| Our 4-hour whirlwind tour provided by our | | | | world's only indoor refrigerated track where |
| local expert Jocelyne Morrison from Time Out | | | | luge, bobsleigh and skeleton athletes |
| for Touring took us into Alberta's second | | | | practice the ever-important push start |
| most visited attraction outside of the | | | | techniques. All the tracks feature multiple |
| Rockies: Canada Olympic Park, visited every | | | | cameras and interval timing mechanisms that |
| year by more than 1.3 million people. This is | | | | allow the athletes to analyze their |
| the flagship site of the XV Olympic Winter | | | | push-start technique moving from frame to |
| Games, which were held in Calgary in 1988. It | | | | frame in intervals of a fraction of a second. |
| is located just 15 minutes from downtown on | | | | Many foreign teams come to this facility to |
| the west side towards the Rocky Mountains. | | | | practice their push-start techniques. The Ice |
| What makes Canada Olympic Park unique is that | | | | House The Ice House features some interesting |
| it continues to function as a multi-purpose | | | | statistics: - it is 143 m along (almost the |
| competition, training and recreation area | | | | length of one football field) and four |
| that is available year round to athletes as | | | | stories high - nine kilometers of steel |
| well as the general public. During the | | | | piping is used to cool the three tracks - |
| winter, almost 300,000 skiers and | | | | tracks are kept at a constant temperature of |
| snowboarders visit the park. It also houses | | | | -2 to -3 degrees Celsius - a unique monorail |
| the second largest snow academy in the | | | | system automatically returns the bobsleigh |
| country, making lessons and programs | | | | and skeleton sleds to the push-start area |
| available to people of all ages and | | | | while allowing for continuous training - a |
| abilities. During the summer, Canada Olympic | | | | vide system incorporates standard video and |
| Park turns into mountain biking facilities | | | | the latest DVD playback technology. After our |
| with more than 25 kilometers of trails, an | | | | visit to the Ice House we drove up the hill |
| obstacle course, trials park and facilities | | | | past the Olympic Bobsleigh Track which |
| for BMX bikers and freeride stunts. We | | | | includes 14 twists and turns, the place where |
| started off with the Olympic Hall of Fame and | | | | the Jamaican Bobsleigh Team made their first |
| Museum which houses a whole variety of | | | | Olympic appearance and won the hearts of |
| Olympic-themed exhibits and paraphernalia. | | | | spectators all over the world. It is still |
| This is the only Canadian museum devoted to | | | | used as a Word Cup circuit venue for |
| the Olympic Games in Canada, and it is the | | | | bobsleigh, luge and skeleton events. Our next |
| largest in all of North America. Exhibits on | | | | stop was the 90 meter ski jump tower - |
| two floors chronicle Canada's participation | | | | incidentally the highest point in Calgary and |
| at the Olympic Winter Games since their | | | | today, as the weather was clearing up, we |
| inception in 1924. A particularly fascinating | | | | started to get a great view of the downtown |
| exhibit are the 20 of the 31 Olympic torches, | | | | area. Jocelyne explained that with today's |
| dating back all the way to the 1936 Olympic | | | | new ski jumping techniques, the 90 m ski jump |
| Games in Berlin. The Blood, Sweat and Cheers | | | | can no longer be used since skiers are now |
| exhibit pays tribute to Canada's Olympic | | | | able to jump 120 m and more and there would |
| Medal winners at the Salt Lake City Winter | | | | not be enough space for them to land safely. |
| Games in 2002. The flags displayed in the | | | | Nevertheless, riding the glass elevator up to |
| museum and in the Plaza represent all the | | | | the observation level of this tower and |
| nations that competed in the 1988 Olympic | | | | peering down the ski jump is an awesome |
| Games in Calgary. Key highlights of the | | | | experience. Jocelyne explained that Canada |
| Museum are a reproduction of the bobsleigh | | | | Olympic Park is also an archeological site |
| used by the Jamaican bobsleigh team in the | | | | where remains have been found that indicate |
| 1988 Olympics (the film "Cool Runnings" was | | | | that this hill used to be a buffalo jump, a |
| based on this story), an original hockey | | | | place that native tribes used to hunt |
| jacket from 1956 which inspired the 1988 | | | | buffalo. Many of the Canadian Olympic |
| Olympic attire, and medals for all 12 sports | | | | athletes who did so well at the recent 2006 |
| that were held in Calgary in the 1988 | | | | Torino Olympics actually train at Canada |
| Olympics. Snowboarders love the Superpipe, | | | | Olympic Park, and this year's success of |
| opened in 2002 and the only pipe of its kind | | | | Canadian Olympic athletes bodes well for the |
| in Alberta, with walls that are at least 15 | | | | 2010 Vancouver Olympic Games. |
| feet high. It is also used for training | | | | |
| Canadian athletes to compete at international | | | | Susanne Pacher is the publisher of a web |
| and Olympic competitions. Our guide Jocelyne | | | | portal for unconventional travel & |
| also took us to the Icehouse which is the | | | | cross-cultural connections. |