Ziptrek Ecotour, Whistler Canada

Four members of the Seattle Hiking group took a weekend trip to Whistler Canada for a Ziptrek Ecotour and a short hike at Elfin Lakes.

We were lucky to have such beautiful weather while we were in Whistler and I was amazed to see how much was going on at Whistler in the summer. From down hill mountain biking to snow boarding on a glacier there was something for everyone interested in an outdoor activity. For lose interested in something a little less adventuresome there is plenty of shopping in Whistler and restaurants with nice views of the surrounding mountains.

The zip line tour was a lot of fun and one of those activities that you wish would not end. Our guides for the tour, Jodi and Martin, also played a big part in making sure we all had a good time. For those of you that don't know what a zip line tour is here are the basics. Put on a full body harness connect your self via 3 feet of rope and a pulley to a steal cable that is stretched across a rushing mountain creek and zip across. Of course to do this you start off 100 or so feet above the ground in a tree house like platform. There is also an educational component to the Ziptrek Ecotour. While touring the forest via zip lines your guide will teach you a little about the forest's life cycle and how it sustains itself and what Whistler is doing to promote sustainable use of our natural resources using the Natural Step Framework.

(May 25th - 26th, 2005)

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This is part of the down hill mountain bike hill at Whistler. The chair lifts take riders and bikes up the hill in separate chairs. Then they come flying down the hill, hopefully together.	Here are a couple of riders coming down the hill. All of the riders have serious safety gear on. You can also see a chair full of mountain bikes going up the hill.	The Ziptrek Ecotour begins with each of us being fitted to our fully body harness.	The first zip line is the "baby" line that is about 50 feet long.
Tracy got volunteered to go first.	The photo shows the destination end of the second zip line. Or the first real one. I wouldn't count the baby one.	Suspension bridges connect some of the tree mounted platforms. The Christmas lights on the bridge are LED lights rather than incandescent. The Ziptrek Ecotours uses generator powered by the nearby stream to power their entire operation.	It is difficult to make out, but, this picture shows a zip line crossing the creek. It is just a hairline that goes from the first W in www.piap.com then up and to the right.
Cain, Tracy, and Nicola before their first real zip line. The platform we are on is supported by a single tree and is about 100 feet off the ground.	Ecotour part of Ziptrek are brief discussions of the forest Ziptrek is located in and general concepts in sustainable living. The tree supporting this platform is an 80 year old Douglas Fur.	Tracy's trip down the zip line is recorded in the next 5 photos. Can you find her in every one?
		They sure do get small fast in these pictures!	Cain is cool and confident.
Cain doesn't look to worried here. Maybe he is thinking about what he wants for dinner?

Click on a thumbnail above to see a larger version of the picture.

The pictures in this gallery were taken with a Nikon D70 Digital SLR camera. Any use of these pictures without permission from the photographer is strictly prohibited. Email me to request permission to use any of these pictures or if you would like a higher resolution version.

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Last updated: 6/28/05