First day of the Olympics ....

Today is the day that we targeted 18 months ago as we applied to be volunteers. For 18 months now it has been way out there in the future but suddenly it is here and real. It is the first day of the Olympics and before the opening ceremony there were two major events that have marked the start of the Olympics.

The first event was the first games event which was Ski Jumping at the Whistler Olympic Park. We had four tickets for the event and set out by bus from Pemberton at 8 am to ensure that we got to Callaghan Valley for the event at 10 am. We caught our bus as planned and arrived in Whistler about 45 minutes later. We then walked for 15 minutes to get to the bus that transports folks to the venue. We were boarded into the bus immediately and we left shortly thereafter. The 45 minute ride got us to the venue at 9:45 and that allowed us to get up the hill to the Ski Jump venue in the next 15 minutes. It is a one km walk to the venue through the woods and up a hill. Freddi was suffering from Asthma so we took the Accessibility Bus to the Inuksuk which helped her for sure. We then walked through the venue to watch the jumping from the spectators standing area. The event had started before we got there but there was lots of room to move around and get a vantage point that allowed a clear view of the jumpers. There are two courses and today they were using what they call the “normal course” and the expectation is that jumpers will jump from 95 to 105 metres. Think about that .... I am. The other course is longer and expectations are jumps that go from 120 to 145 metres. I would that the “abnormal course” but I am sure they use the “larger course” to describe that one. I will not try to relate the results as the media have and will do a way better job than I can as they have more information to work with and they are paid to do that. However, I will comment on that fact that the Europeans killed the course and the Germans and Czechs own this course.

The spectators were boisterous and load as they cheered for the huge jumps and cheered for those who jumped lesser distances. The folks there appreciated the effort of all athletes and there were many cow bells clanging with enthusiasm. It was a very electric environment. My sister-in-law, Mary Ellen, was working as a host at the venue and she found us but my brother-in-law, Paul, who was to be there as a spectator was nowhere to be found. The sun broke through for part of the event and it was beautiful to feel the sun, see some of the valley and soak up the electric atmosphere of this first event of the Olympics. Elapsed time of the competition was 1 hour and 5 minutes. Our return journey to Whistler was fairly quick (45 minutes) as we used the Accessibility bus to get to the Whistler buses and managed to catch one of the earliest to leave. There were throngs of people pouring out of the event and there were lots of folks (volunteers) doing crowd control. This is the venue that I will be working in starting at 5:15 am tomorrow morning.

The second event so far today was the very unfortunate death of the Georgian Luge slider – Nodar – who at the age of 21 crashed during a training run at 144.3 kph. His effort and passion guided him to this day and we all are saddened by his passing. The Luge committee will be evaluating their options as a result of this accident. Once again, the media will cover this in detail and if you are interested have a look at the CTV coverage as it is fairly complete. This will be a shadow over this Olympics but the overall program will still produce many, many good stories as these athletes give it their all. Let us move forward and enjoy the games for what they are supposed to be – the culmination of training (physically and mentally) by be the best in the world at their chosen sport. We respect their decisions to participate and will enjoy their efforts and enthusiasm.

Once in Whistler the ladies went to Pemberton and I took the opportunity to walk about the Village Stroll to suck up the atmosphere and feel the excitement of the folks in the village. It was raining but that didn’t dampen the spirits of the gathered people as they watched entertainment and news coverage on the large screens that are strategically placed throughout the village. I checked out the food offerings at the Swiss Pavilion and at some of the various restaurants and decided I was just too hungry to really enjoy a sit down meal. (Does that make any sense – only if you understand the issue of grocery shopping when you are hungry – it means you end up with too much of things you would not normally eat). In the end I did not eat and returned to Pemberton hungry!

The trip back to Pemberton was filled with discussions with an off-duty RCMP who was excited about his iPod and the 2010 application that he found as well as many other “neat” tech things he uses it for. Some snowboarders discussed each of their turns in detail and shared their experiences with the folks at the back of the bus. The bus trip of 35 – 45 minutes is always quite entertaining. Once home Bree produced some fresh meat pies from the local bakery that were just the right amount of delicious food for our lunch. Now I am getting ready to sit my butt in a chair and watch some coverage of the last few hours of the pre-Olympic Opening ceremonies. Vancouver is deep into the buzz as the flames gets closer and closer to BC Place. That will happen about 8:30 pst tonight. I hope everyone enjoys the opening ceremony and raise your glass to the athletes and organizers of this amazing event. GO CANADA GO!

