Courtesy Big White Ski Resort
The sunset as seen atop Big White in Kelowna, B.C. If the slopes here are good enough for aerial skier Steve Omischi, they’re probably good enough for you. If not, there’s also tubing.
Instead of hanging around the house glued to your TV set during the 2010 Olympics, why not schedule a winter getaway during which you watch the games but also try an Olympic sport? It would be fun to stay in the heart of the action at the Fairmont Chateau Whistler (fairmont.com/whistler), say, but Canada is a vast marshmallow world waiting to be explored. Most Olympic activities can be done at several locations; here's our top pick for each sport.
Freestyle Skiing/Ski Jumping
Big White
Kelowna, B.C.
It's not likely that you are an accomplished ski jumper or freestyle skier doing back flips with twists, but after getting in touch with your inner daredevil at Big White Ski Resort (bigwhite.com) you can boast that you graced the same slopes as aerial skier Steve Omischi, World Cup champ and Olympic-podium hopeful, who lives in nearby Kelowna.
With an uphill lift capacity of 28,000 skiers and riders per hour, Big White Ski Resort is B.C.'s second-largest resort. It features tubing and snowboard parks, skating pond and snowmobile rentals and trails. Moreover, it's celebrating the Olympic Games with its own mini-version, complete with opening and closing ceremonies, Olympic-sport activities (you can try curling on the pond, for instance) and daily medal presentations to participants.
In Kelowna (kelownatorism.com), check-out the town's new outdoor rink in Stuart Park and visit Mission Hill Family Estate for a bottle of its award-winning ice-wine.
Biathlon
Silverstar
Vernon, B.C.
When considering biathlon, which combines cross-country skiing and marksmanship, you can't - as in bowling, say - simply show up at a facility and give it a whirl. The sport, with its military roots and use of weaponry, is something folks train to do over time. To get a taste of it, however, head to Silverstar resort (skisilverstar.com) in Vernon (vernontourism.com), where many of the world's elite teams are training this winter to prep for the Olympics. Hit the resort's 60 kilometres of cross-country trails, and once your heart rate is up, add a target-shooting component - for example, throwing snowballs at a spot on a tree.
Silverstar has snowboard and tube parks, an outdoor rink, snowshoe tours and sleigh rides. Be sure to take a winter walk through Vernon's outdoor art gallery, Heritage Murals of Downtown Vernon (vernonmurals.ca). It has 27 murals, some as long as 300 feet and 40 feet high.
Luge, Bobsleigh, Skeleton
Canada Olympic Park
Calgary
One of Canada's top female luge athletes, Regan Lauscher, says you don't need a track to experience the thrill of a slider - she got hooked as a kid tobogganing in her hometown of Red Deer. However, if you want to experience the real thing, head to Canada Olympic Park (winsportcanada.ca), the premier location during the 1988 Calgary Games. On Feb. 13 and 14, the facility is opening the luge and bobsleigh tracks to the public, offering slides to those over 16 years of age. To book, call guest services at 403-247-5452 (no experience is necessary but there are some physical requirements to meet). Public bobsleigh rides are available through the winter and are listed on the website.
Visitors to Calgary can expect the usual big-city amenities with a bonus: The Calgary Mid-Winter Blues Festival (calgarybluesfest.com) runs Feb. 22-27.
Curling
Caledonian Curling Club, Tartan Club
Regina
Canada's first Olympic Gold medal in women's curling was awarded to Regina's Sandra Schmirler and her team at the 1998 Nagano Olympics, just two years before her death at age 36 from cancer. Considered the provincial sport of Saskatchewan, visitors to Regina can book ice time at Schmirler's home club, the Caledonian Curling Club (callieclub.com; 306-525-8171) or Tartan Club (tartancurling.ca; 306-522-1649), which offers ice time, private lessons and glow-in-the-dark curling (think disco ball, black lights, glow strips on the rocks and music.
Honorable mention goes to Quebec's Fairmount Le Chateau Montebello (fairmont.com/montebello), which has a curling club right on its property. Guests are invited to book ice time when they make a reservation or attend weekend curling clinics. Special family packages that include curling are available during the games.
Hockey
Deerhurst Resort
Huntsville, Ont.
With ponds, lakes and indoor and outdoor rinks flooding our nation, it's hard to think of a place you can't play a game of hockey in Canada during the month of February. However, Deerhurst Resort (deerhurstresort.com), in Ontario's Muskoka region, has more ice surface than you can shake a hockey stick at: It's home to the world's largest pond-hockey tourney, the Canadian National Pond Hockey Tournament, which brought together almost 300 teams over two weekends last year. Weather permitting, the upscale resort maintains up to 24 rinks on Peninsula Lake, and has its own zamboni. This swank winter wonderland also offers horseback riding, kid's pony rides, cross-country skiing trails and equipment rental, snowshoeing and tubing. A free shuttle whisks guests to the ski hill next door.
