Olympics Medals and Tickets Online

In case you are wondering how the 2010 winter Olympics will impact access to ski hills in the Vancouver area, here is an update. The Vancouver, Coast & Mountains tourism office reports that since the 1920s, Cypress Mountain, Grouse Mountain and Mount Seymour have been the cradle of snow sports near Vancouver.

With the advent of this season’s 2010 Winter Games, the trio prepares to write a new chapter in the North Shore history book. Although Cypress Mountain, venue for Olympic freestyle skiing and snowboarding events, is off limits for five weeks from February 1 - March 8, pre- and post-Games snow-sliding action runs full tilt there from when snowflakes fly until spring thaw. To help take up the slack, Grouse Mountain rocks non-stop, ‘round the clock during the 17 days of the 2010 Winter Games. Early risers can catch NBC’s Today show broadcast live each morning during the Games from the lodge’s 1,130-metre (3,700-foot) vantage point above the city’s inner harbour.

No matter what manner of snow sport you favour - downhill, tubing, or snowshoeing – one of the best rides on offer on the North Shore is the scenic 12-kilometre (7.4-mile) ascent up Mount Seymour Road to the “old school” oasis where it’s business as usual all winter long at Vancouver’s gateway to recreation. One of the highlights this season sees Mount Seymour hosting the World Snowshoe Invitational in February when winter sports enthusiasts from two dozen countries compete in North America’s biggest snowshoe race.