The Rehearsal of the Opening Ceremonies.....

Today is the day after we participated in the final rehearsal of the Opening Ceremonies. It was a long day of travel, walking and the enjoyment of a great lunch with the girls. Tara-Lee, Bree and I drove to town in the morning and we stopped for a Starbucks in Squamish on the way. I even managed to catch a short sleep on the drive as the girls chatted up front.

Once in town we went to visit Colin in the hospital as he was still being held captive by the system in Vancouver N hospital. He is not doing well as he is an active young guy and they are doing everything possible to hold him down. His spirits were pretty good when we were there but he confirmed a T12 bilateral compression and he will be unable to work for some 6+ months and will go through a very rigorous therapy before he is able to get back to his normal lifestyle. He is very concerned at Elisha is due in July this summer. We stayed for awhile and left Elisha and Colin to settle with the hospital and let him get out of there sooner rather than later. In the end he was right and they let him out later that day. Elisha joined us for the rehearsal event later in the afternoon.

After we left the hospital we drove to the Seabus from the Lonsdale Quay where we parked the car. From there we took the Canada Line (new subway/LRT to YVR) to the City Centre where we went to meet Bree’s sister in the Pacific Mall in downtown. We visited for a brief period and then Tara-Lee, Bree and I went to the Brew Pub in Yaletown for lunch. We had a great lunch with a little beer and wine in the early afternoon as we had a date at BC Place for the final dress rehearsal for the Opening Ceremonies.

We dealt with the 40K crowd in a semi organized fashion but it was raining so we had to protect ourselves form the rain in line for security and ticket validation. It was interesting for me as the jobs that the volunteers were performing are the jobs that my team will be undertaking at the Whistler Olympic Park for the Nordic events. Once inside the huge venue we found our seats very easily and joined the Hempel family as our seats were together. We sat down at 5 PM and enjoyed the three and a half hours of the ceremony rehearsal very much. Now i would like to tell all about what happened but we have been sworn to secrecy so that the event on Friday evening is unique to everyone. The time went by very quickly and I am proud to be a Canadian. All I can say to you, as a reader before the Friday night event on TV, is “Watch your TV and enjoy the time as you are a Canadian”. It will be viewed by some 3 B people around the planet and the team who organized this did a wonderful job. I hope you enjoy it.... and would be happy to hear about what you liked and what you feel may have been done differently. There are opportunities on both sides of that discussion.

Today I pretended to be a retired guy. I stayed in bed longer than I normally do, had a quiet breakfast with Tara-Lee, went to town by myself and walked about, had a Starbucks while watching people, SMSd a friend, found some clothes to buy, did some grocery shopping and started dinner for the family. I made a Chinese dinner for the 5 of us with enough left-overs for Gray tomorrow. It is now later in the day and we are all sort of watching TV while engaging in interesting and controversial conversation. What a family .... and I love it.
I have no new pictures but Freddi did send me a picture of a Linx running across the downhill course that was featured on the website. I share that picture with you as this is a spot where folks have spent many hours over the last few days and will be well inhabited over the next few special days. We must remember that they were here before we were......
Happy Olympic Day in Canada to all of you and I hope you enjoy the activities of the many athletes who will be pushing hard in their events. I know we will!

Rodier Family day.....

Today is Wednesday and the weather is overcast with a threat of snow in the forecast. The word threat is misleading as there are parts of the BC mainland that have been praying for snow. Here in the Whistler area folks are content with the snow that is here and the outdoor events of the next few days are best performed without fresh snow. None-the-less snow followed by rain is the forecast.

