Outside of Whistler, chalets and ski slopes give way to farmland and rugged hiking trails.
Whistler, host of the 2010 Winter Olympics, is Canada’s uncontested capital of alpine chic. The ski village, year-round population 10,000, has six five-star hotels, a thriving SUV limo service and bars full of ski bums sipping $16 martinis. But venture a bit outside of town and the wilderness closes back in. On the drive north from Whistler, million-dollar chalets quickly give way to much humbler accommodations scattered on Indian reserves. Then – suddenly – there’s nothing at all, just a thin shoelace of asphalt rising steadily into the mountains.
