Whistler

A span of 4.4km crosses between the two summits with no tower in between. A few cabins have glass floors, and waiting in the right line gets you one.

Lifts carry the bikes up and the runs go one way down, more than 250km of them. Even the beginner lines build speed, so armour is rented and worn.

Seven freight cars derailed in 1956 and were left where they stopped in the forest. A suspension bridge and twenty minutes of dirt path lead there, and every car carries painted work.

A twenty minute walk out of the village reaches a lake that hits 22 degrees in summer. The same trails turn into snowshoe routes once winter comes.

Two nations of this valley run the centre together. Cedar canoes and weaving tools are explained by the people who made them.

Canoes are hired on the lake west of the village and paddled down a channel to the next one. The current is barely there, so a first timer stays upright.

Hot and cold pools alternate through the trees under a rule of silence. Phones stay outside, so the only clock is the one on the wall.

A fifteen minute drive leads to a 70m fall, with a ten minute walk to the platform. In winter the base freezes into a column.

The ski jumps and cross country tracks from the 2010 games are still in place. In summer children run on the grass below the jumps, and in winter the tracks are rented out.

The gondola puts you above the tree line for the walking. Patches of snow survive into July, so waterproof boots earn their place.

Whistler and Blackcomb mountains joined into one of the widest ski areas in North America. With more than 200 runs you can ski for days without repeating a line. In spring the lower snow turns slushy, so mornings beat afternoons.

A car-free pedestrian street snakes across the centre of the village. Ski shops, restaurants and bars flank the street, and the gondola base sits at its end. In the evening plenty of people walk it still in ski boots.

A dark building raised over the forest floor, opened in 2016. It shows BC coastal Indigenous masks alongside paintings by Emily Carr. Through the big windows the spruce woods look like part of the display.

A 130m suspension bridge strung between two peaks at the top of Whistler Mountain. You walk to it straight off the lift, and on the other side a viewing platform juts out over the cliff. It closes in strong wind.

A provincial park about 1 hour's drive north of Whistler. Three jade lakes step up beneath a glacier, and reaching the highest takes a long uphill. Summer weekend parking runs out soon after dawn.

A big alpine lake reached by a 9km climb each way on a trail south of Whistler. Volcanic rock dammed it, which gives the water its deep teal colour. A day trip means a dawn start, and the lakeside campground runs on bookings.

A waterfall in a provincial park on the road to Pemberton, where the river drops in two bends. About 20 minutes along a riverside forest path brings you out on a lookout above it. The rock beyond the railing stays wet with spray and slippery.

About 40km of paved path links the village, five lakes and the neighbourhoods. In summer people rent bikes and stop at each lake for a swim. In winter some stretches become cross-country ski track.

The ice track that hosted bobsleigh and luge at the 2010 Winter Olympics. In winter the public can ride in the back of a bobsleigh steered by a professional pilot. The run takes under 1 minute, but the curves press you hard into the seat.