The same ski and snowboarding runs the world’s top athletes are using to train for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games are open to you at Nakiska, a family-friendly Canadian Rockies ski resort near Calgary.

Check out Travel Alberta ski and snowboard vacations and read on to discover how you can get in on Olympics action this year without spending a bundle. Nakiska is enjoying a phenomenal season, what Resorts of the Canadian Rockies spokesman Matt Mosteller describes as “train loads of deep, dry snow.”

Experience Olympics

The Nakiska mountain resort was the site of the 1988 Calgary Olympic Winter Games and it continues to be a training ground for the world’s top snow athletes, as well as a recreational playground for skiers and snowboarders like you. It’s less than a scenic 50-minute drive into the Canadian Rockies from Calgary and its international airport.

I’m based in Calgary – the gateway city to the Rockies -- so Nakiska is the easiest of Alberta’s six major ski resorts to access. I can be in the car after lunch and within an hour, I’m on the slopes.

So if you’re visiting Calgary and want a quick taste of the Olympics, you can also ski and snowboard at Canada Olympic Park in the city’s northwest. COP is also a site of the 1988 Games where the world’s best luge, bobsleigh, snowboard and freestyle athletes still train and compete, and there’s an Olympics museum you can explore.

Then head on to Nakiska, where this month, the Olympic Torch being run across Canada passes through Calgary, Nakiska and nearby Banff National Park on its way to the February 2010 Games. And if you want to go to the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games, you’re about an hour’s plane ride away or a day’s drive. Nakiska’s ski season goes until mid-April.

Enjoy Cruiser Heaven

Nakiska is one of my favourite mountains for groomed cruiser runs, though you can find great pockets of powder in the upper glades. The elevation of 7,415 ft. (2,260 metres) provides you with great mountain views all the way down. Upgrades this year make it even more appealing for everyone from families with beginners to hard-core skiers and riders.

New this year at Nakiska is more snow making capacity and grooming capabilities, a new Gold Chair Express Lift that gets you to the top in less than five minutes, and expanded glades skiing.

Top Picks for Families

Nakiska’s layout is great for families, because the chairs are divided into Bronze, Silver and Gold, with the accompany runs off the chairs generally corresponding to beginner and intermediate, and then expert. Every run brings you back to the bottom face of the mountain and the day lodge, making it almost impossible for family members to get lost.

Within a few minutes of the slopes is the Delta Lodge at Kananaskis, which has a pool and an Aveda spa. Good news for families – the spa allows ages 12 and over. I’ve used the spa – sports therapy after skiing -- and the Lodge has a great outdoor hot pool that connects to the indoor pool that kids love.

Outdoors, you can try dog sledding or snowshoeing. Cross country ski at another nearby Olympic facility, the Canmore Nordic Centre, or beyond the centre and just a few minutes up the road you can hike during winter to frozen waterfalls.

My top pick is a helicopter tour with nearby Kananaskis Heli-Tours. I’ve done a 20-minute tour of the mountains and it’s a blast.

Top Picks for Hard Core Skiers and Riders

The new Monster Glades off the highest-elevation Gold chair are the number one addition this year for skiers and riders who like to push their limits, opening up a new part of the mountain.

New black diamonds and cuts that allow you to switch from one run to another in the trees allow you to discover powder and still get heart-pumping pitch on faster runs. I like black-diamond Legacy for an adrenalin rush, it’s used for Olympic and World Cup training.

Top Picks for Nightlife

Visit Alberta’s only casino in the Canadian Rockies, Stoney Nakoda Resort and Casino, about a 15-minute drive from Nakiska. I’ve stayed at the resort, upped my poker skills with a class, played the slots and there are dinner shows, too. My hotel room had a mountain view, and since Kananaskis Heli-Tours is less than a minute’s walk, I got the true bird’s eye view of the mountains.

Check Travel Alberta ski holidays for more options.