Vancouver Winter Olympics 2010

[Surfcrest]

On February 12, 2010 the Winter Olympics will take over one of the most beautiful cities in the world, Vancouver Canada.

With the effects of El Ni├▒o upon us in 2010, there isnтАЩt really much winter to speak of this year in Vancouver itself. Most of the outdoor winter activities are happening way up at Whistler Village, where there is snow.

This is a nice video that profiles the city, especially the fog inversion we had last winter.

Enjoy

[youtube:2gkrmjmt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_xMz2SnSWS4[/youtube:2gkrmjmt]

[maisoui]

The trouble with Whistler is that it has a maritime climate and the snow is far from guaranteed. Problem two is that if you get any sort of breeze the upper level lifts will close. Blackcomb has some reasonable intermediate runs but Whistler itself is really all nursery slopes.

Not really suitable for 'lympics, but maybe better than Glenshee which is groaning with snow ... this year.

[Surfcrest]

With the exception of the venues scheduled for the local mountains in Vancouver itself, all Olympic sites are enjoying perfect conditions this yearтАж.especially Whistler. I have never seen so much snow up there as IтАЩve seen this year, and with so little trafficтАж.the conditions are great.

IтАЩm only up there on the weekend and so if itтАЩs storming so hard to close any runs IтАЩm probably not going to chance the drive up. This year the wind has been pretty quiet since Christmas. You must be an amazing skier maisoui for Whistler to be but nursery slopes for you. I'm just an okay skier at best.

I recall sharing a baht bus back to Jomtien with a load of noisy Russians this year with the pleasant thought of our Canadian hockey team handing them a good beating this year. Only a few weeks more to wait for this! :hello1:

[maisoui]

You must be an amazing skier maisoui for Whistler to be but nursery slopes for you. I'm just an okay skier at best.


Well my first skis were laminated wood with cable bindings and first boots double lace-up leather. If you learn to ski as a kid in Scotland then most conditions look good. Mostly I've skied in France, but I've skied two countries in Asia, four in Europe, two in North America (a cousin had a lodge on Baker, does that count?) but only NZ in the antipodes.

These days, I'm slowing down a bit and rarely fall over but I come from the school that believes the steeper the slope the easier the turn.

I was on Whistler/Blackcombe a couple of years back as I had business in Canada and was struck by how many expat British retirees there are there nowadays. The piste hosting/voluntary guiding is second to none but I didn't find many steep or challenging slopes on Whistler but a few on Blackcombe.

I see on television there's a young-ish man called Bubbles promoting these Games. He must have looked quite cute once.

Less than 24 hrs until the opening ceremonies...

http://www.ctvolympics.ca/torch/follow-torch/index.html

[maisoui]

There were pictures of Grouse Mountain on the BBC breakfast show this morning. "Scotland's" curling team may do us proud as they play indoors, even in Canada.

But Luge looks like a dying sport....

But Luge looks like a dying sport....

Indeed. How despicable to blame the victim.

As for the choice of location. I noticed it was raining at Whistler village level today...

[Surfcrest]

Indeed. How despicable to blame the victim.

As for the choice of location. I noticed it was raining at Whistler village level today...

Interesting, the sky looks pretty clear to me today...where are you noticing this from?

The BBC coverage. Anyway they are showing a very sunny slalom right now.

[Surfcrest]

Funny how much bad press is coming out of England in respect to the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Games and yetтАжdoes England even have anyone participating in the Games? Has Eddy the Eagle returned?

I find it amusing how the British press seems focused on the weather here in Vancouver for the Games. Who cares what the weather is like in the city? All the games here are indoors, including the Opening / Closing ceremonies.

The outdoor sports are happening up in the mountains, where itтАЩs cool enough for snow and outdoor winter sports. I just returned from Whistler and like I said earlier, there is plenty of snow and sunshine up there this week.

The same applies with Cypress Mountain. I attach a photo from my kitchen window here in English Bay looking up at Cypress.

Now the next summer Olympics are in London, where the sports are manly outdoors and where weтАЩll hold back saying the word тАЬdespicableтАЭ for the rain when comes down for your Games.

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y69/Surfcrest/IMG_3108.jpg

What lovely architecture. Looks like Bucharest, circa 1985.

[ceejay]

and yetтАжdoes England even have anyone participating in the Games? Has Eddy the Eagle returned?
Well, there is no England team in the games, because it is Great Britain that sends a team. As it happens, however, Amy Williams is English.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/olympic ... 520464.stm (http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/olympic_games/vancouver_2010/skeleton/8520464.stm)

Don't tell any Welshman that you think someone called "Williams" is English, boyoh. This is one of those occassions that it is a bloody good job we call the team Great British. Daley Thompson (Francis Morgan Oyod├йl├й Thompson) had a Welsh name too. :headbang:

[Surfcrest]

I recall sharing a baht bus back to Jomtien with a load of noisy Russians this year with the pleasant thought of our Canadian hockey team handing them a good beating this year. Only a few weeks more to wait for this!

The wait is over, Canada 7 - Russia 3, that ought to shut them up for a bit!

:hello1: :hello1: :hello1: :hello1: :hello1: :hello1: :hello1:

[Surfcrest]

Today, Sunday February 28 will be the final day for the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics. Yesterday Canada took the gold medal in MenтАЩs Curling from Norway in the final giving Canada the most gold medals for a host country and tied for the most gold medals by any country at any Winter Olympics.

In just over 2 hours CanadaтАЩs menтАЩs hockey team will face the undefeated US MenтАЩs team in the gold medal final. CanadianтАЩs are extremely passionate about their hockey especially here in Vancouver where in June of 1994 after loosing to the New York Rangers, rioters tore apart much of the commercial and retail downtown core. Hopefully, we can expect no more violence than the tiny waves that rolled onto the beach here after the 8.8 quake in Chile.

On a brighter note, Vancouver is renowned for flash mob eventsтАжwhere large groups of people are invited to specific locations and at specific times to perform something in unison. HereтАЩs an example of that form the first week of Olympics celebrations!

Enjoy,

[youtube:wm7t8zna]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FzVuLTPYtk4 [/youtube:wm7t8zna]

[Surfcrest]

The final sport Men's Hockey, the most important, Canada 3 USA 2 in overtime.

Yawn. I suppose this is what passes for excitement in Canada. No one I know in Thailand even knows that the Olympics have been going on recently.

[Surfcrest]

Unless you're Canadian and in Thailand right now, in which case it might be relevant. :occasion9:

I thank God every day that I wasn't born Canadian. Could there be a more vanilla nationality?

[Surfcrest]

Oh, I don't think that's God's ear that you're bending.

[Smiles]

" ... The final sport Men's Hockey, the most important, Canada 3 USA 2 in overtime ... "
It must have been pure pandemonium in the bars of Canada at the moment that Mr Crosbie's overtime goal was scored. It's been the only time I wished I were back in the slushy snowy streets, all heavy parkas and scarves and gloves and boots, sitting in the warmth of the Kal Sports bar with favourite friends and jugs of Okanagan Sping Dark Ale.

The very moment of that last goal would have been enough to bring tears of joy even to the hardened hearts (and livers) of the two old drunken curmudgeon Aiechele brothers who've been sitting in the same chairs now for 20 years plus and never once broken even the semblance of a smile, nor uttered a kind word to a women, a friend (the few), a waitress, or a dog.