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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 5, 2010)
WWW.JUSTOUT.COM FEBRUARY 5 2010 TRAVEL B.C.’s Big Moment: Celebrating Gay Pride at the Olympics By ANDREW COLLINS I ’ve been asked a lot if I ’ll be attending Let us help you take the first step towards exceptional veterinary care at Mu Veterinary Hospital. exhibits that raise awareness about G L B T tler) and the more affordable Holiday Inn rights around the world. Be sure to take a SunSpree (whistlerhi.com). look at P R ID E House’s official work o f art the W inter Olympics this year— after all, H ere’s the biggest change I discovered at Slapshotolus, a Leviathan bronze sculpture o f Vancouver and W histler aren’t terribly far W histler: in 2008, Peak 2 Peak opened. This a naked hockey player executing a slapshot. from Portland. I answer the same way as I dramatic gondola ride carries passengers Although it may be difficult on short notice do when asked about attending most big some 1,200 feet above Fitzsimmons Creek, to visit during the Olympics, tickets for events: “I won’t be there while the Olympics connecting the mid-mountain ski areas o f W interPride are available, and hotel rates are happening, but I was just there.” In writ Blackcomb and W histler. In the past, you are surprisingly attractive (starting around ing about travel, it’s often handier to conduct had to choose one mountain each day and C N J1 2 5 ). Lastly, W interPride research ahead o f an event, whether it’s the stick with it— now you can shuttle between far more than skiing— snowmobile tours, is about upcoming Gay Games (I toured Cologne last OFF Your Pet's Initial Exam ! For new clients only. Not valid with other j coupons. Good for only one pet per family. j PHOTOS COURTESY ANDREW COUJNS 50 % properties (panpacific.com/panpacificwhis- summer), this month’s Sydney Mardi Gras (I checked out the sites there in September), or the Olympics. I road-tripped to B .C . in November, not only to dig up details on what to do in Van couver and W histler during the Olympics, but also to find out more about one o f North M urrayhill V ETER IN A R Y H O SPITA L America’s foremost gay parties, W interPride, also known as W histler Gay and Lesbian Ski Week. There’s a ton going on right now, and never before has an Olympics event had its very own G L B T pavilion (called P R ID E 14831 SW Teal Blvd. BEAVERTON House, gaywhistler.com/pride-house.php), 503 . 579.3300 set up inside the Pan Pacific W histler V il www.murrayhillvethospital.com lage Centre. Even cooler— the very day following the Olympics closing ceremonies, W histler’s W interPride (gaywhistler.com) kicks off, running March 1-8. I hadn’t been to W histler since the ‘90s, and I was happy to see plenty o f improve ments without any loss o f its friendliness and ski-town charm. The once slow, heavily The Base 2 Zone at B lackco m b M ountain in Whistler, where you'll find Rendezvous Rest aurant. the Peak 2 Peak G ondola Station, a n d a conve rg e n ce of several lifts a n d ski runs. trafficked Sea to Sky Highway is still abso Upscale Waterfront Condos Available to Lease featured in 2009 Street of Dreams Call Or StOp by now For a Tour lutely stunning, but now it’s widened and the two. I spent my first full day in town ski cooking and mixology demos, yoga classes, straightened, making the drive far quicker ing (whistlerblackcomb.com), in the morn zip-lining (just be sure to carry snow tires and chains ing at Blackcomb and then over at W histler and myriad parties are held throughout the in winter). for a few afternoon runs. I was hustling week. and dog-sledding adventures, W histler Village (whistler.com) has also around, trying to experience as much o f I spent a final day in W histler exploring expanded significantly, but for such a vast both mountains as I could. Blackcomb offers the sites and eating absurdly well— can’t say and bustling ski community, the contempo generally more advanced fall-line skiing, but enough good things about the stellar con rary— if idealized— Alpine-m eets-Rockies you’ll find impressive terrain on both. All temporary cuisine at Bearfoot Bistro (bear- design is still handsome and free o f kitsch Olympic ski events take place on a relatively footbistro.com), a must if you’re planning a and excessive commercialism. I t ’s well laid small section o f W histler M ountain, mean special-occasion meal (it’s a likely venue for out, simple to navigate on foot, and rife ing that most o f the resort s more than 200 celeb-spotting, too). I also liked my lunch with high-end hotels, restaurants, bars, and runs (including all o f Blackcomb) are open on the lively patio at L a Bocca (labocca. sporting and outdoors shops. W histler is un- to the public the entire time. moonfruit.com), and heard great things apologetically spendy, but no more so than For apres-ski, I met W interPride organiz er Dean Nelson at one o f W histler’s favorite other lauded U.S. ski towns. about gay-friendly Tandoori Restaurant (tandooriwhistler.com). (and most gay-popular) nightlife options, I next drove to Canada’s third-largest city, the Garibaldi L ift Company, which lies at the Vancouver, the official Olympic host, where (a base o f the Village gondola. W hile success I spent the next three nights ensconced at paved, creek-side footpath connects the two fully convincing me to try the famously C a the base camps), which is nestled in the shadows nadian Caesar cocktail (similar to a Bloody com/vanc). I t ’s low-key and tasteful, with o f Blackcomb Mountain, one o f the resort’s Mary, but with clam juice, and crisp bacon with an understated, almost residential feel, two hulking peaks, the other being W histler as a garnish), Dean told me about P R ID E and I appreciated the central downtown M ountain. Fairmont runs all o f the elegant House and W interPride. location (plus I had a fantastic cheese plate I checked into the Fairm ont W histler (fairmont.com/whistler), actually in smaller Upper Village neighborhood Metropolitan Hotel (metropolitan, Canadian railway hotels, clear across the Here are some key things G L B T travel in the hotel’s hip restaurant, Diva). Other Presentation Center: 1310 NW Naito Parkway, Suite 112 T 503.229.7600 country to St. Andrews-by-the-Sea in New ers should know about attending: Through Vancouver hotels I like: the Opus (opusho- Brunswick, and the castle-like W histler out the actual Olympics, W interPride, and tel.com/vancouver.html), in the ultra-trendy property is every bit as posh and visually ar the Paralympics, you’re invited to use Pride Yaletown area; the more moderately priced resting as the others. O f the other lodgings I House Pavilion as an all-around clubhouse, Sandman www.waterfrontpearl.com inspected while in town, I most recommend social hub, and resource center— it has a full com), steps from the W est End’s gay bars; the Pan Pacific Mountainside and Village bar, T V monitor^ airing winter sports, and and the gay-friendly, historic O Canada Suites Hotel (sandmanhotels.
