VANCOUVER ISLAND, B.C. — Standing at the top of the Eagle Express chairlift, 5,200 feet above sea level on the island’s east coast, we had peekaboo views of the ocean, a hanging glacier, and layers of forested mountains that unfolded across the interior.

On a clear day, according to my ski instructor, you can actually see sailboats on the Strait of Georgia — also known as the Inside Passage, that salty waterway that stretches up the coast to Alaska — and all the way to the Coast Mountain Range on the British Columbia mainland. You can also look down into the Comox Valley, home to the region’s three main towns, Comox, Courtenay, and Cumberland, all located within a 30-minute drive from Mount Washington.