Kelly Vanderbeek visits Weasel House!

Our Last Day!

Beadraich - Sadness prevails as we spend today saying goodbye to new friends, and a new love called Whistler Mountain.

Yesterday Woodsy and I spent the day skiing with our hosts, Elly and Pat. They took us over some bumps, and through powder, including a small amount of glades skiing. All new experiences that sufficiently tested our skills. We then enjoyed some time with at the Weasel House with our new friends, and met Kelly Vanderbeek, a Gold Medallist from Torino.

Today, Woodsy and I both fighting the Weasel Cough, ventured up to do some turns with my cousin who is a RCMP posted to Whistler Mountain for the Olympics. Bryan has many years experience skiing out here and took us for a few turns, until Woodsy went home for a nap. Bryan and I continued to look for powder stashes and cruising runs.

With tired legs we made our way to the Gondola, and I checked out for the last time. In to see Leah at the accreditation and check-in house where I received my thank you gift from Vanoc.

One heck of a good meal.

Beadraich - Here is a photo of the cellar at Rim Rock, the restaurant that we had the pleasure of dining at tonight. It certainly made the top 10 best meals list.

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Blackcomb and Glaciers!

Beadraich - Today was my first time on a glacier, as Woodsy and I ventured onto the Horstman Glacier on Blackcomb Mountain. Now this photo was taken from an overlook, looking down the mountain.

Whohoo!!

Woodsy - Beadraich and I just found out that neither of us have to work tomorrow.  Most of the Men's Alpine Crews have the day off.  So...we are technically done with our volunteering duties.  I told my crew chief that I would stop in on Thursday or Friday to say good bye etc.
Yesterday we worked, met Michael's cousin at the Weasel House and then went for dinner at Creek Bread again.  We were home in time to watch Virture/Moir win gold.  It was excellent!
Today we skiied Blackcomb with an old neighbour of mine, Neighbour Dave.  We went on a tour with a Mountain Host.  It was a great tour, went up to 7th Heaven which was fun!  I have decided I like Whistler better.  We are going to Rim Rock tonight for dinner.  It is supposed to be a really good restaurant.
Gotta run, I typed this blog post while on the gondola!!
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Goofing off!

Beadraich Photo - a view of the Roundhouse, as well as Whistler and the various peaks in the background I think a few of the names are Brandywine Mountain, Mount Kee, and Powder Mountain.


Beadraich Photo - Harmony Chair, this photo is from near the start of Pika's traverse, and shows the top of the Harmony chair looking out over the ridges.

Beadraich - Today was interesting. With my Crewchee (Crew Chief) having gone back to Calgary where he lives and works, along with 4 of our crew, it has left what little communication we've had, very confusing. Yesterday I was instructed to report to Jim, a section chief who was responsible for the entire top section of the race course. Jim communicated clearly what needed to be done, and me, and the two other remaining members of my crew quickly sorted it out, and got the start area ready for a race.

After the race, I was be loaned out to a crew on fence duties. When I went looking for them, there was a cute steward guarding the gate, and after flirting with her for a moment or two, a spectator had an accident in a tight section of trail, and we blocked the trail to await the crew, and of course the Ski Patrol. My crew never showed up, I guess the decision was changed regarding fencing so, i went and skied.

Today, after signing in, with no crew to meet up with, and no instructions on where to report, or who to report to, I went looking for Jim or anyone to report to, and I just couldn't find them anywhere on the back bowls of Whistler. Today was a perfect photo day!

Woodsy and I are off tomorrow, so we will ski early and maybe late depending on the snow, and then go off exploring before our special treat - Rim Rock for dinner!

