Whistler is a hungry place. It wants anyone and everyone who will have it. The folk behind the scenes, the ones crafting the Whistler experience for guests, take advantage of every opportunity to reach untapped audiences.

For those not so into adventure sports, the Peak 2 Peak gondolas take you from the peak of Whistler Mountain to the peak of Blackcomb; both boast restaurants with stunning views. One even has a Nintendo gaming lounge in the basement (perhaps for people who hate beautiful views). For the more artistically inclined, the new chief curator at the Audain Art Museum is launching a “guerrilla marketing campaign” to draw visitors to the museum’s upcoming pop art exhibit.

When developers realized that the snowplowing at the peak created massive, 40-foot-tall snow walls, they made it an attraction for hikers. This summer, under the direction of Rob McSkimming, the vice president of business development for Vail Resorts, a 425-foot suspension bridge at Whistler’s peak will offer yet another way to take in the views.

Whistler is the travel equivalent of an overeager student-council nominee passing out brownies and buttons to anyone who might vote for her. But this come-one-come-all, please-like-me vibe is also what makes it a place where you can find adaptive sports programming, a ski-themed LGBTQ pride festival and the birthplace of Pride House, and a one-of-a-kind collaborative cultural center of the Lil’wat and Squamish nations. As Nelson calls it, Whistler might be considered “an adult version of Disneyland” — where everyone is invited.

Sourced through Scoop.it from: www.seattletimes.com