Zippity doo dah!

OK, encountering new and different photo technology difficulties, and this is a bad time for that because I want to talk about my ziplining adventure.

(A fellow blogger offered to size my pix in Photoshop if I'd send them. I got them loaded onto this machine, and now the e-mail doesn't work so I can't send them. Of course.)

Whistler, BC, is a picturesque ski-resort town nestled in the mountains. If you've ever been to any of the nicer ski resorts in the American Rockies, with their boutiques, restaurants and boot-friendly design, you'd feel a warm appreciation for Whistler, which is in overdrive as it prepares to host the 2010 winter Olympics jointly with Vancouver.

When I arrived there Sunday morning, I had an extraordinarily lavish suite at the Fairmont, with four rooms (one of which was a closet), two bathrooms, two fireplaces, a jacuzzi bath and a TV in the john. (The top two pictures here are the view from my window.) But I didn't get to stay in it long, because I needed to pop down into town and rent a bike for a quick taste of Whistler's favorite warm-weather pastime. Seriously, the biker boys take their bikes up on the ski lifts and ride down. Not that I would do that. But I did rent a bike and go for a few-mile ride out to Lost Lake and around that smallish (for a lake) body of water. It was chilly and gray, with occasional threatening stings of rain, so I didn't have a lot of company. But it was a good ride, and I got back, returned my trusty steed and prepared for the second, way more daunting activity for the afternoon: Ziplining with Ziptrek Eco Tours.

Ziplining, for those who don't know, is getting strapped into a harness, hooked to a cable and sliding down it like James Bond. Except you do it in a helmet, not a tuxedo. Ziptrek provided my intrepid group with three guides, and I have to salute them because they somehow managed to make me feel something less than abjectly terrified -- and that's a powerful testament to their air of confidence, competence, experience and calm, because I can think of a lot of things I like better than falling off a high thing over a roaring, snowmelt-turgid creek full of rocks. Like herpes.

I'm not good with heights. But here's the amazing thing I discovered when they strapped me in, hooked me up and told me to unclench my toes and take to the air: It's only really terrifying for the first 20 feet or so. Then that wussy part of your brain stem that can't quite believe dangling over a gorge is in any way safe or natural suddenly goes, "Oh hey -- I'm not dead yet." And relaxes just a teeny bit. Also, and more seriously, there are a lot of things about ziplining that blunt the screamy edge.

1. It's not free-fall. You're going down at an angle, not plummeting straight down, and you're always well aware that the cable is holding you aloft, so you don't get that sickening stomach-up-through-the-soft-palate uncontrolled plunge feel.

2. (Or 1a really) You're never crazy, out-of-control fast. The cable is not without resistance.

3. The harness really does cradle your butt and make you feel surprisingly secure.

So after five zips, I can say it's really, really cool, especially when I worked up the courage to look down for a few seconds. (That's not me in the picture. I just wanted to show you what the rig looks like.)

After the Ziptrek tour, I got some tasty dinner at a place called Earls where my waitress worked for Ziptrek. Small resort. And I found a Cows! Cows ice cream is a Prince Edward Island chain rumored to sell the best ice cream in North America. The raspberry chocolate chip is very nice indeed. I must sample more for a scientific analysis.

I have video. Of the ziplining, silly, not of me sitting around porking out at Cows. Someday I may figure out how to upload it. In the meantime, I'm still trying to get pictures for you. Hope there's time tomorrow!

Bed now. More later.