British Columbia Canada Blog

If you are looking for a great way to relax after an exciting day on Whistler slopes then try out Scandinave Spa in Whistler.

Situated just north of Whistler Village, B.C., engulfed in a spruce and cedar forest on the edge of Lost Lake and Spruce Grove parks, this unique spa overlooks incredible mountain vistas and valleys. Invigorate and cleanse your body and mind in the hot baths and refreshing waterfalls, melt away with a relaxing massage, and breathe in the invigorating country air.

Scandinavian baths are a year-round spa activity worth trying. This unique bath experience cleanses the skin, improves physical and aerobic conditioning and produces and increases sense of well-being. To enjoy the full benefits of the baths, alternate the body warming with refreshing cold water rinses and relaxation sessions 3 or 4 times. The whole experience should take about 2 to 3 hours. For the ultimate relaxation, complete the experience with a Swedish, Hot Stone, or Thai Yoga massage.

The packages at Scandinave Spa in Whistler start at about $50/person. For more information, visit: Scandinave Spa in Whistler

Plan your next Spa vacation in BC with BC Travel Guide

Spring Break is in full swing and am sure you are ready to get out with your kids and have some spring family fun. Spring Break Sno Jam is being held at Mt. Washington, British Columbia from March 8th 2010 till March 13th 2010. You can look forward to:

Dairyland Crazy Cards tomorrow (March 11th 2010) - Kids can play poker-style scavenger hunt between the Alpine Lodge and the Hawk Chair.

This is a Poker-style scavenger hunt in the Green Zone!  There will be 4 stations to visit.

1) Guest Services

2) The Ozone

3) Bottom of Platter Lift

4) Top of Green Face

You get a card at “registration” at Guest Services at 12pm.  Complete the task at each of the other stations – receiving a playing card at each – and bring them all back to Guest Services at 3pm, where you will perform one last task to get your last card.  Then play your poker hand to win a prize!

Timeline:

11:30 am – tent and table to back of Guest Service Ticket Kiosk

12pm – Scavenger Hunt starts at Guest Services

3pm – meet back at Guest Services with your 4 cards to complete the last task and get your 5 card “poker hand” which you will play for prizing.
 

Old Dutch Mini Olympics on Saturday, March 13th 2010 - You can participate in your very own Winter 2010 Mini-Olympic games  at Mount Washington Alpine Resort.

Take part in this Olympic-style obstacle course to bring home the “gold,” and some delicious potato chips from Old Dutch! This one is open to all, Kids and Kids at heart! The obstacle course will be on the Elk run, behind Mtn Tek, from 11am - 3pm.  Come join in the fun!

So, pack your bags and head to Mt. Washington!

Apart from the Olympic Games, there will still be plenty going on in Whistler Blackcomb. Here’s a brief rundown of the events you can attend in Whistler this year.

March 1st – 8th 2010 Winter Pride 2010

March 1-8 are the official dates for GayWhistlers WinterPRIDE celebrating its 18th anniversary. This is going to be one anniversary party you will not want to miss come and experience Whistler just after the Olympics and take in the excitement of being on the world stage.

For more information, check out: Gay Whistler

March 13th – 21th 2010 Winter Paralympic Games

From March 12-21, 2010 Whistler plays host to some very talented and extraordinary athletes at the Paralympic Games. Come cheer on your favorite athlete as they go for Gold. The Paralympics are known to be more intimate than the Olympics and just as exciting!

April 9th – 11th 2010 The Whistler Cup

THE WHISTLER CUP is an international ski event organized by the Whistler Ski Club . Having completed its  17^th year, Whistler Cup has grown to become the largest and most important ski race in North America, and internationally, for athletes aged 11 – 14 years. It is held under the auspice of FIS, the international governing body for alpine skiing. With over 390 young athletes from 20 countries, Whistler Cup brings together children from many different cultures, from around the world.

