Whistler Sliding Centre of the Whistler 2010 Sports Legacies which operates the Sliding Centre, Whistler Olympic Park, and the Whistler Olympic and Paralympic Village. The goal of this organization is to promote the legacy of the 2010 Winter Olympics and 2010 Winter Paralympics, promote healthy lifestyles and tourism in the British Columbia province, and offer revenue for the maintenance of the three facilities. On 12 February 2010, hours before the opening ceremony for the 2010 Winter Olympics, Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili suffered a crash during a training run exiting out of turn 16. Kumaritashvili was injured when he flew off the track and
Whistler Blackcomb is located from Vancouver International Airport. Microsoft Windows XP is codenamed "Whistler" after this ski resort, as many Microsoft employees skied at this resort during its development. Also, Windows Vista is codenamed Longhorn after the valley that runs in between the two mountains and Windows 7 is codenamed Vienna or Blackcomb The valley area between Whistler and Blackcomb was first surveyed and documented in 1858 by Hudson's Bay men looking for an alternate route into the Cariboo area further north. Although little-used at the time, the route would later become one of the many paths used during the Gold Rush