Winter Olympics venue deep in snow

Malaysia News.Net
Friday 29th January, 2010

As the finishing touches are being applied to the Olympic venues, Whistler Blackcomb is celebrating a record 9.9 metres or 32.5 feet of snowfall to date this season.

As the snow base hovers around the 3-metre or 10-feet mark, the well-known resort, located two hours north of Vancouver, is Games-ready and set to welcome the world in just two weeks.

Deep snow at Whistler Blackcomb is nothing new, but getting so close to the average annual snowfall of 10.13 metres or 33 feet so early in the season is quite unique. In fact, it is the first time that Whistler Blackcomb has received this amount of snow by the end of January, dating back to when snow reporting began in 1979/80. The prior record was set in the 2006/07 season when 9.45 metres or 31 feet of snow fell by January 31.

"There is a very strong sense of anticipation and excitement throughout the resort right now as we prepare to open our doors to the world," Dave Brownlie, President and CEO of Whistler Blackcomb said Friday. "The resort is looking its best and the snow conditions on the mountains are incredible. We received great feedback from course inspectors last week, and the men's and women's courses are now fully in the hands of Olympic Organizing Committee."

Whistler Blackcomb remains 90% open throughout the Games with base access via the Whistler Village Gondola, Fitzsimmons Express, Excalibur Gondola and Wizard Express. Although the Creekside Gondola will be closed February 1 to March 1, a ski-out will remain available via Peak to Creek. For those who don't have tickets to Creekside events, mountain guests can watch some of the Alpine Skiing action via course-side viewing pods, free with a lift ticket.

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