Busy Busy

Woodsy - Wow! Things have been very busy! Let me give you a run down of our last couple of days.
On Thursday we worked and then had a "family" dinner with our Whistler family. There were 11 of us! Graydon made a yummy feast.
On Friday we went free skiing on Whistler. It was "best skiing day ever"! As you saw previously from Beadraich's photos. We went with a Mountain Host, Bob. It was so much fun. After that, we went to Roland's (a pub in Creekside), raced home, showered and went to the Village to visit with my neighbour Holly's sister, Laura who lives in Squamish. We listened to the Corb Lund Band while we visited with Laura and Kaia, her gorgeous dog. Then we went to Trattoria with Graydon and our hosts. It was our little thank you to our hosts for opening their wonderful home to us. They are awesome people!
On Saturday, we both worked and then went to Citta for dinner with Beadraich's cousin. We watched the Gold Medal presentation for Jon Montegomery. Once again, there were tears in my eyes during Oh Canada.
Today, once again, we worked. Everyday is fun here but today was even more fun. At one point early this afternoon, my crew chief pulled 4 of us aside and said that he had a special mission for us. He wanted us to take the Peak Chair to "ensure all was well at the Peak and he expected a full report". We were so thorough, we did it twice. In other words, we went free skiing for about a hour or so. It was funny because all 4 of us are from Ontario. It was gorgeous! After work we headed to the Weasel House and then the Southside Diner for dinner. It has been amazing to meet so many people from so many different places. But it has also been great to meet people from our backyard. We have met several people who ski in Collingwood every weekend, just like us. We are definitely going to try to keep in touch with them!
Tomorrow is another day of work. We have the day off on Tuesday and we are going to ski Blackcomb. We are heading to Bob Sleigh on Wednesday afternoon. It should be lots of fun.
Sorry I haven't posted in a while but we have been really enjoying our time in Whistler during the Olympics. Now we are getting to the point where we are trying to figure out how to cram in everything we still want to do before we leave!
Thanks for all of your messages.

Photos from a day of skiing!

Beadraich Photo - Looking out over the back of either Symphony or Harmony chair.


Beadraich Photo - Black tusk to your left, taken from the very top of Whistler, just after getting off of the "Peak Chair"


Beadraich Photo - Corduroy! That wonderful feeling of a groomed trail on a crisp day.


Beadraich Photo - Looking into Whistler Bowl from the top of the "Red Chair". Top left you will see the peak chair, and to the left is the saddle.

We've been absent!

Beadraich - I'm sure our absence has been noticed, at least I hope that someone noticed that we hadn't posted anything in a couple of days, other than a picture. Woodsy and I have been busy with lots of events going on, even though it seems we don't do much at times, we still keep crazy hours.

I've learned that course crew work is for expert skiers, something I'm not. I've also learned that even though I'm comfortable with most tasks involving fencing, the actual race course maintainance work is something that I have very little understanding of yet. However, today, I had the opportunity to work under the tutelage of Jim Long. Jim seems about as gruff as someone who has worked in the oil fields and even on an oil Rig off the coast of Newfoundland can get.

Now, for the really exciting stuff. Woodsy and I took some time yesterday to free ski. With a day off, and a few more coming along soon, we are looking forward to skiing some more. The terrain looks endless, the runs bottomless, and yesterday the ski a shade of blue that seemed unmatchable. you can guess that we enjoyed our day of skiing.

The view from the top coming soon.

Hot chocolate break.

This is our view.
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Woodsy's research rocks.

Creekbread pizza! :-)
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Women's Downhill finally completed

Beadraich - Today was a day of once again realizing the dangers of careening down an iced mountain slope at speeds of around 140km/h. A skier was airlifted off of the race course during today's Women's Downhill, and watching the crash on TV showed how important the job that course crew plays in the safety of the sport. it was B-netting that she was slowed by, and eventually stopped just short of the A-netting.

Our crew met up for a 8am load, and Rob our normal "Crewchee" was off to Vancouver to watch some hockey so we had the pleasure of being led by GB, Rob's alternate. It was a day of little work, and lots of watching and even a couple of lazy runs to cycle around. Overall a fun day, that ended on a patio at the Chophouse in Whistler Creekside where I met Bill Traynor a former Canadian Olympian in kayak.

With my days somewhat unpredictable as to the length of time and even the amount of work on some days, I must tip my hat to a job known as Course Steward - Woodsy's job. The work full shifts, standing in the snow, keeping boarders, skiers, ex racers, new racers, and the occasional yahoo from venturing onto the Race Course, and either injuring themselves, or damaging the work that the Course Crew and Slippers have done.

My Crew.

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Relaxing

Woodsy - Today was our first day off. Beadraich and I slept in, which was very nice as we have been getting up very early. We had a leisurely morning, watching tv, visiting with Graydon (as we haven't seen her since our first day), our hosts and their niece and her husband. I had a massage which I really enjoyed, which my sore body really needed. It wasn't quite the same as my usually massage from Craig but it was still good. Beadraich and I then headed to the Village for lunch at Splitz, which has Zagat rated burgers. They were really good. Here is a picture of them weighing the patties. We walked around the village, looked in some of the shops and then went on the Whistler Gondola to the Peak to Peak across to Blackcomb. It was amazing! Beadraich is posting some pics. We watched the hockey game on a big screen from Longhorn's patio in the Village. Once again, I draped the Canadian flag around my shoulders.

