Our friends Graham and Colleen were spending the weekend in Whistler, so we decided to join them and have a fun weekend away. We booked the weekend at the Hilton in the Village, and drove up Friday night.

We left a bit early Friday afternoon, and were in the Village by about 7 pm. We had dinner, got caught up and socialized on the beautiful summer evening. We had a big weekend planned, so we didn't make it too late a night. While Graham is a big downhill mountain biker, it's not my thing, so Justine and I decided to ride our mountain bikes on the cross country trails around the Village. I was trying to avoid getting hurt ahead of the triathlon, but that didn't end up working out very well.

One of the trails we rode on the single track loop at Whistler.

Saturday morning we slept in a bit, then headed out on the trails. There was a designated single track route that looked interesting, so we tried that out. It was mostly blue runs which was good. It was pretty challenging - lots of elevated narrow bridges that I don't like, but by the end I was riding some of them.

Justine on the trails at the top of a climb.

We ended up riding all morning, and probably would have gone longer but I had a pretty good crash that left me with a serious gash on my right shin. Lots of blood, and we need to stop to find a bandage to get the bleeding under control.

Early afternoon we stopped, and went into the Village to have some lunch. After lunch we stopped by the studio of our friend James, who is an amazing sculptor. You need to check out his stuff - it's amazing.

The artist at work on his latest creation.

After visiting I decided I better head over to emergency to get my leg checked out. The bleeding wasn't stopping, and while I thought I had cleaned it out well at the hotel I wanted to be sure. That messed up most of our afternoon, as it took a while to get sorted out. At the end of the day, they couldn't do too much - I had mashed it pretty good, and there was nothing to stitch up. It just needs to heal.

Pain in the ass. It cut the night short, as when the freezing wore off I was in quite a bit of pain.

To give proper credit, the rest of the photos here are Justine's (I stole them from her).

Sunday morning we booked a zipline tour. We've been wanting to do this for a while, so Justine, Colleen and I did it while Graham went downhilling. The course was pretty amazing. To steal from their web site:

Ziptrek Eagle Tour: Fly like an eagle over the Fitzsimmons Valley between Whistler and Blackcomb Mountains. This tour is perfect if you’ve ziplined before or crave an adrenaline rush!
5 ziplines, 4 treetop bridges, 2.5 – 3 hours

This tour features five different ziplines, including our newest 2400ft zipline with a 30-storey descent, perfect for anyone who wants a heart-pounding adventure! The new zipline launches from Olympic Station on Whistler mountain at an elevation of 1,000 meters.
Experience spectacular panoramic views of Whistler & Blackcomb Mountains as you cross treetop suspension bridges and sky high viewing platforms that connect the ziplines in the old-growth rainforest. With lift access to the first zipline, this tour starts and ends right in the heart of Whistler Village.

After ziplining, it was time to head back to the city and relax for a bit before another busy week of work.