Work to build a brand-new 2010 Olympic Cross-Country, Biathlon and Ski Jumping venue in Callaghan Valley is on schedule. While the British Columbian wilderness has posed some very unique challenges, the project should be complete by this autumn.
The Nordic Competition Venue will be located just 14km from the Whistler Olympic Village. At the end of November, a new 10 km road will open to take skiers into the venue from the Sea-to-Sky highway that links Vancouver and Whistler. Travel to Vancouver is then estimated to take about 75 min.
 will be flanked by a large rock statue of Illinak, the 2010 Inukshuk logo to welcome visitors. The company manufacturing and installing the large in-run steel structures is used to build roller-coasters for the Disney Company. The first of the two so-called “super structures,†made of massive steel trusses measuring ca. 24 meters in length by eight meters in width, just arrived on-site a few days ago. The second will follow later in July.</p><p><center><img src=)
Work at the ski jumps
Near the ski jumps, the Day Lodge and Cross-Country stadium are coming out of the ground. The stadium is shaped as a horseshoe, with the skiers in view of the spectators for more than 800m. The technically challenging Olympic sprint loop is entirely in view from the main stadium bleachers. The two separate 5 km competition courses are quite different in design: while the classical technique course consists of long, straight ups and down, the free technique course is more twisty and turny, with quite challenging downhills. Most of the competition trails are already finished, while work continues to shape the spectator areas, ski test areas and warm-up loops. The first competitions will include Canadian national events, with the FIS World Cup races following in the 2008/2009 season.

