We Slept Under The Stars On Whistler Mountain (And Got A Surprise)
Explore joined Helly Hansen’s Summit Sleepover on Whistler Blackcomb—an alpine adventure with surprises at every turn
Whistler Blackcomb’s Peak2Peak Gondola is impressive, whether it’s your first ride or your twenty-first. It was only my third trip from Blackcomb to Whistler via this engineering marvel that transports guests 4.4 kilometres from one peak to the other at Canada’s largest ski resort. Scanning the car, I noticed that even the most jaded among us were a bit surprised at the open-air vista as the shadow of the gondola shrank against the evergreens below and the valley floor fell away to a staggering 436 metres beneath us.
Soon, the car cast a mere a mere speck of a shadow on trees so distant they seemed like clusters of ferns, not the 10- to 20-metre Douglas-firs, Sitka spruce and Western redcedars they were. (If time isn’t of the essence, you can even wait for the glass-bottom car to come along, which it does every 15 minutes rather than every 49 seconds for a standard car, and really experience this view.)
In short—it’s pretty neat. And it’s a great setup to the Summer Alpine Experience at Whistler Blackcomb—which includes a series of hikes topping out at 2,248 metres above sea level, a via ferrata that allows you to ascend a 260-metre cliff face without any climbing experience, bike trails ranging from sedate to oh my God and all the stunning scenic surroundings of British Columbia’s Coast Range, accessed with relative ease and safety.
Like the gondola—it’s a lot of thrills without necessarily needing all the skills.
I’ve regularly skied Whistler Blackcomb since it was Whistler or Blackcomb. But I’d only hiked the slopes in summertime once before—and that was nine years ago. It’s such a treat to hike purely in the alpine; to skip trudging through underbrush and spend your day in the highlight reel. It took being invited on the second-annual Summit Sleepover, a social media contest hosted by Helly Hansen and supported by the good folks at Whistler Blackcomb and Mountain Skills Academy & Adventures, for me to make my return.
The Whistler Summit Sleepover brought 10 winners and their guests, as well as a few tag-alongs like me, to experience an overnight camp-out on the alpine meadow between Whistler’s Emerald Express and Harmony Express chairlifts—something absolutely not on the standard Whistler Blackcomb menu. (Much to the surprise of passing tourists, who peeped with envy at our collection of tents, propane fire pits and picnic tables.)
“Our team here at Helly Hansen created the Summit Sleepover because we wanted to provide outdoor enthusiasts with something truly special—a unique experience that money can’t buy. What better than a ‘glamping giveaway’ offered atop Whistler Mountain, a place where no one is normally allowed to host a campout?” explained Courtney Tennant, Helly Hansen brand & customer marketing manager for Canada. “We hope that this event will leave a lasting impression on the participants that continues to ignite their thirst for exploration and adventure.”
Winners were also encouraged to loot the local Helly Hansen store for up to $500 in gear—so we were easy to spot in our matching Green Mist or Pink Cloud Lifa Active Solen Graphic Hoodies and whatever other apparel winners could stuff in their packs. (I wasn’t technically a winner, but they let me have a hoody anyway.)
The winners and staff were a crew of folks from as far off as Portugal, the UK and Czech Republic, as well as locals from Squamish and Whistler—in ages ranging from university students to 35-plus years beyond that—with all the varying alpine skills and experience one would expect from such a collection. We connected with an icebreaker game of “match the first letter of your name with a word that describes you.” (“Daydreaming Dave” at your service.) After we ran through introductions, I could see a mix of grins and trepidation as we set off to climb the Whistler Via Ferrata.
I’ve written about via ferratas before—a fixed climbing route that employs rungs, ladders and cables—dubbing them “rock climbing with training wheels.” This was a bit more glib than I needed to be. Yes, we’d be fully guided by the pros at Mountain Skills Academy & Adventures. Yes, thanks to a dual-carabiner system, one is always clipped into heavy-duty cables. And yes, rather than requiring advanced rock-climbing moves, you are effectively scaling a long ladder.
And, no, none of those things mattered when there was 30 metres of air beneath our feet and we had to stretch our knees up near our chins to ascend a vertical cliff-face from rung-to-rung, while remembering the sequence of unclip, clip, unclip, clip to bypass the bolts securing cable to rock. (NEVER unclip, unclip, clip, clip!) It was a surprisingly spicy ascent.
“This was the third via ferrata I’ve done, and I had no idea they ever went straight up! I always thought they just traversed the side of a mountain,” said Tara Yant, PR Director for WH Inc., who assisted with the event. “This one was super fun with a few zones that provided the stomach butterflies that make any activity like this extra-exciting.”
