By Neville Judd
Hanging by threads, suspended nearly 20 metres up, between two Douglas Firs, my mind wanders to the Okiek tribes people of Kenya.
When their kids reach adolescence, they are ceremonially circumcised and then secluded from adults for four to 24 weeks.
Social services would probably take a dim view of that here. And it wouldn’t fly with my son Ryan, 13 today and exuding adolescence from his gravity-defying hair right down to his boxers, proudly hoisted above his gravity-defying jeans.
Instead, we’re in Whistler with Raven and Cyrus, two of Ryan’s adolescent friends, in search of adventure.
We found it on the trails of Whistler Mountain Bike Park. After turning my back on mountain biking years ago, I finally realized what I had been missing: a full-suspension bike with shocks to absorb the worst Whistler could throw at me.
Our guide Mike Johnstone broke us in gently in the aptly named Easy Does It trail, advising us on the basics of braking, cornering and trail etiquette. He also chided the birthday boy for tailgating.
Pretty soon we were launching our bikes into the berms of B-Line and bouncing our way down Crank It Up. And while other bikers were few and far between, we spotted eight bears — the closest all but six metres away.
We stopped to watch the experts hurtling down A-line, eight kilometres of drops, tables and more than 100 berms, and one of the busiest bike trails in North America, according to Johnstone.
We had to talk Cyrus out of trying A-line, but then I think we all shared a feeling of invincibility by day’s end.
But that was yesterday, back when gravity was my friend.
Today, hanging high above the forest floor, I’m feeling anything but invincible.
"Are you OK, Dad?" asks Ryan from the safety of a platform.
"Don’t show us up," says Raven, who’s on a fast track to walking home from Whistler.
I say nothing, preferring instead to focus my energy on the task at hand: Walking across a series of spinning balls, each hanging from two ropes. My two orange carabiners — a mountaineer’s best friend — are clipped on to an orange wire above me. The orange wire connects the trees, ensuring I at least won’t die on my son’s birthday.
Orange wire is an important part of WildPlay, an outdoor playground set on Cougar Mountain, 15 minutes north of Whistler Village. Zoom Zip Lines and Monkido aerial courses make for a full day of adventure and, judging by my aching wrists and tender armpits, a full body workout.
Monkido is an obstacle course elevated among the trees and comprises increasingly difficult challenges, from a simple tightrope walk to Tarzan swings, mini zip-lines, scramble nets, swinging logs and those infuriating spinning balls. From platform to platform, one challenge ends and another begins, with the adventurer continuously reattaching the orange carabiners to the orange safety wire. Preservation instincts make it unlikely you’d forget to reattach, but a WildPlay guide makes sure you don’t, while yelling encouragement.
By the time I complete my graceless navigation of the slippery balls, the boys have moved on. I’m congratulating myself when I hear Cyrus shout: "How the heck are we supposed to do this?"
This doesn’t bode well. Cyrus may well have been a monkey in a previous life and has been whipping through the challenges.
Through the trees, I see Cyrus on his hands and knees a la Spider-Man on two parallel wires.
"Just loop your ankles around the wires and start crawling," our guide Katie tells me with just a hint of reassurance. There’s nowhere to look but down as I inch across, trying to ignore the strain on my knees and the sunglasses about to fall off my face. The Mission Impossible theme tune pops into my head.
It takes about 90 minutes to complete the course.
While Monkido demands physical and mental agility, zip-lining is just a flat-out thrill ride.
On a course of five dual zip lines, the longest is the aptly named Godzilla. Four hundred metres up and 1,500 metres long, Godzilla spans two mountains. It descends 200 metres from start to finish.
By the fifth and final ride back to base, we are pros.
At no point do any of us dwell on the fact that we have entrusted out lives to half an inch of galvanized steel and the immutable laws of physics.
Well, perhaps I did a little bit.
If you go
We stayed in Whistler Creekside at Legends, which offers two-night packages, including a Peak 2 Peak sightseeing pass, for $79 per person, per night. Visit www.legendswhistler.com, or call 1-866-385-0611 for details. For other accommodation deals, visit www.whistlerblackcomb.com,or call 1-888-403-4727. WildPlay Whistler’s Monkido course costs $49.99 with a kids’ course also open for $29.99. The Zoom Zip Line course costs $89.99. WildPlay also operates parks in Maple Ridge, Nanaimo and Victoria. Visit www.wildplay.com, or call 1-888-668-7874. Whistler Mountain Bike Park offers numerous ticket deals, some of which are combined with hotel packages. Visit www.whistlerbike.com, or call 1-866-218-9690.
Vancouver Province
