Another light day on the hill! Reported ready to go at 9:00 AM - headed up the Gondola about 10 AM. The groomers were on the hill removing the close to 20 cm of snow that fell overnight. It was too great a task for the course crew to do. You can never have loose snow on a race course or hill during a downhill or super g race as the racers can catch their skis and fall - all loose snow needs to be removed and the track where the racers go (marked by blue lines) has to be really hard! The reason that the Men's Downhill hasn't run or the Ladies training runs have not been done is that the snow is too soft at the bottom and there has been too much snow up the mountain. Soft and loose snow are very dangerous. The groomer removed all the loose snow making the hill very smooth. Some groomers are called Winch Cats because the hill is too steep and the groomer has to use a winch cable to raise and lower it up steep pitches.
Due to the act that the groomers were working on the hill it is too dangerous for course crew to be working on the hill at the same time. The groomer couldn't go up the start ramp so 5 crews were assigned the task of clearing the snow off the start ramp with shovels and rakes - see above picture! It was an amazing sight to see the sea of blue "Smurfs" shoveling and raking together! After we cleaned up the start ramp our crew was assigned to fixing fencing - we spent a couple of hours picking up fencing to get them lifted off the new snow. Then it was lunch time!
After lunch we reported to "dispatch" - the spot at the top of the course where the jobs are distributed. Not much to do so we went for a "free run" (actual skiing) - added bonus is that our accreditation acts as a ski pass for the entire time we are we are at the Olympics (regular price to ski for a day at Whistler/Blackcomb is $93)! Imagine being at Whistler - almost 20 cm of new snow and not being able to really ski - we all jumped at the chance to actually go skiing! However, when on course crew we don't carry our poles (need to use our hands to do stuff), we didn't care - we all headed down to Harmony chair through the powder and then down through the saddle without ski poles - we had a blast - it was amazing! The sky was clear and the snow was light - a beautiful day at Whistler!
After returning to Dispatch and waiting for awhile we were told that we were free to go for the day. We need to report at 5:30 AM tomorrow - big day ahead to get ready for the Ladies training run. Since the men and women share the same finish area and last 200 M they can't run the course at the same time. In order to give the Ladies a run they will complete the top half of the course before the men race at 10:30 and the second half of the course when the men's race is complete. Not a perfect way to complete a training run but under the circumstances all the organizers can do.
I headed to the Weasel House after skiing to get my official Weasel Jacket! I ran into an old friend - Hugh McDonald who is working as a steward on the ladies course. I got home just after Canada won it's first Gold Medal!!! Amazing! Hopefully tomorrow more medals will be added to the medal count after the Men's Downhill - Manny, Robbie, Eric and Jan - Go Fast!!
I am really excited for tomorrow - the air will be electric with excitement for the Men's Downhill - people will be streaming into the stands, spectators will be cramming for a view of the course along the side of the run (where permitted) and the course crew will be really proud of themselves for doing an outstanding job! Can't wait to watch the Ladies train - I have worked 4 days and only seen 2 athletes on course - I really want to see them race!
I am off to bed - have to be up at 4:00 AM - can't wait to share with all of you the events of tomorrow!
Look at my slide show pictures with captions:
http://picasaweb.google.ca/janeluv2ski/JaneSOlympicAdventure5?feat=directlink
Due to the act that the groomers were working on the hill it is too dangerous for course crew to be working on the hill at the same time. The groomer couldn't go up the start ramp so 5 crews were assigned the task of clearing the snow off the start ramp with shovels and rakes - see above picture! It was an amazing sight to see the sea of blue "Smurfs" shoveling and raking together! After we cleaned up the start ramp our crew was assigned to fixing fencing - we spent a couple of hours picking up fencing to get them lifted off the new snow. Then it was lunch time!
After lunch we reported to "dispatch" - the spot at the top of the course where the jobs are distributed. Not much to do so we went for a "free run" (actual skiing) - added bonus is that our accreditation acts as a ski pass for the entire time we are we are at the Olympics (regular price to ski for a day at Whistler/Blackcomb is $93)! Imagine being at Whistler - almost 20 cm of new snow and not being able to really ski - we all jumped at the chance to actually go skiing! However, when on course crew we don't carry our poles (need to use our hands to do stuff), we didn't care - we all headed down to Harmony chair through the powder and then down through the saddle without ski poles - we had a blast - it was amazing! The sky was clear and the snow was light - a beautiful day at Whistler!
After returning to Dispatch and waiting for awhile we were told that we were free to go for the day. We need to report at 5:30 AM tomorrow - big day ahead to get ready for the Ladies training run. Since the men and women share the same finish area and last 200 M they can't run the course at the same time. In order to give the Ladies a run they will complete the top half of the course before the men race at 10:30 and the second half of the course when the men's race is complete. Not a perfect way to complete a training run but under the circumstances all the organizers can do.
I headed to the Weasel House after skiing to get my official Weasel Jacket! I ran into an old friend - Hugh McDonald who is working as a steward on the ladies course. I got home just after Canada won it's first Gold Medal!!! Amazing! Hopefully tomorrow more medals will be added to the medal count after the Men's Downhill - Manny, Robbie, Eric and Jan - Go Fast!!
I am really excited for tomorrow - the air will be electric with excitement for the Men's Downhill - people will be streaming into the stands, spectators will be cramming for a view of the course along the side of the run (where permitted) and the course crew will be really proud of themselves for doing an outstanding job! Can't wait to watch the Ladies train - I have worked 4 days and only seen 2 athletes on course - I really want to see them race!
I am off to bed - have to be up at 4:00 AM - can't wait to share with all of you the events of tomorrow!
Look at my slide show pictures with captions:
http://picasaweb.google.ca/janeluv2ski/JaneSOlympicAdventure5?feat=directlink
I saw the 'sea' of blue on the hill too via T.V.... it really was an amazing sight. I was looking for your gloves with the yellow on them to see if I could see you. Keep the posts coming, enjoying it very much.
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Devin and I just watched your slideshows and love it! Human-power is incredible. Go Ladies Go!
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