Winter Olympics in Vancouver. Have the Olympics gone completely off the rails?

[notfrommensa]

@Simplicio

Of course they could just move the whole thing to Whistler and call it the Whistler games, but I seriously doubt a ski-town has the resources or desire to host an Olympics.

Lake Placid population at the last census was 2,638 people. Montreal is the nearest major city, about a 2 hr drive away, NYC, is 4-5 hrs drive away.

[garygnu]

@Simplicio

…I seriously doubt a ski-town has the resources or desire to host an Olympics.

Squaw Valley

[Leaffan]

This just in: Apparently there will be no Jamaican bobsled team this time after all.

We did invite Eddie the Eagle back to participate in the torch run though.

[YogSothoth]

@Simplicio

How many large cities have ski resorts within their city-limits? I imagine most of the ski/snowboarding events are always outside the host city.

Of course they could just move the whole thing to Whistler and call it the Whistler games, but I seriously doubt a ski-town has the resources or desire to host an Olympics.

Does County limit count? Because LA has mountains, ski resorts, deserts, beaches, forests, and urban areas within it’s limits. You could have a Winter AND a Summer Olympics here!

[Neidhart]

There was no snow in Calgary either; IIRC they had chinook wind and temperatures in the 60s throughout the '88 games and some of the ski events had to be cancelled.

[Robot_Arm]

@KennerTheGreat

The equestrian events had to be held in Stockholm (or at least, not in Australia) because Australian quarantine laws were too strict to allow foreign horses into the country.

I know why it was done. I just think that driving two hours to get to the skiing events seems kinda trivial in comparison.

@astorian

Lest we forget, the last Games held in Lake Placid were regarded as an unmitigated disaster by practically EVERYONE who was there (everybody excpet the US men’s hockey team)

Were they? I remember watching the Winter Games in 1980, and I’ve been to Lake Placid a couple times in the last eight years or so. The trail map at the ski area still shows where the Olympic runs were. There’s a great view from the top of the ski jump.

I like it there, but I remember thinking it was kind of a shame that the Olympics had outgrown the ability to ever be hosted by a mountain resort town again. Were the 1980 Games really that bad?

[fiddlesticks]

Not like Lake Placid was the last small city to host the games. Lillehammer is a town of 25,000 according to Wikipedia. Were those Olympics looked upon as a disaster as well? Who could hate the Norwegians?

[Muffin]

@Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus

The outdoor events are going to be at Whistler, two hours outside the “host” city–where today they’ve had to truck in artificial snow because they haven’t been getting any through the usual channels.

You have West Vancouver confused with Whistler. Snow is being trucked into the Cypress Olympic venue in West Vancouver. The Whistler Olympic venue has more than enough of its own snow.

[notfrommensa]

@YogSosoth

Does County limit count? Because LA has mountains, ski resorts, deserts, beaches, forests, and urban areas within it’s limits. You could have a Winter AND a Summer Olympics here!

Yet, they can’t keep an NFL franchise in the city.

[Rodd_Hill]

@Markxxx

I wondered about that when I heard Vancouver won the Olympics, I though it didn’t snow, or at least not much there. The thing I like about the Winter Olympics is they give smaller cities a chance at hosting an international event.

I’m sure the Canadians will do a good job though. To kind of hijack the thread what is the security like in Vancouver? Have they stepped it up through the city or do they plan to?

Right now, outside my office window, I can see a number of small rigid hull craft zipping up and down around a Navy tug; just like they’ve been doing for the last six months. Canada’s “secret” commando unit, JTF2, and a special RCMP unit have been practicing all manner of anti-terrorist scenarios; so in addition to the airport-style security at the Olympic venues, there will be the unseen-unless-needed special units.

We hosted the Torch on Day 2 of the run, and while I really have no interest in the Olympics per se, a chance to pimp out our lighthouse was too good to miss. Hey, we even made the front page of the Pittsburg Post-Gazette–the big time, baby!

[Asimovian]

@YogSosoth

Does County limit count? Because LA has mountains, ski resorts, deserts, beaches, forests, and urban areas within it’s limits. You could have a Winter AND a Summer Olympics here!

