It’s back to school again. And as a shrink would say: how do you feel? Relieved that summer’s finally over? Desperate to get the family back to ‘normal’? Or more stressed than ever at the thought of a new term?

If it’s any of the above you should have been in Whistler, Canada last week, where my room hotel guide read like a manual for frazzled mothers. “Breathe in,” it suggested on its welcome page: “Kick back, relax and be at one with Mother Nature.”

“Breathe out,” it said next. “Clear your mind and rejuvenate your soul.” “Just breathe!” it concluded, as if aware that this was all that really mattered.

Of course, it’s always good to breathe, and where better than in Whistler, where there’s fresh mountain air and friendly, laidback locals to inhale it with? Whistler lies 125km north of Vancouver in British Columbia. It’s one of the top ski resorts in North America, attracts two million skiers a year and hosted the Winter Olympics in 2010.

But it’s not all about snow. When the ice melts, downhill mountain biking, alpine hiking, fishing, golfing and canoeing take over.

There’s plenty to keep active families busy. I joined a woman called Seema and her kids for a paddle on Green Lake, a stretch of glacial water surrounded by mountains. Slopes were covered with douglas fir and whitebark pine, fashioned into masts by shipbuilders in the 1800s because the wood didn’t twist as it dried.

Doug, my fellow canoeist and guide, suggested we visited Parkhurst ‘ghost town’, on the lake’s eastern shore.

It’s the site of an isolated 1920s saw mill, now overgrown by forest. We hiked past abandoned homes, rusty logging equipment and shacks built by hippies in the Sixties. I ducked under lichen the locals call witches’ hair, howled like a ghost and heard the children giggle in the trees.

That afternoon I swept across the valley between Whistler and Blackcomb mountains, riding the Peak to Peak gondola, the longest continuous lift system in the world. It’s 4km from one side to the other, dips dramatically in the middle, and runs for 3km without any towers for support.

The next day a guided tour of the Squamish Lil’wat cultural centre included traditional costumes and massive cedar canoes. For kids there were drums to beat, hide headbands to wear (to keep your mind focused) and bracelets to weave in a replica First Nations’ Long House. In the afternoon I returned to the peaks to go hiking. I took in Blackcomb Lake and Overlord Glacier but failed to spot a marmot, a squirrel-like creature whose distinctive whistle gave rise to Whistler’s name.

Whistler is a place where if you pull on your hiking boots and don’t bother with make-up, you’ll feel right at home. It’s a town where the family can enjoy being outdoors without it costing the earth. And with so many ways to stay active, it’s surprisingly easy to forget to breathe!

ESSENTIALS

 

Pacific Coach lines runs a regular two-hour service between Vancouver and Whistler www.pacificcoach.com For information on Whistler see www.Whistler.com For information on British Columbia see www.BritishColumbia. travel Stay at the Summit Lodge and Spa www.summitlodge. com Whistler mountain: www.whistlerblack comb.com Ghost Town explorer Paddling tour: www.whistlerecotours.com