About WildPlay Whistler

WildPlay Mission

WildPlay seeks to engage people in active adventure experiences, where they are challenged to evolve beyond their self-perceived limits. Get back to nature with our “Primal Fun and Games”.

WildPlay History

In April 2009, WildPlay acquired the operating assets of Cougar Mountain Adventures, 15 minutes north of Whistler Village. In July 2009, WildPlay Whistler opened with two activities: aerial adventure tree courses; and Zoom Zip Lines.

WildPlay Element Parks, a subsidiary of Slipstream Adventures Ltd., is the result of a lifetime of experiencing the outdoors. Founders Gord Ross and Tom Benson are avid climbers and paragliders. Both are certified climbing instructors who have spent over ten years leading climbing adventures and teaching people about the outdoors. Both had been thinking of ways to use the power of the group experience to introduce more people to outdoor adventure activities. Additionally, the steep learning curve and high level of commitment for adventures such as climbing was a deterrent for some people and intimidating for others.

Gord had discovered tree-to-tree parks during his travels to Europe and South America and was researching them with Tom as a way to deliver the outdoor experience to a greater range of people. Both recognized this would be an excellent way to realize their desire of bringing the outdoor experience to more people without the steep learning curve. After two years of product testing, they decided to bring adventure recreation systems and supporting environmentally sensitive building methods to what is a growing list of operating park locations.

Committed to the Environment

WildPlay respects the natural environment. Our activities are built using environmentally sensitive methods that do not harm the forest or other natural settings. On trees, platforms are held in place using a compression system to protect the living tree from damage. Half-logs and sheathed-mooring cables prevent cables from cutting into trees, minimizing tree trunk degradation. Cable tension is checked and adjusted daily to ensure the highest safety standards as well as accommodate tree growth. If our tree courses were to be disassembled today, very little evidence of their existence would be left behind.