Weather Concerns Force Early Closure
VANOC and Cypress Mountain officials closed off early public access to snowboard and freestyle skiing courses in order to preserve snowpack for the Olympics.
Unseasonably warm and wet weather over the past few days forced officials to close public access on Wednesday morning until after the Games. The closure of the alpine runs was planned to take place early February in order to prepare venues for competition. The alpine runs will reopen to the public on March 9.
Cypress Mountain will host aerials, moguls, parallel giant slalom, halfpipe and ski cross during the Games.
"Closing Cypress Mountain early is the responsible thing to do, given the recent weather, in order to make sure we're ready to host the world's best athletes in one month's time," said Tim Gayda, VANOC's vice president of sport.
VANOC has been working on salvaging snow including stockpiling snow at higher elevations. Snowmaking material s on site include five million gallons of water in reserve and 35 snow guns. Since November, Cypress Mountain has converted 21 million gallons into snow.
'Positive Anxiety' at VANOC
With a month until the start of the Winter Games, VANOC CEO John Furlong described the mood of organizing committee as “positive anxiety.”
“We’ve been working on this in since in some ways the mid-90s, we still really haven’t done anything yet,” Furlong said on at a Monday press conference attended by Around the Rings. “The Games start on (Feb.) the 12th, that’s where the world’s attention will be.”
Furlong said he expects Vancouverites to catch Olympic fever, just like residents of previous host cities. He said the recession has been the biggest challenge to overcome.
“Having seen what happened, and how difficult it was to deal with, I think it made a better organization out of this one,” he said. “I think it made our team sharper and more focused, more resilient and more creative.”
Furlong added that the medals are finished and the podiums are nearing completion. Media will get a chance to see venues next week
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Traffic Talk
VANOC says severe restrictions on transport in downtown Vancouver will be in effect for three days in February and one in March.
The Cambie Street Bridge and Beatty Street between Smithe and Georgia streets will close to public vehicles from noon to midnight for the last Olympic opening ceremony dress rehearsal on Feb. 10, Feb. 12 for the opening ceremony, Feb. 28 closing ceremony and March 12 Paralympic Games opening ceremony.
Olympic lanes will take up 170 blocks while 650 blocks will have parking bans. Officials hope to reduce traffic by 30 percent to accommodate VANOC-permitted vehicles.
SkyTrain president Doug Kelsey, a member of the Olympic and Paralympic Transport Team, said commuters at peak times in popular transit hubs can expect waits lasting an hour or more.
So far only 40 Percent of space has been booked on the Olympic bus network for trips to Cypress Mountain and Whistler-area venues. VANOC extended the early-bird pricing scheme until Jan. 18 in a bid to boost reservations.
Media Centers Open
Check out photos of the Main Media Centre here
The main press center and international broadcast center are open for business with one month until the Games.
The IBC, in the new Vancouver Convention Centre west complex, is the showcase non-competition venue of the 2010 Games. The center was built on a pier in Vancouver’s Coal Harbour with a grassy, green roof and a host of energy and water-saving measures.
Print and online media are based in the original convention centre built that was built for Expo 86 on Pier B-C and will host the print and online media for the Games.
Briefly…
Montreal will loan 150 police officers to RCMP during 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics, Mayor Gérald Tremblay said on Tuesday…
No Russian Olympian will have a positive drug test at the Vancouver Olympics says Vice President of the Russian Olympic Committee Vladimir Vasin in a reports RT.COM. Vasin says his country takes a "strict approach" to the issue of doping.
Czech Republic Prime Minister Jan Fischer accepted an invitation from the Czech Republic Olympic Committee to attend the Vancouver 2010 Opening Ceremony…
With reporting from Sam Steinberg and Bob Mackin.
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