Yesterday was a planned Family Day for us as we all had the day off work and had agreed to spend the day together doing whatever we pleased. Tara-Lee had made an arrangement, and I use the term in its fullest meaning, for Freddi and I to experience a dog-sled run. It was a Christmas gift from Tara-Lee , Gray and Bree. Since Tara-Lee had already experienced this activity only 4 of us drove into town early in the morning to meet up with the Outdoor Adventure Company. We took Tara-Lee’s car as we can park it in the Hilton Hotel lot where she works and the shop we were to go to was just around the corner.

The day was perfect as the fog in Pemberton was left behind and the run up the highway gave us clear sky and the brightness of a bluebird day in the mountains. Parking in the village has become a hassle as there are no spots available except for 1 hour parking in the Marketplace. All other lots have now been closed for private use by VANOC, sponsors and other supporters. The locals are unhappy about that but seemed to have just accepted it and have started to get caught up in the spirit of the games. We walked to Starbucks for some refreshment and sustenance and then checked in with the company. They were all very friendly as they gave us our waivers to sign saying that we were crazy and accept all the liability for undertaking any of their adventures. We paid our money and away we went by van to where they set up the dog-sleds in the Soo River Valley. Rob, our driver, was a long time local and he advised us about some of the history of the valley we were going to be in. Gray and Rob bantered back and forth as they both are ardent snowmobilers and both know the area pretty well.

We arrived at the valley location after thumping along a bad dirt road for several km. The team greeted us and started to talk about the dogs that were all lined up and chained to wires to keep them in one place. They were very quiet and looked fairly docile but once hooked up to the sleds they become very active and excited about going for a run. We walked about and were introduced to the dogs while we prepared for our trip. Our dogs were called Jet, Johnny boy, Smokey, Rudolph, Myers, Cinnamon, Igloo, Moose, Frodo and Sherman and each of them had a personality of its own. The common trait was they were all very friendly. We were taught to harness the dogs and helped our guides, Gord and Nick, get the dogs ready for a run. Bob, the owner of the business with 300 dogs, was working with his team of race dogs and his race sled that was much smaller than the sleds we were going to use. The team had selected 10 dogs for our two sleds as it was cool morning and the snow was hard and slippery. Normally they run 6 dogs per sled but that day we were set up with 5 each. Once we were all hooked up and we were familiar with the dogs we started our tour of the valley with the guide standing on the rungs behind us. The course was about 3.5 km out with a round trip of 7 km. The dogs pulled hard to get us up the first hill and into the track. They were very excited about their opportunity to run and we were on our way.

The views along the way were spectacular and both Freddi and I tried to take pictures of the environment and of course the dogs pulling us along. At our first stop Freddi joined Gord on the runner and I stayed in the sled. Although the dogs needed the rest period they were more than ready to start running again as soon as the brake anchor was pulled from the snow. Gray and Bree were in a sled ahead of us and we both were travelling pretty quickly through the valley. At another stop point, Gord and Nick kept one of our cameras and set us free to go to the end of the course and return to them as an opportunity to go it alone. Bree was driving ahead of us and she went into the corner pretty quickly while Gray was sitting in the sled. Well she rolled the sled and ended up in the snow bank with the sled being pulled along on its side until Gray pushed it up onto the runners again. We passed Gray first, with no driver, and then Freddi navigated the corner successfully and missed Bree who was killing herself laughing on the side of the track. When we got back to the two guides they had successfully stopped driverless sled as the dogs were planning to run all the way back with Gray in the sled. Bree walked back to us and shared her experience to the amusement and laughter of all.

We returned with the ladies in the sleigh and Gray and I riding the runners. The warmth of the sun, the vistas, the freshness of the day, the sound of the dogs pounding the track and panting away all made the experience a truly unforgettable experience. Once back in the compound area we gave each of our dogs a treat bone and played with the puppies while we sipped a hot chocolate and chatted happily about our experience. Bob took a high speed run on x-country skis while he was strapped to 2 of his race dogs. It looked pretty scary as he was flying along the track. We bid the dogs farewell and were driven back into Whistler by Rob. It was an invigorating and spectacular experience.