This is celebrity-studded cottage country, so expect to see fur and brand-name outerwear.
Skating
Rideau Canal Skateway
Ottawa
At 7.8 km long, the world's largest skating rink snakes its way through the heart of the capital, with more than one million skaters a year gliding over is its icy skin.
During Winterlude, Ottawa's famous frosty festival, which will be held on the three weekends between Feb. 5 and 21, the canal and surrounding venues swell with hundreds of thousands of tourists and locals taking in various activities - be sure to check out the masterpieces at the snow and ice-sculpture competitions.
Folks who resist stuffing themselves with beaver tails, a delicious fried dough pastry shaped like the distinctive appendage of our national animal at kiosks scattered along the canal, take advantage of the prix-fixe menus and wine pairings at the many restaurants participating in Taste of Winterlude.
Speed skating
Iqaluit Speed-Skating Club
Iqaluit, Nunavut
It's cold on Baffin Island. And in the month of February, it's usually dark, too. Still, the people of Iqaluit, the capital of Nunavut (nunavuttourism.com), are warm and sunny and the speed-skating club is one of the few such facilities in the country opening its doors to the public in February. Nunavut Speed Skating Club (nanuvutspeedskating.ca; 867-979-1226) is hosting a slew of events, including demonstrations, open practices where you can watch elite athletes train and free skating sessions for which you can rent speed skates or wear your own (hockey and figure skates are both acceptable).
The adventuresome family, looking for an epitome-of-winter destination steeped in Inuit culture, can partake in once-in-a-lifetime escapades such as dog sledding, cold-weather camping and hiking tours beneath the Northern Lights.
Snowboarding
Ski Morin Heights, Station de Ski Alta
Quebec's Laurentian heartland
The first Olympic gold medal for snowboarding ever awarded went to Canada's Ross Rebagliati, who despite his B.C. roots cites small resorts in Quebec as his favourite place to ride. Why? Back in the 1980s, when he learned to snowboard, snowboarders weren't allowed on chairlifts, so he and his pals had to climb local hills. Since then, of course, the sport has gone mainstream, but Rebagliati says that a lot of snowboard enthusiasts are using local hills or riding at small resorts.
Ski Morin Heights and Station de Ski Alta (laurentians.com) are two old-fashioned resorts nestled in the Laurentians, less than an hour from Montreal. After a day of boarding, Rebagliati suggests a trip to the city, on the grounds that Montreal best reflects the freedom-of-expression snowboarding culture. "It's the centre of urban snowboarding, too. So don't be surprised to see someone dropping off a rooftop or riding a stairway rail." Adding to the joy, Montreal High Lights Festival (montrealhighlightsfestival.com) runs Feb. 18-28.
Cross-country Skiing
Les Aventuriers
Charlo, N.B.
Charlo, a small town on New Brunswick's north shore, is home to Les Aventuriers Ski Club, where many elite nordic athletes train and compete.
Beautiful by day with its a frozen waterfall and its river views, the five-kilometre trail, the Serpentine, is lit up at night. Skiers can venture forth and explore other trails after dark, by moonlight or headlamp.
Nearby Heron's Nest Cottages (heronsnestcottages.com) offers cross-country skiing packages, alpine skiing at Sugarloaf Ski Resort and a Valentine's Day package that includes chocolates, wine, jetted tub, fireplace and king-size bed in your love cabin.
Alpine Skiing
Marble Mountain
Corner Brook, N.L.
If you ask the average Canuck to rattle off the best ski havens in the country, a resort in Newfoundland might not immediately make the list. But at Marble Mountain (skimarble.com), which boasts a puffy quilt of the white stuff, you can ski, cat ski (wherein skiers are taken to back-country terrain via a snow-cat machine) and kite ski (the skier is pulled by a kite, but mercifully his skis stay on the ground). Take advantage of Marble Villa at the foot of the mountain, with its ski-in/ski-out accommodations, or stay at the other hotels, motels and B&Bs nearby or in Corner Brook. The community of 20,000 celebrate the season with Corner Brook Winter Carnival (cornerbrookwintercarnival.squarespace.com), a 10-day festival beginning Feb. 19.
A few words from the carnival's theme song to get you going:
Winter is a world all of its own
That is why we say now don't stay home.
Source:nationalpost.com/
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