Weather - just a slight breeze

I am just ending my 2 weeks here at Lake Louise. We have had some pretty great weather, and some pretty interesting weather. I have a few updates, just a bit late, mostly due to internet issues at the Chateau Lake Louise.

This one is from about a week ago - last Friday

Take today for example. It was the first of 2 ladies downhill races. However, it was snowing and apparently very windy at the Top of the World Chair. Clearly, it was. The FIS correctly called for the race to be moved down to the lower of 3 starts (the Men's SG start). No problem even if we only have less than 60 minutes to make it all work. That includes having the commercial banners moved, and all the timing equipment. To move all the timing equipment takes about 6 people who have to carry all this equipment down (not on the race course) and through the ungroomed powder (more on that later).

With minutes (and I mean just minutes), we got all the equipment in place for a 12:14pm time sync and a POV (Point of View) camera departing at 12:17pm. As the well, the FIS called for all skiers to ski at 1 minute 15 second intervals as the weather was only going to get worse.

After the race (and a Podium finish for Canada), Ted, Skunk and I went back up to the top for a single run. When we got to the top, it was blowing stink, and I mean stink. Best guess is that the winds were well over 100kph (I have video).

But (and a big but), we got to ski down (way off the course) in knee deep powder (sorry, no video). :)

Over the past 2 weeks, we have actually managed to get some skiing in (for a change). Last Thursday both Ted and I did some skiing (much like today). Through the open bowls as well as into the glades.

So, while Calgary was getting pounded by the snow and wind on Friday (that shut down Calgary and they are still recovering), you can listen to Ted tell it like it is.

More Toys

It has been awhile since my last post, but with starting a new job and learning all about RFID and an amazing Wifi system that actually works in the Corporate world, it has been fun. Need Wifi for more than 10 people at a time, then you have to look at Meru. Amazing stuff.

It is ham radio contest season and that keeps me travelling to North Bay more than usual. It was great to catch up to my dad (who is over 80 and hasn't slowed down yet--note to self--don't slow down). Look for the guy travelling at light speed in the North Bay Canadian Tire. Say hi to Ken.

If you are not a Ham, you can skip this part. Hams have always had to come up with methods to get ropes high up trees. We have used Slingshots, Potato Cannons (great fun if you have never tried it), fishing rods and more. Well since I have taken up model airplane flying (helicopters, planes and quad flyers), I just knew I could merge the 2 hobbies.

We needed to get a rope over a 80ft tree at the Corbeil Contest Club last weekend. In true McGiver fashion, I just knew I could use my quad flier (basically a camera platform with 4 lifting motors) to lift a weight on the end of a 12lb fishing line and drop it in place. Then, I could drop the weight in the right place.

Well, it worked and worked well. Took only a few minutes which is much better after 3 0r 4 slingshot tries and everyone else saying "let me try". In the picture, you can see the bottom of the bird with the release mechanism (the Quad is upside down for the picture).

I will try to grab some video this weekend so you can see just how well it works!

This weekend is CQWW. The largest ham radio contest going. Didn't you know--you can make a contest out of anything. Just ask the belt-sander racing guys.

Who would have thought it

The other day I received a postcard (folded) from Google. How cool is that?

Opening it up, there was some instructions on how to check your payment history for Google AdSense. Wait, I didn't buy any adds.

So, I log into my account with the directions they have provided. Low and behold, there is a balance (positive). OK, how much can it really be? I was thinking it might be about 10 cents or so. Something really not worth the effort of course.

I had to jump through some hoops first. (Great... with my patience, I can see where this is going). First, I had to swear on a stack of bibles that I am NOT a US Citizen (for tax withholding reasons). That wasn't too painful.

Next, verify my phone number. Apparently I say, go ahead, and they automatically call me with a PIN number, then I type in the PIN number. I click on 'OK - Call me' button and the phone rings in milliseconds. How is that possible that they can dial my Vonage phone that fast. Seriously, it was less than 1 second by my calibrated brain.

Good news... I am up $10 US and the check is in the mail.

Made it back - all is well

Actually, it wasn't an issue actually. Other than my butt being sore from 10 hours on the flight home, it was great.

After getting a full nights sleep on Friday night and a quick breakfast, Randy and I decided to meet so that we could get in a few more runs in the morning. Just like everyday that week, we woke up to a beautiful clear sky and no wind (Thursday was windy).

I had not been to the West side of the valley at all, so we headed that way as that was were the Sun was. 1 chairlift ride up and then we picked up the Roca Jack lift to the top. This is a 5 person poma lift that you sit/stand side by side with 4 of your other best friends. It isn't like a normal lift, as it just goes up and comes back like a large gondola. But, it is FAST. You can get air (jump) on your way up. Some pretty good hang time to boot.

Once up at the top, Randy decided that he wanted to climb higher. We are already over 3000 meters, but the goal was to get a good view of Aconcagua, which we did. Shedding clothes, up we climbed maybe another 200 vertical meters (it felt like Everest).

Now, this is a stretch for me. Before I left, with about 3 weeks notice, I was worried that I would not be able to survive and be functional at that altitude. Exercise helped, but so did my good friend Dr. Penny Kendal-Reed a great Naturopath. Some key additions to my vitamins seems to have really made the difference. In fact, it was funny watching TV and seeing her working with the stars at the Toronto Film Festival.

We then skied down as low as possible. There is a wide crusing run that you can really fly on and it ends at about 2800M ASL. The chairlift back to the hotel crosses the road (switch backs) in many places. As you ski down, you actually ski over the road on the structures designed to save the road in case of an avalanche.

We also tried to fit in one last trip to Tio Bobs for lunch. With a bus that was leaving at 1pm SHARP, it had to be quick. After making the trip back up, we found out they didn't start serving food until 12:30. 1 beer (Randy) and 1 water (Mike), later, we flew back down (even found some powder), packed and had a Portillo Burger in the cafiteria.

