British Columbia Skiers and Snowboarders Bask in Olympic Aura

by Jack Christie

In British Columbia, there's a province-wide buzz unlike anything seen before. What's causing the stir? Canada's westernmost province is gearing up to welcome the world during the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.

From the Pacific Coast to the Rockies, excitement is building. Here follows a snapshot of what's in store - both on and off BC's slopes.

In the lead up to mid-February's cocktail of contests, a non-stop schedule of festivities, coupled with great package deals, are being offered by Whistler Blackcomb. A full 90 per cent of the twin mountains' terrain will be open to skiers and snowboarders during the Olympic months; all 200+ runs will be accessible, pending snowfall, during the months leading up to, and after, the Games.

Don't think for a moment that all the action is confined to one of the planet's most livable metropolises and North America's top-ranked resort. Many of BC's ski-and-board destinations have medal-winning plans of their own to bask in the Games' aura, whether by offering sweet deals on lift passes and accommodations, building on-hill training facilities where visitors can cross tracks with Olympic and Paralympic athletes, or hosting extreme contests that haven't yet registered on the IOC's radar.

Exhibit A: If you didn't know that Vancouver is the Games' host city, you might think Big White Ski Resort was the venue. This popular winter resort features a special sports event every day throughout the two weeks of the 2010 Winter Games - a dozen different ones in all - complete with a torchlight and Nations Flag parade to launch the Games, daily medal presentations, and a closing ceremonies party at the resort's aptly-named Happy Valley multi-sport centre. (Big screen TVs stationed around the village will broadcast every thrilling moment.) Bonus: check out the over-the top, sea-to-ski cruise set to coincide with the Games that will take visitors by ship to Big White from Los Angeles via Vancouver.

Thrills are exactly what visitors to Revelstoke Mountain Resort will find January 6 - 10 when the Freeskiing World Tour comes to the West Kootenay railway town that over the past three years has morphed into one of BC's most talked about winter destinations. And why not? With more vertical than any other ski resort in North America, new on-mountain accommodation at Nelsen Lodge, plus the convenience of the new Revelstoke Outdoor Centre's helicopter, cat-skiing, mountain education and backcountry adventures, there's plenty to talk about.

Not to be outdone, Rossland's Red Mountain Resort - childhood home of Olympic gold medal skiers Nancy Greene Raine and Kerrin Lee-Gartner - hosts the Canadian Freeskiing Championships during the 113th Rossland Winter Carnival, January 22 - 24. Front and centre at this year's festival will be the Olympic Torch Relay as it passes through the Monashee Mountain town on January 24th.

Many more intimate, mellow destinations lie inland from the coast, such as Nelson's Whitewater Ski Resort and Penticton's Apex Mountain Resort. Both boutique destinations plan to share in the excitement of the 2010 Winter Games before, during, and after the hoopla, especially from a slopeside perspective. Whitewater and Apex have long been known to insiders as the places to find champagne powder; no one knows better how to revel knee-deep in white smoke. With that spirit in mind, Whitewater will host an Olympic Gear UP Winter Carnival at the end of January, complete with maple syrup-flavoured snow. At Apex, watch for an international crew of athletes, such as 2007 World Freestyle Moguls champion - and hometown favourite - Kristi Richards, to fire up their ambitions and train their sights on podium glory as they practice on the resort's World Cup aerial and mogul course.

If the Olympics are where heroes are born, the Paralympics are where heroes come out to play. As disabled skiers appreciate, several BC winter resorts have a proud history when it comes to nurturing adaptive sports. In the 1970s, Kimberley Alpine Resort in the Kootenay Rockies region helped champion the notion that skiing was for everyone. Thanks to the dedicated efforts of Jerry and Annie Johnson, the Canadian Association of Disabled Skiers was founded there in 1976. These days, adaptive skiers and snowboarders with a competitive edge, such as those who participated in International Paralympic Committee-sanctioned races at the resort last winter, will have Kimberley's new Paralympic Race Training Centre to inspire them to greater heights. The year-round, $6-million facility is designed with both disabled and able-bodied athletes in mind. When lifts close for the season, fitness and dry-land training will take priority in summer.

For many Olympians, Mount Washington has become their second home. Why? Snow conditions on this Vancouver Island resort mirror those at the 2010 Olympic Games venues, across the Strait of Georgia on the BC Mainland: same elevation, same temperatures, and same inviting ambience. In January, over 23 Nordic and Alpine teams from 10 countries will journey to the Comox Valley to train and kick back until Olympic show time. Don't be surprised if you find yourself sharing a chairlift with the world's best skiers and snowboarders, or rubbing shoulders with athletes in the fully-accessible Raven Nordic Lodge which, in anticipation of this year's Games, has hosted Paralympic contests since 2008.

When it comes to witnessing Olympic and Paralympic athletes in training mode, Sun Peaks Resort and Panorama Mountain Village provide ideal vantage points. Here's a taste: this season, national alpine ski teams from Canada and Europe will gather at the resorts in advance of the Games to steel their nerves. Both destinations have in past years nurtured champions; not surprisingly, Canada's most renowned Winter Olympian, skier Nancy Greene Raine, calls Sun Peaks Resort home. And this season, she'll be in good company: the mighty Austrian ski team will hold their early-season training camps at Sun Peaks in November (members of the squad will be based at the resort during the Games).

To fully appreciate what makes an Olympic medal special, drop by the lobby of Nancy Greene's Cahilty Lodge to check out her impressive trophy cabinet. Don't be surprised if the newly-appointed Canadian senator even offers to let you hang one around your neck. Talk about a priceless Olympic bonus.

For more information on ski in BC or to learn more about special offers from the province's ski resorts, visit www.HelloBC.com/ski. For more on British Columbia's destinations and travel information, call 1-800 HELLO BC® (North America) or visit www.HelloBC.com

Contacts:

Apex Mountain Resort: 250-292-8222; 1-877-777-APEX (2739), www.apexresort.com

Big White Ski Resort: 250-765-3101; 1-800-663-2772, www.bigwhite.com

Kimberley Alpine Resort: 250-427-4881, www.skikimberley.com

Mount Washington Alpine Resort: 250-338-1386, 1-888-231-1499, www.mountwashington.ca

Panorama Mountain Village: 250-342-6941, 1-800-663-2929, www.panoramaresort.com

Revelstoke Mountain Resort: 1-866-373-4754; www.revelstokemountainresort.com

Red Mountain Resort: 1-800-663-0105; www.redresort.com

Sun Peaks Resort: 250-578-7232, 1-800-807-3257, www.sunpeaksresort.com

Whistler Blackcomb: 1-800-766-0449; www.whistlerblackcomb.com

Whitewater Ski Resort: 250-354-4944; www.skiwhitewater.com