Ladies Race Day

Very cold today. Stuck with all the layers of clothes all day. Base Layer. Turtle neck. Helly Hanson sweater. Tag Heur equipment vest. Down vest. Full length Coaches coat.

Left the hotel room 'knowing' I had forgot something. Yep, just as I was getting my boots on, it was ski socks I forgot to take with me. That means I had to dry out the only pair of socks I had with me. Won't make the same mistake tomorrow.

It is pretty awesome to watch all of these athletes get ready to start. Each has their own pattern. Some have their coach rub snow on the back of their next. Others take time to say hi. Some just look straight out the door the entire time. It is very clear that those that are somewhat relaxed do much better.

Today was a full TV presentation. Live in Austria, tape delay in Canada. Not sure in the US of A. I still have not seen 1 minute of the show. However, it is all taped at home, so I will get a chance to review it next week. The camera that you see the racer start from is manned by Brian from CBC. All the CBC guys are great. Anyway, you might have noticed that the camera seemed to be hand-held during the first few skiers. Brian could not get his camera connected to his tripod as the latching mechanisms were frozen. What a professional.

The local timing volunteers planted both a loonie and a quarter on the start ramp. Clearly it worked today. Go Canada Go as Britt managed a 3rd place finish in a very tough crowd.

The second the race is over for the athletes, the race starts for timing, television and media to move to the Super G start for tomorrow. However, the new start ramp wasn't even built yet. We tear out our wiring, working around the media/advertising guys and then hump all the staff down the track and pile it up at the new start. We then ski down for a warm up break, resulting in us getting back on the lift about 4:15pm just as the sun has set.

By the time we get to the new start, it is just about built and we can start to get some of the wires for tomorrow's race in place. Still takes a few hours. We then get to ski down about 6pm in the total darkness with head lamps on. Pretty nice actually.

Tomorrow is our last day for this team. Once the Super G is over, we bring down everything. Ted will stick around for the NorAm race which is great as it means we don't have to pack up everything tomorrow.

It looks like our next gig might be Kitzbuhel, Austria. Maybe I will actually get to see one of the most famous races this time.

Saturday morning

I'm at the start. No wind but the air temp is -22C.

Feet are already cold.

Last Training Day

Wow.. cold this morning. -30C in the valley. Not much warmer at the base lodge. Fortunately, I had packed my Coaches coat to wear.

When Coop and I got to the top, most of the mountain was still in the shadows of sunrise. Amazing view across the valley with the warm gold mountain tops.

When the Sun finally hit us in the start hut, it went from -22C to about -8C in minutes. Now most of you are still going to think that is pretty cold, but we were able to sit in front of the start hut with only 7 layers of clothes on instead of 12. Didn't even need gloves. Palm trees not included.

CBC was also fully set up today as practice for tomorrow's broadcast. You should be able to hear the starter (me) doing the final count down for the racer to start. Tomorrow (Saturday) looks like a pretty cold day with the high for the day being about -22C. That means the full length Grey Coaches coat for me.

Thursday - Training Run for Women

After standing in the start hut all day (from about 9:30am till 3pm), no matter how warm or cold it is, I usually am cold by the end of the day. This results to a bee-line to the hot tub as soon as I'm able to get back to the hotel.

Yesterday, most of us headed down to enjoy the tub, only to find it at about 45 degree F. Well, it wasn't that cold, but it wasn't that warm either. It was actually about 97F. Just not that warm for a hot tub. It should be about 103F. 102 can feel cool, while 104F feels pretty hot. Well..... I jumped in it today and almost jumped out. It was 108F. Now I know how a lobster feels. At least I lived and didn't end up on some plate with warm butter.

This brings up a point. How hard is it for the guy who stands near the desk at the pool to check the temperature from time to time?? All he has to do is fold some towels and then sell some beer to those in the tub. Maybe it was his ploy to sell more beer today. Who knows........
Saturday is the live TV show, if your in Austria, or some other place in the EU. Canada will see it on tape delay, likely starting around 4pm ET. As the starter, I stand on the right side of the TV picture in my Red Spyder Precision Timing issued jacket. ORF (Austrian TV) will likely show only the first 34 skiers or so. CBC will show the first 30, any other Canadians and any crashes.

For those of you looking for new pictures, it is going to be tough for me to grab any during the actual race. I might be able to mount the camera with a remote shutter release and see what I can get. I might get lucky, but it is tough with so much going on during the start.

Stop reading here for most of you. Propeller heads, carry on----

The attached picture is the junction box that we install at each start. Brian Cooper built a couple of these to make our lives easier. On it you will find the following:

• System A start and a feed to a Timy to record start times
• System B start and a feed to a Timy to record start times
• Headset for the starter
• Headset for the backup hand timer
• Display data from from the bottom so we can make our cute display boards at the start show real running time just like in the finish area
• Data going from the Radar gun to the finish hut - we are practising for another venue to see how well it works

Wednesday - Ladies Training Day

Big news today, I was the starter for my 1st World Cup ski race. Pretty cool actually.