Saturday is 'change over' day at the hotel. It took us almost 20 minutes to get out of the parking lot. Much worse than a Friday afternoon on a long weekend going north on the Don Valley Parkway. Even if you throw in rain or snow and maybe a mudslide (that has happened on the DVP).

One of the things I tried while I was on this trip was some HF ham radio. I have been a Ham operator for longer than I have had my drivers license. I decided to try a Flex SDR-3000 on 20M while I was away. It is amazing what the mountains do when you are surrounded on all sides by them. I could not hear a thing as the radio waves did not seem to make it into the valley, which was too bad. It was a good experiment anyway.

The Alpine Canada team is all top notch. I had a blast working with them and getting to know all the racers. There were lots of race cancellations going on in South America that week. We hit all our targets and got the job done. I really have to thank Alpine Canada for inviting me down there.

The photo gallery has been updated with some new pictures from Saturday. Gallery Link

The always cool "Map This" really shows were we are.

There are 2 movies worth watching. 1 shows how we discuss a wiring issue in both English and Spanish (sometimes it is as confusing in just English). them.

And, the view from Tio Bobs

Wow.. what a place

At dinner tonight, 3 of us came up with the same opinion of this place at the same time. Portillo is like a cruise ship. You are in the middle of the Andes mountains, with Argentina literally feet away. You have an assigned seating time and an assigned table. Your waiters know you all be name (although mine is apparently trying to hunt me down to sign my dinner receipt).

The skiing is pretty amazing. It isn't Lake Louise in terms of the amount of skiable acreage, but it does have lots of places that you can traverse to and hike if you wish. It is spring here in Chile and I just had on of those amazing ski days. We ran 4 ski races this morning and finished by 1:30pm. That was about perfect considering it was -17C at 9am and once the sun cleared the mountain it was well above 0c about 10:30am.

This was a FIS race (pre world cup), but we had racers from the World Cup. I got to listen to the like of Robby Dixon, John Kucera, Frank Borque, Manny and others rib each other about who was going to beat who. Even the forerunners were World Cup ranked.

I then spent the afternoon at Tio Bob's (again). A bunch of us just sat around and watched the sun move to the west. What a place for an office.

Tomorrow I hope to get out in the morning for 1 final day of spring skiing. We leave for Santiago at 1pm, with a flight at 7pm. I arrive back in Toronto early Sunday morning.

Sometimes you just have to admire the view

It isn't often that you get to have a quiet day at a FIS ski race. Today, was one of those days.

After sorting out our final wiring issues this morning, we had a wonderful lunch in the hotel.

The afternoon stated by meeting Randy (the TD) at the lift. He wanted a few pictures for a business card he had in mind. 2 Lifts later (including the weirdest and fast 4 person poma lift you will ever try), we were standing in untracked powder. It snowed 5 days ago and we are still making first tracks. We are above 10,000 ft, there isn't a cloud in the sky and there is no wind.

Randy was even kind enough to capture some pictures of me skiing. Yes, it does happen.... with poles even.

Next, we had to detour to Tio Bobs for a beverage at 10,338 feet. For about an hour, we just enjoyed the view and watched those that climbed much higher than us who are still skiing untracked powder.

You will notice that my good friend James was here just about a month ago.

Day 2 here in Chile

It is a good thing that we get here days ahead of the race. After all, how difficult can it be to hook up 6 wires and start a race. The hill management (all great people) tell us the wiring is fine.

As Dick and I start working on the configuration, we find the wiring is ok, but has issues that most people would not notice. The morning is spent visually inspecting the splices in the cables which show up as sore thumbs with the Megger test equipment that is on loan from Precision Timing in Canada (thanks Ted).

The course area does get hit with avalanches from time to time. We have to dig in 2 places to check the splices, as there is 'cross talk' between the cables. This requires moving meters of snow. The first one is down 2 meters and in 1 meter.

Still chasing a problem, the 2nd looks to be at the finish area. We dig down over 2 meters, move some rocks that have been put there by an avalanche and then open the cover to the wiring vault.

Have a look at the gallery for today.

You can see the view of the actual course, and another shot of the road. This is the only road into Argentina. The trucks line up for days to get over the mountains, and this is just the start of it.

The weather for today looks great again.

What happened to the Big Dipper

I have arrived in Portillo Chile to assist with the timing at an Alpine Canada FIS race. Last night, after 20 hours or travel, I walked out of the hotel (at 9350ft or 2850 m ASL), looked at the clear sky and couldn't find the Big Dipper. Doh... Oh, that is the Southern Cross.

Then, this morning, after waking up at 5am, and walking from the Octagon over here to the main lodge (where the Internet is somewhat better), I noticed the moon was in the North. Doh, again, I am at 33 degrees South Latitude.

Yesterday (make that Sunday), I left the cottage where the weather was amazing (for the first time all summer), drove home and packed. It was sunny and +25C in Toronto. I was on the midnight flight out of Toronto to Santiago Chile. 10 hours in the back. Good thing the guy beside me decided to bolt for another seat, as that got me 2 seats to myself.

Arriving in Santiago, where it was (spring) and about +13C and drizzling was a shock. I met up with Garry from Alpine Canada, Dick (part of our World Cup timing team), Richard (a GPS guru that is GPS mapping the runs the Canadian athletes take, and Randy who will be the TD for the event.

We find out that it has snowed for the last 3 days up here and that the roads are closed. The road is also the only truck road to Argentina (remember that when you look at the pictures). When the road is closed, the trucks line up for miles in the valley waiting for the road to open.

Our driver tells us that we might not get up for days (I also find out later that they were looking into a Helicopter to get us up to the resort-I am clearly travelling with the right bunch). So, he tours as around Santiago (6 million people) and then drops us at a small 'mall' where we see many of the same stores that you find in Canada. I'm surprised to see a Brooks Brothers, Starbucks (no surprise there), North Face, TGI Fridays, and more.

