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megram - 55GTA - Index

PHOTO: WHISTLER MOUNTAINEER
Breakfast is served shortly after departure from Vancouver.
Mountaineer, the train that runs the scenic coastal route
between Vancouver and the adventure centre of Whistler.
The package had sounded so enticing,offering breakfast on
the train and a quiet three-hour trip without having to drive
— all I had to do was gaze out of the window at the fjords
and forests of coastal British Columbia and have lunch in
Whistler.Then I’d be out having adventures: an afternoon
on a mountaintop hike with one of the resort’s volunteer
guides,a morning spent mountain biking down what in the
winter is the territory of skiers and snowboarders,and then
an afternoon massage to ease away the kinks.And the final
morning? The zipline.
The hike above the treeline was nothing short of brilliant
— I only had a few height-induced “moments” on the
Whistler Gondola. The mountain bike gave me my real
May 2008 • 44 • Fifty-Five Plus Magazine
twinges of uncertainty as I wobbled about,trying to get the
knobby-tired technique mastered before actually setting
out downhill. (Forget sitting down on these bike seats: the
correct technique is all about standing up, which is a quick
way to realize that those missed gym dates were a Bad
Idea.) But still, when I hit the bottom, mud-splattered like
the rest of the hardliners, I was . . . just a little bit proud of
myself.And the sports massage at the Hilton’s Artesia Spa,
well, that was just heaven.
Which brings me to the zipline and my place in line,
which is getting increasingly close to the platform’s edge.
As the guide links my harness to the zipline itself, I can
hardly breathe. My heart has given up chattering and has
now turned to thundering its disapproval. In the end, the
only thing that moves my feet from the platform to nothing