If you love skiing or snowboarding, go to Whistler. If not, then go to Whistler anyway.
The mountains of Whistler and Blackcomb are about a two hours drive from Vancouver on the scenic and aptly named 'Sea to Sky Highway'. They are a skiers paradise and even beginners or 'beginner-intermediates' can have a great time there. That much I can testify to from my own experience.
My latest trip to Whistler was a about a week ago and I had more fun skiing there than I have had at Snoqualmie in a long time. The Summit at Snoqualmie is a nice resort for beginners except for the fact that it is very crowded and the runs are woefully short. Their longest beginner runs last about 3 minutes at moderate speeds and their longest intermediate runs last about 10 minutes. After that you have to get in line for the ski lift which takes about 10-20 minutes to get you back up the slope including the time you have to wait in line.
Whistler is a different proposition altogether. The highest lift accessible point at Whistler is 7500 feet and you can ski all the way to Whistler Village at 2000 feet. I went up to Roundhouse Lodge which is at about 6000 feet. The lift takes about 20 minutes to get up there and then I started skiing. I was careful the first time around because I was unfamiliar with the terrain. I took about 1 hour to ski down the4000 feet from Roundhouse Lodge to Whistler Village. The second time around I took about 30 minutes.
This is one of the things that people love about Whistler: Long trails where you just ski and ski. This was just one of the trials. Whistler and Blackcomb have a total of 200+ such trails and over 8000 acres of area to ski on.
Now let me come to the part about how you can enjoy Whistler even if you aren't into snow sports. Whistler Village has retail outlets from many major brands, has great restaurants, pubs and accommodations ranging from cheap to extravagant. I have to admit though that the cheap accomodations aren't really close to the all the action. It's a great place to have a relaxing vacation at.
I have done a day trip from Seattle to Whistler. It is a lot of driving but it can be done. We left at 6 am in the morning. I was skiing at 11 am and we left Whistler at 4.30 pm to reach Seattle at 9 pm.
Oh and just in case you didn't know; the 2010 Winter Olympics are going to be held at Whistler!!!
Tuesday, April 01, 2008
Battlestar Galactica
My love for science fiction TV shows can't be overstated. I have watched the original Star Trek (Star Trek: TOS), Star Trek: The Next Generation (Star Trek: TNG), Star Trek: Voyager, Johhny Sokko and His Giant Flying Robot (aka Giant Robot for people who grew up during the late eighties and early nineties in India), Firefly and now Battlestar Galactica.
I hadn't really expected much from this TV show because of the mostly mediocre ratings it has recevied. It turned out to be good in a way because I went in with low expectations and was totally blown away by what I found.
Battlestar Galactica is the story of humans fleeing the destruction of their homeworlds. Their twelve planets are in ruins and they are pursued by a race of robots known as the Cylons. Cylons were first created by humans themselves in their metallic forms, but they rebelled and a war ensued. During the armistice which lasted for over forty years, the 'robots' evolved and now resemble humans to the extent that interbreeding is possible between the Cylons and humans.
The plot might sound dated and it is dated to an extent. My friend aptly put it as the Frankenstein complex which good science fiction has left behind some time back. However, Battlestar Galactica in its current incarnation has managed to put so much more depth to this basic plot that the result is fascinating.
Let me enumerate some of the points that I like about Battlestar Galactica
Religion: Few works of science fiction are able to work religion into the story as well as this show has been able to. Dune is another such work but unlike Dune the religion hasn't yet become an overwhelming part of the story. Depicting humans as polytheistic while at the same time depicting the Cylons as monotheistic was a wonderful touch.
Strong characters: Well developed characters which continue to do things that logically follow from their basic natures and which continue to evolve.
Space Battles: Realistic weapons which include missiles and nuclear weapons. There are no 'deflector shields'. If a missile hits your spacecraft, it blows up. Simple.
Look of spacecraft: No shiny plastic toy clean feel to any of the spacecraft or to their operators. They look like machines which that can be fixed and real ships that people might live on.
Philosophical questions raised: Choices between right and wrong, good and evil and between evils abound. The blurring of the line between right and wrong when the survival of the human race is at stake is always highlighted. The question of how long does one stick to his morals and principles when he is fleeing for his life is a question that befalls the two leaders of the human race in almost every other episode.
All in all, Battlestar Galactica has many elements that keep me entertained. I am looking forward to the last season which begins of Friday.
I hadn't really expected much from this TV show because of the mostly mediocre ratings it has recevied. It turned out to be good in a way because I went in with low expectations and was totally blown away by what I found.
Battlestar Galactica is the story of humans fleeing the destruction of their homeworlds. Their twelve planets are in ruins and they are pursued by a race of robots known as the Cylons. Cylons were first created by humans themselves in their metallic forms, but they rebelled and a war ensued. During the armistice which lasted for over forty years, the 'robots' evolved and now resemble humans to the extent that interbreeding is possible between the Cylons and humans.
The plot might sound dated and it is dated to an extent. My friend aptly put it as the Frankenstein complex which good science fiction has left behind some time back. However, Battlestar Galactica in its current incarnation has managed to put so much more depth to this basic plot that the result is fascinating.
Let me enumerate some of the points that I like about Battlestar Galactica
Religion: Few works of science fiction are able to work religion into the story as well as this show has been able to. Dune is another such work but unlike Dune the religion hasn't yet become an overwhelming part of the story. Depicting humans as polytheistic while at the same time depicting the Cylons as monotheistic was a wonderful touch.
Strong characters: Well developed characters which continue to do things that logically follow from their basic natures and which continue to evolve.
Space Battles: Realistic weapons which include missiles and nuclear weapons. There are no 'deflector shields'. If a missile hits your spacecraft, it blows up. Simple.
Look of spacecraft: No shiny plastic toy clean feel to any of the spacecraft or to their operators. They look like machines which that can be fixed and real ships that people might live on.
Philosophical questions raised: Choices between right and wrong, good and evil and between evils abound. The blurring of the line between right and wrong when the survival of the human race is at stake is always highlighted. The question of how long does one stick to his morals and principles when he is fleeing for his life is a question that befalls the two leaders of the human race in almost every other episode.
All in all, Battlestar Galactica has many elements that keep me entertained. I am looking forward to the last season which begins of Friday.
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