Lunch is at a local restaurant (check out the one menu item). I passed on that choice. It also starts with a Piisco Sour (sp?). Something like a Margarita. Wow, that hit me like a ton of bricks. We also toured around and a long stop at a Chilean Wine store.

We meet up again with our driver at 3pm (he stayed with the vehicle to keep an eye on things). We find out that the road should open at 5pm and that we need to be at the road block by then.

The road is the main truck road into Argentina. 2 lanes (sometimes). The drive reminds me of parts of Texas with Cactus all over the place. We start to see large truck lines, all of them pulled over waiting for the road to open.

Right on time, we arrive at the roadblock. The Chilien Police are there is apparently this is also the last check if you are driving into Argentina. He drives right up to the front, gets out, talks to the Police and tells us we have to wait for 10 to 15 minutes. 2 minutes later, we get the go ahead and are the first to bug out up the mountain. Pretty damn cool. You don't want to be behind all those trucks.

28 switch backs later (I think). I took 2 pictures. 1 looking up and 1 looking down. You get the idea. If you are thinking of cycling this down, you will need more than 1 set of brakes. We are now at the top of the world.

Paul Kristophic (PK), meets us at the door. Rooms are handed out. Dinner is at 8:30 (they do eat late around here). I'm asleep by 10pm (sometimes waking with a start as the air is a little thin). Tuesday, at 5am I decide to walk over to the main lodge and hog some Internet so that I can upload some pics and write this blog.

Some cool links:

Some of my pictures have GPS data inbedded in them. You can click here and see some of the pics from this trip in Google Earth. (Dad, it works for you too....).

The entire gallery is here.

Today, we get the lay of the land with towering peaks above us.

The last week - and the Beer Store

For the last week, Carolyn and I have been up at the cottage enjoying the 'weather'.

It hasn't been really hot, but that isn't too big a deal as it means that sleeping at night is much easier.

On Tuesday, we got slammed with a storm that took out the power for 28 hours. That required me to hump it back to the city to pick up the generator. The internet came back up on Thursday for a few hours, then died again. Looks like a tree fell on the internet cable 2 days after the storm. We got that fixed on Friday by noon. Not a big deal, but when you have over 10 guests, most with a laptop, they all want online.

Today, we wanted to take back a ton of empties to the Beer Store (yes, in Canada, you have to go to The Beer Store). Since we were both up early, we needed to know what time it opened in mega city of Bobcaygeon.

Carolyn was going to call, but I stopped her claiming the information was on The Net! A quick search of TheBeerStore.CA web site shows that you can search by name. Cool... Just enter Bobcaygeon and away you go.

Here are the results... It is right up there near Hornepayne. About a 30 hour drive away. Last time I checked, there was only one Bobcaygeon in the province of Ontario.

Well, at least they had it in the right province. I wonder if they have a drinking and driving problem here? 30 hours each way for a case of beer. Wow!

Then, last night produced a great lightning show. One of those thunderstorms that you only get once or twice a year.

All I had to do was commute to the end of the dock, set up the camera, and watch the show while the sun set.

Hobie boat racing

This week, I have been invited to be the photographer at the Hobie 16 North American Championships here in Kingston, Ontario, Canada.

Today is Saturday and we had a pretty windy day. The gallery can be found at here.

Near the end of the day, I had an unscheduled swim in Lake Ontario. My friend Sue K. from Syracuse was having some issues righting her Hobie 16 after flipping (pitch poling actually) her boat.

The end result was that I ended up being the one photographed. Jeff, the other profession photographer on the boat kindly provided me with some of the photos he captured of me.

The organizing committee kindly got me a room at one of the local universities. Now, the room is a dorm room and pretty plain. BUT, the Internet ROCKS. For those of you who know what those numbers mean, have a look at this:

That is about 50 times faster than you can get anywhere in Canada. Depending on when I run this test, I have seen download speeds up to 45 mb/sec. Normal high speed internet download speeds for Rogers Cable is about 1 mb/sec.

I imagine that number goes way down when the dorm is full of students.

Pretty cool!!

Canada Day Fire Works 2009

If you get the chance to be in the Kawarthas for Canada Day, you need to make sure you watch these fireworks. These were taken from the boat while moored in Bobcaygeon.

The gallery is this link.

Or, it is best as a slide show.

Remote Ham Radio Operating

Of all my hobbies, Ham radio has passed the test of time. I have been a ham since I was 15. At that time, getting your license was about the equivilant of a credit course. It included 3 tests: electronics and RF theory, Industry Canada regulations and, of course, Morse code (and, yes, we still use it today).

Until just recently, you needed to have all your radios, antennas, amplifiers, etc. at your home location. The internet has changed all that. I now run with all this equipment in a remote location that allows me to 'connect' to it from anywhere in the world.

My monthly internet bill at my remote base is about $45/month. Well worth the expense.

At the heart of this solution, are 2 software products. Both are free, however I do donate to the author of Ham Radio Deluxe on a regular basis. Simon HB9DRV does an amazing job with this product. Not only that, it is very solid code, even in beta versions. HRD manages all the radio connections, radio control, log book and many other features (too many to list). Adding a Griffin Powermate gives you a nice VFO feel.

That takes care of the radio control. What is left is the audio, and for that I use Skype. Skype's audio quality is darn good, and it can even be improved further by doing some tuning on your network/router just by opening a port that Skype can reference (this keeps your audio from being routed through a super node).

While contesting, I actually use my Heil Proset just plugged right into my laptop. Amazing audio reports.

