It had been awhile since I had visited Whistler and an even longer while since I had been to the top of Whistler and Blackomb mountains.

With just under a 2 hour drive from Vancouver we arrived to Whistler and checked in to the Aava Whistler Hotel that is situated right in the heart of Whistler Village. After a quick refresh it was time for a leisurely walk over to the Blackcomb gondola at the base of Blackcomb Mountain.

We took the under 20 minute gondola from the base to the top enjoying the picturesque scenery. At the top we explored a bit, walked some of the trails and took in the views before heading to Christine’s for an outstanding lunch.

I love mountain top dining experiences and on the top of Blackcomb Mountain Christine’s is open for lunch daily and features a 3 course menu as well as some a-la-carte dishes. You can dine just as I did recently enjoying a selection of dishes from their 3 courses menu, as Lawrence joined me we opted to have 2 different dishes from each course and then we shared it all which allowed us to try 6 different dishes.

These are the dishes we had plus a couple of add-on’s.

Focaccia (add-on)

1st courses Niçoise salad and Christine’s salad

2nd courses Roasted Steelhead, Sundried Heirloom Tomato pappardelle and Crispy Brussels Sprouts (add-on)

3rd Courses Eton mess and Raspberry sorbet

I suggest you make an advance reservation for lunch. You will need to purchase a ticket for the gondola ride from the base of Blackcomb in addition to your dining experience. You can make a day out of it by purchasing the Summer Alpine Experience which not only gives you the gondola ride up Blackcomb but also gives you the Peak to Peak tram ride to Whistler mountain and then the gondola ride to the base of Whistler mountain in the village.

After lunch we took the Peak to Peak tram over to Whistler Mountain and this was a very cool first time experience for me.

Once we go to the top of Whistler we took a long walk down a hill to the Peak Express chairlift for an even more thrilling experience to the top and then we walked across the Cloudraker Bridge.

We then headed back down to the Roundhouse Lodge which is 1,800 metres in elevation before indulging in the Mountaintop Feast for dinner. The enticing buffet is offered on Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings through to the end of August.

You can do what we did and get yourself a Summer Alpine Experience ticket and take the gondola from the base of Blackcomb to the top, then take the Peak to Peak tram over to Whistler Mountain and explore the trails and more on both mountains. Once you get over to the Roundhouse Lodge you can dine from 5:30pm, make sure to make an advance reservation from the choice of times offered. Then enjoy live music, epic views and an incredible buffet.

Afterwards Lawrence and I took the gondola down to the base of Whistler in the village and headed over to our hotel which was relaxing after spending the day on top of Blackcomb and Whistler mountains.

The next day we visited % Arabica in Whistler Village where I had a Kyoto Latte.

We then had a delicious breakfast at Lorette Brasserie where I had the Avocado Toast, Frozen yogurt Parfait; while Lawrence had an Eggs Benedict and we shared the fruit salad.

By: Richard Wolak

Disclosure: Aava Whistler Hotel provided us with complimentary accommodation and Tourism Whistler and Whistler Blackcomb hosted our meals and gondola rides and experience. As always, all opinions and photos are my own.