The road climbs out of Vancouver with a blue shoulder of ocean to the left and granite rising like a slow wall to the right. On a private Sea-to-Sky tour the driver eases through hairpins while a local guide narrates: where the old logging roads gave way to the modern highway, where eagles pick apart salmon runs, where Squamish people long stewarded these shores. You stop at Porteau Cove and the tide seems to push at your feet, daring you to step closer to the slick rocks and the horizon beyond. At Shannon Falls the mist hangs heavy enough to cool your face; the cascade thunders in a voice that reminds you why these mountains feel alive.