As much as we like to usurp San Bernardino County only when it is convenient for us, I don’t think that’s fair, here. I challenge you to name a ski resort in Los Angeles County.

[Asimovian]

@Asimovian

As much as we like to usurp San Bernardino County only when it is convenient for us, I don’t think that’s fair, here. I challenge you to name a ski resort in Los Angeles County.

Huh. I’m going to call myself out, here. I knew that Wrightwood was in SB County, but apparently Mountain High, the ski resort adjacent to it, is on the other side of the border. So I stand corrected: my apologies to YogSosoth, and here’s to the Winter Olympics in LA!

[YogSothoth]

@notfrommensa

Yet, they can’t keep an NFL franchise in the city.

We hate football! It distracts us from our other problems

@Asimovian

Huh. I’m going to call myself out, here. I knew that Wrightwood was in SB County, but apparently Mountain High, the ski resort adjacent to it, is on the other side of the border. So I stand corrected: my apologies to YogSosoth, and here’s to the Winter Olympics in LA!

I was going to say Big Bear but yours is good too! But they’ll have to be lucky to time the Winter Olympics to be between exactly the 4-6 weeks that are actually cold around here.

[Ike_Witt]

@Neidhart

There was no snow in Calgary either; IIRC they had chinook wind and temperatures in the 60s throughout the '88 games and some of the ski events had to be cancelled.

I was at the opening ceremonies and it was freaking cold. 2 days later a chinook did come through and I was sitting outside in a T-shirt.

[appleciders]

@Pleonast

Wait, what? Vancouver is in Canada? I always thought it was in upstate Washington. I mean, it’s not really cold enough there to be Canada, right?

Although I’m only half kidding. It’s very hard to underestimate the geographical knowledge of the typical American.

@garygnu

There is a Vancouver in Washington. Its closest mountain got blown up, though, so it took a hit in its ability to host Winter Games.

For those of you playing along at home, there’s a Vancouver, WA in the far south of Washington. Its nearest mountain is Mt. St. Helens, an active volcano which blew itself up twenty-odd years ago.

[audit1]

to go back to the original question of hve the Olympics gone off the rails? A sidebar

In August the 2010, the first Youth Summer Olymics will be held in Singapore.

In January 2012 the first Youth Winter Olymics will be held in Innsbruck, Austria.

The answer is yes the Olymics have gone off the rails

[Savannah]

@appleciders

For those of you playing along at home, there’s a Vancouver, WA in the far south of Washington.

And don’t get confused, and come to Vancouver Island, where I live, looking for Olympians.

[Rodd_Hill]

@Savannah

And don’t get confused, and come to Vancouver Island, where I live, looking for Olympians.

Although you can see the Olympics from here.

[Annie]

@Markxxx

To kind of hijack the thread what is the security like in Vancouver? Have they stepped it up through the city or do they plan to?

@DWMarch

I’ve also heard rumors that the City of Vancouver is using the extra security measures to justify a vigorous crackdown on the homeless, mentally ill, etc. There is absolutely no way the Olympic Village on False Creek is going to be low income housing after it’s all said and done. It will end up being another set of million-dollar condos just like all the rest of them in the same area.

Well, the panhandlers are still 3 a block downtown and the grocery cart guys are maintaining their patrols, so the local indigent-y population hasn’t been sent to live on a farm in the country-yet. We still have a week to go. As far as other security measures, the only thing really apparent is they’ve replaced the garbage cans with translucent green baggies snapped over a basketball net type frame. They look like enormous female condoms.

My office is right downtown; the most fun I can hope out of all this is for is the chance to shove a Today show host into traffic.

(Cool your jets, they’re closing the roads to vehicle traffic)

[Robot_Arm]

@appleciders

For those of you playing along at home, there’s a Vancouver, WA in the far south of Washington. Its nearest mountain is Mt. St. Helens, an active volcano which blew itself up twenty-odd years ago.

I think Mt. Hood might be closer.