Our trip to Canada was a very last minute decision, making it a very typical Kees/Savannah kind of holiday. Kees hadn’t been to my hometown in five years, so as you can imagine, being an extremely family oriented girl, I’ve been nagging him to return ever since. His previous trip was in the summer and it was absolutely spectacular, as any trip to Canada is expected to be. We flew down to Vegas for my brother Sky’s wedding, flew to Victoria by seaplane to go whale watching, drove up to Whistler, stayed at our family cottage on Loon Lake and did a road trip to Banff, Jasper and Calgary spotting gorgeous waterfalls, lakes, elk and bears with their cubs along the way.

This time, I decided to show Kees the slopes in my backyard. This guy is obsessed with snowboarding and will drive 14 hours to go boarding for two days in Austria/Switzerland/France or Italy then turn right back around and drive 14 hours home. I’m always up for a nice road trip, but even I have to say that’s pushing it.

After a perfectly easy and fast flight directly to Vancouver from Amsterdam, my wonderful grandma picked us up in my Boobmobile, dropped herself off at my sister Bree’s house where her car was and after a quick hello and goodbye to both of them, Kees and I drove directly to Whistler. 

After a long but exciting day, we couldn’t have been happier to end the day in the luxurious arms of the Hilton Whistler Resort & Spa Hotel. I felt so spoiled with a handwritten note of greeting and a cheese/fruit platter. We were upgraded to a junior suite with a fireplace, balcony and kitchen! Starting off the day with a coffee in our gorgeous suite was bound to make for a great day.

We were exceptionally lucky to be hosted by Whistler Mountain again and enjoy four days on the slopes. The weather could have been better but we did get spottings of blue sky and the sun did poke through the clouds a couple of times. There truly is nothing more gorgeous than being on the top of Whistler or Blackcomb Mountain with the sun shining down and making the pure white snow sparkle. Even when it was snowing on the first day it was more than enjoyable as long as we had the right gear! Lots of fresh powder for us to enjoy.

I’ve skied in the French and Swiss Alps but nothing steals my heart like Whistler. I love how wide and long the runs are, lined with snow covered evergreens and stunning mountain views all around.

The two mountains, Whistler and Blackcomb, which are side by side have more than 8,000 acres and 200 marked runs, making it the largest skiable area in North America. There’s no surprise they were honoured with hosting the 2010 Winter Olympics!

Stunt performers, sister Bree and her boyfriend Donavin, joined us for an entire day on the mountains and we had an absolute blast (aside from the fact that I caught Donavin’s cold on day two of our trip!!!). They completely wore me out to say the least. My feeble attempts to remind them that I’m an AUTHOR and not cut out for extreme sports, didn’t make them go any softer on me!

Ending each day with a dip in the steamy outdoor hot tub and pool, catching giant snowflakes in our mouths as they floated down above us, was always the perfect way to rejuvenate after a long day on the slopes.

 The pampering was always completed with a stroll into Whistler Village for dinner then ultimately relaxing in our Hilton Hotel room and watching the flickering flame of the fire at the foot of our bed. 

Savannah