April 16th-25th 2010: Telus World Ski and Snowboard Festival 2010

Related Links:

Whistler City Guide

Top Whistler Pubs

Telus World Ski and Snowboard Festival

Drive to Whistler, British Columbia

Springtime in British Columbia is beautiful and we welcome it with open arms. To celebrate Spring in Victoria, British Columbia, Spinnakers Gastrobrewpub and Guesthouse (located on 308 Catherine St., Victoria, BC) invites craft beer lovers to share a day of extraordinary cask conditioned beers in its third Cask Festival, to be held on Saturday, March 20, 2010. 

The guests will be able to sample at least 20 different one-of-a-kind cask-conditioned beers made by brewers from Vancouver Island, the Lower Mainland, Washington and Oregon at this event.

Place: Spinnakers Gastrobrewpub

Date: Saturday, March 20, 2010

Time: 11:30am - 5pm

Price: $35/person and  $30 for CAMRA members*
*Get a $5 discount on admission by joining the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) at their website and click on “join”
Ticket price includes souvenir glass and first 3 drink tickets (drink tickets $1 afterwards)

For Ticket info. call: 250- 384-2739

WRA Wildlife Rescue Association of BC is hosting free Earth Fest family nature festival on Sunday, April 25^th 2010 at the Burnaby Lake Pavilion in Burnaby, BC located on 6871 Roberts St, from 11am to 3pm. This is Wildlife Rescue Association of BC’s 2nd annual free, fun-filled nature event where families can come and enjoy without worrying about admission fee. The Earth Festival 2010 will offer unique opportunities to people of all ages to have fun while learning about the local environment.

You can really look forward to: - chickadee and mason bee nest boxes to make and take home - local stewardship booths- snacks and refreshments- invasive plant removal ideas- exciting wildlife-themed games and crafts- community group exhibits - nature tours (with scavenger hunts!) - Mukutano drumming and singing group performers/ live music by local artists- raffle draws and much moreSo, connect with nature during Earth Festival 2010 in Burnaby! For more information, visit: Wild Life Rescue Association Events

Yesterday, I was in front of the TV set way before the start of downhillskiing event with high hopes on 5 Canadian athletes participating in the event.  The weather was great and Whistler creekside looked fantastic. It surely was a wonderful day for:

Switzerland’s Didier Defago who took gold by clocking 1:54.31. Norway’s Aksel Lund Svindal, last year’s overall World Cup winner, took silver with a time of 1:54.38 and American extrovert Bode Miller was third in 1:54.40. 

Alas! No medal for Canada in Men’s downhill skiing inspite of several predictions claiming that Manuel Osborne will do Canada proud. Manuel Osborne grew up racing for the Whistler Mountain Ski Club. His first World Cup podium came in November 2006 at the Bombardier Winterstart men’s downhill in Lake Louise, Alberta, Canada. His first victory was at the Downhill of Kvitfjell in March 2009. He currently has three World Cup wins in 2009, recently winning the downhill in Val Gardena, Italy.

Well, all we can say to our downhill skiers is better luck next time.

Related articles:

Vancouver 2010: Medal predictions

Winter Olympics 2010: Men’s downhill skiing

Okanagan Athletes in Vancouver 2010
 

I have been glued to TV since morning watching fascinationg Winter Olympics 2010. I was hoping to watch Men’s Downhill Skiing today but turns out that it has been postponed till Monday (Feb, 15th 2010). Why? Well, the weather in Whistler hasn’t been great. The successive days of warm weather and rain have created slushy conditions on the course at Whistler Creekside.

A race that offers some of Alpine skiing’s biggest names — including Didier Cuche of Switzerland and Bode Miller of the United States — was moved from the opening weekend lineup by Vancouver Olympic organizers and the International Ski Federation early Saturday morning, more than 7 hours before its scheduled start of 11:45 a.m. local time. The officials had already postponed the first women’s event, the super-combined.

The lowest temperature overnight Friday and through Saturday was expected to be 36 degrees. Unseasonably warm weather at Whistler and Cypress Mountain has prevented the Games from gaining much early momentum. Training schedules have been limited at Cypress, site of freestyle skiing and snowboarding events, and Whistler, where Lindsey Vonn’s pursuit of three or more gold medals is stuck in the slush.

