Peak 2 Peak Gondola — Local services in Whistler Resort Municipality

I spent a lot of time going back and forth on which gondola to go on - Peak 2 Peak or Sea to Sky. We ended up doing both. I ended up enjoying Peak 2 Peak more, which I was surprised by. It is expensive though - $99 CAD (not including taxes/fees). We went in mid-July and purchased our tickets online the day before. We thought this would allow us to skip a line but we still had to wait in line to pick up the tickets, which kind of defeated the whole purpose. We visited on a Saturday just after 10 AM when in opened and people were already lining up.

I initially thought you just take a gondola ride up to the top, and that would be it. But nope. It's called Peak to Peak because you're taking a gondola from the peak of Whistler to the peak of Blackcomb (DUH). You can choose to go up either on the Whistler side, or the Blackcomb side. The ticket is good for a roundtrip, and you can cross peak to peak as many times as you want. We went up on the Whistler side (about a 10-15 minute gondola ride), and that is the mountain with more things to do. There's a gift shop/restaurant/bathrooms at the top, the Olympic rings, and the highlight - the Cloudraker bridge, which is a suspension bridge. But in order to get to the suspension bridge, you have to hike about 15 minutes to the chairlift. The trail opens at 11, and a lot of people (including us) were waiting for it to open, so you can beat the rush - which I recommend doing. It's a beginner trail but there are quite a bit of loose pebbles and slopes. I was able to do it at 6 months pregnant, but I definitely needed to hold onto my husband. From there, the chairlift is about 5 minutes up to the bridge. Once you take all your pictures, you head back down on the ski lift and hike back to the main area. From there, you can cross to Blackcomb Mountain. There was not much on that side except for a gift shop, restaurants, and bathrooms. There was also a huge school trip so we didn't stay long because we didn't want to get stuck behind them. We didn't end up going down on the Blackcomb side but just took the gondola back to the Whistler side to head down.

We spent about 3 hours doing everything. It was worth the experience, and probably the highlight of my trip. So if you're on the fence of visiting (my main reason was the price), I would say just do it. You won't get many opportunities...

Trail Series, Part 31 “BOGO.” Isn’t it great when your purchase comes with a bonus? And so it is with the purchase of a single gondola ticket that provides you access to both Whistler and Blackcomb Mountains!

Your 30 minute ride up Blackcomb Mountain rises 4,000 feet above Whistler Village and connects you to the Peak 2 Peak Gondola (some of which feature glass bottoms) that can transport you across to Whistler Mountain in about 11 minutes.

While I was surprised by the number of Marmots freely roaming both mountains, I probably shouldn’t have been. After all it was their shrill “whistling” noises that inspired the early British Columbia trappers and prospectors to name this place “Whistler.”

The silence here is literally deafening. You know how after attending a concert your ears ring for like an hour? Well it’s like that here, only different. You can still hear a ringing in your👂, but that’s due to the unique experience of a complete absence of noise.

We also noticed that sound travels differently on the mountain. Several times I could clearly hear the conversations of other hikers (fact), only to realize that they were actually quite a distance from us. I have to admit that after a while I got tired of hearing about this “amazing new phenomenon Henry’s Take” and I just started to tune it out (not true). 😉

The trails provide beautiful vantage points, are well maintained with clear directional signage, feature a wide assortment of wild mushrooms (one looked just like a hamburger bun complete with poppyseeds), and you may even encounter the lichen covered rock that resembles a globe or the plant that looks like something straight out of Dr. Seuss’ “The Lorax.”

The majority of the trails on Blackcomb Mountain are easy or moderate, while most of the trails on Whistler Mountain are challenging. The gondolas are accessible for those with mobility challenges and there are terrific viewing areas for those unable to navigate the trail system.

In keeping with Canadian tradition (which started today, eh!), we were careful to pack an “Oh Henry!” bar as a part of our emergency rations. 😉

And that’s…Henry’s...

Didnt plan but saw the gondola closes at 5, walked in to the office and purchased ticket at 330pm, we specifically asked if we have enough time for the peak express chairlift on the top? The answer was yes, “you can take the gondola up and immediately do the peak express now” so we paid $110/head….took the gondola right away to mount whistler, no line, and it took us a good 30mins from bottom to top in the gondola, arrived at 4:05pm.

And theres a sign saying “The peak express chair is closed”….ended up noticing the express chair closes at 4.

Talked to one of the crew member and was advised to take the gondola back down for a refund.

Ticket office staff gave us a hard time, questioning if we took the peak 2 peak cuz it closes at 5 and we shdnt be affected by thr closure. After a few “we discussed with our manager but unfortunately…..” and “ you should’ve been advised that that the peak express closes at 4”, we ended up getting a full refund but the staff in the ticket office were entirely black faced and do not think they have made any mistake by giving us the info that we “should have enough time” to do everything up top at 330pm.

Wasted an hour doing a mount whistler gondola round trip, going up and immediately down, and 30mins in the office fighting for a refund.

If you do not want to do a round trip of gondolas up and down, do not buy any ticket after 1pm, you do not have enough time for anything, unless you want to pay $110 for a gondola round trip, up the top, and immediately...