May 14, 2008 (Callaghan Valley, BC) – The sun was breaking through the clouds on a May morning in Whistler, British Columbia, but the meticulously groomed trails in the Callaghan Valley, venue for the cross-country events for the 2010 Olympic Winter Games, were still hard. And virtually the entire roster of both the U.S. and Canadian cross-country World Cup and Continental Cup teams – about to wrap an 11-day camp that involved skiing in the morning and dry-land exercises in the afternoon – appreciated the conditions.

As the sun stirred the day’s first breezes, the U.S. women lazily cycled the oval of the newly finished Biathlon stadium, warming up for their daily training regimen. Meanwhile, in the equally new cross-country stadium, members of both teams’ sprint squads drilled with coaches, dissecting starts and other minutiae of winning form.

Americans Andy Newell and Torin Koos, and Canadians Chandra Crawford, Sara Renner and Devon Kershaw were particularly impressive. Other team members were out on the trails in packs with various coaches, occasionally steaming through the stadium, the groups sometimes passing each other. To an observer leaning over the wooden rails circumscribing the track, it was like watching human thoroughbreds being put through their paces. Happy thoroughbreds.

“This is great,” said Canada’s Sara Renner, waving her hand at the stadium and surrounding terrain “we’re having a lot of fun.”

Outside the U.S. wax room (naturally lodged in a different building from the Canadians’) U.S. coach Pete Vordenberg enthused about the camp and the venue. “It’s been a great 10 days,” he said. “The facility is really awesome, it’s been freezing up at night, and the people here have bent over backward for us.”

The camp is the first of two the Americans will hold at Whistler this off-season. Like their Canadian counterparts, the goal is to work out technique flaws with individuals while getting a large group of athletes to train together and push each other on a daily basis. It’s also part of an ongoing process by both teams to become familiar with the Olympic venue and gain “home course advantage” for 2010.

Canadian head coach Dave Wood, who has been here on several occasions this season for various events, had his own take. “The facilities are great for sure, but what I’m happiest about is that we’re two years out [from the Olympics] and everything is pretty much ready,” he enthuses. “Contrast that with Torino where it wasn’t finished until the last minute.”

Because of the isolation of the Callaghan facility, located some 18km south of Whistler, it’s also a perfect place to enact the shroud of secrecy regarding various pieces of new equipment being tested. Canadian Paralympic Coach Robin McKeever smiled the smile of the knowledgeable when he said “Yeah, we’re testing a few new things… some sleds… some electronics.”