Hurry Up and Wait!

Tough day on the mountain today. Arrived at 5:15 to go up the Gondola for 5:30 - everyone was holding - didn't go up until 7:00. A bit foggy at the bottom of the mountain but the top was clear. About 15 cm of snow had fallen over night in the upper part of the course - it all had to be cleared!!

Our crew was sent to reset all the safety netting that we had taken down the afternoon before. We spent 4 hours getting the netting set up and straight. The girls were supposed to have their training run at 1:00 - giving the course crew lots of time to get the snow off. At 11:00 the girls had an inspection of the course (side slip to take a look at the track they want to take down the course) - we got to stand on the side and watch them all come down - really exciting! We then had lunch and waited around for further instructions - at 12:30 the decision was made not to have the training run - the course was too soft at the bottom. We went down to mid-station to have a break inside - went back up to the top to see if they needed our crew - nothing more free to go at 3:00.

There was to be a briefing at the Weasel House at 4:30 - I stayed around at Creekside and went over. The Weasel Workers are a group of people that work at races in Whistler and have become famous for their hard work and ability to pull off a race under the harshest of conditions. They have a large tent (as big as 2 gyms) with free beer and wine! To me this is the Mecca of ski racing - it was really exciting to be there and feel a part of an amazing tradition of running ski races. There were some speeches thanking the volunteers for all their hard work.

We watched the start of the Opening Ceremonies - I went to the Southside Deli (those that know Whistler know this famous spot) for dinner and watched more OC, then took the shuttle to the village where I watched more OC on the big screen in the main square, then back to the Murdoch's for the end of the OC. I loved the show - didn't like the torch lighting so much!

Tomorrow the ladies aren't going to run - all the focus will be on getting the Men's Downhill race off - it most probably won't happen as the bottom is way too soft and unsafe for the athletes. I get to sleep in to 6:30 as I don't have to report until 8:30!

Forecast for Whistler:

Tonight - 5 to 10 cm of snow

Saturday - 10 to 15 cm of snow

Sunday - 15 to 20 cm of snow

Monday - sunny with cloud

The ladies are supposed to race Super Combined on Sunday - since they haven't had a training run and won't have one tomorrow - there won't be a race on Sunday. Races may all be pushed off until the beginning of the week when the weather is better - depending upon whether the bottom gets harder.

Tomorrow is the the first day of the Olympics - everyone is really excited and working super hard to get the races to run - Mother Nature just isn't co-operating but when she does they will be amazing!

Link to the pictures in the slide show: http://picasaweb.google.ca/janeluv2ski/JaneSOlympicAdventure4?feat=directlink

Glad everyone is enjoying my blog! Keep the comments coming!