Filed under: 2010 Winter Olympics, Announcements, Attractions, Outdoors & Recreation, snow, weather
One Month to Go and Where’s the Snow?
It’s the countdown to the 2010 Winter Olympic Games and because of the mild, wet weather on the BC Coast, already two venues have been closed. There’s hardly any snow left on Cypress and Grouse Mountains.
Although environment Canada meteorologist promises colder weather is coming, it’s balmy and damp and Olympic organizers are worried. VANOC has decided to shut Cypress Mountain Alpine run two weeks early as a precaution. The snowboard and free style ski slope venue is susceptible to the weather because of its proximity to the ocean. 95.3 million litres of water has already been turned into snow for the slopes augumenting what has already fallen on the competition courses. VANOC officials say that snow has been stockpiled on Cypress which will be brought down to the runs for the events.
In Whistler there’s been record snowfalls since November allowing crews to build the Creekside Alpine Skiing course and the Callaghan Valley cross-country ski tracks are a metre deep. Ski jump runs, Whistler Sliding Centre’s bobsleigh, skeleton and luge tracks are refrigerated.
El Nino is to blame for these mild weather systems on the Coast, and hopefully by February colder weather will help pile up the snow again.
PHOTO by Ruth Kozak (photo taken this time last year!)
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ACypress MountainView Details and Book
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BGrouse Mountain-The Peak Of VancouverView Details and Book
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CWhistler, BCView Details and Book
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2 Comments
Ruth, I know where the snow is: in Europe. Amsterdam has had snow since the middle of December. So far our winter has been exceptionally cold. I was in Prague over Christmas and in the Czech republic it was also colder than usual.
Please send some here! All we have is constant rain.