Once in town we walked about for a while and watched the surge of human traffic along the stroll. There were many more people than previous days and it proved to be great people watching as we had a beer on the sunny patio of Longhorn’s at the foot of the Whistler gondola. We saw many teams as they become readily identifiable as they travel in packs and all wear the same uniform. The most striking so far is the Russian team as they have both white and red uniforms with contrasting emblems and names complete with red shoes. The European jackets are brightly coloured and usually “stay puff style” with very shiny material. The colours range from black to bright yellow in the full spectrum of colour. Tara-Lee joined us at Longhorns while we chatted with Jill Krop the Vancouver Global Anchor for their news team. We decided to walk down the stroll and do a little shopping before we went tot eh Tube Park to take a few runs on their big tubes. We took the gondola and walked from the transfer point to the Tube Park. When we got there they notified us that due to the weather conditions (cool) the larger course was closed for the balance of the day. We decided not to go that day and wait until the longer runs are available. We clambered down the hill again and returned to our shopping as I was looking for some Olympic wear. We found what I was looking for (along with some other “stuff”) at the Olympic Shop which carries all of the Bay’s line of clothes. From there we made our way back to the car and home for some quiet time. It was almost 5 PM when we got back to the house. It was a full day with lots of laughs. Tara-Lee made us a great dinner and we vegged for the rest of the evening at the house as no one had much energy after the day. I slept well ......

The weekend.....

Today is Monday and the weekend slipped by with lots of activities to keep us busier than I expected. The sun has been shining and the temperature hovering around zero and the visitors to this area are getting their eyes filled with the great vistas of Whistler area. The contrast from the other more foggy mornings and cloudy drizzle days is quite shocking. The rich blue sky is contrasted with the bright white cliffs and sheer faces of the snow covered mountains. It is totally invigorating to see such contrasts in nature.

Saturday was a day of celebration in the town of Pemberton. The early morning fog provided an eerie contrast to the upbeat and happy mood of the folks who had pulled themselves out of bed in the dark to be ready to see the flame go though their town at 8 am. We made our way to Tara-Lee’s place where she lives with Colin, Elisha, Harv and one additional person I have not met. Colin has done a fair amount of work on their place and it is large and open. Tara-Lee had made enough bacon and eggs for a small army in anticipation of the family coming for breakfast. We ate quickly as the front runners were by the house getting people excited about the flame that was “coming in 5 minutes”. There was quite the entourage as 8 police cars followed each other down the street. I guess in busy areas they block traffic but they looked odd in the procession down this quiet street. The main street was well populated with residents of the town of 2800. I think every house has one or two young families with one or two children and one or two dogs. There was a collection of high tech strollers (some of which are manufactured by Winabago) and many variation on the dog leash from simple rope to complex harnesses on dogs the size of a shoe to ones that are vying for pony classification. But back to the flame..... Ian Hanomansing, a CBC Vancouver reporter, was the runner that finished up in front of Tara-Lee’s place. He ran up to a lady who was excitedly waiting her turn and passed the flame to her in front of her many family members. The team then extinguished his flame and she set off on her run. The big guys running with her were there to make sure she had space to run and they made it quite clear that they would clear the space at your expense. The entourage continued around the corner to return to the downtown main street. We decided to go to the main street but got side tracked when Ian offered some of us to look and feel the torch. That set off the CBC Camera guy who started to film the manhandling of the torch and he settled on some comments by Tara-Lee as she stood there with coffee cup, sleep still in her eyes and hand firmly around the torch. It was quite fun. We then thanked Ian and we set off on our way. We walked back to Gray and Bree’s place through the busy main street. During the day there were pancakes, BBQs, polar bear swim in One Mile Lake, general party for kids and many more activities that culminated in the evening with a fireworks display. I was impressed with the echo sounds that reverberated around the valley when the fireworks were going off. All in all it was a pretty big day in Pemberton.

Once back at the house Gray and Bree left for a back country run on their skidoos. They went with a group of their friends and unfortunately experienced an accident during the day. Apparently Colin had landed a jump badly and he was seriously injured – enough that they had to summon a helicopter to get him to the hospital. Later, he was transported to Vancouver for further investigation. The rest of the group ran out with Colin’s sled and they managed to get back before dark. They were all very tired and worried about Colin. More news on Colin as we find out more.

