Sustainability in Action: Building Trails for Future Generations
Sustainability in Action: Trailblazers
The world’s best Nordic athletes are coming to Whistler. The challenge is to make sure the kids next door come too.
When building recreational trails in the Callaghan Valley, the intention was to provide an Olympic and Paralympic venue, as well as a place where kids and adults could go hiking and cross-country skiing long after the Olympics were over.
“From the beginning we wanted the Whistler Nordic Venue, in the Callaghan Valley, to be much more than an outstanding Olympic and Paralympic venue,” explained Aalberg, Director of the Whistler Nordic Centre. “We wanted it to be sustainable in every way – financially, environmentally and socially. We wanted this to be a place for all people, not just high performance skiers.”
To achieve this goal, the Nordic venue team had to become trail-blazers. They needed to build beginner and intermediate trails to complement the high performance double black tracks. And they wanted to create paths of communication and collaboration, to tread lightly, in a valley loved and used by many.
The plan, working with the Lil’wat Nation construction firm Resource Business Ventures (RBV), in conjunction with Demidoff Construction, was to develop approximately 24 kilometres of recreation trails that would be used long after the last Olympic and Paralympic skiers crossed the finish line.
In December 2007, Aalberg’s goal became a reality. More than 12 kilometres of recreation trails at the Whistler Nordic Venue were opened for kids, adults and seniors – two years before Games-time competition.
The remainder of the trails are scheduled for completion by winter 2008.
The world’s best Nordic athletes are coming to Whistler. The challenge is to make sure the kids next door come too.
When building recreational trails in the Callaghan Valley, the intention was to provide an Olympic and Paralympic venue, as well as a place where kids and adults could go hiking and cross-country skiing long after the Olympics were over.
“From the beginning we wanted the Whistler Nordic Venue, in the Callaghan Valley, to be much more than an outstanding Olympic and Paralympic venue,” explained Aalberg, Director of the Whistler Nordic Centre. “We wanted it to be sustainable in every way – financially, environmentally and socially. We wanted this to be a place for all people, not just high performance skiers.”
To achieve this goal, the Nordic venue team had to become trail-blazers. They needed to build beginner and intermediate trails to complement the high performance double black tracks. And they wanted to create paths of communication and collaboration, to tread lightly, in a valley loved and used by many.
The plan, working with the Lil’wat Nation construction firm Resource Business Ventures (RBV), in conjunction with Demidoff Construction, was to develop approximately 24 kilometres of recreation trails that would be used long after the last Olympic and Paralympic skiers crossed the finish line.
In December 2007, Aalberg’s goal became a reality. More than 12 kilometres of recreation trails at the Whistler Nordic Venue were opened for kids, adults and seniors – two years before Games-time competition.
The remainder of the trails are scheduled for completion by winter 2008.
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