Make your own adventure in Whistler.

When you make your own adventure it isn’t an exact science; it’s a bit more of a free flowing formula. Each excursion has a rough outline, leaving plenty of room for unplanned fun to present itself throughout the journey. That rough idea needs to be flexible in order to embrace whatever comes your way, which can add an extra dose of adventure!

Every adventure tastes a little different because there isn’t a recipe to follow. But, if there were a list of ingredients needed to make your own adventure, I think it would look a little something like this:

  • 2 Phone calls for preparation
  • 1 Backpack of essentials per person
  • 2-3 Layers of proper clothing
  • 5-6 Good friends and possibly more
  • 2 Growlers of tasty beer
  • 1 BBQ and items to cook
  • 1 Stove for tea and coffee
  • 1 Objective (as loose as you’d like)
  • 1 Common goal of having a good time
  • Unlimited snacks

Not a comprehensive enough plan for how to make your own adventure? Check out our video of the little adventure we cooked up last weekend…

Our Backcountry Adventure with a Twist

Our recipe for adventure in this video included all of the “ingredients” mentioned above plus one snow cave builder, lots of water, and a whole lot of shovels! Typically when you’re inviting friends to come out for a day in the backcountry, you don’t think it’s going to be a full day of building and, to be honest, we didn’t think it would go to the extent that it did. But hey, that’s what flexibility is for! Sometimes the work that goes into making your own adventure is just as much fun as chilling out and enjoying the fruits of your labor.

With part of the crew starting on the snow cave right off the bat and the rest working on crafting the perfect snow kitchen, things happened fast! This meant we had more troops to help with the cave and a few left to hang around. When you’re creating a good time it feels a bit like you’ve been left out if you’re the only one sipping a tea in the snow kitchen, so those sitting around decided to build a jump right over the walkway from the cave to the kitchen and it was the best addition we could have never planned for!

After a solid session of building, we gathered around to grill meat on the BBQ, brew coffees on the stove, pour beers, and watch the live entertainment of skiers and snowboarders flying over our heads! As the sun started to disappear we headed into the cave to keep out of the elements and stir up a little dance party to keep warm.

A snow cave and ski jump made for an epic backcountry adventure.

Uniquely Gibbons. Our backcountry adventure was definitely not a typical day in the mountains.

Be Inspired to Make Your Own Adventure in Whistler

Building doesn’t feel like work when the reward is much better than the build. Let’s be honest, if you’re hanging with friends while doing something rad like building a snow cave complete with a jump in the front yard, or a DIY outdoor sauna to steam in after swimming in a glacier lake, it’s just that much better! Building for bliss one might say.

Wondering how to make your own adventure? Check out our post for tips on how to create your own Whistler adventures! One of my personal favorite outings of the season was our Whistler Night Skiing Adventure video – this one required more prep than usual with the build of the light (check out the behind the scenes) but the effort to adventure definitely paid off in faceshots. And for the ultimate après adventure, check out Whistler’s Best Après Ski, with plenty of post-mountain fun regardless of which kind of shenanigans you want to get up to!

And don’t forget, tag us on Instagram @apreslager so you can supply us with the next dose of FOMO when you make your own adventure!

Abby Cooper

A lover of all things outdoors, Abby Cooper is a splitboarder, hiker, adventurer, year-round snow seeker, photographer and writer.