Today was a big day, our excursion up to Whistler for 2-man bobsled. A long day, as we had to plan ahead to go up there. Whistler is about a 2 & 1/2 hour ride north of Vancouver, and the only way up there is to take a bus (again, no private traffic allowed). No problem, just another early start. Our event was scheduled for 1:30pm, with the bus departure set for 8:15am. We actually arrived about 45 minutes early to one of many departure lots that the olympics have set up in Vancouver. No wait though, they just said grab the next one. Nice, since we could then have a little extra time to check out the village before our event.
One change though, they also notified us that our event was postponed by at least 90 minutes. Well, now we’ll have more time to scout the town and maybe see what other kind of fun lies ahead. Thanks to an early start, the ride up there was relatively quick. It was an incredible ride too. We take the one route to Whistler called the Sea-to-Sky Highway. The name rings true, as you start off by hugging the water as you ride on the edge of the mountains. My body said to take advantage of the ride’s downtime by catching up on some sleep, but my eyes couldn’t look away from the incredible views. An interesting site on the ride up was the various coach busses bringing spectators up to Whistler. The olympics actually brings in private companies from all over North America to help with the influx of people needing to be moved around. As a result, we noticed busses from California, Utah, Wisconsin and even Florida trucking people like us to the mountains. Little things like this make me realize all the different aspects of hosting a massive event like this.
While Jean and I had our tickets, Kay did not. But she booked another bus to go up there and take her chances. We were told by many that due to the distance to Whistler and the extra cost of a bus (around $50-$100 each), many people would get rid of those tickets and you could take a chance. Our other objective was to see the victory celebration that they do up here, separately from the one in Vancouver. Up here, they hand out the medals from most of the mountain events from the same day.
So, we arrive up there at about 10:30am, and our bus is quickly greeted by an olympic volunteer who tells us the bobsled run is delayed now until 4pm. Wow, we now have lots of time to relax before our event. Whistler village is relatively knew, developed in the sixties and takes the feel of an alpine village. No real town or city, just a few ski resorts off the highway but home to lots and lots of condos, shops, restaurants, bars and such. We quickly realize that there is a very different atmosphere up here from the craziness of the city. We actually see olympic athletes walking around, casually intermingling with the spectators. Whistler also has a few areas set aside for fun and live entertainment. By noon-time, the sun was again shining and it felt in the high 40s. Blessed with another beautiful day. One difference up here though – snow. Nothing on the ground in Vancouver, but plenty up here.
Thanks to the beautiful day, we wanted to pick a place for lunch that was preferably outside, just because we could. Found a place that overlooked the bottom of Blackomb Mountain, which had one of those giant video screens showing olympic competition. This is a must, as an “Olympaddict”, you need to be in site of a tv to watch olympic coverage unless you’re not at the actual event. Great, relaxing way to burn a couple hours over lunch. We were able to watch the mens ski-cross and also watch Bode Miller win a gold medal in Alpine Skiing. Over at the Swiss house, we watched a tv interview live with Simon Aaman, the ski jumping athlete that had already won two gold medals this week. He looks like a small-framed teenager rather than an olympic athlete. Still, beaming with a wide smile, it was neat to see his medals draped around his neck.
On to our event. Nestled right in the Blackomb ski resort, we were able to take a ski gondola to get to the Whistler Sliding Center. Still plenty of time, but as a general admission ticket-holder, you just get to go in the standing room only areas of the track. We walked into a fun, sun-drenched atmosphere, with a band playing and fans starting to come in showing the pride of their respective countries. Those crazy Dutch, clad in orange are obvious to spot. However, you can hear other guys coming a mile away, the Swiss. You see, four of them are carrying these huge cowbells. So big that they have to be carried with two hands. So big that they sound like someone is beating a steel drum. Maybe over one foot wide but almost one-two feet high. Awesome.
We found a spot near the bottom, final turn in the track; a big, u-shaped turn called the “Thunderbird”. We had almost an hour before the start, so we kicked back and enjoyed the sun. After trading a couple more pins (yes, I’m caught up in that geekiness too), we found out the reason the event was delayed was due to the sun which could melt ice on the track. So, we had to wait for it to go behind the mountains and they could lift the shades off the track. When that happened, whoah, did we noticed. The temperature felt like it dropped about 10-15 degrees just by being in the shade. Minutes before the official start time, we were warned of a “forerunner” sled that would be coming down ahead of competitors. Sort of like a pace car I guess. Since we were at the bottom of the track, it took about 40 seconds to get to us. Then, very quickly, you here the sound similar to a fighter jet and you watch this missile fly by you in a matter of milliseconds. Just after it passes, it seems like the entire crowd dropped their jaws in unison and just went “Whoooah”. Crazy fast. And its just a few feet away from the crowd too! Then, the second “forerunner” came down and by the time it reached us it was on its side !! Still going crazy fast as it flew past us. I quickly took my name off the alternate list for bobsled participants.
The competition got started with the powerful German teams, always the leaders in the sledding sports. Even after the first few sleds went past us, you don’t get used to the flash of noise that bursts past you. Coming fourth was the US team led which wasn’t favored here but instead for the 4-man bobsled. BTW, my cowbell was going crazy each time one of these missiles flew by.
There were two runs today, finals with 23 teams competing in the first run. After that, we decided to check out other areas of the track to get different perspectives. Finish line was very cool but tough to get a good view. We then made our long, slow treck up the mountain to the top. Long way up, (gotta get the measurements) but was very cool to see at different angles and even see them get started too. On the second run though, only the top teams (maybe 10 or 12 or so?) moved on. We were halfway down the track when the final sleds came down and alas, the Germans once again took the top two spots with the Americans. Over two and a half hours had passed by now, but was dark for a while and the cold definately takes its toll. Still, such an exciting event to witness. Definately one of the long-time traditions of the winter games and memorable in so many ways.
After departing the venue and getting back down to the village (again, lines, lines, lines), we tried to sneak over to the victory celebration to see Bode Miller get his Gold Medal. Didn’t get in, but did see it from the outside and he had a huge ovation from the crowd. Next to the Canadians, who are in full force of course, the US has a great amount of fans up here as well and obviously make sure people know it.
At the same time that bobsled was ending, the US and Canada were squaring off in their hockey game. We kept hearing reports of the score as the Canadians are all about winning this Gold Medal. When word of the US Victory came through, you could see the dissapointment among the Canucks and we witnessed lots of US fans making the victory known loud and clear among the streets of Whistler Village. At this point, we were now at around 8:30pm and we were absolutely beat from the long day of being out in the cold (not to mention, trekking up the bobsled run!). Time to catch our bus back to the city. Just before getting the bus, we ran into Kay, and she told us about her good luck as she ended up scoring tickets to not only Bobsled but also a Biathlon event as well. Two events in one day, and she paid the equivalent of a 2 for 1 price. Very nice. Jump on the bus, time to crash – awesome day though.
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