Ski and Snowboard News, Deals, and Events

Cypress Mountain, home of freestyle and snowboarding 2010 Olympic Games, swept up from the Games in order to re-open to the public March 9.

The resort is not scheduled to host events for the Paralympic Games, but instead opened its alpine slopes to skiing and snowboarding once again and re-opened its Nordic center for skiing. The Cypress Shuttle Bus is running again, too. However, the tubing park will remain temporarily closed pending needed fresh snow.

Upper elevation terrain at Cypress retained snow during the soggy, warm days of the Olympics that forced snow to be trucked in for the lower elevation competition venues. Portions of the Olympic courses are expected to be available to the public, and the resort is planning to build a temporary terrain park on Mt. Strachan to replace the stripped Lower Terrain Park. Ski outs are available on the lower portion of the mountain, but some parking lots are restricted for continued work dismantling Games venues.

Cypress skiers and riders, however, gained several lasting benefits from the Olympics that brought $23 million in improvements to the resort over the past several years. Capital investments from CNL Lifestyle Properties, owner of the resort, included a new high-speed chairlift, new ski runs, and the new three-story, four-season base lodge with a 600-seat cafeteria, a pub-style restaurant that seats over 200, and meeting space for 300 people.

Most of all, locals are thrilled for Cypress that the resort was home to the first Canadian Winter Olympics gold medal won on home soil. The resort now joins a handful of elite North American resorts allowed to fly the Olympic rings.

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