I am praying for heavy snowfall tonight!

Holiday Inn is one of my favourite hotels to stay while traveling across North America and am happy that Intercontinental Hotels Group (IHG) have finally opened one in Surrey, British Columbia. This brand new 76 room property will be a convenient stop for tourists and visitors in the area.  Situated in the heart of Surrey, the newly built 49,000 sq. ft. hotel is accessible to Vancouver by highway and is close to the USA border, Vancouver International Airport, Abbotsford International Airport, Ferry Terminals and the Trans Canada Highway.  The property is within walking distance of shops, restaurants, Fraser Downs Race Track & Casino and is just minutes from several businesses including Surrey School Board, Telus and International Paper Industries. Tourist attractions such as Downtown Vancouver, Historical Fort Langley and several golf courses are also a short drive from the hotel.
 
Some of the features of Holiday Inn, Surrey include:

-Best-4-Breakfast menu, featuring signature items such as Cinnamon Supreme French Toast™ and Skillet Inspirations™.

  -Kids 12 and younger eat free at Holiday Inn when ordering from the kids’ menu in the hotel restaurant and accompanied by a dining adult.

-Room Service

- Standard Guest rooms with double queen or king-sized beds

- Deluxe suites with a mini kitchenette, a sitting area with a sofa bed and lounge chair, cable television, hairdryer, coffee maker, iron and ironing board. 

- Guestrooms with a work desk and ergonomic chair, data ports and in-room check-out capabilities. 

-Complimentary high speed Internet access and free wireless is also available. 

- An On-site fitness centre, indoor swimming pool and restaurant.
 
 The Holiday Inn & Suites Surrey is owned and managed by Kartar Business Operations Ltd., under a license agreement with the InterContinental Hotels Group and is located at:

 17530 – 64th Ave, Surrey, British Columbia V3S 1Y9.

Telephone: 604-576.8862; Facsimile: 604.576.8892.

For more BC lodging options, visit: BC Travel Guide Accommodations
 

Do you know that the German and Swedish teams that trained at Silver Star Ski resort in British Columbia won 12 medals during the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics? Many Olympic teams in the hopes of getting the same results are using the Okanagan  again to do their final pre-Games tune-ups on local cross-country ski trails.

Some of the participating athletes are from the nordic event teams of Norway, the Czech Republic, Russia and Switzerland. In all, eight Olympic teams totalling 100 competitors are training locally, injecting money into the economy and Olympic buzz into the region. One of the most popular venues is the Sovereign Lake Nordic Centre in the North Okanagan. The Norwegian biathlon team has been training there and at nearby Silver Star Mountain Resort for the past two weeks.

The region has been a popular training ground for nordic competitors for years. Most teams are staying at Silver Star for 10 to 16 days, resulting in $125,000 in total revenue for the resort. So, next time you ski in BC consider yourself lucky because you might be using the same trails which helped train Olympic athletes.

Other Vancouver 2010 Posts:

Transportation During Olympics 2010

Opening Ceremony Olympics 2010

Meet Vancouver Olympics 2010 Athletes

Tod Mountain Ranch located in Heffley Creek (near Kamloops), BC could be your next getaway especially because now they have reduced their prices for Spring 2010. Have a great horse back riding experience during your next BC vacation.

Tod Mountain Ranch is offering reduced rates on all dates in May & June. These savings represent around 15% off our usual summer rates. Check out their latest reduced summer rates at Tod Mountain Ranch Website.

Another exciting news is that they are offering Free transfers to the guests from Kamloops airport/ Bus station/ Downtown Hotel.  Also, they are advising guests about saving money on their vacation by keeping an eye on taxes. Here’s how:

The BC Government recently announced some tax changes which will affect travellers to BC after 1st July 2010. The current tax rate for ranch stays is 6.2% and this will increase to 12% for all bookings from 1st July. However, if you have already booked, or were planning your ranch vacation after 1st July, there is an opportunity to avoid this increase. Simply book and pay in full prior to 1st May 2010 and you will only be charged the current tax rate of 6.2%.