Going to the Olympics?

[Redliner]

Sadly, I won't be able to go to the Olympics this time around. For those who are, all I can say is enjoy it because it's a hell of a great experience. I was lucky enough to hit 3 events during the 88 winter games in Calgary: Men's luge, Ladies GS, (at Nakiska) and the Closing Ceremonies at McMahon. I was only in junior high at the time but it's definitely something I'll remember for the rest of my life.

Oh, and women's curling isn't so bad.

[dubc80]

Yeah, I'll be there. I leave this Thursday and will be there until after the closing ceremonies.

As I mentioned in the other thread, I'm a event host volunteer (usher, crowd marshall, ticket taking, access control, etc) at Canada Hockey Place. Excited to pick up my uniform and accreditation passes this Friday.

Going to be working most of the hockey games. Should be an awesome atmosphere. I'll be taking some "behind the scenes" pics and will post them as the games go on.

I also have tickets to the womens gold medal hockey game and the closing ceremonies.

Good thing I dont mind crowds. It's gonna be a bigtime gong show!

[FiftyBelow]

I wish I could afford tickets... nonetheless I'm just going to take in the atmosphere and enjoy the night life with some friends who are visiting from Calgary.

[valo403]

I'm pretty bummed to be missing these games, would've made for 3 in a row and 4 overall.

I've had great experiences at the Olympics, had breakfast with Ross Rebagliati (sp?) at a food court McDonald's in Salt Lake, climbed some sort of light rigging in order to stash coats at the Heineken house in Torino, with the help of a bunch of random people I'd just met drank a bar in Torino out of every drop of vodka they had, fell asleep in a train/car and woke up in Milan/Vegas (well actually a town called Beaver, UT but I went back to sleep until Vegas), and just generally had a blast. And that doesn't even include going to the games.

Even if you don't have tickets, if you can find a way to get out there for even a night it's worth it.

[Prototype]

Originally Posted by Redliner

Oh, and women's curling isn't so bad.

Except for that tall dark haired one. Looks like one of the Kids In The Hall...

[Save Us Sutter]

Hey flylock, where does one keep their eyes peeled?

Just keep searching on their site, or is there going to be some kind of announcement?

[fleuryisgod]

I am pretty pumped to be heading down as well, will be there from the 16th-19th. By the way if anyone happens to have any tickets for those dates then send me a pm, would love to be able to actually go to an event.

[valo403]

Originally Posted by Tyler

I'm hearing some ridiculous rumour that its going to take 4 hours to get into some of the events.

I better not be waiting outside GM Place for 4 hours to watch a hockey game.

I heard similar rumors before heading to both Salt Lake and Torino, in neither case were there any sort of major delays. Show up a bit early just in case, but unless there's some reason to believe those rumors you'll probably be fine.

[Cactus Jack]

Canada - US men's hockey! I leave next thursday!!

[Slava]

^ That isn't the olympic curling team. That team is PEI and they didn't win the Scotties tournament either. The oympic team is from Calgary and is skipped by Shannon Kleibrink.

[dj_patm]

Me and 2 friends were going to go head out but the people we were staying with decided that they no longer want to help us out for free (which is fair, we didn't know them that well) and decided to rent there basement out for $1000.

We tried finding some where to stay but there's nothing within our budget close then Langley...

We were planning on hitting whistler and watching some of the alpine events but yeah. Hanging out at the different "houses" would've been cool too!

You guys are all really lucky!! Enjoy yourselves!!

[FurnaceFace]

Originally Posted by dj_patm

We were planning on hitting whistler and watching some of the alpine events

The way I read this is you don't have tickets for the events. If this is the case, you won't get near Whistler as the only way you can get out there is if you are a) staying on the hill or b) have tickets to the events up there AND have tickets on the Olympic Bus Network...which you can only get if you have event tickets.

As far as I can tell, you can't just wander up the highway, park, and hang out in Whistler or Cypress.

--------------

I'm leaving Friday morning, will be there for the first week. I have Cananda Norway, Finland Belarus and women's moguls. Lots of stuff going on in the city so it should be fun just to hit up the country pavilions and such.

Oh, and if anyone has Whistler event tickets for the evening of the 15th and needs bus tickets get in touch. I sold my luge tickets so I don't need the bus tickets (pair for $50).

[SebC]

There are tickets available now... trying to decided if I want to buy more or not. How much curling do I want to watch, and how much do I want to spend.

[Winsor_Pilates]

Originally Posted by Hustle

Hey Winsor,

Have you heard anything about any major road closures in downtown? I live right by Livecity Yaletown and i'm guessing that entire area is going to be a complete mess!

Unfortunately i've been out of town for the last 3 weeks and I miss the first 5 or so days of the games... stoked to get back into town and soak up the atmosphere. I know a ton of people are protesting the games.. but I guess i'm a sucker and all for the excitement it's going to bring.

Don't think there's any closures in that area. Haven't seen any yet and I'm down there often and as recent as last night (Homer & Pacific). They have shut down some meter parking around DT, but not in Yaletown that I've seen. Streets such as Alberni have meter spots no longer available for use.