On a lighter note, in the afternoon Freddi and I went into Whistler with Tara-Lee and we had a soup from the new Soup shop on “the stroll”. The Thai Chicken soup was delicious but the cost was a little unsettling. From there we just walked about and checked out a few shops and visited Canada House in the local Library. Inside there were information stations, a big cake, kids face painting and lots of torch bearers walking about with their torches and posing for pictures with families and other admirers. In addition, the presence of police has increased substantially over the last few days with RCMP, military police and I am sure there are some other forces that we don’t even see occupying corners and strategic locations around the town. We walked over to the Volunteer Centre as I wanted to buy a small back pack for use during my shifts and that was the only place that the packs were sold. In the village we noticed a marked increase in the number of people for the weekend. Small groups of colourful team jackets walked through the village familiarizing themselves with the town. We spotted several teams and were taken by the colours and the brightness of the country uniforms. Freddi and I then returned to Pemberton by bus and have been humoured by the still new bus drivers who were learning their way around the routes. This driver was more experienced than previous ones and seemed to know where he was going. The trip to Pemberton is somewhere between 35 minutes to 55 minutes depending on the driver’s experience and familiarity with the route. In the evening we prepared another large dinner for the family and enjoyed a good BBQ at home complete with lots of excited chatter and good wine.

Sunday was a day with a clear start but the weather closed in and some snow fell during the day. Freddi left very early for work as she had a shift that day. The photo herein is Freddi, her team mates and the Swiss team that dropped in during their practice sessions at the Sliding Centre. I joined Bree for the drive down to Whistler as she had to work this Sunday. She dropped me at the bottom of the hill before the gondolas opened so I had a few minutes to kill. I managed to get up Blackcomb Mountain very early and enjoyed a number of runs of freshly groomed trails. It felt good skiing after almost 11 months of having the skis in the bag. I was on 7th Heaven slopes when the clouds moved in and made visibility – well 0. That is a very unsettling feeling and I lost my balance during the white out. Later, I was joined by Gray and Harv around 11 am and we did a couple of fast runs. They go a lot faster than this old guy! They wanted to ski on Whistler Mountain so we took the new Peak2Peak gondola (picture above) that is an engineering marvel. Not being great at heights I watched the vista from the inside seats while Gray and Harv detailed all the steep tracks that w e were going over. We then hooked up some other friends and we went to the peak for a couple of runs in the clouds and the snow that was now falling. We skied until about 2 PM and my legs were screaming from the fast runs from top to bottom. It was a very good time for the first set of turns for the year.
The bus ride back to Pemberton was another adventure as this driver was nervous and new and therefore drove very slowly along the highway. Freddi and Tara-Lee were the last ones back to the house and Freddi wanted to see the news reports of the disastrous fire in the Ottawa CTV offices where her office is currently located. T&L has temporarily housed their executive offices in CJOH offices after their fire in the store last March 31. She was quite upset by this news as she has made some friends in that building. Our dinner was a Sunday roast which has been a tradition in our family for many years. It is so nice to have the family together for such simple activities. It was yet another good day with many activities coming to a close at the family dinner table.

The weather is improving ....

A couple of days have passed since my last entry to this blog. That does not mean that nothing is happening but it does mean that I have been busy enough to not sit down and write a bit about what we have been doing. I have not chronicled any of the activities from Wednesday to today. Ok now I am in gear and have a few items of interest to share with you.

