Final Days

Woodsy -
To update you on the last couple of days in Whistler ... on Wednesday, Beadraich and I spent several hours in the Village buying souvenirs. On Wednesday night, we went to see Women's Bobsleigh finals. You were able to get so close to the actual track! We saw Canada get a Gold and Silver. AMAZING! The crowd broke out in O Canada as we were leaving the Sliding Centre. Once again, tears in my eyes. As Beadraich previously mentioned, we skiied with our hosts at Whistler on Thursday. Once again, skiing was amazing! Powder staches everywhere. As we skiied through them, we all yelled "whohoo", except for me because I didn't have a voice. I would do a fist pump and then try to squeak out a "whohoo" at end of the run! Skiing in BC through powpow is so different than skiing on Ontario ice! We went out for dinner with a new friend from Toronto (originally from KW) and then walked around the Village. The vibe in the Village has been unreal. On Friday we went skiing with Beadraich's cousin. Lindsay Vonn got in the gondola before us. She was very focused because she had a race in about 1/2 hour. On Friday night, our hosts had a farewell dinner for all of us with their daughter, son-in-law and granddaughter. It was great spending our final night with everyone including Graydon. Graydon had an amazing job! Everyone asks if I met any athletes or famous people. Graydon did this several times a day, every day! Lots of athletes, chef Michael Smith, Princess of Leichtenstein.
We were on the bus early on Saturday morning to Vancouver. Luckily, the trip home was uneventful.
This whole experience was unbelieveable. We met so many people and are definitely going to keep in touch with them. The hours were long but it was worth it and so much more. It made me very proud to be Canadian. It was wonderful to be able to pick up and go for 2 1/2 weeks and not worry about anything. Thanks to so many people for making this possible for me...my parents, my brother, my boss, my friends, Pat and Elly our hosts. Thank you to Graydon for being a great travel companion and friend. Especially to Beadraich for entertaining my crazy idea to apply for the Olympics and for having the same energy level to always keep busy and see how much we can fit into a day! I think it was our best trip!

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.