Hosting the Olympics was a dream sparked 50 years ago -- before Whistler, the ski resort, even existed -- by the Garibaldi Olympic Development Association (GODA). A group of Vancouver guys intent on bringing the Olympics to British Columbia's Coast Mountains, scouted the peaks north of Squamish to establish a ski resort with enough vertical to stage an Olympic downhill.
They settled on London Mountain -- now Whistler Mountain -- built a ski resort, and bid for the 1968 Games. They lost their bid to Grenoble in '68, then lost four more -- in '72, '76, '80 and '88. But they didn't lose their dream. It took 42 years, but the Games are finally on London Mountain.
At the 2010 Games, the men's downhill event -- the race most skiers consider the highlight of a Winter Olympics -- will rocket down the Dave Murray Downhill. As you'll see on television during the Games, it's a course that snakes dangerously down Whistler Creekside on a run named after Dave Murray, an original member of alpine skiing's Crazy Canucks. Murray, a longtime Whistlerite, lost his life to cancer in 1990; his daughter, Julia Murray, is a 2010 Canadian medal hope in the new women's ski cross event that takes place on Vancouver's Cypress Mountain.
The Dave Murray course is revered among elite racers: It has hosted more than 10 World Cup events since 1975, including the World Cup downhill Whistler-raised Rob Boyd won in 1989. Boyd returns to Whistler in 2010 as a coach for the women's Canadian ski team.
The women -- along with all Paralympic alpine skiers -- will be racing on a newly designed set of courses that track down Whistler runs: Wildcard, Jimmy's Joker and Franz's Trail.
Both the men's and women's alpine ski races finish at Creekside Village, a satellite base containing a few restaurants and loads of condos, which is located about 4 km south of Whistler's main village and gondola.
Whistler Blackcomb's total terrain tops out at a massive 3,528 hectares. While officials are claiming 90% of it will be open for public skiing during the Games, skiers won't be able to access runs surrounding the Dave Murray Downhill or Franz's. The terrain won't reopen until March 28, after the close of the Paralympic alpine events.
Back in Whistler's main village, an amphitheatre has been built to showcase the medal ceremonies for the events taking place at Whistler -- alpine skiing's downhill, giant slalom, slalom and super-G , plus bobsleigh, luge and skeleton events that take place at the Whistler Sliding Centre. The Whistler Medals Plaza has enough tiered seating for 5,000 spectators and nightly concerts include performances by Feist, Our Lady Peace, Usher and the All American Rejects.
If you're lucky enough to be there skiing -- check out Whistler's new Peak 2 Peak, a gondola that spans the 4.4-km distance between Whistler and Blackcomb mountains. It's the gondola with the world's longest unsupported span (3.024 km between two towers), plus the world's highest lift of its kind at 436 metres above the Fitzsimmons Creek valley floor ... a fitting spectacle for the world's biggest snow sporting spectacle.
LORI KNOWLES WILL BE COVERING THE OLYMPICS FROM VANCOUVER AND WHISTLER FOR THE SUN'S TRAVEL SECTION, AND BLOGGING AT LORIEXPLORING.WORDPRESS.COM.
Olympic accommodation gets creativeWorld Premiere at the Geneva Motor Show : Carlsson C25