The biggest thing is that we have now been here for a week and our hosts have not yet asked us to pack up and head back east. That is a good thing. We have all settled into a routine that seems to work as a family unit that has been operating for some time. Bree has returned to work after a few days off before the Olympics hit her and her store just outside of the Whistler Medals Plaza. Her store , Le Chateau, has recently been expanded to twice its size and they are all stocked up for the big event. Gray has been working long days getting the house ready to deliver to their client and is experiencing some fatigue with the stress of getting it done. Tara-Lee is still working 2 jobs but that came to an end yesterday. Her time at the Vet is now over as she focuses on her role as a concierge at the Hilton Hotel in Whistler. She is on regular shifts and enjoys working in that environment. Freddi has also started her shifts with the Olympic Volunteer program at the Sliding Centre where she is one of a small number of Accreditation people at that venue. Her first shift was a learning experience where she got hands-on with the computers and better understanding of the processes she will be involved in. In her estimation her largest number of clients will be the media and they will start to arrive next week. Freddi also has been testing the transportation systems to get to and from work. That is another story as the bus system is making a huge transition to Olympic service where the frequency and numbers of busses triple or quadruple to move people around. She managed to get to work (JIT) and back here for dinner last evening. That is a good thing. Transportation is the story of the day as people talk about the lack of parking available in Whistler, the road closures, the changed street directions and the upcoming controls on the highway. The only real option is to take the bus and plan to be longer than the reported schedule. But once again I digress....

As you can see from the above paragraph everyone has settled into their respective jobs – except me. So the obvious question is why have I not had time to write some notes to this file? Well it seems that because everyone is busy working on legitimate jobs that I am the default house husband and have a regular list of things to do that seem to be directed at me each day. Yesterday I was busy all day working on such things as kitchen cleaning after our great meals, laundry, dog walking, shopping for groceries and beer and wine, and generally paying attention to other’s schedules. This is different for me but so far I seem to have adjusted and am turning into the “house boy”. My job at the Olympics doesn’t start until next Friday (1 week today) when my first shift starts at 5:15 am. Until then I guess I will continue to cook, clean and shop for the troops who are actively engaged. Don’t get me wrong, I am not complaining, just learning some new things about managing a house for family of four or five plus 2 dogs and a needy but lovable cat. There are some bonuses though as I was the only one home to watch the Senators beat the Vancouver Canucks until well into the 2nd period. By the end of the game most of the family were home and we started our dinner. It is weird to watch a hockey game starting at 4:30 pm (PST). By the end of the game, which I repeat we won (11 in a row now), it was time to prepare dinner and settle in for the evening.

On Wednesday Paul and Mary Ellen and Freddi and I went to Vancouver for the day. Our purpose was to pick up our volunteer tickets for the dress rehearsal of the Opening Ceremonies. That will happen on the 10th in the early evening. AS volunteers we receive one free ticket and the opportunity to purchase another one. Employees of VANOC get two free ones but they missed out on the bottle of wine that was donated by Kittling Ridge for each of the volunteers who picks up their tickets. Our drive down to Vancouver was through all sorts of weather (rain, fog, sunny breaks) and there was a distinct lack of traffic heading south. We got to Vancouver at around 11 am and were astounded to see that the line-up to collect tickets would almost all the way around the block from the office on Dunsmuir. In actual fact we were 65 to 70% of the block away from the front door. Quick discussion resulted in accepting our fate and not returning another time so we joined the line. We met some interesting people and were particularly surprised by the enjoyment most were having waiting to get their tickets. There was an air of excitement and we hardly heard any complaints about the wait. We had a Chai tea and some food as we worked our way closer to the front door of the building. It also gave us time to enjoy the decoration of the building beside us as the Pacific Mall is the home of the Hudson’s Bay. The photo in this blog is one that shows the effort they put into their decor for the event. Our turn to enter the building came 2.5 hours after we arrived in the line and we were processed very efficiently. I think they learned a lot during the day as we had heard that some had been there for greater than 3 hours. We left the building with 8 tickets to the event and 4 bottles of wine. Not bad for a couple of hours investment.

We then had some lunch at Paul’s Omlettery on Granville and we did our respective shopping at Future Shop. Paul needed to replenish his printer cartridges as he printed some of the manuals for Mary Ellen’s training with Event Services. Freddi became a MAC owner as we finally gave up on her mini eeepc as it wasn’t cutting it. To my MAC friends – we are converted! After that little shopping spree we set out for the return trip to Pemberton. Suddenly we recognized that it was getting dark and we would definitely miss the opportunity to stop and watch the Bald Eagles at Brackendale but we will do that another day. On the way home we stopped in Whistler to get Paul and Mary Ellen fixed up with their Accreditation and Uniforms. Freddi was called as she was on a wait list for a smaller size for her issue pants but she did not have them with her so we had to go to Pemberton to get the pants and back to Whistler to exchange them. We managed to do that before dinner and then we sat down to a great gourmet dinner prepared by the girls. It turned out to be a long day.

