Post-Marathon Week 3: A Peek at the Peak-to Peak

I’m still avoiding any hard running, but I’m happy to report I’ve been getting out there three times a week for my lunch-hour 3 milers.

Peak-to-Peak Gondola Car (Plan & Elevation)

On the skiing front, Ian & I have started our self-guided Pre-Ski Training Camp which is pretty hardcore. Ian’s the trainer and I do what I’m told, which is highly unusual. We’re doing agility drills and a lot of core strengthening using silly looking props like the Swiss Ball, Medicine Ball, and Rubber Band. They look like toys but are, in fact, modern-day tools of torture. My abs are finally feeling normal again after a couple of weeks of complaining from the strain. Ian assures me all of this hard work will make skiing easier AND more fun. Last weekend driving past Whistler we saw the new Peak-to-Peak Gondola running for the first time. It’s quite a sight. Little black blobs in the distance gliding perilously along a thin line stretched over an unfathomable gap. Apparently it is the first horizontal gondola in North America to link two mountain tops. Imagine standing in a little car, holding on for dear life while dangling over the abyss. Sound fun? It is now the highest and longest unsupported horizontal lift span AND the longest continuous lift system in the world. All of this engineering genius just so you and I will can ski both mountains on the same day.

Here are some facts on the P2P: Speed 7.5 meters per second. Ride Time approximately 11 min. Whistler Mountain to Blackcomb Mountain Frequency one cabin departs every 49 seconds Total Distance 4.4km/2.73miles (straight line) Length of Unsupported Span 3.024km/1.88 miles (straight line between the two towers that are furthest apart) Highest Point above the ground is 436m/1427 feet over Fitzsimmons Creek