More Whistler Photos

Monday was a bear day at work, so less time for Olympic blogging! But here are some additional photos from the trek to Whistler on Sunday, including shots of the ski lift areas, the streets of Whistler, Look of the Games decoration, the Boutique Olympique, fans and Olympic Torch Relay banners.

The Korean guys in one photo told me they are part of a group of 100+ Korean ski fans who came to British Columbia together for the Olympics, so look for their entourage cheering on the slopes of Whistler. Also, mark your calendars for the Olympic Torch Relay arrival at Whistler on Feb. 5 (see window poster with details in photo).

Whistle Stop At Whistler

On day 10 of this Olympic adventure, today felt right to bust out of the city and explore the mountains north of Vancouver.

Via motor coach round trip on the Sea To Sky Highway, I spent a few hours this afternoon in Whistler (disclosure: a client).

This was my second trek to Whistler, but the first during ski season (the previous journey to the mountainside resort took place in August 2009).

It was exciting to view Canadian snow en masse, the further north our bus travelled.

The Sea To Sky Highway is itself an adventure, with awe-inspiring overlooks of several island and miles of seawater juxtaposed with pine-covered, steep slopes of Canadian Rockies. Today was foggy, to the peaks were rarely visible -- fortunately in August it was clear and the pinnacles of stone with blue sky were gorgeous.

About half-way to Whistler, there is a (new?) visitor center at Squamish, definitely worth a look-see for the cultural experience and to snap shots of the Olympic red mittens-clad Paul Bunyan statue on the side of the road.

Whistler is positively buzzing with activity. Every restaurant was packed with diners, while the pedestrian walks were teeming with ski and snowboard traffic, media crews filming pre-Games b-roll, shoppers toting their new five-ringed purchases and construction workers were busy installing temporary staging around every corner.

Unlike Vancouver, which to date remains void of "Look of the Games" bunting, Whistler already has hundreds of feet of fencing in and around official Games areas, and the fences now don vivid Olympic decoration that really pops when it's next to mountain powder.

The biggest surprise of the day: Olympic tickets, by the hundreds, remain on sale at affordable prices. A couple dozen folks were in line at Whistler's official Olympic ticket booth, and I snapped up some Vancouver Medal Ceremony tickets while considering Closing Ceremony ticket options (lots of A level tickets remain available for purchase, apparently, in line daily or via Tickets.com).
No trip to Whistler is complete without a trip to the Boutique Olympique, the town's official VANOC store, but every storefront in town sells Olympic merchandise (a few shops even traded pins).

A note for travelers considering Whistler -- and this was news to me: Driving yourself to Whistler is not an option from now to March 1. There are several types of official vehicle passes, official shuttles/tickets and types of proof of accommodation/residency required to get near Whistler. Lots of traffic pattern changes are going into effect as well, so be sure to research options and requirements well in advance.

Devo Will Whip It, Usher Says "YEAH!" To Whistler Olympic Celebration Shows

So, last August, at the tail end of a work sabbatical, travels brought me to Vancouver for the third time.

The week in British Columbia afforded this Atlantan a couple of days in Whistler, site of Olympic alpine skiing, Nordic combined, ski jump, bobsleigh, luge and skeleton competitions. (disclosure: Whistler is a client)

Downtown Whistler surprised and impressed me -- fantastic food options, plenty of shopping, a decent movie theatre, clubs, outstanding hotels and those gorgeous Canadian slopes.

In the summer, lots to do. Come winter, even more. It was cool to see the Whistler Medals Plaza under construction.

Here's hoping I may make it to Whistler again this weekend for an update peek, complete with snow.

There aren't too many Atlantans in the Olympic City yet, so it was thrilling to learn that a fellow hometown resident is among the confirmed performers set to rock Whistler next month: Usher will perform on Feb. 27, the final weekend show of the Games.

Some other top single-name acts are on deck, too, including Devo, Feist, Estelle and OneRepublic. The mountain, it will be rockin'!

Photo via this site

USA Luge Blows Through San Diego

Some of the Team USA national governing bodies are sending regular updates about athlete, coach and equipment news in these final days before Vancouver 2010.

One such update arrived today from USA Luge, informing readers that Olympic lugers will test three bodysuits at a San Diego Low Speed Wind Tunnel, which may help Team USA shave thousandths of a second off their times in Winter Olympic and other competitions.

According to the press release ...

The Low Speed Wind Tunnel (LSWT) is considered to be the best facility of its kind in the world. The testing methodology and expert staff draw both world-class athletes and top aerospace companies. To date, the LSWT has conducted nearly 100,000 hours of testing and has been used extensively in numerous military and civil aerospace development programs, including those of the F-106, B-58, F-111, F-16, Global Hawk UAV, Tomahawk Cruise Missile, and Advanced Cruise Missile.

Turning USA Luge sleds into cruise missiles in time for their Whistler runs sounds like a good plan to me.

You can meet USA Luge athletes here, and be sure to check out their recent photos and videos or general history of luge and Vancouver 2010 Olympic luge details.

Photo via Yahoo! and AP/Robert Pfiel