Views abounded as we hung off the volcanic rock: the scree slopes and blue-tinged icefields of Glacier Bowl, the famous ski run “The Saddle,” all the way down to the Peak Express Chair’s loading zone and further on to the surrounding massifs and distant moody skies.
If you’ve ever ridden the Peak Express during ski season—we were climbing the rock face just to the left of the lift towers. All 850 vertical feet of it. It may be “rock climbing with training wheels,” but you’ll likely be surprised by both the exertion and exposure.
After a group photo against the backdrop of the ancient volcanic skeleton of Black Tusk and a skip-the-line ride down on the Peak Express (exclusive for the guided), we reconvened at the Summit Sleepover Camp to snack and chat.
People are the best versions of themselves in the mountains. There were no cliques; no unwelcoming vibes. Couples and best friends sat with strangers 15 years their junior or 20 years their senior. Common ground was easy to find when everyone just hiked to and scaled a sheer cliff for the last few hours. And when the conversation stilled, Mother Nature was there to entertain with alpenglow as our mid-August day drew closer to the end. Dinner at the nearby Roundhouse Lodge—Whistler’s popular gourmet evening buffet—nourished us and we returned to local musician Jenna Mae’s acoustic tunes as the day became darkness.
From the sunny highs of the mid-20s that afternoon, alpine temperatures dropped quickly to single-digits. Most winners had an Odin Stretch Lightweight Hooded Insulator to stave off the chill, and I’ll admit it—they let me try one too. Soon, we were lit only by propane fires, and one of our hosts gently reminded the group that we’d follow the directions of the Whistler Ski Patrol should any weather event surprise us overnight. The words flowed past us like Jenna Mae’s acoustic guitar. The sky was a sea of stars and a Waxing Gibbous moon had poked its shining orb above neighbouring Blackcomb, casting gentle shadows across the meadow on which we camped.
What weather event?
Every tent-camper knows the sound. It was a pitter-patter at first, as the fly fluttered against the tent. And we all know it as the first stage of denial. It’s not rain, it’s just the wind.
Then the rainfall became too obvious to ignore. But my Hotcore Mantis 2 tent had weathered many a storm and I wasn’t the least bit worried about a summer shower.
Flash.
The inside of my tent lit up like I popped-off a shot with my DSLR. Lightning!
Flash. Flash.
Those were close together—but before I could remember how to count the distance of an approaching storm, thunder rattled the sky and drowned out my thoughts. Another light shone through my nylon shelter. This time, it was manmade.
“The ski patrol is evacuating us. Grab your bag and mat, they’ll pick us up and take us to the lodge.”
As it would turn out, camping in an alpine meadow during a lightning storm—a cluster of tentpoles set between lift towers and braided cables—wasn’t worth the risk. The rain hammered and the now-starless sky occasionally strobed with sheet-lightning from behind the peaks.
It was 3 a.m. when I hopped in the cab of a pickup truck for my ride to Roundhouse Lodge. The patrollers weren’t as surprised as we were—they’d been monitoring the storm for hours. As we approached the lodge, one of them mentioned the lightning was close enough that if it were daytime, they’d have suspended mountain operations.
There’s a certain novelty in doing what you’re not supposed to—like camping on a ski hill, or, maybe even better, sleeping inside Whistler’s famous Roundhouse Lodge at Seppo’s Bar. (Truly “a place where no one is normally allowed to host a campout.”)
And much like the thrilling via ferrata brought the group closer—so were we once again bonded in the thrill of an “evacuation.” The camping trip didn’t end the way we planned, but surprises can make any trip memorable.
And, really, sleeping at Seppo’s Bar will be a story I tell long after the memory of that ivory moon fades into just another night in a tent. I don’t think I’ll never eat at the Roundhouse again without picturing my sleeping bag splayed out on the carpet as rain slammed against the floor-to-ceiling windows nearby.
So, if you’re ever at Whistler’s Seppo’s Bar and you hear someone mention they once slept there—don’t act surprised.
Just tell them Daydreaming Dave says, “hi.”
More Information
- Stay tuned to Helly Hansen’s Instagram feed—you may have a chance to win a Summit Sleepover in 2025.
- Whistler Blackcomb’s Summer Alpine Experience is open until September 22; the mountain bike park is open until October 14. The Peak2Peak Gondola is open for skiers and snowboarders during the winter season, and for sightseers during select winter months (to be announced).
- For skiers and snowboarders, the Epic Pass is on sale now. This pass offers unlimited access to all Vail Resorts’ owned and operated mountains—including Whistler Blackcomb. Planning on fewer ski days? You can also pre-buy day passes(one to 10 days) or British Columbia and Washington State residents can purchase the classic Edge Card, for discounted two-, five- or 10-day ski passes.
