The Sea-to-sky highway is the main route from Vancouver to the Whistler ski resort, closed for the rest of the weekend.
The Transportation minister says that a 75 metre section of the highway covered by the giant VW-sized boulders.
They were blasting through the weekend to break up the rocks so they can move them out.
Amazingly, looks like no one was killed.
Description from the YT poster, the local media org:
"The road to Whistler just got longer.
Transportation minister Kevin Falcon said the Sea-to-Sky highway could be closed for up to five days following a massive rockslide that buried a stretch of road north of Porteau Cove under a pile of Volkswagen-sized boulders.
Video: Rob Kruyt
Writing: Matt Kieltyka
Editor: Mark Yuen
Additional footage: Global video/pooled "
5 Comments
KrupoThis narrow highway's vulnerability was one of the factors that the IOC was seriously questioning during the bid process.
Still, compared to the crazy Beijing smog, a wee little rockslide doesn't seem as bad... though isolating the two venues (the alternate route is like a 6 to 8 hour drive in a big detour/loop along a poorly maintained road) would definitely but a hamper on things.
Fingers crossed everything holds steady for 2010.
Poposays...I heard the entire Mozilla team got trapped in Whistler because of this, so they did the only reasonable thing:
They filed a bug report.
https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=448604
KrupoOh wow, thanks for the link, that's absolutely hilarious.
Some of my fav quotes:
Joshua Cranmer [:jcranmer] 2008-07-30 16:59:30 PDT
This is the tentative solution we came up with at lunch:
1. Take a bus down from Whistler to rock slide.
2. Get out of bus.
3. Walk over rock slide (may require additional walkways).
4. Get into waiting bus.
5. Get to Vancouver.
Those who drove themselves will have to take the long way.
Comment #7 Hasham 2008-07-30 17:01:15 PDT
We shall ride bears to Vancouver. Rocks can't stop bears.
Comment #8 Eric (Sheppy) Shepherd 2008-07-30 17:02:04 PDT
As long as we ride atop the bears instead of in their hungry bellies.
Comment #25 Tyler 2008-07-30 18:23:26 PDT
I am arranging for the 74 bears. However, it will be rather short notice, and
people are the best bait, so I am thinking of using IE developers, but they are
in short supply, due to this weird upstart browser with a very weird name
Fire...something, oh yeah, firefox.
Also running into issues with PETA.
KrupoUpdate, highway is open as of Saturday night.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080803.wrockslide0802/BNStory/National/home
Found a video of a bear that was wandering around the developers' hotel: http://www.videosift.com/video/Firefox-Developers-trapped-by-bears-at-Whistler
Amusing geek adventure.
siftbotMoving this video to Krupo's personal queue. It failed to receive enough votes to get sifted up to the front page within 2 days.
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