However, it is very easy to screw up those in the timing shack, not to mention those that do the graphics, live to web, etc.

Well, when you accidentally go to return the start gate (it automatically stays open after the skier leaves the start house) and it 'bounces' you managed to set another skier on the course. Well, lots of things happen down below, usually followed by some screaming in the headphones.

So, the gate 'slipped' out of my hand about 10 seconds after a skier had just started. Suffice to say, I won't let that happen again. Sorry Ted and Jim and Peter and Toby and Tami. They all had to scramble to correct my error. Good thing we weren't live to TV today. I can't let that happen tomorrow.

Backing up to Monday. I had an amazing skate on Lake Louise. It has just started to snow, but I was able to skate the entire lake on perfectly smooth ice. If you look closely at the picture, you can see the people skating around with hockey sticks.

Monday - day of rest

Well, not really. Although I'm trying NOT to head up to the finish hut, the slow Internet here might drive me to do that. We have a full T1 connection there for the 10 of us, while here at the Chateau Lake Louise they have a T1 connection for the entire resort.
I've posted a number of pictures at http://www.portcredit.net/gallery/thumbnails.php?album=25.
Yesterday's race went off without a hitch. Pretty cold at the start of the Super G. However, it was a good thing the start wasn't at the top near the Downhill start as it was blowing a gale up there. I spent the day near the television tower at the first interval time. About 24 seconds into the race.
Today? Laundry and maybe a skate on the famous Lake Louise outside. Still looks amazing as it has only frozen a week ago and it hasn't snowed since. For $8 I can rent some skates and blast around for miles.
Tomorrow, we get back on the hill and start setting up for the Ladies DH. Training starts on Wednesday and the DH is on Saturday.

Internet at the Chateau

Did I mention that the internet in the inn would have to reach up to be brutal? Seriously, I have more bandwidth at my house.

Saturday - Race Day

The morning started pretty early. I ran out to grab some pictures at 6am of the full moon shining on the mountains and the lake outside my window. Yesterday people were skating on the lake all the way to the end. Apparently the ice is so clear that you can see to the bottom in some places. In the picture to the left, the peak towers above the lake about 300m away. However, the wide angle lens on the camera seems to flatten it. It is truly breathtaking.

As for the race, again, it is up the hill to get the equipment in place and running pretty early. We are often on the lift around 8am or earlier. Pretty cold in the valley, and a little warmer as we went up the lift. About an hour later, the sun disappeared and the wind came up. It was about -13C most of the day, but where I was standing near the first interval eye, it was blowing about 20~25kph.

The amazing news of the day is that Canada won the race today. Jan Hudec pulled off a great run. Of course, since I work on the hill it takes a text message from Austria to let me know this. During the race, I don't wear a headset to the timing building, so I'm not connected to the real world.

Coming back to the hotel, I took a look at the window to see a Canadian tradition. The entire lake is covered with people ice skating. Of course, there is the customary set of hockey nets and a bunch playing hockey as well. You can click on the image to get a larger view.

Thursday - Training Run

One training run in the can. We are all still alive even after arriving at the hill at 7:30 in the morning to jump on the lift while it was still dark out. Still one of my most favourite times of the day with my ski boots on.

Today went as planned, but not without a few challenges. The first interval (or push) eye seemed to have a life of its own. Same thing with one of the sets of eyes that make up the speed trap. They will be replaced and tomorrow should be better.

However, even a couple of our fancy display boards don't like the -20C air and wouldn't start up this morning. Both had to be dragged back uphill to the finish hut to be warmed up.

Tomorrow is a repeat of today. Another training run. And, yes I was correct. Several people did manage to fall on 'Sunset' and do a slide for life towards the start hut.

I've attached a picture of the amazing view. This was taken at about 8am just as the sun was rising and lighting up the peaks across the valley. You can click on the image for a larger view.

Wednesday

Well.. we should have been racing today, but that didn't happen. Goals today were to get the intermediate eyes installed, tested and then get the start installed.

We got most of it done, but the start wasn't built until about 3pm. They have decided to have the start halfway down a pitch called "Sunset". Normally the start hut holds about 20 people, but this hut holds the starter, the start referee, the racer and their coach. Wait till the CBC gets up there. Not only that, the slope is about 30 degrees it will be pretty easy to slide/fly right by it as you sideslip down Sunset. Tomorrow will be interesting to be sure.

About 4:30, I made it to the start to help the local team of volunteers finish the wiring. They are responsible for getting the cables to the locations. We are responsible for hooking it up to the equipment. At a World Cup race, you can have as many as 8 pairs of wire that have to go all the way back to the start hut (Start for system A, start for system B, Headset, Backup Handtimers headset, Display board data, radar data, plus a few other gadgets we bring to the show).

