Nordic skiers got a preview of the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Nordic venue Saturday, Dec. 15 as the facility is now open to the public for the first time.

The official opening will be in January, once all of the buildings are complete, but the site itself is ready to go according to John Aalberg, director of Nordic Sports for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Organizing Committee (VANOC).

“We’ve been there for a couple of weeks now getting ready for public skiing on the recreational trails, and we have a small competition on Saturday which will be the first test (of the competition trails),” said Aalberg.

The number of trails open this weekend will depend on snowfall, but based on the forecast for more than 50 cm in the Callaghan Valley he believes there will be nearly 30 km of trails open. The facility has four groomers to maintain those trails.

At first the ticket sales and ski rentals will be handled out of temporary buildings, but the road and parking lots are complete