I often go months without even touching my remote base (most of the winter). That means I need to make sure I can do things by remote control if need be. If the computer goes offline for what ever reason, then I can't do anything and I am off the air. I installed an internet based control board (designed by Hugh VA3TO), that allows me to:

1) Reboot the computer

2) Turn on the Astron PS70 power supply for the SGC500

3) Turn on the SGC SGC500 amplifier

4) Alarm back to me if the SGC500 trips offline

When setting up Windows XP, I have no antivirus installed, the firewall turned on and automatic updates turned off. I do apply all my updates when I am actually standing in front of the computer. I also run Spinrite a few times a year to ensure the hard drive health (this is an amazing tool and money well spent). No other product available does what this does. Also, taking some time to turn off all the services you need helps to improve the reliability of your remote computer. Last winter (2009), I went from Thanksgiving (Canadian) to mid May without even logging into the computer with VNC.

HRD will turn the radio on and off, so that isn't a problem. However, if the power to the TS-480 actually drops, then I can't turn the radio on at all. Majour problem, so I had to install a small lead acid battery in parallel to the Astron PS12 that runs the radio. I was able to go to a small power supply since I had the battery there as well. It has been 4 years now and no problems with that.

Cooling is a minor issue with the items all installed in box, so I added a small muffin fan and a thermostat to control it. It can reach 30C in the box, but that hasn't caused any problems. Even in the dead of winter, I have always been able to connect.

Antennas are controlled by a Elecraft KRC-2. Very well made unit and it gives you lots of options for controlling antennas. Right now, I am using an 80/40m trap dipole, a 6M vertical, and a Butternut HF6V. I am planning on adding the tower at some point and HRD will be able to handle the rotor control. When I do that, I will install a web cam so that I can keep an eye on the antenna and rotator.

Having just finished the RAC Canada Day Contest, I have to say that this is a great solution. In fact, it would be able to set up a full Multi-Multi station on a site like this and not even have the operators onsite here with the radios. All the operators would have a very long mic cord.

When it blows, it blows

I just spent the weekend helping the Hobie fleet in Syracuse run their annual regatta.  This was the 33rd hosting of this event.  What a blast it was.

Saturday was looking like a great day.  Winds were good and solid (out of the east though).  We got all 3 fleets started and I then went down below to fire up my laptop to see what the weather radar was showing as there was a threat of thunderstorms.

Oh Crap were my first words.  Actually, it was worse than that, but this is a family channel.  We could see this really tight line of t-storms headed toward us.  All we had time to do was to get this race in the books and then wait out the storms.  It took a bit, but the storm did hit and then it rained for about 7 hours.

Sunday was a beautiful clear day with the winds blowing 30 knots out of the west.  The air temp was about 50F, so there was a significant wind chill.  But, what a great day for the heavy air sailors.

Lots of great pics here.

A friend of mine sent me this video of the Milky Way rising.  Now, this is cool!  Make sure you watch it in full screen.

Another one in the bag

The nights events went off without a hitch.  If there was one, Broder's team covered it pretty well.  If you watched the event, penalties were the key part of winning our losing.  The winners took home a pretty good check.  Results and some video are here.

I've got all the pictures uploaded.  This link will show the gallery you've seen before.  This link is a pretty cool slide show of the same event.

I'm off (back) to Syracuse now to the annual MadCatter Hobie Cat race where I am the race officer.  Fleet 204 puts on an amazing show as well.

Show Time

I got the T-Mobile thing sorted out.  Funny, they don't like a Canadian to pay by credit card.  So, I had to go to a CVS, buy a T-Mobile phone card and deposit that in my account.  But, that isn't the account for the actual phone.  

I then have to log in and move the money.  I'm so glad this was simple.

The guy at T-Mobile was surprised when I told him I was able to do this in London in about 90 seconds.

Pictures will be here.

T-Mobile - buying a SIM card

How hard can this be???

90 seconds .. in and out of a T-Mobile store.  New SIM card in hand.

This morning, I try to activate it.  Hmm... they didn't give me the activation number.

AND, the only way to get one is to walk back into the store.  

It only took an hour on the phone with them, and 4 separate people to figure it out.  The last lady was more than helpful, but could not help me get on line remotely.  I have to go back to the store.

Nascar - wow, that is a show

So, I go from it being quiet and working on job hunting, to getting an invite to come down to Charlotte, NC to be part of the Nascar Pit Crew Challenge.  I was able to manage a trip down here, and make it to Syracuse for the annual Madcatter Hobie Cat regatta this weekend.

I drove down to Syracuse on Tuesday and stayed with some good friends, Tom and Sue.  With a flight out today at 6am, via Washington and into Charlotte, I made it to the arena by 1pm to work with Jimmy, James and Andy.

The show times all 4 parts of a pit crews job.  Gas, Jacking, Front and Rear wheel change.  Once that is all done, you get to push the car about 100 yards.

Very cool show!  If you are in the US, you can watch it live Thursday on Speed.  I am not sure what they are showing in Canada.  

With all the travel I did yesterday and today, I only managed a few hours sleep.  As I am writing this, I'm listening to the weather channel that is describing the ongoing Tornado outbreak that is going on.  Ron and team, I hope your safe and have grabbed some great pictures.

It has been a while - since the last post

It has been pretty quiet for the past month.  Other than getting some skiing in out west, I have been focusing on getting my resume up to date.

However, last week, the timing bug raised its head and I jumped on the train to head over to Montreal to work with my friend Ted on some timing equipment.  We wanted to do some testing on a newer technology from our friends across the pond.  (Note to all:  Via rail from Toronto to Montreal all is great.  Although they do provide Internet, there is only 1 thing worse that no internet, and that is some internet.  I used my Telus Air Card which was really good.  No less then 10 people walked by me to ask how come my internet was actually working).

So, in front of his his house, we set up a few computers and the Line Scan camera.  The line scan camera is the one we use at World Cup ski races both in Lake Louise and Austria.  The beauty of this is it allows us to make some tests with equipment we trust to the newer technologies.  

This was a 'chip' or wireless product.  So, that means we need to lay down or tape some wires down on the road (a big antenna actually).  In the middle, we put down some pink tape that would allow us to determine exactly were the middle of the line is (or the start/finish line).  

After about 3 hours of setting up the finish line, it looked great, until....   I could hear this rather large truck climbing up the hill.  Wait, I know that sound.  Oh no... it couldn't be.  Yep, this is spring in Montreal and the street cleaner was headed our way.  With Ted no where to be found I knew we were in trouble as there was about an 80% chance this guy only spoke french.  Well, we got lucky and he made the turn to the left just below us.  We could hear him rumbling around the streets, but never headed our way.  Lucky us.

I would then ride be the finish while Ted and Andy captured the results on a laptop.  Now, Ted's house is above Montreal and so the slope goes from left to right in the picture.  This means I had to blow down the road, hammer on the breaks, then turn around and climb back up the hill.  

A few dozen of those will get your heart rate going.  In the picture above, it is key to note that the background is NOT moving while I am.  Some of you might have to think about that for awhile.

Spring skiing - wow

Today was our last day and it went out with a bang.  

The sun was shining, the wind was calm and the snow was amazing.  

After ducking in at 11:45 to make sure we get the seats we want on Westjet (you need to book your seats 24 hours in advance), we decided to detour to the bakery (again).  

Just as I am sitting down with some goulash (and a chocolate croissant-how did that happen), I bumped into an old friend and his family, Robert Huter, one of the owners of Mount St. Louis Moonstone.  I've know Robert since I was the patrol leader their back in the mid 80's.  

We had a great lunch with them and even skied a few runs with them after lunch.  

Today, we even ran into our first lift line (almost 6 minutes).  Wow, that was painful.  :)

I did ski Gowabuna - impressive run with Volkswagens for bumps (but they were soft).  Carolyn and I did some really high speed cruising runs on the back side until they kicked us out.  Then, back over to the front side until they kicked us out of there.    

A great way to end the season.  I recommend this place highly.

The last of the photos are now being uploaded to the gallery.

My Garmin - what a great device

Yesterday (Saturday), I chose not to ski.  Not sure why, but it just wasn't in my head even though it was sunny, no wind and about -2C.  Carolyn went out for a few hours in the morning/lunch time.

About mid afternoon, we decided to head down into Vernon to have a look around.  On the way down (from 1640M ASL to 430M ASL - hmm... think Tour de France, and this is in about 10k's), C thought that a tour over to Sun Peaks might be worth while as it was an option for us to ski.  Especially since the Garmin Nuvi only said that it was 80k's away.  One right turn later and a quick stop at Tim's (nope, didn't win anything), we were headed up Hwy 97 towards Kamloops.

At the end of 97, we did a right turn (high speed ramp actually--I guess for the truck run outs in case they are brakeless), and about 10k's later, we turned right on a very high arc 1 lane bridge of the Salmon Arm river.  

Now, you know your in trouble when your GPS says "turn right on unpaved road".   OK, right it is.  Funny, 'did you see any signs for Sun Peaks?'.  Nope.  

Next command from the Nuvi is 'Continue for 37 kilometers on unpaved road'.  This can't be good.  I can now start to hear the banjo's playing (no, we weren't listening to the Bluegrass channel on Sirius).  By now it is 5pm and the GPS is saying we should be there by 5:42.  Hmmm... this dirt road winds its way straight up and all we see is some pretty bare field.  

At that point, I check the Nuvi (GPS).  There is a part called 'Avoidances' in the navigation.  I guess when I was storm chasing with Ron last week and we were doing cross country near Austin Texas, I had turned off the part that says 'avoid unpaved roads'.  The Nuvi, doing what it was told, did find us the fastest route to Sun Peaks.  Not the way the brochure would wish  you to go, but, as always, it will get you there.

After checking google maps on my Blackberry, we decided that this is NOT the right or tourist way to Sun Peaks, so we turned around and headed back towards Hwy 97 and start our return Vernon.

Our Ford Edge rental from Budget is now coated in DIRT.  I hope that is OK, as I was warned that since it is an SUV, that I do have to stay on paved roads.

Since this is the first time we have driven the Edge in the dark, we noticed that you can switch the colour of the interior floor lighting and the rings around the cup holders to about 8 different colours (I can hear Ted saying 'come on!' already).

Today is our last day on the mountain.  Not a cloud in the sky and you can see forever.

Vacation to Silver Star BC

Carolyn and I arrived on Monday from Toronto.  This last minute vacation managed to find us a great rate on West Jet for the 2 of us return.  We splurged a bit on the accommodation based on the recommendations of some friends that were here 2 weeks before us.

Driving through Vernon, we noticed the extreme lack of snow.  I guess we should have checked the elevations differences between Vernon and Silver Star.  Once we made the drive up here, the snow banks can be measured in meters and the view is amazing.

Monday, we could have skied for free just by presenting our boarding pass, but we chose to take it easy and unpack and find some dinner.   Snowbird Lodge is located right in the village.  This isn't Whistler (as in it is a pretty small resort), but it is very quaint.  Once you get here, you can park the car unless you wish to drive back DOWNHILL into Vernon.

It didn't take us long to find the Bakery.  It also didn't take us long to find out that the owner of the Bakery knows my sister (left over from the television show, Making the Cut).  The requirement is for at least 2 trips each day into the bakery.  Not to worry, everything is low cal food! (yeah, right)

Today is Friday.  The Internet here is about the same or worse than Lake Louise (at least at the Hotel).  Today, I finally managed to get my VPN working to the house which has allowed me to get some decent speed and the ability to upload some pictures.

Check out the gallery.

It has snowed here every day (remember, this is April).  About a foot has fallen all week resulting in some amazing skiing.  For those that are here for the K2 National Ski race, it has been work as they have had to remove snow from the race course every day.  It was great to ski right by those working on the course (hey, is that Andy Wolfe???)

Thursday we skied fresh snow all day.  We even blasted through the trees/glade in knee deep powder at times.  

Friday, we skied all morning, came in for lunch and then checked ourselves into the spa for a few hours.  As I write this, we are headed over to meet some friends from Craigleith (who were here for the K2 races).

Tomorrow is supposed to be sunny and warm (make that almost 0C).  Down in Vernon, it might hit +12C.

p.s.  Sarah... I have not YET skied Gowabunga, but I will!!  However, I did do Gong Show.

Wrong blog :)

If your looking for the storm chasing blog, go here.

Rolex just loves us....

From The Hahnenkammnews

There were also a number of changes to the aesthetics to the course: The new start house facia gave the start of the race a striking new look. The racers gave this new look a big thumbs up! Precision Timing, on behalf of Rolex, had also brought new ideas to the race that were unique to Kitzbuehel, starting with their stroboscopic platform that allowed viewers to see exactly when the racers had broken the wand and started their run. The green LED lights flashed clearly for all to see.

Those watching on the Rolex screens in the finish area as well as at home were able to see the acceleration from the start as well as the speed that racers were going over the Mausefalle just after the start. All these pieces of information gave the viewers, as well as the coaches and racers, more of an insight into how the competitors were getting on when pitched against each other. 

It was in the finish area that the clearest sign of the new technology being used: The Rolex Speedometer gave everyone interested the opportunity to see how fast the racers were going as they came into the finish area. Didier Defago won The Race on Hahnenkamm Saturday and he also took the fastest speed down the Zielschuss, coming in at over 142kmh! While the technology used by the ski companies to help the racers go ever faster improves, the technology being used by Precision Timing and their partners Seltec is constantly evolving as is the partnership between the Kitzbueheler Ski Club, Rolex and the service providers. Ted Savage from Precision Timing is forthright when he says that they “focus on being the best in the world.”

Another Race comes to an end

Arrived home from Kitz late on Monday.  Our team exceeded all of our targets and left our client in a very very pleased state.  In fact, it was quoted that this was one of the top 10 Kitz races in all time (this was the 69th).  

On my photo site (where I just uploaded a ton more pictures), you can see a close up of the Red Bull helicopter.  Just keep in mind that he is totally vertical pointing straight down at me while I stand on the finish line.

From the time that the DH starts on Saturday to the finish of the SL on Sunday, it is go go go.  Once the DH finishes on Saturday, we have to gather all our equipment and move over to the SL start.  This requires getting it wired and tested (for those timing types, we use 5 pairs -- System A, System B, Headset, Display - where we feed display data up to the start.  For those of you counting, the 5th is a spare pair).

The finish is no different.  System A, System B, Headset, Photo Finish Camera and manual button.  As well, if possible, we do add a fibre optic line for the photo finish camera.  You can see the attached picture of a skier who just carved a turn over the finish line.

At the end of the SL race it is then time to pack up ALL the equipment so that it can be shipped back to Canada.  Some equipment is rented from our good friends at Alge.

Now, back to the food. Sunday night we all got back to the villa at about 7:15pm.  Just in time for a large 4 course dinner with some of the very key members of the organizing committee including the Marketting Rep for Rolex.  All great guys.

Kitzbuhel is the mecca of DH ski racing.  It all started here and is one of the safest courses in the world.  You only have to go back to when the crazy canucks raced in the 80's to see the lack of safety netting.  CBC clearly showed that on their broadcast.

I work with some of the best propeller heads in the business.  We have a lot of fun and haven't killed each other (yet).  We are family even though we are scattered to the 4 corners of the world.

Race day

Wow, what a day.  Make sure you just watch it.

The data on TV really rocked.  Brooker thought that the acceleration radar was just cool.

Speeds into the finish were over 140kph.

This is worth posting

From the Hahnenkammnews

The evolution of time: Bringing technology to the forefront

The concept of the Race is simple: The fastest man from top to bottom is the winner. This is straightforward. The cooperation between the Kitzbueheler Ski Club as the host, Precision Timing as the timing provider, Seltec as the data organiser and Rolex as the sponsor brings four partners together, all have the same goal: To provide the best possible service. In the words of Precision Timings Ted Savage: “The partnership with the Kitzbueheler Ski Club and Rolex brings the ‘Best in the World’ together.” 

Savage explains that racing is all about “performance that is relevant to time” and the evolution of ideas and concepts brings more excitement to the viewer. The service orientated product that is created for the Hahnenkamm weekend is not available at any other World Cup ski race and is unique to Kitzbuehel. From the moment the racer breaks the wand and starts his descent down the Streif, there is an abundance of information available to the media, the television commentator and all the way around the world to the television viewer, as well as on the hill to the coaches situated along the course. According to Savage, coaches can even use touch screens that are set up to pick up data that is relevant to their racers including acceleration out of the start gate, speed at the first major hurdle- the Mausefalle- and then the deceleration through the Laerchenschuss, all available to the coaches as soon as it has happened. For the fans watching the race from the finish area or on television, the Rolex Speedometer is also visible, showing how fast the racers go. American Scott McCartney was logged at 142km/h last year and the fastest in training this year was France’s David Poisson, at just shy of 140km/h.

The technology that all of this involves is incredible. Sitting in the Zielhaus next to the audio and TV studios of ORF, the Austrian broadcaster, the Precision Timing team and Seltec’s team coordinate a group of twenty spread out along the course. They have all worked together over the years at many events and offer an extremely professional service. Two four-kilometre long cables send the data down from the start to the finish, and then a mixture of fibre optics and hardwire sends the information out to the world. The data is collected through nine sensor points and four radar systems throughout the course. Once collected, the data is sent outbound to the Commentator Information System (CIS) and the waiting world through the use of radar, photo cell systems and hill management systems.

It is all about being the best in the world and this year there are a number of exciting new developments that can be seen on the course. By using a stroboscopic platform, in this case a flash of green light, spectators can see exactly when the racer breaks the wand and leaves the new starting area. The acceleration profile available on the TV screens last year will also be available in 2009. According to Savage, this is a “moment of external transparency that you just do not see in the sports timing at other events.” Commentators and viewers alike can also see the speed at which the racers leave the Mausefalle, just a few seconds after the start. Savage explains: “This is unique technology that Kitzbuehel has allowed us to evolve in partnership with Rolex and is typical of Kitzbuehel in that you will not see this anywhere else.” As the racer flies over the Hausbergkante and down the Zielschuss into the finish, the Rolex speedometer gives the thousands of fans watching an idea of just how fast the racers are going. 

Precision Timing and their partner Seltec are constantly testing out new ideas and listening to what Kitzbuehel would like. Savage explains: “We would not be able to do these things unless Rolex were willing to be as avant garde about this as they are or as accepting as a sponsor. As technologists, what we bring to the table are independent views and expertise that work off one another and as a triad we push the event forward. We then inject into this, the point of view of the historic ski club of Kitzbuehel. This brings a solution that you just will not see anywhere else.” 

Surrounded by a bank of laptops and a few desktops with larger drives, Savage explains that the race is “an athletic test of very pure dynamics, it requires a certain appreciation of the basics and evolves beyond that.” While the fans soak up the information provided in the graphics, the teams need the information to discover where the racer is winning and losing time. Peter Gridling from Seltec explains this further: “The teams do not realise quite what we can do for them. They need to learn what we can do for them.” Savage adds that “the information is available straight away and is instantaneous.” For the future, as telecommunications develop, there are plans for the coaches and athletes to be able to log on to the internet and access this information. At the moment, as per the request of the live communication portals, the information output on the screen is limited.

While the Hahnenkamm weekend is the most exciting weekend on the FIS Audi Alpine Skiing World Cup, the development of the technology behind the scenes means that the waiting world, watching both at the race and around the world, can access information up to the thousandth of a second at the touch of button. From the moment the racer leaves the start to the moment he leans forward to break the beam at the bottom, the information deliverance is constantly evolving through the use of technology. 

Timing and data are integral parts of the whole event and the collaboration with Rolex and Kitzbuehel means, in the words of Seltec’s Peter Gridling, “We want to show the best overview they can get!” Ted Savage sums up the whole relationship between the various partners, and in particular the Kitzbueheler Ski Club, when he says, “They drive the event and lead the world.” Kitzbuehel is unique and with the Rolex sponsorship, the event leads the world with its use of technology.

Enough about the food -- I guess

Today was Super G day.  Weather started out great, but it got cloudy by race time.  

The fun with SG is that it is raced almost at downhill speeds, but the racers only get to inspect it, but not train on it like they do with the downhill.  Also ORF TV does to ski racing what CBC does to hockey.  You get lots and lots of race analysis.  Like right now as I write this.  Even though it is in German, with the replays, you can tell what they are discussing.  ORF is even doing the racer vs. racer overlay so you can see how the favourites did and how each turn affected the outcome.

It is a blast to hear the crowds roar as the Austrian's (or Swiss) show up in first place as their time is measured and reported on the big display boards.  Then as they blow it approaching the finish, the 60,000 of the groan.  Sort of like the Leafs giving up a 2 goal lead.

IF you happen to watch the DH race tomorrow (which should be a GO as the weather should be fine), as you watch the racer make a right hander to head to the finish, they are on a 40 degree slope with their skis barely on the snow.  Pretty amazing.

Sunday is the Slalom race.  The weather for that day could be very very interesting with high winds, etc.

This is a dangerous sport

Today (Thursday if I remember correctly) started just like any other.  About 0C this morning and the humidity running a little high.  Our walk over to the hill takes about 10 minutes, just like any other day.

The inside guys that do the timing and data handling start to arrive about 8am for an 11:30 start.  We gather our backs of equipment (which include the 4 radar units, lots of eyes for intermeditate times, and head over to the Hahnenkammbahn (lift) to the top.  

Brian, who manages the start and overseas most thing 'outside' has boxes of timing equipment to ensure that we don't have any issues during a race that is sent to live TV.  Ted, oversee'r of all, the rest of the world covered and from any angle.  

I leave the start about 90 minutes before the start of the race and start setting up the start radar which shows how fast they accelerate followed by the Mausefalle jump (just seconds after the start) - racers hit 120+kph here.  This radar unit is installed on the side of a scaffolding that is somehow clued to the side of a cliff.  They even charge you to watch the race from here.  If you check the photos on my web page you can see it pointed down at almost 45 degrees (it doesn't look like much as it is just a box about 4" x 4").

Next, I ski through most of the course (bypassing the Stielhang) which I avoid at most costs.  I've skied it once there year just to say I did.  It is nothing but a wild off camber high speed turn.  Oh, it is steep as well.  

Larkenschuss is fairly straightforward as it is on somewhat flat terrain.  But, the Zeil makes up for that.  If it is 'soft' enough I can almost ski to the TV tower that the radar is mounted on.  If it scraped down to the ice, it is better that I walk down through the snow so that I don't end up on ORF TV in a slide for life.  This radar is the money shot though.  It defines the speed that 60000 spectators see as the racer klings to his edges as he blasts through the finish.

Which brings me to todays race under somewhat sunny skies.  Daniel Albrecht mis-judged the Zeilsprung and landed very poorly requiring him to be airlifted unconcious.  More on Ski Racing.

No training today - but lots to do

Over the past few days we have had the honour of eating lunch in the start house.  As you sit amoung the photos on the wall, you can see all the history of the Hannenkam with this being its 69 year running.

We are now honoured guests there.  Lunch is always soup, salad, main course and dessert.  Good thing we've been on our feet all day just to work off lunch then dinner.

As I said earlier, we didn't train today.  There was a 10am start planned, but thankfully they blew the race off about 9am with the plan to do the same thing tomorrow.  With the current weather, even tomorrow is suspect as it snowed most of the day.  

Yesterday, as we were working on the start, we could hear a helicopter coming up the hill.  Not that uncommon as they use helicopters here just like we use skidoos back home.  However, this time it was the Red Bull Attack Cobra.  This thing makes quit the sound as it approaches, almost taking your breath away.  Well, it came right over the start house then stood on its noise as it then headed back down the course.

I'm uploading some pictures from the last few days to the my web site.  I've been trying to capture just how steep the approach into the finish is.  

This one comes close.  In the middle of the red fence to the left is a wooden tv tower that you can just see.  Mounted to that tower is one of my radar units.  Skiers will reach over 141kph on the approach into the finish.  Did I mention that there is a jump just before the finish.

You can see what happened to Scott on the approach to the finish last year.

This is a race not for the timid.

Yet another short post

Sorry, but yesterday was a very long day. Ted, James and I worked late trying to debug a problem with some video. At 8pm, in the dark, we called it a night.

For those of you wondering (Barry) dinner was Schnitzel and it was amazing, as was the rest of the meal.

I crashed shortly after that, as today (Tuesday) was the first training day and I had to be on the lift at 7am to ensure all my devices were installed and running by 9am with a 10am start.

Well, it is now 9:09am and training today is cancelled. Why? As it is just 'puking snow' all the way from the bottom to the top and there is no way anyone can keep up to it including the Austria Army (they must have taken a page from Mel's book, or was it the other way around).

Short blog tonight

Why you ask?  (Isn't this a great view of the village?  I took this today from the Red Bull arch).

1. Well, I'm dying from a head cold.
   
2. I didn't ski off the hill until dark (we are talking the Hannenkamm here, not some baby ski hill in North York)
3. Just barely made it to dinner

About the dinner part.  Other than fine wine, and one of the very best Peppercorn Steaks I have ever had in Europe, not to mention the dessert, I'm beat.

I guess that taking Tylenol Nighttime just after dessert and then having that followed up with some Pear Schnapps... I'm done.  Now, the owner of the villa did lecture me on the medical benifits of taking Schnapps (must be as good as Oregeno Oil).

Tomorrow is another day.  Lots to still do before the first training run on Tuesday.

The food...

Is amazing...

Dinner tonight here at the Villa:

Saladbouquet with roasted shrimps

Clear soup with slice pancake (this shoulds weird, but was amazing)

Saddle of Lamb (don't tell Carolyn, but this was amazing as well -- even though I can't stand lamb)

Vegetable and polenta

Cranberry-Scheiterhaufen with poppy-seed parfait

This is how we eat almost every day.  We have our own chef for dinner.  Good thing we are on our feet all day, or we would put on 100 pounds.

Short blog tonight as those at the end of the  hall don't have any WiFi (Ted and Andy--well, Ted sort of has some Wifi).  So, I have to configure one of our special routers to extend the WiFi down the hall.

As for this room the WiFi router is just below us (for those of you internet challenged people like my Dad, Wifi is wireless internet and is pronounced "Why Fi").  

Today's pictures are on my website.  http://www.walkerphotography.ca/gallery/7116228_Vr58d

Made it to the Villa

Getting to Austria is always like John Candy in Plains, Trains and Automobiles. The last 48 hours were no different.

It starts out simple enough with an upgrade to Business class and the fully reclining beds on Air Canada. Dinner is Manitoulin Rainbow Trout (those of you who know me, know I'm not big on fish). But, it was pretty good anyway. I watched one movie (Burn after reading -- pretty funny) and then managed to squeeze in 4 hours of sleep.

On approach to Munich, we find out the airport is just about closed due to frozen fog. We circle around for a bit and then the pilot tells us that he is headed to Zurich to get fuel before we run out (not a bad idea). 2 hours later we do make it into Munich.

Coop has beat me here and manages to find me even though none of our cell phones are working. I had to pay 8 Euro's for 60 minutes of internet so that I could get on T-Mobile with my iPod to send text messages to Ted in Austria to tell Coop that I'm here.. somewhere.

That works out OK, and off we go to get our train tickets. Having done this before, we know that it will take 3 trains to get to Kitzbuhel with the first one leaving in 8 minutes. That is a 50 minute ride to downtown Munich.

We totally get confused in Munich city center. Nothing makes sense and we can't find the long haul train station (sort of like Toronto with the subway in one place and the GO in another). When we finally make sense of it, we have about 3 minutes to dash all over. Coop sprints it out ahead of me and I'm trying not to loose site of him. I know it is track 13, but in the confusion, I double back to the next track (I was on the right track in the first place - no pun intended). Coop dives on and tells the conductor to wait for me as he can see me running down the platform. Since I got confused, and did a 180, the conductor says too bad and off he leaves (this is Europe... the trains do run on time).

Soooo... I have now realized that he's gone and he has the combined ticket. I have to purchase another and have 2 hours to kill (at Starbucks--and another 8 euros for 60 minutes of internet so I can text Ted that we got split up, etc.)

Things go well after this point, and I make it to Kitz. The good news is that Ted is there to help me with my bags right off the train (something you can't do in an airport much anymore). The automobile part is that you can walk to the Villa Mellon http://www.villa-mellon.at/ faster than you can drive to it as you have to drive all the way around Kitz to get back.

Our host here is amazing. Dinner is Monk Fish (where is the beef around here??).

Kitz - here we come

The team is headed to Austria to do our magic again. I'm currently at YYZ with an overnight flight to Munich.

In Munich I meet up with Brian and we make our way to Kitzbuhel.

mike@portcredit.net

Sent via BlackBerry on the Bell Mobility network

Kitz - here we come

The team is headed to Austria to do our magic again. I'm currently at YYZ with an overnight flight to Munich.

In Munich I meet up with Brian and we make our way to Kitzbuhel.

mike@portcredit.net

Sent via BlackBerry on the Bell Mobility network