Really enjoyed my day off on Friday! Needed to catch up on sleep and laundry. I watched the race on TV - live is very special but seeing the whole race really is a better way to see it! Later in the afternoon I went to the Weasel Tent - a racer from New Zealand was there and got up to thank all the volunteers for their hard word - it was a really nice gesture.
Saturday was back to reality with a 4:30 AM load time up the Gondola. I was up a bit before 3 and in the Village at 3:30 AM - many late night revelers were out in the Village and many were trying to catch a bus home for the night. Unfortunately there was no bus for about half an hour - thought there might be a riot as a lot of the late night partyers (is that a word?) were trying to flag down any bus by standing in the middle of the road so the buses couldn't get through! Finally a bus came and we all got to where we needed to go.
Our first task of the morning was to carry big rolls of safety netting (B-Net) down the course to the lower section. These rolls are 9 feet long and weigh quite a bit - big strong guys can carry one over their shoulder - now add these factors - in the dark, super hard icy race course underneath and some very steep pitches - it isn't easy! Most were carried or dragged by 2 people.
We were fortunate to have our regular position for the Ladies Super G at Hot Air. Super G is considered a speed event but not as fast as downhill as there are more turns. Unlike downhill there is no training on the track prior to the race. Athletes have an opportunity to side slip through the course to take a look at it, they try to anticipate the tricky spots and where they need to be prepared for a difficult turn. Once again our crew was in charge of spreading fertilizer if the course got too warm. We took our place on the hill and watched all the girls go by during their inspection. We were there for a while before I realized that the large Italian man in front of us was Alberto Tomba - former Italian World and Olympic Champion in the late 80's and early 90's - he was gracious enough to allow Tracy and I to have a picture with him. Once again the skies were blue, the sun was shining and the track was hard and fast. Unlike the downhill Hot Air didn't pose a problem it was the turns in the middle of the course that were difficult for many of the girls (15 of 53 racers) causing them to miss gates and not finish the race. The light was also very tricky - they went from bright sunlight to dark a couple of times during the race - these transitions make it very difficult to see.
It was a tough day for the Canadian girls - for both Emily Brydan and Brit Janyk it could be their last big race in Canada and their last Olympics - nobody knows but they could retire at the end of the season. It was great to hear the crowd cheer them on as they entered the finish - Brit in 17th and Emily after her fall.
After the race our crew went up to have some lunch and enjoy the sunny weather. We then helped move equipment down the mountain to the new GS start and dispatch. The Chiefs of Course - Rick Hume and Andy Wolff thanked us for all our hard work. They said that the officials from FIS (the world governing body for Alpine Skiing) have never seen races run under such adverse conditions - so much snow and such a large change in conditions from the top to the bottom of the mountain - and have dealt with the conditions to run fantastic races. We were informed of our schedules over the next 3 days - Sunday load at noon, Monday off and Tuesday load at noon!! WOW the hard work is over!! Wednesday is the GS race and Friday is the Slalom - I fly home on Saturday.
I was fortunate to ride the lift with the Vice President of the Austrian Alpine Skiing Association - he said how pleased he was with the Olympics and how hard working and polite the volunteers are. He also said that he and his wife love Whistler!
At the end of the day I walked over to see the Creekbread Restaurant. When our family visited the Laracy family in North Conway, NH in November we went to Flatbread - a pizza restaurant in NC. Julie and Rich know the owners. I inquired if they had any restaurants in Canada - they said had just opened one in Whistler. I took a picture for Julie and Rich - then went inside to check it out. At the door I met one of the owners - Jim who is from North Conway and is the good friend of the Laracys. I told him that I was headed to the Weasel House and he gave me 30 coupons for free pizza to hand out to volunteers - giving back to the community is very important to their company. Giving out free food is a great way to make friends at the Weasel House!
The Weasel House had some very special guests. Nancy Greene was there to meet people and thank all the volunteers for such doing such a great job. She brought along 2 politicians - one from Quebec (not sure who he is) and Rona Ambrose. I was lucky to have a word with Nancy and have our picture taken. My connection with Nancy is through my father - he was the manager of the Canadian Team in 1962 and spent the winter in Europe with the ladies team - Nancy being a very young member of the team that year. A little later - Manny Osborn-Paradis arrived! My 14 yr old son Patrick is a huge Manny fan. He has a "Manny " ball cap that he sent with me to have signed - I have carried around the hat and a silver sharpie just in case he should arrive - today was the day! He was happy to sign it and I got a picture of Manny and I. Was I ever happy! A group of us had dinner at Creekbread (used the free coupons) and then headed for home. We were all tired!
This morning I slept until 7 AM and then worked on this blog. I will head down to Creekside to load at 12 - not sure what we are doing this morning. Whatever it is I don't mind -it is another day is paradise!
