Calgary 1988 Olympic Winter Games - Mount Allan (Nakiska) Ski Area Canada


In 1982, Ecosign was commissioned by the Alberta government to identify a site capable of hosting the Alpine Skiing Competitions for the 1988 Calgary Winter Olympics. The search area included 22,000 square kilometres of the Canadian Rockies to the west of Calgary. Our analysis led to the selection of the eastern facing slopes of Mount Allan, now the Nakiska Ski Area which is the closest mountain ski area to Calgary and hosts over 250,000 annual skier visits.
Ecosign’s technical analysis of this large area included such criteria as suitable terrain to meet the FIS technical specifications for the competition courses, proximity to Calgary, potential viability as a commercial recreational ski area following the Games and access to infrastructure to support the project. After Ecosign completed an evaluation of dozens of sites, the Government of Alberta selected Mount Allan as a suitable site to host all the alpine skiing competitions. Subsequently, Ecosign won a public tender to design the Ski Area Master Plan for Mount Allan. We designed the Men’s and Women’s downhill pistes in close cooperation with Mr. Bernhard Russi of the International Ski Federation. After the Winter Games, the site was renamed the Nakiska Ski Area, and has grown into a popular commercial ski area and winter sports training centre for national ski teams.
