Scenic valley chosen above other sites for snow, low wind, location
Although they looked at several different areas, the technical experts who spent the past year evaluating potential Nordic sites for the Vancouver Whistler 2010 Bid Corporation kept coming back to the Callaghan Valley.
According to Richard Way, the manager of technical sports for the bid corporation, Whistler’s Brad Sills, owner of Callaghan Country Wilderness Adventures (formerly Mad River Nordic Centre) guided the bid committee to the best location early on.
"We went there to see it for ourselves, and it was clear that this truly was a special place," said Way, speaking to the public at the latest Olympic fireside chat on Oct. 26.
Sills has kept snow records in the Callaghan since 1974, and a weather station that was set up last year "just backed up what Brad already knows and told us," Way said. "It was clear from the very beginning that this place would be hard to beat."
The Callaghan Valley is "a separate world" from Whistler, with its own unique climate and weather patterns. Hemmed in on all sides by mountains – Rainbow Mountain, Metal Dome and Powder Mountain – and ringed with glaciers, it’s generally colder and clearer than Whistler. It’s also protected from the wind and weather blowing up from Howe Sound, and has more snowfall on average than do surrounding areas.
At the proposed Nordic site near Alexandra Falls, there’s almost no wind, which makes it the perfect spot for a ski jump. The natural contours that already exist will form a natural amphitheater for many events, and the existing clearcuts can be used for facilities.
For all the criteria the technical experts used, the Callaghan was the clear winner. Those criteria include snow quality and quantity, terrain, visibility, wind, location in relation to medical services and the athletes village, and environmental impact.
"We didn’t want sports organizations just to approve of our site location, but to make it the best. We’re already working on getting the support from the technical delegates from international federations," said Way. "We not only want to feature the natural beauty of the land, and it is an incredibly beautiful spot, but also we’re showing our green technology."
Whatever facilities will be built in the valley will either be temporary or sustainable, within the parameters of The Natural Step framework for Environmental Sustainability, which the Bid Corporation has adopted.
Some of the ideas that Way is looking at include a micro-hydroelectric project, modular buildings that can be moved to other sites, turning the cross country ski courses into interpretive trails for future visitors, and an environmentally sound roadway into the valley.
Four technical delegates with Olympic experience were present at last week’s chat, including a technical delegate from Norway.
Torgeir Nordby, a ski jump designer for the 1994 Lillehammer Olympics, and a technical delegate for the FIS, responsible for over 60 competitions a year, said the Callaghan facility could easily become one of the best in the world, and would help bring World Cup ski jump competitions back to North America.
"It’s a wonderful valley, filled with good sites for ski jumping," he says. "It’s turned south, which makes for nice pictures on television."
If the International Olympic Committee decides to add the huge 200 metre jumps to Games, the valley could easily accommodate them.
"I’ve seen 100 per cent of the sites in the world, but have never ever seen a site with so much wood around it to protect from the wind. You could have one of the best hills in the world," Nordby said.
Rob McCormack, a ski jump designer for the 1995 World Championships in Thunder Bay, technical delegate to Lillehammer, and chief of camp for the Calgary ski jump facility, agrees with Nordby’s assessment.
And, unlike the Calgary facility, which receives little natural snow and is exposed to winds year round, the Callaghan ski jumps would be less likely to sit idle during the winter months.
"People in North America don’t appreciate it, but ski jumping has the largest television audience of any ski sport in the world," said McCormack. "It’s hugely popular. Companies are paying $8 million just to get their names on the competitors’ sweaters."
With facilities in Calgary, Salt Lake City, and the Callaghan Valley, it will be more cost-effective for the FIS and athletes to come to North America for World Cup competitions. The FIS has already indicated that it would like to bring the sport back to North America, which used to be a regular stop on the tour until interest waned.
As for people coming to events, McCormack feels an event at home would help people connect with the sport.
"The real beauty of the sport is that you can stand on the side of a hill and watch a human being flying 70 kilometres an hour through the air, leaned over in the area like the wing of an airplane, and landing safely in telemark fashion at the base of the hill," he says.
Bjorger Pettersen, the cross country trail designer for the 1988 Calgary Games and an attendee at every Winter Games since 1952, believes the consistency of the snow is a huge advantage for the Callaghan site.
"It’s always been a problem for competitors in the past. Athletes have to use a wax that moves forward, or a wax that bites so they can go uphill, and you can’t use both at once. I remember as a young man racing in these Coast Mountains, I had a terrible experience. But I have to tell you I’m very excited to meet Brad Sills and learn about the snow up there. And the fact that it’s so close is unbelievable."
Ray Kokken, Canada’s technical delegate for the biathlon and the biathlon course designer for the Calgary Olympics, also felt the site was ideal.
"It’s the most ideal site in the world for a Nordic Centre," he said.
The biathlon requires a short course, a shooting range, and a loop where competitors complete penalty laps for missed targets. It’s right behind ski jumping in the ratings in Europe, and a facility in the Callaghan would help to attract World Cup events and develop athletes.
The other Olympic facility in Canmore, Alberta, is still well-used, he says, and would be more effective in attracting athletes and events if the Callaghan Valley was added to the circuit.
The Olympic Nordic events include cross-country, biathlon, Nordic Combined (ski jumping and cross-country), and ski jumping. In total, Nordic events account for a third of the 200-plus medals awarded during the Winter Games.
Way estimates that the temporary Callaghan facility could see between 15,000 and 20,000 spectators per day during the Games.