Did I mention the sun sets about 3:30 in the valley and about 4pm up at the top. Brett (one of the volunteers) was finishing the cable connections when I got there. He had glued himself to the side of this 30+ degree slope in -15C weather attempting to crimp 8 pairs of wires. At the same time we are getting pressure from below to get out of there as their is a snow cat with winch attached going to groom part of this hill. It is so steep that the Cat it attached to the top of the hill with a winch and the only safe place to be when this is going on is the next area code.

The moon was rising as we left (see the picture of Brent, Polly and Camille) with the moon behind them. Half the ski down was on snow that had groomed by snow cat tracks (ie: not groomed), and the rest was on newly groomed snow that we could really let it rip.

The other shot of a freezing Andy. You can see all the rocks behind him. This what we have to ski through each morning.

Tuesday

Normally, the racing (or training) would start tomorrow. However, due to the lack of snow up high, the training runs have been delayed until Thursday. As of noon today the start was not yet built yet.

We spent the morning trying to determine where we would install the interval eyes. These are the eyes that give the split readings you see on TV. What is key is attempting to find a spot where the racer isn't jumping over the beam of infrared light or can travel under it. What this means is that you need about 60-100M of snow surface that is in the same plane.

If you watch the race on Saturday, you will see the first interval (known as I1) will be less than 4 seconds out from the start. It is called a Push time like those who do Bobsled. I2 is about 15 seconds from the start. It is a slow start right into the flats. The first 15 seconds will be key and the gliders will be able to do well here.

Now, I3 will be some time away. However, it took us some time to find a spot where we could safely get the eyes set up and ensure that a skier will not be jumping over them or ducking under. As it turns out, one of the eyes will be about 9ft up in a tree and we need a ladder to adjust it each morning. (Actually, the WE is ME).

The afternoon was getting the web cam running. If I get it working, I'll post the address here, but you can keep trying http://timing.homedns.org/ and see if you get a log in screen. If you do, the username/password is timing and timing.

We also got the BIG display boards installed. One more big step.

The pictures show one of the steeper pitches yesterday. Looks a lot different today. Lots happening and we will have a great show by Saturday.

Day 3 - Monday

Not much to report from yesterday. We spent most of the day moving the rest of the equipment upstairs, unpacking and doing the initial setup of equipment. Just getting the tables in the right place takes some time. Because, once you start getting those 2 tons of equipment on them, your never going to move them.

Seltec arrived from Germany/Austria. These are the guys that will be running the data part of the show. It is them that get the results to the web, tv, and the rest of the media. What a great bunch of people. Nice change from last year.

On the way up the lift, Andy (from Montreal) came up with this phrase "I have a Texas coiler screaming for early parol". You figure it out.

3 of us managed to make it to the top for a, er, run. The top of hill looks great. BUT... it is 4" of snow on 12" of rock. You can't even make it to the start hut without walking back up the hill. It looks like the track will be OK for the race, but anywhere else is going to be interesting due to the lack of snow.

The rest of the day was spent configuring display boards, getting line drives to work (those are the things that allow us to send computer RS232 data for many miles). One thing that is driving both Ted and I crazy is a single box of 'stuff' that has been missing for weeks. Good thing we noticed it then as we were able to order some extra parts. BUT.... where is it??? We both know it will turn up some day in the future.

Not really exciting day, but work that just needed to be done. What a blast. What a great bunch of people to work with.... all that own their own version of hat with a propeller on it.

BTW, apprently Andy's Texas coiler went back into solitary. Again, you figure it out.

Tomorrow is a busy day. More later.

What a week

This part of the year has been one that has lots of travel. Good news (or is it bad), I long ago made it to Air Canada Elite status. Helps for eating junk food in the lounge. Bad for actually not being at home.

Yesterday found me flying from Toronto to Calgary (after just getting back from London on Wednesday).

Once in Calgary, I met up with the boys (and Lady). Amazing what you can cram into a rental van and off to Coops place to load the trailer. Tons off stuff have arrived from all over the world.

As we head off the the FIS World Cup Downhill races at sunny Lake Louise Alberta. Not to mention that the 20ft trailer was full to the roof with 'stuff' just to do the timing. Coop said he was getting 28L/100km towing it (you do the math).

While they headed up to Lake Louise, we detoured to Home Depot. That great timing supply shop you can find anywhere in North America. From batteries, hand warmers, rope, mallets, Cat 5 cable, sun shades, and the list goes on. Ted's Amex Gold card took it well.

The Men's race will happen. Likely with a training race on Thursday (1 day late). Apparently things were looking really well, but then a Chinook came in and blew away the top of the mountain.

So, I'm dealing with Jet Lag. Up at 4:30 this morning. Off to the gym.