Early Game Plan
The proactive Seattleite’s guide to enjoying a super-sliding, high-flying, great-dining time at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.
By Kathryn Robinson and James Ross Gardner
Whistler Creekside
Fast and Furious
Speed fiends unite—at Whistler Creekside, home of the quickest sports in the Winter Games. Watch downhillers descend the mountain in an 80-mile-per-hour blur, slalom and giant slalom skiers wend through tight turns, and Super-G racers wend through tight turns and go 80 miles per hour. Unlike most of the 2010 venues, this site is accustomed to hosting international sporting events. Considered one of the best ski resorts on the planet, Whistler Creekside regularly features World Cup competitions. Expect world records to be shattered on the Dave Murray run, site of the men’s downhill—and to be just as awestruck by the speed at which tickets sell.
Washingtonians to cheer
Giant slalom skier Will Brandenburg (Spokane), slalom skier Libby Ludlow (Seattle), downhiller Scott Macartney (Crystal Mountain), slalom skier Paul McDonald (Bellevue)
Where you’ll eat
The food at the raftered, raw-beamed RimRock Café (2117 Whistler Rd, Whistler Creekside, 604-932-5565; www.rimrockwhistler.com) reliably shines, from the house-baked bread through to the carefully prepared, cracking-skin duck breast and bourbon-sauced buffalo spareribs, all the way to what can only be called freakishly fine desserts. Meanwhile, Jordan’s Crossing (2131 Lake Placid Rd, Whistler Creekside, 604-966-5705; www.nitalakelodge.com), the glossy off-the-lobby restaurant at the brand new Nita Lake Lodge is a chill wood-and-glass room overlooking sparkling Nita Lake and a menu of inventively tweaked Continental warhorses—celeriac-and-leek ravioli with apple-frisée salad, and a sensational rack of lamb brilliantly paired with a cauliflower pakora and lemon crème fraîche.
Published: September 2008
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