The 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympic Games
They're
over!
After more than five years of planning and preparation, of
angst and worry, the 2010
Vancouver Olympic Games are now but a memory, a few
thousand meters of netting yet to be removed and smudges of blue dye on
the Dave Murray and Franz's downhill tracks. Legions of Whistler Weasel
Workers have taken to their beds, sleeping past 4:30 AM for the first
time in weeks. Some are preparing themselves for another three weeks of
long hours and hard work on the Paralymics. Others are
returning to their homes across Canada, the USA and in other countries.
We wish them all safe travels and happy reunions with their
families.
We all have many tales to tell; of the overnight and early morning shifts, the food, the security issues, the weather, but most of all old friendships renewed and new ones made and the camaraderie and good fun of Weasel House, the home-way-from-home for all alpine volunteers.
To put on the Olympic Alpine ski races, the Whistler Weasel Workers welcomed Sled Dogs from Alberta, Marmots from Vancouver Island, Sun Dogs from the Okanagan, Coyotes from Ontario, Talon Crew from the USA and hundreds of other volunteer race workers from throughout the ski racing world. It was an international effort. We came together to form an effective "Weasel" team ready to overcome the challenges of mounting a major ski race in Whistler, and we succeeded!
The
weather presented a
huge challenge with heavy snowfalls and warm temperatures during
setup and downhill training. Tons of snow were removed from the upper
sections of the courses during all-night shfts, while workers on lower
sections had to contend with tracks too soft to work.
However, the Sun came out and temeratures dropped for the the speed
events, when it really mattered. With some delay, the Downhill and
Super-G races were all run with great success. Wet snow and
warm
temperatures returned for the Giant Slalom and Slalom races,
but we prevailed and these events were also run successfully.
Our race workers have recieved many tributes, including the following:
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We hope to publish recollections, anecdotes and photos from our members. Please send us your Olympic thoughts, stories and photos to "info @ weaselworkers.com"(remove the blanks). Please identify subjects of photos. Thanks. Let's start with the public admission of Men's Chief of Course, John Benbow who donated a keg to Weasel House after committing the juggable offense of stepping on a water hose with his crampons. It took over an hour to repair the damage. |
  
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We met many police officers from all parts of Canada, most with a great sense of humour. When asked if he were suffering from withdrawal (from Tim Horton's coffee), an officer retored, "Yes, but there are great muffins at the Nita Lake Lodge".
Mike Kertesz, FIS Finish Area Director, wrote these words of thanks and admiration about the "Blue Jackets"
Guenter Hujara makes blog posts from Creekside - Men's track.
Atle Skaardal makes blog posts from Creekside - Ladies track.
We've never seen so many police doing point duty. More Vancouver 2010 Photos.
Gerry Longson, long-time Treasurer for the Whistler Weasel Workers has prepared a great blog, "Ger Does Whistler 2010", in which he describes this day-to-day experiences as a Crew Chief on the Men's downhill, until he ran out of steam at about Day 11. Great work Gerry, and great photos. Don't miss the older posts that include the setup period, from Day 1. Last spring, along with a number of other Weasels, Gerry did the Ride to Conquer Cancer.
Tim Cox of Uxbridge Ontario has a great blog describing his Olympic experiences as a course worker. He also has large photo gallery and a couple of YouTube viedeos including this pep talk by Andre Janyk and shots from bootpacking the slalom hill
