The Whistler Olympic Park is proving to be a hit with spectators, athletes and media.
The brand-new $119.7 million venue for biathlon, cross-country, Nordic combined and ski jumping is situated in a pristine alpine setting in the Callaghan Valley, 25 km from Whistler and 119 km from downtown Vancouver.
Sitting at an elevation of 870 meters (2784 ft.) and surrounded by the snow-capped Coastal Mountains, the venue includes one of the world's most sophisticated ski-jump snow refrigeration systems, and is the only venue in Olympic history to host all four Nordic disciplines in the same location.
“I think this place is great,” said Heiko Junge, staff photographer for Scanpix AS from Oslo, Norway. “We are surrounded by these nice peaks. We have been very happy, especially on a beautiful day like today when the sun is shining.”
“The transportation has been perhaps a little far to get here, but this is the only thing,” Junge noted as a solitary criticism.
The venue has a total capacity of 12,000 for all four venues.
While some Alpine skiing events in Whistler have been re-scheduled, so far all of the Nordicevents at the Olympic Park have gone ahead as planned. The first three days of competition were marred by rain and low-lying fog, but when the sun has shone, some athletes have expressed both concern and praise over the condition of the track.
“Where there is shade it is dry and where the sun is shining, it's really wet, so it is very challenging,” said Finnish Cross-country competitor Virpi Kuitunen. “But a very nice track to compete on.”
Several members of the visiting international media have given the venue an A+ rating, including journalist Johan Wahlin of Sweden's biggest newspaper, The Daily News.
“Everything is very top-notch,” said Wahlin on the media bus after a day of covering the events.
“Especially the people. Everybody is very welcoming and always asking how they can help. They've all been fantastic,” he said.
After the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, the venue will be operated under the direction of the Whistler 2010 Sport Legacies, supported by a $120 million endowment trust established by the federal and provincial governments as part of their 2010 Winter Games venues investment.
Written by Todd Lawson in Whistler.
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