Vancouver's most Unique and Memorable Dinner Tour!

Posted - December 11, 2009

Vancouver's Most Unique and Memorable Dinner Tour.

Last night the Cypress Marketing team joined a small group of staff from both Nordic and the Alpine areas, as we trekked along through the snowy forest on our annual Fondue Tour training session. As the Guinea Pigs for the popular Snowshoe Fondue Tour, we got to sample some new games and team building activities, prepared by our very experienced tour guide, Mark. He has been working on the mountain for over 10 years now and has earned the well-deserved nickname, "Snowshoe Mark".

After adjusting our gear, playing a name-learning game and filling our gloves with hand warmers, we were off with our glowing headlamps (and Snowshoe Mark) as our only guides. With the giant Cypress trees, quiet moonlight, and occasional snowshoe hare crossing the trail, it's easy to forget you're only 30 minutes from downtown Vancouver. We walked over natural snowbridges and through small meadows, helping each other along and stopping a couple of times for another game to stay warm. Along the trail you can find vintage trail markers way off the beaten path, that remind us of the first people who came up to Cypress to ski and visit Hollyburn Lodge. The Nordic area at Cypress was once a downhill skiing area, complete with chairlifts, ropetows, and even a huge wooden ski jump!

After an hour and a half, we arrive at Hollyburn Lodge, which was built in 1926, ten years before Guiness built the Lion's Gate bridge, connecting the North Shore to Vancouver (hint: two of the trivia questions on the tour were based on the last sentence, so you may want to take note for some prizes). The Lodge has retained it's rustic charm and cozy feel, with anitique skis and snowshoes on the walls. We sit around a beautifully set table, with white linens and glass mugs filled with hot apple cider.

The feast started off with a salad with homemade raspberry vinaigrette, and was soon followed by bubbling pots of cheese fondue. The entrée was made complete, with soft bread, veggies and roasted garlic potatoes, perfect for dipping. As everyone finishes this course, the veteran fondue eaters start to call out dibbs on the delicious layer of cheese from the bottom of the fondue pot. The friendly, attentive Hollyburn Lodge staff never let your cider mug go empty, which helps wash down the cheese.

No matter how much cheese we ate, we all seemed to have room for the grand finale of the night: Chocolate Fondue (caps intended!) The chocolate was partnered with angel food cake, marshmellows and seasonal fruits, with finishes off the meal perfectly. (I was also grateful for the spoons they handed out at the end, to get the chocolate out of those pesky corners!)

After we finished, we took a group photo in front of the lodge and started on our way home. The walk back to the Nordic area is a nice, quick 15 minute hike, that is just enough to help all that food settle. Turning in our snowshoes and headlamps, we thank Snowshoe Mark, and look forward to next years test run Fondue Tour / Team Building excercise. I have to say, it's probably the first time I've met so many new people, and actually walked away remembering all of their names.

For more details on the Cypress Mountain Snowshoe Fondue tour, or other snowshoe tours, click HERE!