As you can see we have settled in to a pretty regular lifestyle in our new location. The picture at the top of this blog is of the development that Gray and Bree live in and the picture at the bottom is the view we have out our bedroom window when the fog goes away. The other photos are just there to show some of the things I have noticed while moving around which include everything from security to serenity. There are as many dogs as inhabitants in Pemberton and the sign in this blog made me laugh and think of my friend Tony in Virginia.

I almost forgot to mention that I started today with a rally to get to my Job Specific Training session in Squamish. There were some details on the website that lead me to believe that the training would be conducted in Whistler. I was wrong and Bree kindly lent me her car to run down to Squamish in time for the training. As I arrived there I came face to face with the parade for the “Flame” and managed to see the flame as it passed our venue. It was pretty impressive and filled one with pride as I realized that this flame is almost at its destination after 45K km trip from Greece. We will see it again in Pemberton on Saturday morning. The training was well done and I had an opportunity to meet some of the other Team Leaders in the Whistler Olympic Park venue. Once home I went to the grocery store for dinner supplies and then sat down to watch a little golf. Pretty nice life right now......

An unusal experience

Yesterday was a pretty low key day. We are still waiting for our skis to arrive on the Greyhound. The operator did tell me it would take 7 to 10 days (weather dependent) to get from Ottawa to Pemberton. With a little better planning I could have got them to the depot earlier. All that to say that we are missing some ski days.

We did have a breakthrough yesterday that brought a smile to everyone’s face. It was the sun and it managed to shine through the broken clouds for short periods of the day. There still was some significant fog in the valleys but from time to time a brightness appeared in the ski. The dampness lessened and the +5 temperatures did not feel cold.

During that time Freddi and I drove to Whistler to visit Gray at his worksite. They are working furiously to get the house finished for delivery to the owner in the next week. It is a large bungalow style house with a finished basement that is as large as the first floor and contains usual needs of a 4 person family – a 1500 sq ft family room with 110” screen TV, pool table, workout room, 2 bedrooms, sauna, wine cellar, bathroom and a huge engineering room. The upstairs has a large living/family room that overlooks Whistler/Blackcomb with a huge fireplace and beautiful wood ceilings. The kitchen is out of Umberto’s and comes complete with lots of marble and storage and working space with a smaller family room beside it. Also on the first floor there are 2 bedrooms with one being part of a master suite complete with a walk-in closet, office space and bathroom that has floor to ceiling windows to the outside world. The piece de résistance is the garage on the main floor that is entirely finished in wood and is a space that i would be happy to live in. There must have been 25 people milling around doing jobs that had to be done to get the place ready. This home will provide the owners with a unique lifestyle. The workmanship in the house is superior and we were proud to see that Gray and his team had a part in its completion.

In the afternoon Mary, Larry and Katie arrived from Vancouver. The 2nd was the day that all of the clan (western extended family) were to get together to attend a unique experience in the evening. Tara-Lee and Paul Hempel hatched this plan before Christmas and it became a Christmas present to every member. The idea was to gather for a outdoor play in the Lost lake park area. It was the first Olympic event for our family. We gathered at the Kaltbrunner home (Jamie’s wife Tanja’s family) for cocktails and appies at about 5 PM before taking the public transportation into town for the play. We all bundled up for the evening outside not really knowing what to expect. The group of 16 of us boarded the bus in Alpine and it would its way into town. There was some confusion about where buses are to go in the new routes and eventually we walked to the Gondola station to catch the bus to Lost Lake. Once there we walked into the venue and registered at the ice desk. We had a little time so we enjoyed a warm beverage (hot chocolate, crème de cocoa, cinnamon and cayenne pepper) and cider, coffee etc. Then the announcement of the start of the play came and we were herded into the igloo like theatre. Inside there was a snow stage and the setting for the play. Each seat had a sheepskin cover on it and a white blanket to cover ones legs. It was a 75 minute event with no intermission. Here is how it is described on their website:

Bundle up and enter Canada's first theatre of snow and ice. This theatrical adventure, a BC première, follows two survivors and an arsonist through the fireworks at the end of the world. NiX is a frozen fantasy, complete with a flaming tuba, a snowman death scene and an explosive love story that will melt the coldest of hearts.

