There is the apocryphal story of the official at the 1976 summer Olympics in Montreal who, noticing that the flame in the cauldron had been doused by a rainstorm, simply relit it with his cigarette lighter.
Nowadays, not only can one not imagine smoking paraphernalia of any kind coming within a javelin's throw of an Olympic site, the flame is given somewhat more sacred protection. The challenge of keeping the flame perpetually aglow becomes even more Olympian in nature given the long and circuitous trajectory it will follow to its ultimate destination in Vancouver to open the Games on Feb. 12.
The torch run from sunny Athens to wintry British Columbia is a particularly daunting affair in a country that spans such a vast expanse from coast to coast to coast. But, thanks to corporate sponsors, including a bank and a soft drink company that ponied up for the elaborately organized and promoted run, the torch has so far wended its way on a somewhat pin-ball like course from its arrival in Victoria, B.C., in late October, to its current route on the return home-stretch through the interior towns and cities of the host province. Runners have encountered the occasional protest and rough weather, but nothing has succeeded yet in extinguishing the flame.
Canadian Olympic officials say their goal has been to make the flame as accessible as possible to the greatest number of citizens, most of whom live far, far away from B.C. and will not actually get to see any of the athletes in action at competition venues in and around Vancouver, and at the skiing and sliding sites north of the city at the Whistler-Blackcomb resort.
A bit of torch trivia of local interest is that the instrument itself is the creation of global transportation giant Bombardier, which otherwise makes train cars in Plattsburgh. The torch, equipped with a main flame and a back-up one — no need for a cigarette lighter, apparently — is of a sleek design the company says was "inspired by the contours of Canada's winter landscape." Bombardier turned out 12,000 of the torches, which bearers can purchase after their run for about $300 U.S., although some people are unloading them on ebay for considerably more.
When the flame came through my neighborhood of Quebec City back in early December, there was an uncommonly miserable downpour that must have given the shivers to British Columbia Premier Gordon Campbell. He had flown east for a big ceremony marking the arrival of the flame in the Quebec capital. The inscrutable West Coast weather has been a worry of Vancouver organizers since the city was awarded the games in 2003. (More local trivia — Lake Placid won the 1980 Games over a bid from Vancouver, which withdrew before the final vote.)
Officials have developed various scenarios to deal with weather conditions that might be expected in that part of the world in February, from heavy rain to balmy sun to blizzards. As of this writing, for example, Cypress Mountain, located west of Vancouver, the site of snowboard, freestyle and ski-cross events, is more mud- than snow-covered, with crews working feverishly to stockpile snow from higher elevations.
Of course, few Winter Olympics have gone without some kind of weather shenanigans. Indeed, at Canada's last winter hosting experience, Calgary in 1988, just about all outdoors sports were delayed when warming Chinook winds blew through the Olympic sites, softening ice and snow and buffeting athletes. Still, with British Columbia setting records last summer for scorching temperatures (while the East was colder and wetter), wacky weather remains a serious concern for Games organizers.
Incidentally, local wags were quick to read symbolism into Campbell's attendance at Quebec City flame ceremonies. Having been trounced by Salt Lake City in its bid for the 2002 Games, and out-muscled by Vancouver to be Canada's contender for the 2010 Games, Quebec City has put together an exploratory committee to make a serious bid for the 2022 or 2026 Games. It's understood that three basic prerequisites for such a bid would be a brand new arena complex to replace the aging Colisee that was home to the Nordiques, a covered speed-skating oval, and a downhill ski run that's long enough for Olympic standards.
But that's far in the future, whereas the Vancouver-Whistler games are coming faster than a skeleton run. It's taken more than 30 years of local effort, billions of dollars of expenditures and thousands of people carrying it over 45,000 kilometers of Canadian terrain, but weather be damned, the Olympic torch is finally on its way to Vancouver.
Peter Black, is a radio broadcaster and writer based in Quebec City. He has worked on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, in Montreal as a newspaper reporter and editor, and as a translator and freelance writer.
