Our send-off aboard the Whistler Mountaineer isn't particularly auspicious – we start our journey up B.C.'s scenic west coast in an industrial area of North Vancouver – but it's not long before we leave the rail yards behind, skirting the edge of Burrard Inlet along Marine Drive, the toniest of Vancouver neighbourhoods. Our pleasure train parallels the scenic but often-congested Sea to Sky Highway, offering a direct route from Vancouver to Whistler in luxurious but guilt-free style.
I am heading to Whistler to explore the endless bike trails (both easy and extreme), and the fresh, local food scene – but on the Mountaineer, getting there is part of the adventure. My seatmate, a businessman from Peru, is taking the return trip today strictly for the scenery. Beyond the vaulted Glacier Dome windows, there's nothing but mountains, sea and blue sky. Inside, it's the breakfast run; for the return trip in late afternoon, there's a classic tea service, with warm scones and clotted cream, dainty sandwiches, lemon tarts and pots of Earl Grey, Japanese sencha and Jasmine Butterfly. It's a civilized way to take in the spectacular views – rather like flying business class at sea level – and soon the car is buzzing with oohs and aahs in Japanese, German and a lilting Gallic brogue.
We rattle along through Porteau Cove, near the site of the massive rock slide that blocked Whistler's only road access for several days in 2008, and past the Furry Creek Golf and Country Club where Adam Sandler and Bob Barker sparred in Happy Gilmore. The views across Howe Sound near Squamish are some of the most scenic in the province.
The friendly staff point out the best bits– such as the “white witch” etched onto the vertical face of the granite monolith, Stawamus Chief, or the milky turquoise blue water rushing through Cheakamus Canyon.
As the train screeches across a high trestle bridge, we crowd around the open windows of the observation car to try to capture the drama of it all, but a photo is no match for the aroma of spruce trees and the thrilling vertigo as the train climbs across the Coast Mountains into the shiny new Whistler Mountaineer station.
From here, you can explore the Whistler “village” at the base of the famed Whistler-Blackcomb ski area, where the world will gather for the 2010 Olympic downhill sports. Whistler has been called “the best ski destination in North America,” but it's also one of the best places to explore by bike.
You can suit up in Darth Vader-like helmets and armour before hurtling straight down a vertical ski slope on two wheels, or join in on a recreational level by renting a bike (along with the requisite protective gear) from one of Whistler's many bike shops and learn to “rock hop” down a dry creek bed, or head off on one of the many trails that cut through the forest and parallel almost every roadway in the town.
Stay at Nita Lake Lodge, next to the new train station in Whistler's Creekside neighbourhood, and bike the four kilometres down to the busy pedestrian-only village, for restaurants and nightlife. Take the free local bus back if your legs give out – like the chairlifts that whisk you up to the Whistler Mountain Bike Park, Whistler buses are equipped with bike racks.
Accessing Whistler's rambling neighbourhoods by bike is not only convenient, it's a perfect way to work off all of the great food you'll be eating while you're here.
A top dining destination in Whistler is Araxi, the restaurant chef Gordon Ramsay recently declared the best place to eat in Canada, and which will employ his next Hell's Kitchen winner – rather ironic since the Ramsay survivor will have a new mentor in Araxi's executive chef James Walt, one of the nicest, and most talented, guys in the business.