The play itself was a bit off the wall but very entertaining there were three actors who held the show together very well. The story was fun and the closeness of the action made it very intimate. It was an enjoyable experience and special because all of the western family was together for the event. WE found our way back to Kaltbrunner home and drove back to Pemberton. It was a good day and everyone enjoyed the evening entertainment and our individual Christmas presents from Paul and Tara-Lee.

Feb 1 - a day in town

The fog and the warm weather persist! That is the weather story here in the Whistler area these days. Some sun is forecast for Wed and Friday but the warming trend continues right through the week. That is the biggest concern to the Olympic organizers and they are working hard to counter a warming spell that continues into the start date of the events.

On Feb 1 a bunch of things happened to prepare for the Olympics. The bus schedules changed to start the beefing up of service over the next few days, the parking lots in Whistler were closed to the public in preparation for something (many wonder what that might be), roads were closed and traffic patterns changed and some facilities were taken over by different organizations to prepare for the their participation in the Olympic event. The sum total of these actions has left some of the locals unhappy as they are now forced to change their way of life and this event has suddenly become real. The biggest concern I have heard is the lack of parking available in Whistler. We drove by huge empty parking lots yesterday as they have been closed but are not in the use that the organizations have intended. The fact that there are no other places to park irks some but to see empty lots really inflames one who must do some quick shopping.

There were some signs of transition as we watched a bunch of busses trail an active bus. The ones behind were “out of service” or marked as “training” buses as new drivers become familiar with the buses and the routes. The bus service will be amazing once it all kicks in and people get their heads around the routes and bus locations. We took the bus from Pemberton to Whistler on a regularly scheduled route. We paid $6 each and discovered that our Accreditation passes would have allowed us free access starting Feb 1. In the documentation, somewhere, I read that the Accreditation passes free access started on Feb 4th but that is not the case. Feb 4th is the real commencement date and that is when athletes are supposed to arrive and get set up as an example. What that means is that the village and the surrounding area will get progressively busier over this week.

Freddi, Bree and I spent some time in Whistler wandering around and listening to the buzz of merchants, waiters, bartenders and owners as they expressed various opinions about how businesses will be affected by the onslaught. Some are very optimistic while others are worried about their individual businesses. Some restaurants will be closed during the Olympics as organizations or businesses have reserved the spot for the duration of the event. That means that locals will be unable to go to that restaurant until after the Olympics. Other restaurants have chosen not to be available for “buy-out” and will go day-to-day as they do the rest of the time. Bree was telling me that some shops have changed hands for the duration of the event. An example of that is the disappearance of the nicest jewellery store only to have a large well known branded company set up shop in their space for the Olympics. I walked past the empty store three days ago and yesterday it almost completely set up with merchandise and sales staff in place. The whole store has been re-branded as a Swiss Army store with watches, clothes, luggage and luxury items.

Also on our walk down “The Village Stroll” we watched the action as they built stages for bands in the main square, the CTV outdoor facility at the other end of the stroll and of course they are working furiously on the Ceremonial Plaza outside of Bree’s store (Le Chateau). There are teams of workers all throughout the village doing set-up and upgrade with solid deadlines looming quickly. I have included some photos to give you an idea of both the weather and the action on the main streets.
We settled in a quiet bar to enjoy some nice cool wine. We waited to hear from Gray and Tara-Lee as they were finishing their work day and joining us for a family tradition. Each time we visit Whistler area we try to have one dinner at the Rimrock. It is a special place for us as we did that our first visit and have used that restaurant as a special night out ever since. It was a special dinner as our children took us out for dinner to celebrate our 35th anniversary. It was a very special evening and we were rewarded with fine food and drink as usual. They are good kids.....