One might anticipate Sasquatch, cougar, black bear or summer marmot sightings at Mount Washington Alpine Resort.  But until now, the odds have been stacked against catching a glimpse of a Snow Leopard, and a confirmed sighting on the slopes would make headline news.  
 
Yet it’s about to happen – but in this case ‘The Snow Leopard’ is actually the very first alpine skier ever to represent the snow-less African country of Ghana at a Winter Olympic Games. 
 
Kwame Nkrumah-Acheampong wanted to be able to train close to the Olympic venues on the best possible snow conditions as he prepared for his greatest performance.  Boasting the deepest snowpack in Canada and recognized as a popular training venue Mount Washington on Vancouver Island was at the top of his list. Making tracks on Mount Washington seemed impossible until Tourism Mount Washington and a group of sponsors from surrounding communities got together to offer him a welcome as warm as his African homeland as he prepares for the final leg of his epic Olympic journey.
 
He arrives in the Comox Valley on January 31 carried forward by a wave of media excitement in both Africa and Europe, and will be staying and training hard on Mount Washington for approximately 10 days.

Kwame was actually born in Glasgow, Scotland, in 1974 when his father was studying for a masters degree at the city’s University.  But he grew up in Ghana before returning to Britain, and found work in the Sno!zone – an indoor winter sports arena at Milton Keynes - where he strapped on skis for the first time.

He is a sporting fanatic who has achieved some success with other sports including tennis, badminton and athletics. But it is his passion for alpine skiing that has driven him to achieve his and every sportsman’s dream: to qualify and compete in an Olympic Games.

Having narrowly missed qualification for the Turin Winter Olympics, Kwame’s dream was finally realized when he qualified for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

Coming from a nation without snow makes his participation and story particularly special. While he is not the first athlete from a tropical country to compete in a Winter Olympic Games, he is the first alpine skier ever to represent Ghana - and one of only a handful from the African continent. 

What makes his achievement even more incredible is that he only starting skiing just over five years ago on an artificial slope.  And, when not training on snow-covered Italian slopes at Val de Fiemme, he continues to practice indoors at the Snowdome in Hemel Hempstead, now his UK training base.

The Snow Leopard’s progress to the Games has already attracted global media interest, with Kwame being repeatedly named as likely one of the most popular ‘characters’ of the 2010 games.  Could this be history repeating itself in Canada – a sequel, perhaps, to the Jamaican bobsled team whose Calgary debut in the 1988 Olympics was recounted in the movie Cool Runnings?

In an interview with the BBC broadcast internationally, Kwame said he had come up against some skepticism from people when he first announced his ambition.  But that skepticism has turned to pride and a growing fan base as he becomes the first Ghanaian to ski in a Winter Olympics. "I think now people are going to sit up and say, OK, well he's done it this time, he's qualified and definitely we are going to see the Ghanaian flag in Vancouver," he said.

For further information please contact:
Sarah Nicholson
Manager, Tourism Mount Washington
sarah@tourismmountwashington.com
1 250 338 0226

Corporate Sponsors:
Tourism Mount Washington
Mount Washington Alpine Resort
Tourism Vancouver Island
Baxandall Ford, Courtenay
Kingfisher Oceanside Resort & Spa

Private & Community Sponsors
Dianne Hawkins,
Elizabeth Young, 97.3 The Eagle
Judith Round, Round2it
Colleen Dane, Comox Valley Record
Pam deBoer, Peak Accommodations
Clarice Coty, 1st View
Tracey McGinnis, Blinds, Billiards & Baubles
Anna Jorgensen, Anna Jorgensen Realty
Discovery Marine Safaris
Gordon Ross
Havers Design
ABC Printing