Mount Washington Alpine Resort might seem off the beaten path for Olympic glory, but this Island mountain has a surprising Olympic pedigree. In the lead-up to the 2010 Vancouver Winter Games, Mount Washington was transformed into a world-class training base for Olympians. The resort upgraded its Nordic facilities – building a high-performance sports centre, a certified biathlon range, and stadium-style ski trails – all because its elevation and snow mimicked Whistler’s Olympic venues. The result? Over 400 Olympic athletes, coaches and staff from 16 countries came to Mount Washington to practice before the Games (skimuseum.ca). This quiet Vancouver Island hill suddenly found itself hosting international teams in disciplines like cross-country skiing and biathlon, taking its place on the Olympic map.

Local Talent on Island Slopes

But the Olympic connection isn’t just about visiting teams – it’s also about local talent. Mount Washington has helped hone the skills of several Canadian Olympians. A generation of athletes who grew up skiing and riding here went on to represent Canada on the world stage (timescolonist.com). Notable names include:

• Allison Forsyth – An alpine skier from Nanaimo who trained on Mount Washington’s slopes and raced for Canada at the 2002 Winter Olympics (she was a pioneer for Vancouver Island skiers on the national team).
• Spencer O’Brien – A snowboarder from Courtenay who learned to shred at Mount Washington and became a world champion in slopestyle, later competing for Canada in the 2014 Olympics (timescolonist.com)
• Cassie Sharpe – A freestyle skier from Comox who honed her halfpipe skills in the Mount Washington terrain park and won Olympic gold in women’s ski halfpipe at the 2018 PyeongChang Games (timescolonist.com). (Her brother Darcy Sharpe and fellow Islander Teal Harle have also trained on the mountain and competed in Olympic freestyle events.)

These athletes often credit the local ski programs and terrain at Mount Washington for giving them a head start. The community has actively nurtured this Olympic dream – in 2003, local sport leaders founded the Vancouver Island Mountain Sports Society to support emerging ski and snowboard athletes, and they later opened the on-mountain High Performance Centre in 2011 as a training and lodging facility for athletes (thecollectivemags.ca). The payoff has been evident: by the late 2010s, multiple Island-born athletes reached the Olympics, and Cassie Sharpe’s triumph on the podium was a crowning moment (thecollectivemags.ca).

From hosting 20 nations’ Olympians on its trails to seeing hometown kids grow into Olympians themselves, Mount Washington’s Olympic legacy is one of pride and possibility. Casual visitors riding the lifts might never guess it, but this friendly local ski hill has played a part in Olympic history. It continues to inspire new generations – the next time a youngster zips down a Mount Washington run, you might be watching a future Olympian in the making, carrying on the mountain’s unique legacy.