Muhlenberg College Athletics

Today was an absolute day to remember.

It started with a quick breakfast at the hotel and boarding our bus at 8:00 a.m. to Whistler Park, which is about two hours outside of Vancouver. Whistler Park is the area in which the 2010 Winter Olympics took place, in particular where the skiing and other outdoor sports took place.

As always, the trip to the park was great for admiring the landscape. On our way to Whistler, we stopped at Shannon Falls, which is a 2,000-foot waterfall cascading down the side of a mountain. It was definitely a sight to see.

Next we arrived at Whistler, which was right in the middle of huge mountains and bodies of water. Once we got there, we made our way to the gondola that would bring us to the peak of one of the mountains. These cars weren’t particularly large, so some of the boys and family became a little claustrophobic. Once at the top, we had an undescribable view of our surroundings.

The real highlight of this part of the day was our second gondola ride from the first peak to another mountain peak, and in the process crossing over a huge ravine a few thousand feet below. The second cars used were much larger and more comfortable, so there was no freaking out by our group.

Now I’m not one to get all emotional and deep, but it was really a beautiful and surreal experience being on the top of these mountains. The pictures don’t do it justice!

On our way down to mountain back to the village, we used open-aired ski lift benches, which also was very cool, as you can feel the serenity and silence that these mountains contain. There was also some excitement as some of the boys saw a few black bears rummaging around below.

After exploring around the Whistler Village, it was time to go either whitewater rafting or zip-lining. The majority of us chose the first option. This was definitely the most exciting and memorable part of the day. Each boat held up to six people including a tour guide, with both the players and parents participating. Whether it was getting tossed around in a rapid, almost falling off the boat, or having our boat pinball off of giant rocks, everyone had an exhilarating time.

It definitely was awesome to do with the guys, as it took a lot of teamwork to make it out in one piece. Flying down the rapids in the shadows of huge mountains was an awesome thing to experience, and I would definitely do it again, no matter where.

Tomorrow morning we will be leaving Vancouver and going to Victoria, which is a port city south of Vancouver. We’re going to be taking a ferry, so I’m sure it will be another great trip. There also is a small chance of seeing a pod or two of orca (killer) whales.

Enjoy the pictures from today!