By Steve Bergsman

What do you do at a ski location if you don't ski?

That's the question my wife has confronted for the past 20 years as we've made our annual winter vacation to mountain ski venues. This year, I, too, was not skiing, so when I organized our winter trip I tried to think of a place where there was still a lot to do even though it would not be on skis. I chose Whistler/Blackcomb in British Columbia. It wasn't such a difficult decision as we had been to Whistler a number of times and it was always one of our favorite winter-vacation spots. In past years when we went to Whistler we usually stayed in the slightly remote Upper Village or the outskirts of the town, but this time we chose Crystal Lodge and Suites, which sits in the heart of Whistler Village. It gave us an urban feel, with shops and restaurants spilling left and right out our door and along the always-busy pedestrian mall.

We ate at a variety of interesting restaurants, from the more upscale Basalt Wine and Salumeria (West Coast Seafood Bouillabaisse and Pan-Seared Pacific Ling Cod) to the Beacon Pub and Eatery (cedar-plank sockeye and Frasier Valley pork loin), both of which are along the Whistler Village pedestrian mall.

However, we also took into account a couple of hints from locals. The Wild Wood Pacific Bistro has been a longtime breakfast favorite, but it relocated near the entrance to the Crystal Lodge, which is really the back of the hotel. It's hard to find if you don't know about it, but seek it out if you have time and enjoy the multi-berry compote for pancakes. Here's the second tip from locals: The best lunch in town is not in the heart of Whistler Village but nearer to the Upper Village at Squamish Lil'wat Cultural Centre.

Whether you are dedicated skier or just a visitor to Whistler, you should make a stop at the cultural center, which is dedicated to the native tribes of Squamish and Lil'wat peoples who were the inhabitants of the region before Europeans arrived on the continent. The cultural center is a combination museum, activity and learning center.

It also boasts a fine restaurant, the Thunderbird Cafe (Lil'wat venison chili, salmon taco on bannock). My wife and I spoke with Jody Antone, the food and beverage manager of the cafe, who explained that the foods were nothing more than the foods he and his family ate for generations. All I can say is, the land was plentiful.

The cultural center had been the lonely "cultural" venue in Whistler since it opened in 2008, but now it has gotten some company. The Audain Art Museum flung wide its doors for the first time in March, housing the private collection of Michael Audain and his wife, Yoshiko Karasawa, which focused on British Columbian art, from First Nations artists to modern masters.

Jackson Hole, Wyoming, another well-known ski town, boasts an excellent art museum, the National Museum of Wildlife Art, which is fine accoutrement to the venue, and I almost always visit when I'm in town. I expect the Audain will do much for Whistler.

Outside of skiing, there are probably 50 different outdoor activities you can do in the Whistler area, even in the dead of winter. My wife chose two and I picked one, snowmobiling. We signed in at the Adventure Group office near Whistler base and then waited as the 25 other adventurers checked in. When all were present we boarded buses, which took us into the mountains behind the ski terrain. I had done a full-day snowmobiling journey the winter before in Lake Placid, New York, which was all about frozen lakes and wide-open trails. There snowmobiling was all about speed because when you snowmobile on a frozen lake, you are really moving.

In Whistler, however, snowmobiling is about the mountain. The trail might well be an old lumber road that rises high into the surrounding landscape. It's narrow with sharp twists and turns. The objective was high-mountain flatland where all the snowmobilers circled about like a wagon train. Then we took a short break to take pictures against a stunning backdrop of snow-clad peaks. After that we dipped down again, going off-trail to a yurt where we were all treated with a very tasty lunch of hot chowder, fresh bread, hot drink and brownie. Refreshed, we reboarded our machines and headed back down the mountain.

Some declines were fairly steep and I have to admit I was a very cautious driver, especially with my wife sitting behind me, although nothing really gave me pause until our guide stopped us suddenly, dismounted and then took the time to walk back to each snowmobile to address the drivers individually.

An avalanche had recently swept over the trail and we were to move ahead slowly with a lot of spacing between snowmobiles. I looked ahead, and sure enough for about 100 yards the side of the mountain above the trail looked devoid of vegetation. I didn't even turn to look over the side below the trail. Mine was the last snowmobile, and when it was my turn to go I grimly throttled forward, very slowly, hoping my machine was making little noise with as slight vibration as possible.

After the ride my wife, who loves zip-lining, stayed on with the Adventure Group to do something called the Superfly Zipline, where you are snowcatted higher up the mountain and the lines down are long and fast.

As for me, I decided to de-stress by going to West Coast Float, which has introduced sensory-deprivation pods to Whistler. The futuristic pod units are half-filled with epsom salt-laden water, which is why you float instead of sink.

You take off your clothes, put in the earplugs and climb into the pod. To your left is a button that operates the door. Press it and the pod door above you slowly descends. That's all that is required of you, so for the next 90 minutes you can just relax and float your troubles away. West Coast Float's slogan is "Do nothing, it's quite something." That worked for me.

WHEN YOU GO

Crystal Lodge and Suites: www.crystal-lodge.com

Squamish Lil'wat Cultural Centre, www.slcc.ca

Audian Art Museum, www.audainartmuseum.com

The Adventure Group: www.tagwhistler.com

West Coast Float: www.westcoastfloat.com

It's lunchtime for skiers at Whistler in British Columbia. Photo courtesy of Steve Bergsman.

Steve Bergsman is a freelance writer. To read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.