Technical difficulties regarding pictures - the slideshow above is from yesterday but the Picassa ones with captions are to come
Saturday was back to reality with a 4:30 AM load time up the Gondola. I was up a bit before 3 and in the Village at 3:30 AM - many late night revelers were out in the Village and many were trying to catch a bus home for the night. Unfortunately there was no bus for about half an hour - thought there might be a riot as a lot of the late night partyers (is that a word?) were trying to flag down any bus by standing in the middle of the road so the buses couldn't get through! Finally a bus came and we all got to where we needed to go.
Our first task of the morning was to carry big rolls of safety netting (B-Net) down the course to the lower section. These rolls are 9 feet long and weigh quite a bit - big strong guys can carry one over their shoulder - now add these factors - in the dark, super hard icy race course underneath and some very steep pitches - it isn't easy! Most were carried or dragged by 2 people.
We were fortunate to have our regular position for the Ladies Super G at Hot Air. Super G is considered a speed event but not as fast as downhill as there are more turns. Unlike downhill there is no training on the track prior to the race. Athletes have an opportunity to side slip through the course to take a look at it, they try to anticipate the tricky spots and where they need to be prepared for a difficult turn. Once again our crew was in charge of spreading fertilizer if the course got too warm. We took our place on the hill and watched all the girls go by during their inspection. We were there for a while before I realized that the large Italian man in front of us was Alberto Tomba - former Italian World and Olympic Champion in the late 80's and early 90's - he was gracious enough to allow Tracy and I to have a picture with him. Once again the skies were blue, the sun was shining and the track was hard and fast. Unlike the downhill Hot Air didn't pose a problem it was the turns in the middle of the course that were difficult for many of the girls (15 of 53 racers) causing them to miss gates and not finish the race. The light was also very tricky - they went from bright sunlight to dark a couple of times during the race - these transitions make it very difficult to see.
It was a tough day for the Canadian girls - for both Emily Brydan and Brit Janyk it could be their last big race in Canada and their last Olympics - nobody knows but they could retire at the end of the season. It was great to hear the crowd cheer them on as they entered the finish - Brit in 17th and Emily after her fall.
After the race our crew went up to have some lunch and enjoy the sunny weather. We then helped move equipment down the mountain to the new GS start and dispatch. The Chiefs of Course - Rick Hume and Andy Wolff thanked us for all our hard work. They said that the officials from FIS (the world governing body for Alpine Skiing) have never seen races run under such adverse conditions - so much snow and such a large change in conditions from the top to the bottom of the mountain - and have dealt with the conditions to run fantastic races. We were informed of our schedules over the next 3 days - Sunday load at noon, Monday off and Tuesday load at noon!! WOW the hard work is over!! Wednesday is the GS race and Friday is the Slalom - I fly home on Saturday.
I was fortunate to ride the lift with the Vice President of the Austrian Alpine Skiing Association - he said how pleased he was with the Olympics and how hard working and polite the volunteers are. He also said that he and his wife love Whistler!
At the end of the day I walked over to see the Creekbread Restaurant. When our family visited the Laracy family in North Conway, NH in November we went to Flatbread - a pizza restaurant in NC. Julie and Rich know the owners. I inquired if they had any restaurants in Canada - they said had just opened one in Whistler. I took a picture for Julie and Rich - then went inside to check it out. At the door I met one of the owners - Jim who is from North Conway and is the good friend of the Laracys. I told him that I was headed to the Weasel House and he gave me 30 coupons for free pizza to hand out to volunteers - giving back to the community is very important to their company. Giving out free food is a great way to make friends at the Weasel House!
The Weasel House had some very special guests. Nancy Greene was there to meet people and thank all the volunteers for such doing such a great job. She brought along 2 politicians - one from Quebec (not sure who he is) and Rona Ambrose. I was lucky to have a word with Nancy and have our picture taken. My connection with Nancy is through my father - he was the manager of the Canadian Team in 1962 and spent the winter in Europe with the ladies team - Nancy being a very young member of the team that year. A little later - Manny Osborn-Paradis arrived! My 14 yr old son Patrick is a huge Manny fan. He has a "Manny " ball cap that he sent with me to have signed - I have carried around the hat and a silver sharpie just in case he should arrive - today was the day! He was happy to sign it and I got a picture of Manny and I. Was I ever happy! A group of us had dinner at Creekbread (used the free coupons) and then headed for home. We were all tired!
This morning I slept until 7 AM and then worked on this blog. I will head down to Creekside to load at 12 - not sure what we are doing this morning. Whatever it is I don't mind -it is another day is paradise!
Technical difficulties regarding pictures - the slideshow above is from yesterday but the Picassa ones with captions are to come
Jane!!!! We were away for a few days so I've not had a chance to read your blog - I can't believe how much catching up I have to do!!! XOXO Elaine
ReplyDeleteI love this photo of you and Nancy Greene - because of the story that comes with it - the connection to your Dad. This should go up on your wall of fame!
ReplyDelete