Here's a list of the posted closures.

1st Ave (Quebec to Wylie) Nov 1 2009 to Mar 31 2010

Columbia St (between 1st and 2nd) Jan 15 - Mar 24

Cook St (1st to lane south of 1st) Jan 15 - Mar 24

Crowe St (between 1st and lane south of 1st) Jan 15 - Mar 24

Manitoba St (between 1st and 2nd) Jan 15 - Mar 24

Ontario St (between 1st and 2nd) Jan 15 - Mar 24

Quebec St (1st and lane south of 1st) Jan 15 - Mar 24

Quebec St (Terminal to 2nd) Jan 15 - Mar 24

Abbott St (Expo to Pacific) Jan 4 - Mar 14

None have inconvenience me much at all, and I drive around a fair bit, especially into DT. The only one that effect my normal driving routes is Quebec being closed near science center, so you have to take Main St. if heading back on terminal towards DT or 2nd Ave (to Kits/False creek etc.)

Also noticed signs today saying Cambie bridge will be closed Wednesday and Friday.

Originally Posted by dj_patm

Me and 2 friends were going to go head out but the people we were staying with decided that they no longer want to help us out for free (which is fair, we didn't know them that well) and decided to rent there basement out for $1000.

We tried finding some where to stay but there's nothing within our budget close then Langley...

We were planning on hitting whistler and watching some of the alpine events but yeah. Hanging out at the different "houses" would've been cool too!

You guys are all really lucky!! Enjoy yourselves!!

http://www.papajohnspizza.ca/Locatio...1&c=CA&z=&s=BC
you're welcome

[flylock shox]

Originally Posted by Save Us Sutter

Hey flylock, where does one keep their eyes peeled?

Just keep searching on their site, or is there going to be some kind of announcement?

Yup, just keep your eyes on the site. They aren't making any official announcements for these mini-releases. There was a release for curling this morning that is now mostly spent for example. Also, make sure you have already signed up for an account so you can act quickly as most good deals vanish fast.

Besides waiting for available tix from VANOC, also check out the fan-to-fan market for people selling tickets for below the market value. I've got tickets to four events and bought all of them through the fan-to-fan market, and all of them only cost me face value.

[valo403]

Originally Posted by FurnaceFace

The way I read this is you don't have tickets for the events. If this is the case, you won't get near Whistler as the only way you can get out there is if you are a) staying on the hill or b) have tickets to the events up there AND have tickets on the Olympic Bus Network...which you can only get if you have event tickets.

As far as I can tell, you can't just wander up the highway, park, and hang out in Whistler or Cypress.

--------------

I'm leaving Friday morning, will be there for the first week. I have Cananda Norway, Finland Belarus and women's moguls. Lots of stuff going on in the city so it should be fun just to hit up the country pavilions and such.

Oh, and if anyone has Whistler event tickets for the evening of the 15th and needs bus tickets get in touch. I sold my luge tickets so I don't need the bus tickets (pair for $50).

Whistler's advertising says that the mountain is 80% open (or something like that) during the games, so you can get onto the mountain to ski with a lift ticket. Are they restricting lift tickets to only those staying on the mountain?

[St Loomis]

I will be heading to van city on the 20th. Going to four events

Mens Hockey CAN v USA
Mens Aerials Final
Womens PGS Snowboarding
Mens PGS Snowboarding

Should be a lot of fun, I am so pumped!

[d_phaneuf]

I don't think DT is getting closed for driving until friday, and then its pretty much done for 2 weeks

UBC is all ready out of wack, the bus route has been completely rerouted and will be until the end of march I think they said

[Super Nintendo Chalmers]

Who wants to go to a city full of Canucks fans?

[FurnaceFace]

Originally Posted by valo403

Whistler's advertising says that the mountain is 80% open (or something like that) during the games, so you can get onto the mountain to ski with a lift ticket. Are they restricting lift tickets to only those staying on the mountain?

Ok, I wasn't totally correct, you can't self drive to Whistler though, you need to grab a shuttle bus so it's likely not something you'll just be able to suddenly decide "it's a nice day, lets go to Whistler."

http://www.whistlerblackcomb.com/olympics/index.htm

The Creekside base is home to the Olympic and Paralympic Alpine Events. As such, this area will be the most affected by Games preparation and execution.


The Creekside Gondola will be closed to the public from February 1 to March 1 and will provide priority loading to Paralympic athletes and officials through to the end of the Paralympic Winter Games on March 21. Fortunately, the popular Peak to Creek run will remain open throughout the Games as a ski-out.


While the Creekside Gondola is closed to the public during the month of February, Creekside residents and guests will be able to access the lifts in Whistler Village or the Blackcomb Base by a dramatically enhanced BC Transit system.



From February 1, bus service hours increase ten-fold, and the number of buses will increase from 39 to 135, servicing Whistler, Squamish and Pemberton. Bus service will run 24 hours a day and will extend to include neighbourhoods that currently do not have bus service. The goal is to have bus stops within 400 metres of 90 per cent of the homes in Whistler. More information regarding bus service can be found