Feb 06 2008
2010 Winter Olympics
Although it is still 2008, it is not that early to heed to the well known and extraordinary winter games that are to come in 2 years time – The Winter Olympics. It will take place on Vancouver and Whistler and will host over 5000 athletes and coaches, 1000 members of the media, around 1,5 million spectators. Tickets will be available starting from this October. Unfortunately, not all the venues at Whistler and Cypress Mountain are available to the public, despite the fact that they are all up and running.
Winter-Olympics-2010
Some of the Winter Sports, you will be watching there, are biathlon, figure skating, skeleton, alpine skiing, ice hockey, snowboard, wheelchair curling (rather new paralympic sport sport, its debut was in 2006 at Paralympic Winter Games, Torino), freestyle skating or bobsleigh.
If you would like to see what it is all about you can watch some competitions which are hosted this year on some venues.
As Alpine Events are concerned, in 2010, alpine skiing races (like slalom, giant slalom) are on the Creekside face of Whistler Mountain and the sliding events (luge, for instance) take place close to Whistler Village. For a slightly common experience, visitors hitting the slopes this months can watch the sportsmen tackling the same slopes during Pontiac GMC Canadian Championship (February 9-11) or the Whistler Winter Cup (February 19-24). The price an adult should pay for one day ticket is $83 but if you make a reservation in advance on the internet you can benefit from a discount.
Nordic Events will take place in the Whistler Olympic Park that is at 12 km S of Whistler, where the road leads to Callaghan Valley. It will hold 3 temporary stadiums, each with 12000 spectators. The competitions present here will be performed by world-class jumpers during the FIS Cup Competition (February 27-28) and FIS Continental Cup (March 1-2). Other events that will take place meantime will be the Canadian National Cross Country Championship (March 16-23) and Canadian National Biathlon Championships (March 25–30). The price for an adult at Whistler Olympic Park is $16 during day and $8 during night skiing. Cross Country Connection offers guide tours of the park which start from $4/person.
Snow Boarding/Freestyle Events: It will take place in a semi-urban location above West Vancouver. Cypress Mountain will never be mistaken for Whistler. In 2 years time, this place will be the location for the Games’ snowboarding and freestyle skiing events. Unfortunately, the freestyle venue (aerials and moguls) will be closed to the public but it will be center stage February 9–10, when Cypress hosts the Canada Post Freestyle Grand Prix, a sanctioned World Cup event. The cost for the daily lift ticket is $50 and $55 for peak periods/adult, $45.28 (or $49.06) for youths ages 13–18 and $26.42 ($29.25) for children ages 6–12, plus tax.
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