Except for Paris.
She sat there looking glamorous, her head sticking out of her kennel, showing scant interest in the group of excited people about to experience a rare taste of Nordic life at its natural best.
"We call her Paris," chuckled our instructor as we picked our jaws out of the snow. "She usually gets up late, looks around and then decides she wants to go back to bed."
The canine version of the hotel heiress stood out from the pack. She was the only pure-bred Siberian husky among the large team of dogs which regularly pull visitors up and down the resort's slopes during winter. The first thing I noticed about the dogs, which in racing condition can travel up to 130km a day and hit speeds of 25-30km/h depending on the snow trails, was how small they appeared.
They were much smaller than I imagined they'd have to be to pull a sled and a passenger. Another surprise was seeing the smaller dogs harnessed in front with the larger canines at the back near the sled.
Grizzly quickly explained the bigger dogs were better at the back of the sled because that's where most of the hard work was done.
All the dogs had names and displayed different personalities.
"It's important they are well partnered up to maximise their work efforts," he said.
One dog in our team - a large black male named Wolfie - had a distinctly evil look about him. He proved to be quite the character, and a bully around other males.
On this particular run he was deliberately paired with a smaller female dog to quieten him down, although our instructor still had to constantly yell at him to behave.
During a brief stop to feed the dogs, Wolfie rammed the little female's head into the snow wall trying to steal her food.
Natural runners, the dogs respond to a handful of verbal instructions mixed with lots of praise from their "mushers" when they work hard.
I quickly discovered it's critical not to let the reins leading to the dogs' harnesses get too slack because the sled can crash into them.
When the going gets tough, you have to jump off and run through the heavy snow with your dogs.
I must admit I didn't enjoy the odd times I had to run beside the sled going up slopes but maybe that had something to do with my poor fitness. It can be a hard slog but well worth the experience of feeling part of the team with your dogs. The ride is exhilarating, an experience to compare with any outdoor thrill.
You quickly realise you need to work with your dogs and reward and help them.
Our "expedition" lasted about an hour and included some downhill runs, which required using your weight and balance to avoid crashing into the snow walls or tipping over.
During rest breaks some of the dogs put their noses in the snow or ate snow which helped them cool down their body temperature.
The dog sled mushing was one of several enjoyable experiences, along with the outdoor spas in freezing weather, during my stay at Sun Peaks - a white wonderland of spills and thrills.
One of the many attractions of this resort - which takes up 1532ha of BC's Okanagan region, which produces some seriously good wines - is its ski-through village that accommodates more than 6000 guests.
Being from the tropics you don't get to ski too often, in my case, never.
But as I discovered, you don't have to ski or snowboard to enjoy places such as Sun Peaks or Whistler or to savour the breathtaking sights of Vancouver and its friendly capital, Victoria.
My snowmobile experience at Whistler with Aussie guide "Craigzee", one of hundreds of Australians working at the resort, was more fun than I expected. A 25-year-old Wollongong lad, Craigzee came to the resort for a month. He's still there more than two years on.
"I really love not having any paper in my office to worry about, it pretty much sums up the job and people on holidays are always the happiest," said Craigzee.
Some of the views on the mountain are quite spectacular once you venture away from the ski slopes on the snowmobiles. The machines, like motorbikes, are great fun, simple and easy to ride and are extremely safe provided you follow instructions.
Being a keen golfer I was pleasantly surprised to be able to play a round of golf in the winter with thick snow still draping over the mountain tops in the background. I played 18 holes at the stunning Bear Mountain course, a leisurely 30-minute drive from the heart of Victoria.
A picturesque Jack Nicklaus-designed resort course, Bear Mountain is owned by a group of former professional ice hockey stars who've turned a vision into reality.
It was quite a contrast swapping ski poles for a putter and going from Vancouver's snowfields to Victoria's mountain fairways so easily.
CHECKLIST
Getting there: Air New Zealand flies direct from Auckland to Vancouver three times per week.
For more information: Visit skitourscanada.com; canada.travel.com.
The writer travelled as a guest of Air Canada, Tourism British Columbia, Tourism Vancouver and Tourism Victoria.
- AAP
