own, but the very roof over their heads!

Now, almost three weeks later, the block is safely condoned off and awaiting the finalization of the fire investigation before any action can be taken with regard to repairing or replacing the building. General consensus is that the building will have to be completely demolished and rebuilt: