Downhill is done

As I write this, most of you are likely watching the race on CBC.  For me, I've been off the hill for 4 hours, and just finished a wonderful dinner here at the Villa Mellon.

As we lead up to a race like this, the puzzle starts to go together.  We connect starts, finish lines, intermediate eyes, display boards, photo finish cameras and more.  And, that is just the timing side of the show.  Then, all that data gets merged together and fired over to the data guys.  They fire out to the internet, huge video walls, and much more.  That doesn't even include the TV part.

But... leading up to the first forerunner down the course, you never do a full dress rehearsal and you are pretty sure that everything will work, but it takes the first racer on the course to confirm you have all the pieces fully connected and communicating to each other.  The team I am part of has done this a few times and have been pretty successful and thinking ahead and limiting all problems before you can see them on the air.

Yesterday we had the Super G race and today the grand daddy of the them all, the Downhill race.  Tomorrow is 'just' a Slalom race.  The Slalom race is in some aspects pretty simple, but it can also bite you in the ass as there is so much going on on the hill at any time.

A view from beside the start hut

It also means that from about Friday morning until Sunday night we are going full out.  Sadly, there is no time to walk to downtown Kitzbuhel and see the sea of drunken humanity.  Coop described one person he saw that was clearly not on this planet.  All he was capable of doing was walking (not in a straight line) and blowing a horn that he had.

The team I work with are rock stars.  Each bring something unique to the show and make this just a fun place to be even if you don't get lunch for 3 days and all you had for breakfast is a bun.  We all survive.  We all support each other and all cover each others back.  We do this because we love what we do and to bring the best we can to our customer.

No training run today

This morning (Wednesday) started pretty early... about 6am.  That would be midnight for those of you in an eastern time zone.

We all left about 6:30am with it pouring rain out.  The odds are if it is raining that there will be no race today.  That was ok with me as it allowed me to spend some timing working on some of my batteries for the on hill equipment.

As well, the team got to make sure that all the rest of the hill was working.  That includes getting the backup or bad weather start wired up.  For me, it was the ability to get the Slalom finished sorted out with all the wiring pairs.

Let's move forward to today (Thursday).  We did manage to get a training run in, but not without its issues.  

My radar on the video wall

First, it was an early start just to get a training run it.  I went up about 7:30am and got both my radar sites working.  My radars are used on the bottom half of the course and the run into the finish.  On the finish run, the speed is displayed on the very large video wall.  That 'tv screen' is about 40 feet high.

Next I hear that the lift is stopped.  Make that broken.  No idea of the ETA.  I happen to be in the finish hut to hear on the radio that the top 30 racers will be taken to the start by helicopter.  The others by bus.  Bus???   Apparently you have to take a bus to Kirchburg and then take the lift to a different top.  Our 20ish year old starter, Ernst, got a helicopter ride to the start.  Pretty cool for him.

Now, for the bad news.  We had a very bad crash on the first jump.  This course is one of the hardest courses in the world.  You start on a very steep hill.  Then, 2 seconds later, it gets steeper.  8 seconds after you start, you hit the first 'jump' doing about 120kph (we used to have a radar gun here, but they didn't want it this year).  You have to hit this one right and land it perfectly.  Such is not the case for Hans Grogger.  He landed very wrong and has head injuries, broken leg, and much more.  We just heard that he is now out of danger.  He did require cranial surgery.  I hope he pulls through and that it all works out.

Other than the snow that happened during the race, it was pretty calm after that.  You can watch the live camera on the start area if you like at http://hkrlive.com.  Remember, we are 6 hours ahead of eastern time zone for those of you on the other side of the pond.

This course is the real deal.  I mean the real deal!!  You ski this to the bottom in less then 4 minutes and survive, you are nothing short of amazing.  Finish in the top 10, and you can walk on water.  Yesterday just about anyone could have skied this course.  Today it was rock hard ice, much like an NHL hockey rink.  

I guess this is why they invite the guys from Eastern Canada out here.  We are used to skiing ice.

I am trying out a new camera by Sony (hard to believe that anything from Sony actually works).  This is from the Nex-3.

Panorama view of the finish.  Click to enlarge.

Tomorrow is the Super G from a brand new Super G start.  They had a very large wind storm that ripped out acres of trees, all of them in the area of the Super G start.  It really changes the complexion of the hill in the middle.

Just a tad warm here

This morning (Sunday), about 9am, on our walk over from the Villa to the hill, we quickly noticed that it did get below freezing last night as the road was nothing but black ice on the walk down the hill.  For some of us, the walk went a little quicker then normal.

Today, it hit about 11C.  Phips, the Start Referee who has been here for most of the 70+ races said that it was like "Africa" at the start house.  And, this is January.

Not Good! -- Thanks to Brian Cooper for the picture

More importantly is the fracture on the hill just below the Hausburg jump.  With all the heating and freezing going on, who knows what might happen at that point.  They have been using Helicopters to move snow into that area since they can't make snow.

I had to walk down beside that area today (now Monday) in a field that has no snow and the ground was all totally fractured as well, which looked like it was setting up for a big mud slide that would end up in the finish area.  However, for all I know, it could look like that all  time.

Monday was just about the same temperature.  Just beautiful weather.  Just not for a ski  race.  If you like spring skiing, it was wonderful!  The rumor is that it is supposed to snow LOTS on Wednesday and Thursday.  The will really cause some problems, but nothing that our team can't solve.  As long as the snow can be removed from the course prior to the race, then it will be a great race.

Jet Lag ....

After a slightly longer trip that normal due to some train delay (yes, they do happen in Europe), I did arrive at the Villa Mellon and was greeted by Herta the moment I walked in the door.

I did manage to sneak in a quick nap before being whisked out dinner at some castle that was built about 1439 (I have to get more details on that).  When it comes to eating meals here, nothing is done quickly.  First, you have to mill around the bar, then it is the next 4 courses plus the 2 dessert servings.  And, for the first time in ever for me in Europe, I had a great beef meal!

James Broader (aka "The Mighty Skunk")  - dessert

By this time, I had been up for over 30 hours.  I'm seated on a bunch seat with 12 other people, and the bench seat has pillows.  Talk about control not to lean over and put my head on one of those pillows.

The weather here is way too mild.  It is above zero and I can hear the water running down the roof (very relaxing sound).  However, this will take its toll on the race which is to run 1 week from now.

And, in case you missed it, read what the Skunk had to do upon arriving here!

Road Trip

It has been awhile since I have traveled by plane.  However, I am fortunate enough to be invited back to Kitzbuhel for the 71st running of the Hahnenkamm.   HP was kind enough to let me have time off to attend this event even though I started with them at the beginning of December.

Having long since lost my Elite status for Air Canada, I was forced to travel in cattle class.  Working the system some, I did get an exit row seat, but the next time I should order the seat that has heat.  I was wearing everything I own about halfway through the flight.  I swear the air temp was about 15C or less for over half the trip.

I did watch the Social Network on the way over.  If you are a Facebook user (over 1/2 a Billion people are), you do need to watch this.  I wonder how much of it is true.

Since I am not in a rush today at all to get to Kitzbuhel, I sat down to wait for my bag to show up.  Yep, no Elite status with Air Canada, yet my bag is the first out.  Go Figure!  A few years ago, with my bag tagged priority I counted the number of bags ahead of mine.  It should have been in the first 20 or so.  Mine was 187.

While having breakfast here in the terminal, I was able to watch the first half of the Super Combined from Wengen.  The course looked pretty good and the Slalom race is later today.  The big DH at Wengen is tomorrow.  This is the longest course on the circuit and the guys are just exhausted at the finish.

In the center part of the terminal, Audi has a display (or is it store), complete with a mountain you can drive up and down on.  They didn't seem to like my Ontario driver's license, so no test drive for me.  I tried to see if I could take it home, 'duty free', but that didn't work either.

It also looks like the internet is becoming more available here.  Even Starbucks has free Wifi.  Just last year you'd have to pay for it.

My train to Kitz isn't until 12:44pm local time (6:44am for those you back in snowy Toronto).  It is warm here... about 10c.  Not good if you are doing the largest ski race in the world.

While purchasing my train ticket, the agent seemed to have trouble with my credit card and kept re-swiping it.  Apparently she charged me 3 times for  my ticket, and then immediately apologized.  She said it was easier to just give me cash in return, so being half asleep, I said sure.  Then, I remembered some scam about this sort of transaction showing up on my visa as a cash advance, which would not be a good thing.  I will have to call Visa when I get to the Villa Mellon just to be sure.

The cost of Hydro (Power that is)

I have lots of things that just plug into the wall (or require batteries that require charging).   That means that they consume energy at some point, with the end result that it ends up on my Hydro bill.

Over the summer, I saw that my canoe trip partner, Barb, had a cool device that sits on her kitchen counter and gives her an instant reading on how much energy she is using at any time.  And, it shows it in dollars and cents if you like.  The geek in me knew that I JUST had to have one.   In the past, you had to run outside and  just see how fast the Power Meter wheel was spinning.  New Smart Meters don't have that of course.

After a bunch of internet research, I found something called a TED 5000 from the Energy Detective.  You can also read more on their web site on just why and how.   I mentioned this to my friend and owner Angelo at Radio World here in Toronto.  He thought they were pretty cool and decided to stock them in the store.  Even National Geographic thought this device was so important that they mentioned in one of their news articles.

I liked this one as it actually clipped on the hydro lines (the BIG lines) inside my breaker panel (which required a little advanced hookup --- most of my friends would do this on their own).   Others should call an electrician.  There are other units that work by clipping onto your power meter, but I learned that they were hit and miss if they actually worked.  Even Walmart sells one from Black and Decker.  You'll need to see if it is compatible with your Hydro meter.

The instructions were excellent and the unit worked right away.  After using a computer to program it with the rates from Power Stream, I could see that it costs about $0.15/hr to run the house at peak dinner time.   I did have to grab my Power Stream Hyrdo bill to see what my On-Peak, Mid-Peak and Off-Peak rates will be.    Off-Peak is about half of what On-Peak is.  This is why we now use the dryer after 9pm or before 7am.

Then, I turned on the Oven for a test.  Wow.  We are now at $0.54 per hour.  Just for fun, I turned the dryer on as well.  Now, we are up to over a $1/hr.    Now, I will be able to watch just how expensive it will be to do the Christmas Turkey.  Or, I could do it on the BBQ or deep fry it (don't knock it if if you haven't tried it). Of course, the model I got that allows me to watch it online from my iPad or just about any computer if I wish.

We are fortunate that our Hydro in Canada is so inexpensive and we do take it for granted, but it does help for us to all thing just a little greener (except when it comes to snow :)  ).

Now, I need to get it integrated into Google Power Meter.  

My return to Canoe tripping

This trip report was totally written on my iPad, just to see if I could do it.

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July 2010 Canoe Trip - French River - Hwy 69 to Wolsely Bay

July 8th, 2010

This is the first trip for me in over 30 years. After having a 1948 Peterborough Champlain canoe refinished, it did deserver to be taken on a real trip. That brings us to today. Barb Schering (McKenny), Ken Smith and his son Keagan join me on this trip. Barb used to trip with me when we were members of the Chippewa Outers Club at Chippewa Seconday School in North Bay, Ontario back in the 70's. Ken has been a very close friend since high school and was the person responsible for my love for Ham radio (and technology). If it has electrons moving in it, then we have likely played with it.

The canoe was refinished by Headwater Canoe in Buckhorn Ontario. Dick did an amazing job, and although Buttercup was yellow in a previous life, she is now the classic canoe red and she is beautiful. Yes, she is still canvas, and yes, she will get scratched, but she is designed to be paddled. The canoe is owned by the Philps family and Carolyn (my better half) allowed me to have it refinished.

On the Thursday night before we left, we met at Ken's house in North Bay. As I had never tripped with him, it is important to make sure you take what you need and try not to carry any duplicate items, especially in the kitchen department. Barb, who loves to cook, had prepared the menu and all the major meals for us. This really helps if you have bad weather or a long day.

July 9th, 2010

We met in Sturgeon Falls for breakfast at about 6:30 in the morning. Ken's wife Holly provided vehicle support. From there we travelled to the French River trading post, dropped off the canoes, packs, etc. and picked up our French River park passes. While Ken and Barb got organized, Holly and I headed back to the end point to drop off my car (Wolsely Bay). About an hour round trip, and I was back to the start with the rest of team.

There has been very little rain or snow in this part of Ontario since about October of 2009. Lake Nipissing is down over a meter and it drains into the French River. The French, which is part of the Voyageur canoe route, is down about 2 meters (depending who you ask).

One thing you learn about the French is that when you can, you paddle from West to East, which is upstream. The French is a deep river and has slow currents. The wind however, blows from the west and that can make for a very easy canoeing day (something that was reinforced in our late August 2010 trip--more on that later in another blog entry).

As we approached our lunch stop, I had just given Keagan a lecture on being careful, don't get hurt and try not to cut your feet). I was trying to keep my sandals dry as I got out of the canoe at lunch and immediately slipped on a rock and cut my foot. Not good, as I do need this feet for portages.

There is a lot of cottages in this part of the French, so you will find lots of boat traffic to deal with. However, there is no power in this part of the river, so lots of cottages (or camps as you call them if you are from Northern Ontario) have alternate sources of power. The wind was building from the west through the day and we watched many other canoe groups struggle westbound while we enjoyed a relaxed paddle to the east.

New to me for canoeing is a GPS (what a surprise). I get rolling detailed maps on my Garmin GPS76, and I can see how fast we are really moving. What I learned during the summer is that you can plan on an average of about 4kph from the time you leave your campsite and reach your next campsite. This takes into account lunch, wind and portages.

As we set up for our first night out, Ken caught a nice looking Pike (which he released). I guess no one wanted to clean it.

We had a great dinner of Beaf Stroganoff at about 5:30pm (thanks Barb). Even then, it was about 24C and the 15kph winds from the west helped to keep bugs away (if there was really any). We all retired to our tents about sunset. I was just about to call it a night, when I looked out and was able to see the tail end of a great sunset with Venus very bright in the western sky and a great reflection on the water. So, I ran out, got eaten alive by mosquitos and in about 30 seconds, captured a great night photo.

July 10, 2010

We crawled out of bed about 5:45 am to a wonderful sunrise and a breakfast of Oatmeal and Baegels. It was a lazy morning and we left the campsite about 8:30. About 20 minutes later, my left foot started to swell (this is the other foot from the cut). I suspect that something bit me (spider?), and it was getting worse and feeling weird. We pulled over to open the pack and Barb pulled out some Benadril. That seemed to really help and about an hour later, I never really noticed that I had a problem in the first place.  Lesson 2 why you have to protect your feet.

The last time I was at any of the rapids was over 30 years ago and since the water was so low, they looked very foreign to me. Some rapids didn't exist, some we were able to paddle up, some we were able to walk up and a some still required a portage.

Our next campsite was at Blue Chute, which still looked like Blue Chute. However, the Ladder part was dry which you can normally paddle right up to.

The campsite is on top of the island and comes with a great view. But, if you want water, you have to walk down about vertical 50ft with your containers and water filters (we use one of the MSR pumps and it works great). But be careful, they don't float if you drop it.

It took awhile, but at this point, we finally had no cell signal at all. This does now take us fully off the grid with no Faceboo, etc.  Life did not end at that point and we didn't fall off the world.  

Blueberries were ready to be picked and in a very short time, we had lots for meals and a pie (that apparently has not been made yet as the blueberries are sitting in Barb's freezer).

July 11, 2010

Holly was to meet us at Wolsely Bay about 3pm, which was not 'that' far away. We didn't have to rush off the campsite at all. It was another very hot day and with the wind out of the west again. Before lunch we had navigated the rest of the swifts, lifts and portages to end up on the same body of water as Wolsely Bay. We stopped for lunch about a 40 minute paddle from the pickup point. Here, you could also see just how low the water was. This was our first time we had a headwind to deal with at times, even though we hugged the west shore to keep out of the wind. Lots of cottages here and we passed many people just out floating in their water toys trying to keep cool.

It was great to get back on the water in this way after being off it for so long. If you are a camping type of person, and haven't done a canoe trip, find some time to go. It makes for much more enjoyable trip if you go with someone who had done it before. Remember, that when you are packing, to divide things into 3 piles. Essentials, nice to have, and luxury. Take all the essentials (toilet paper is a great example), none of the nice to have and 1 of the luxuries...you will have to carry it at some time.

The entire gallery is here.  Some (if not most) of the pictures have GPS data on them, so, if you click here, you can see where each picture is on google earth.

Last, but not least, many thanks for Carolyn for letting me escape for 3 days in the woods!  What would I do without her!