The spirit is unreal here. Lots of people are dressed up in all sorts of costumes, flags etc.

We are both back to work tomorrow at 8 a.m.

Welcome!

Beadraich - Today, we played. No standing in snow, no putting up fencing, just a "rest" day, where we relaxed and had a chance to explore a little. So, still tired, I have decided to let photos tell the story of today.

Tomorrow, we get a chance to sleep in as we both start at 8am. So, we will be there by 7.

The Worlds Longest Gondola Ride!

A Beadraich Photo

Peak to Peak

A Beadraich Photo

Heaven is above the clouds!

A Beadraich Photo

Dye Crew - for my Friend Ingrid

Woodsy -
Here is a pic of the Dye Crew before the Men's Downhill. My friend Ingrid's son, Dan is on Dye Crew.

Woodsy Flying the Flag with Pride!

We Salute Our Athletes!

Nap.... On the Olympic downhill course.

Beadraich - I'm breaking the rules as I'm showing my face. But this is priceless. Photo taken by Jenn McCann one of my crewmates.

Oh Canada.

Beadraich - one Canadian flag stuck in a fence. Right in front of a camera station.

Go Canada Go.
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Yardsales and Stuff!

Beadraich - It happened right at the start of the Dave Murray Downhill with about 20 people watching while sideslipping down to run some b-fencing I fell, popped out of one ski and bruised only my pride. Embarrassing yes, but if not for this blog, no one would know it was me as we are all wearing blue. So if you are watching the mens downhill on TV tomorrow, you can say you know someone who fell just to the viewers left of the start gate.

The Weasel House, a local tradition of the whistler course crew workers is a special beer tent allowing access only to course crew workers. It was the medicine required as woodsy and I met there after work tonight.

My day

Woodsy - This morning I got to sleep in.  8 am at mid station tent.  So, really this means get up at 6:40, get dressed, get the bus, check in, have breakfast, grab my skiis and board the gondola all by 8 am.  This morning at check in there were Valentine's Day stickers, candies and lots of smiles.  The ladies at check in really start your day with a smile!  I spent my morning at "Bear Cat Flats", which has the best view of the downhill.  Lots of people come before the race to scope out the best view.  It is fun to talk with everyone to see where they are from.  Lots of people are very appreciative of how far the volunteers have travelled from.  I spent this after at "Men's Start".  It was even better than the morning because it was very busy-checking accreditation etc.  At one point I even got a smooch from a "race course crew", named Beadraich. :). It is Valentine Day afterall!
I met Beadraich at the Weasel House again (is it becoming a habit? Lol).  We went to Southside Diner for dinner.  I had read how good their macaroni and cheese was.  Since Beadraich loves mac and cheese it is a great idea for Valentine's Day.
Our big day is tomorrow-Men's Downhill.  Hope everyone will be watching it streaming at their computers at work. 
Here is my "office" for the next couple of weeks and my skiis this am in the powder.

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Sunset like no other!

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Putting up b-fencing today.

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Hello out there?

Woodsy - Beadraich and I are having an amazing time during our adventure.  However, we are wondering if there is anyone out there...please post comments.  We love to get them and we look everyday hoping to see what you have to say.
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My Day - so far!

Beadraich - With my first day of work out of the way, I now have an even bigger respect for everyone who works tirelessly to put on any ski race. Whether it's the people at Osler Bluff or Chicopee, or the Weasels and Sled Dogs putting on World Cup calibre races the work is exhausting.

I started today with my alarm clock going off at 3:20am, so I could be at Creekside, checked in and ready for breakfast at 4:00am. I arrived a few minutes early and had breakfast, coffee, and watched the news broadcasts of yesterdays tragedy and opening ceremonies.

We heard early on that the Men's Downhill was postponed and we would be working on a new schedule, but no one knew exactly what that schedule was. Rob, my Crew Chief found me and informed me that we would be "Loading" at 6:30. So, I waited and eventually saddled up the gondola and we made our way up, and then skied down to the Garbanzo chair in the dark. Night skiing at Whistler is a little different than Chicopee as the only lights are security lights for the Olympics.

