Hiking at Whistler & Blackcomb Mountain part 2: on top of Whistler Mountain

After our morning on Blackcomb moutain,  we took the Peak2peak gondola to transfer us to Whistler Mountain.  The gondola crosses a valley and spans 3 kms in the air.   There are a couple of gondola's with glass bottoms and you need to queue seperately (= longer) to catch one of those.  I am not so mad as to go on a glass bottom gondola...this was heavy enough, not being close to a slope.  I left the sightseeing pictures and the smiling and walking around to Jan. 

Once arrived on Whistler mountain, we walked down to the base station of the Whistler peak.   I could see the suspension bridge from far but decided I'd let the boys have that experience and I'd take a pass.  Bleh that chairlift was much steeper than anticipated. 

Grinning smile while holding very tight

View on the suspension bridge on the peak

Once at the peak the trails are in fact officially marked as a one-direction circle, passing the suspension bridge and then looping back to teh station over the rocks.  While I didn't know how strict that one-direction was and why.  (hindsight: I could have perfectly walked in the different direction safely) and while I didn't want to just sit there in the cold wind with nothing to do...I decided in a spur of the moment that I would cross the suspension bridge anyhow.   At the start you don't have a good view of its length, nor its depth.   

While the boys posed and Jan was flipping pictures, I started to move hands strongly on both rails right behind another woman.   That floor has holes in it !! It has freaking holes, you can see the bottom.   While Jan and the boys were chatting and posing, I cling behind the women, staring firmly at her lower back and telling myself "step, step, another step, step, step".  I was afraid that if I lifted my eyes up or around or I slowed down, I'd freeze in the middle of this freaking nightmare.  So I stared mezmerized at the women's back and just concentrated to move my feet one step at a time.  Breaathe, keep breathing, I am doing this, I do another step, she moves, I move, ...

Minutes before the boys I reach the other side and while they pose a bit more, I burst into tears.  I've not seen anything but the discharge of my fear was immense and confusing to the boys.  "But mom, you are safe now on the other side", while they saw the tears rolling from my cheeks. 

I still can't believe I crossed it, but I'm so relieved I never looked sideways or down when I see these pictures now. I feel all the emotions back with the pictures. 

Slowly I caught my breath back and we walked back to the base where we could go in line to snap a instagrammable landmark picture with Inukshuk...an Inuit symbol. 

At Inukshuk on Whistler peak

Going down this very steep chairlift again was quite nervewrecking as well

We had deserved a drink and some time to chill again and detense for those who needed that ;). 

And then I had to convince the boys that we'd go for another hike.  We were all so tired, and I felt my legs too but I really regretted going down back to the village. Now we were up here at these mountain tops, I wanted to profit and use all the time we had.  We compromised on a small hike, half an hour down and then back up.   Gosh, it ended up being glorious. Just scroll down these pictures, it was so spectacular. 

And then it was time to say goodbye to these mountains...but also almost to our vacation.   

I conquered this freaking suspension bridge at 2200m ...I will not repeat it anymore

Back in the lift, we spotted succesfully another black bear...what a day.