Day 261, 22 March 2013, Whistler-Blackcomb, B.C. Phew! What a day! In an all time record (covering the last five days), we stepped onto the snow at the top of the gondola at 9 am - and didn't leave until 2 pm. Stunning day on the mountain and we did a fair bit of exploring by ourselves in the morning. The picture today is the Inuksuk at the very top of Whistler Peak. What, pray tell is an Inuksuk? I knew you were going to ask that. Originated by Inuit First Nations, an Inuksuk is a stone landmark used for safe navigation. The 2010 Winter Olympics, which we watched from the warmth of a Sydney summer, used the figure as the basis for the logo as a sign of welcoming. This is the highest one we've come across yet - 2182 m (7160ft). We'd just ridden the Peak Chair to the Peak and realised that no matter how cold it was at the Roundhouse Station, (-12 degrees), it was definitely colder on top. The clouds were sitting lazily over top of the mountain and the wind was whistling - so we hightailed it down the massive Saddle run (just like a roller coaster - only bigger. And made of snow). We then skied all the way to the mid station. Had it been a bit later in the day we could have even skied to the valley floor from there. Incredible. As it was, we had a short break and joined one of the free mountain tours for a guided tour of part of Whistler mountain. Very restful to have someone to follow instead of figuring it out as we go. Huge fun. One of the novelties for us today was the glitter in the air. Initially I thought I was having some sort of vision problem... seeing sparkles everywhere. But since it was affecting both of us, we relaxed. It was so cold the water molecules in the air were freezing and glittering - so beautiful. We finished our tour then took our inaugural ride on the Peak-2-Peak gondola which joins Whistler mountain with Blackcomb mountain (and makes it one resort - Whistler-Blackcomb). Uber cool to be swinging in a little red box just crossing the divide between mountains. When it's a bit less crowded we plan to go back and do the same trip in the glass bottomed cabin. We eventually skied down Blackcomb to the base and caught the bus home. Thank heavens it's a rest day tomorrow - we are tired in places we never used to have places.