Bootpacking, sideslipping, B-Fencing, bootpacking and more bootpacking made up my first day before we worked our way down and eventually to Chickpee. Chickpee is the crew replenishment station positioned near the start of the Dave Murray Downhill Course, and is a welcome refuge from the cold and wind. (they also have really good soup)

Now for some descriptions, B-Fencing is the first fence that a skier will encounter in a crash and is designed to give way and gently slow the skier while absorbing some energy. This is different than A-Fencing that is in place and under high tension to spring a skier back towards the course, should they make it past the B-Fencing. Bootpacking is a tireless stomping up and down of ones skis and usually done in groups to pack a portion of the race course. Sideslipping is the only method of travel on the race course. It is a sideways slipping of the skis in order to not create ruts or in anyway damage the race course. It's also what you may see on TV in between racers to smooth out corners and ruts on the race course.

Woodsy and I may visit the Weasel House tonight.

Random Photos of Whistler

Beadraich Photos - This is the "Blimp" that is tethered over Whistler Village and is rumoured to be full of hi-tech security and surveillance devices.
One of two stages that provide live entertainment at various times during the games. There is also a large "medals plaza" which will be home to some very big name acts.

The CTV broadcast centre where you will discover that the mountains in the background that you see on TV are in fact, a photograph backdrop.

The fog that has settled partway up the mountian is part of the reason for a postponed mens downhill race today.

Work Day and Our Home Away From Home

Woodsy - Today was my first actual "work day".  I got up at 5:10 am, arrived for breakfast at the venue at 6, meeting at 7 and to the "mid station" by 7:30.  I was taken on a tour and then began working.  A Steward's job is to maintain the integrity of the mens course-basically not allow people on the course.  I was off the mountain by 4 pm.  I even got a ride home from one of the other Stewards, who lives around the corner.
Speaking of home, our home away from home in Whistler is amazing!  Our host, Pat picked us up at the bus stop on our arrival and our hostess, Elly greeted us at the front door, taking pictures.  On the evening of our arrival, we were wonderfully surprised with a delicious lasagna dinner.  It was definitely what we needed after a long day of travel and we really appreciated.  Beadraich and I have our own wonderful bedroom and we share a bathroom with Graydon.  We are 2 bus stops away from Creekside, which is wonderful!
We are going to watch the opening ceremonies tonight and have dinner with our hosts, their daughter, Shannon and grand daughter, Reighan.
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Somber day.

Beadraich - Today is a sad one as the word spreads around Whistler about the Georgian luger who died tragically at the Whistler Sliding Centre today. I think I can speak for woodsy and myself when I say that our thoughts and prayers go out to his family, friends and country.

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Whistler Creekside

Beadraich - Here is my view as I try to decide what to do. Go skiing for a little bit then go home and sleep, or relax as I get ready to come back and work at 10PM. This is the view looking up towards the timing flats, from inside the secure area where we gather each morning with other volunteers.

The blue army meeting

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First day

Woodsy - Today was our Training Day.  It was about 1 hour of training which included a safety video, venue tour and question and answer.  After that both Beadraich and I were able to "free ski".  There were 7 of us that headed up the Creekside Gondola.  We had just met in our Training-people from Halifax, Toronto and Newmarket.  After we got off the Gondola, we ran into our host, Pat.  He is also a "mountain host", meaning he knows where the powder statches are.  We did a couple of runs with him, a couple of runs on our own and then headed into The Village.  We met up with Graydon, as she is doing "on the job training" tomorrow.  All in all, a great first day.  Now we are heading back to The Village to meet Beadraich's cousin for dinner at The Brew Pub.
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Schedule changes and work.

Beadraich - Here is the e-mail that I just received from my crew chief. I'm sharing this for everyone to appreciate what we are experiencing.

Crew!

For the next few days be prepared that the track will run 24hrs a day and we may get a shift in the middle of the night or have some super long days. Make sure you have water and food in your pack at all times as who knows how long the days will be until the race is done.

They want us ready to go and get it done until the downhill is complete.

Breakfast at 6 and meeting at 7 in the large tent for tomorrow.

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Getting supplies!

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Venue Specific Training

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We Are Smurfs!

Beadraich - The locals have taken to calling all of the volunteers smurfs because of our bright blue uniforms. We've embraced it and discovered the ritual of the day is to look for lonely looking smurfs and introduce yourself. We've already met Brenda from Collingwood and Karen from Halifax. And people from Edmonton, Pemberton, Seattle and Kitchener have all made our day one of meeting people.

