Monumental snowfall over the last week has created perfect conditions at Mount Washington Alpine Resort.  With a mid-mountain snowbase of 320cms as of January 22nd, Mount Washington is once again the home of Canada’s deepest snowpack.  The news couldn’t be any better for the first wave of Olympic athletes who arrive this week to train at the Island mountain.

“We received over a metre and a half of snow in the last six days,” says resort spokesperson Brent Curtain.  “After checking out resort snow depths across the globe on skicentral.com, we’re the fourth deepest worldwide and definitely the deepest in Canada.”

The Chinese Biathlon team arrived in the Comox Valley late Thursday and hit the snow on Friday, January 22nd.  The team will train at the mountain’s popular Nordic Centre, an obvious choice for numerous cross-country and biathlon teams over the next month.

“We’ve worked hard to attract teams over the last few years,” explains Don Sharpe, Director of Business Operations.  “You can feel the excitement with the impending arrival of each team.  It’s great to see our plan to make Mount Washington a training site for the Games come to fruition.”

A total of 26 teams from 15 countries are performing their final on-snow preparations at Mount Washington before heading back to the Lower Mainland and Whistler for the Games. 

“We’re the training destination of choice for many international teams,” adds Sharpe.  “Take Sweden for example.  We’re hosting their Cross-Country, Biathlon, Freestyle Ski, Ski Cross, Snowboard Race, and Paralympic Teams.” 

Even with the multitude of athletes on mountain over the next month, Mount Washington wants public to know that both the alpine and nordic trail systems will remain largely unaffected by training closures.

“In the alpine, the only run that will see temporary closures for a week in mid-February is Invitation off the Sunrise Chair,” says Sharpe.  “At our Nordic Centre, athletes will use Jutland, World Cup, and the Sprint Loop which represents a small fraction of our total nordic terrain.”

Mount Washington and delegates from the Comox Valley plan on holding some meet and greet events over the next month so the visiting public can catch a glimpse of the Olympians. 

“The chances of a guest at the resort riding a chairlift with an Olympian or two are pretty good,” says Sharpe.  “It’s important to remember that these athletes are here to focus on their training, their privacy is crucial and as their hosts we must do our part to respect that.”

For more information and schedules for the international teams training at Mount Washington, visit mountwashington.ca

Mount Washington Alpine Resort is hosting over 20 international teams prior to the Winter Games in 2010.  The resort is located 30 minutes above The Comox Valley on Vancouver Island.  WestJet, Central Mountain Air and Pacific Coastal Airlines service the Comox Valley Airport (YQQ).  To find out about accommodation and package information, call Mount Washington Alpine Resort at 1-888-231-1499 toll free or locally at 250-338-1386.  Surf to www.mountwashington.ca for additional information including our live snow cam.

Story & photos submitted.

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