Only one season greets you with druel-inducing aromas and immediately spikes the sale of beer and condiments. It is BBQ season! Thanks to Whistler Blackcomb, I was able to heighten my celebration of summer solstice to new elevations…literally. Boarding the Whistler Village Gondola, we climbed to the Roundhouse for the weekly Mountain Top BBQ, which is offered every Friday, Saturday and Sunday night throughout the summer.

As soon as we arrived inside the smells and sounds let us know this was not going to be any average patio party. Of course the fact that this patio looks out from 6000ft kind of gave that away. The soft jazz welcomed us in and the selection of the BBQ buffet demanded a “once-over” to get your bearings and plan the attack.

A beet and chickpea salad, fresh jalapeño cornbread, and a new potato salad were favorites from the salad selection. For the main event, the seafood theme warranted chef-served mussels in a white wine sauce and delicate salmon. Of course for those not keen on the offerings of the sea, the complimenting buffet provided beautifully seasoned jerk chicken, stir-fried vegetables, broccoli and cauliflower gratin, roast fingerling potatoes and basmati rice.

I personally fell in love with the maple butter glaze poured over pretty much anything and everything. Leaving little room for anything else in our tummies, the buffet always has a way of drawing you up a final time to purvey the dessert selection-it would be wasteful to not take a look at least. Pies, squares, fruit and puddings all awaited to fill that tiny spot left for a sweet finish. Although I can say any BBQ results in a thankful wander home, stepping back on to the gondola and descending in to the panoramic views of the valley may have set the bar high for the remainder of my summer invites. For $33 if you have a season lift pass, this is the deal to not miss. And the wine selection definitely out does the boxed variety at many a patio soirée.