As we were first sitting on the "Splendour of the Seas" in Venice a few years ago, Woodsy turned to me and asked "I wonder who will become our friends on this cruise". As I sit in the Venue Specific Training room I am left to wonder the same thing.
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In our unis.

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Our Olympic Experience Companion

Woodsy - We have mentioned our travelling companion in passing but we haven't introduced her yet.  Today is her premiere!!  Graydon is her blogger name.  She is a friend of mine, initially meeting at work.  She has moved onto greener pastures and we have maintained our friendship.  Graydon's job at the Olympics is Concierge at the Athlete's Village.  She has been teased that she will be handing out condoms!  I'm sure you will be hearing more from Graydon during our adventure.  As we are driving from Vancouver to Whistler, she keeps on saying "we aren't in Kansas anymore" inbetween her signs and gasps at how beautiful the landscape is!
We can't believe we are on our way to Whistler and the Olympics!!
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In flight.

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A little de icing!

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Getting on a Jet plane.

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Air Canada gets into the spirit.

The Olympic spirit is very visible at terminal 1. Air Canada an Olympic sponsor has decorated the windows of the terminal in Olympic colours.
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Lots a black bags!

Everything comes under the 50lb mark as established by Air Canada.

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Airport Hotel Drinks.

Beadraich - Arriving at our "parking hotel" we needed a drink to toast. "to the Olympics and one more awesome adventure together"

Luggage, Air Canada, and EXCITEMENT!

Beadraich - Today was a tough day. My tummy is full of butterflies caused by excitement and anticipation. I'm at the point where if I don't already have it, I'm gonna do with out, or buy it out there. Woodsy and I have been packing, unpacking, packing again, the last couple of nights, and I have questions that Air Canada just doesn't seem to answer on their website. If I have a bag that is 55 lbs, and a bag that is 25, can they average it out? Here's the deal. My ski duffle (with Kenmark Snow Sports proudly embroidered on the side) is currently weighing in at about 48 pounds.. and I have stuff to ad. My skis on the other hand, safely wrapped in a protective layer of ski suits and a towel, weigh about 17 lbs. So, I might be over on one piece, and way under on the other. are they still gonna charge me $75? This my friends seems absolutely ridiculous. Then again, if I was an Air Canada Shareholder.... I would see things differently.

I'm off to hopefully have one more good night's sleep at home before the adventure that Woodsy and I have been preparing for almost 2 full years begins.

If there are some posts that are full of grammatical and spelling errors (sorry Sally) in the next few weeks, they are because we have found a way to post from our Blackberries. We will be trying this out on occasion to provide very real experience to all of you.... plus for our own memories.

Less than a week.

Beadraich – I grew up in a house. Most of us did. But my house was a particularly interesting place for two weeks, every 4 winters. The magic of the Winter Olympics was often talked about for weeks, even months before a day in February when the Opening Ceremonies would take place. After those Ceremonies, we would spend countless hours watching Cross Country Skiing, Figure Skating, Biathalon, Speedskating, and many other events while I personally waited for the three events that actually had a resemblance to sport as I knew it, Hockey, Alpine, and Bobsled.

7 days from now, I will be realizing a lifelong dream to participate in the 3rd Olympics to be held in Canada. A dream that started out as a dream to go the Olympics as an athlete, and later became a dream to go as a spectator, has changed into going as a volunteer. I have been heard to say that as an athlete I have a whole lotta heart, and not a lick of talent. I first said that as an explanation for falling off of a downhill mountain bike at the bottom of Blue Mountain, but it holds true to a lot my athletic endeavours. Now, this is not a recipe that makes an Olympic calibre athlete, but it’s the perfect recipe for a Volunteer.

So it is with heart and not talent that Woodsy and I will embark on this adventure. This trip has become even more special for both of us as we get to bring each of you who follows this blog along with us to share in some of our unique experiences. Whether it’s family, friends, co-workers or clients who are reading this, each time you have asked when we leave, or if we are excited yet, has been a great encouragement and reminder that we are about to embark on something unique.

O Canada

Woodsy - Today's post includes 2 very Canadian videos from Youtube. The first one I "borrowed" from a friend's Facebook. It is almost cheesy but I love it.



The second video is from "Classified", an East Coast Hip Hop artist. I am normally not a Hip Hop fan, and I am also a traditionalist when it comes to "O Canada" but I like what he has done.



I am so proud to be Canadian.