[2] Rolf Gerlofsen had surveyed the area in March 1957, and work on the biathlon tracks and facilities was undertaken and completed during the summer of 1958.
[4] Plans for the tracks were approved by the International Ski Federation's Knut Korsvold and Sigge Bergman, after which construction of the trails could start in the summer 1959.
Trial events were undertaken in 1959, in which it was found that mechanical track preparation was more efficient than manual, given that there was at least 45 centimeters (18 in) of snow.
McKinney Creek Stadium was located immediately off California State Route 89, 19 kilometers (12 mi) south of Squaw Valley.
Two 6 by 15 meter (20 by 48 ft) Quonset huts with a total sixteen rooms were built for competitors for waxing, resting and changing.
A larger 6 by 20 meter (20 by 64 ft) Quonset hut was built for the press, which included typewriters, teletype machines, telephones and a darkroom.
Coordination of the shooting station was undertaken by four groups of twenty men from the United States Air Force Rifle School.
[7] Germany's Georg Thoma won the ski jumping event and succeeded at defending the gold through the 15 kilometer cross-country race.
The Soviet Union's Dmitriy Kochkin finished second after the jumps, but was relegated to fifth after the cross-country event, with Norway's Tormod Knutsen taking silver.
[3] The race was won by Klas Lestander of Sweden ahead of Finland's Antti Tyrvainen and four Soviet biathletes.