2 Man Bobsleigh--crash...

The 2 man bobsleigh…

Ever imagine the best sledding hill in the world? I remember starting at the top of the hill I lived on, (which had maybe a 4% grade at best) running with my Yankee clipper and jumping on it to see how far we could go on those few occasions it snowed enough to sled on our little hill. My brothers could make it past the Emery’s house. I could make it just to their house. I always wanted to go as far as they did, but didn’t quite make it. But, making it TO the Emery’s house was respectable enough, but the thought sometimes lingered why they could make it, and I couldn‘t. Now, I know. It is in the sprint and the efficiency of getting onto the sled that matters much. The line also counts.

Now, 40 years later, I watch the top of the two man bobsleigh where burly men in tight suits (and some of them with “guts” of the belly kind) sprint as hard as the can, and jump into a bobsleigh that has very little resemblance to the Yankee Clipper except for the runners on the bottom. The bobsleigh is a blast!

When I got to work on Saturday, there was very little going on in my work area. Elianor and I walked the track and watched the forerunners go. I called and checked in with Nate and Rod, and the lines were so long, that they were having difficulty getting into the venue.

When Elianor and I got back to our work space, we found out that the event services department were challenged with “herding” people into the venue. They were asking for help, so I went out to help line people up and to help with the efficiency of getting people in.

So, I went outside and could see the line of people across the ski area and wrapped around to the gondola, which is a very hefty line. My role was to direct people through the line and prepare them for going through the scanner. Despite the crowds, security must maintain their standards, and it takes time to do this.

I found a place to stand and started directing,

“Those of you with no bags or small bags to the left, large bags to the middle. People who need help, please go to the right. Please remove all metal items and place them in sight”.

This command and hand directions were repeated over and over again.

A man came up to me and shook my hand and said, “Thank you so much for your help. These games have been so good because of people just like you. I can’t thank you enough. The volunteers have made the games. I don’t know what we would have done without you.” the man gushed. He kept holding my hand, and I think it was because he was off balance from visiting the pub prior to getting on the gondola to come up the hill. At least he was a nice imbiber. He finally let go of my hand when I had to direct the next group through. This is the games…..happy all the time, even when too many cups have been consumed.

I heard a statistic that more alcohol has been consumed here than in both former winter Olympics combined. I don’t know if this was a goal set by VANOC. Of course, the 2002 games were in Salt Lake City, where very little alcohol is consumed, but regardless, it is not a statistic to be proud of (unless you are a brewery CEO) On Saturday night, the liquor stores were mandated to shut down early, at 7:00 in an effort to decrease bad behavior by those drinking too much. I have to say, that I haven’t seen any bad behavior by the crowds at Whistler. In fact, Rod and Nate and I were making comments about how much nicer the atmosphere is up here from before because it seems the crowds are family, athlete and mellow. There are times when we have been up for college week, and have not been able to sleep because of the numerous parties going on. I like this better.

While directing people into the venue, I hear my name. “Hey, Nancy Riley….” I look up and Rod and Nate are just coming into the venue. They are 1 hour late. Thankfully, there is a break and many more bobsleighs to come, so they will still get “action”. We say hello, I direct them in, and they disappear into the swarm of people.

It is time for me to stop my work because now the lines are nearly finished and the my check in station is starting to get busy.

Kate, my manager is there and is funny as ever. Elianor has a book that her husband wrote for the Olympics. It is a childrens book about a moose and a goose who ride the hydrogen bus to the games where a rooster flies on skis and other animals participate in other activities. The book is darling and Elianor asks me to sign the book. She wants autographs from all of us working together so she has this as a souvenir. She is such a nice person that I wish I lived closer to her.

The night becomes quiet, and Kate says, why don’t you take the rest of the night off and go visit your family in the venue. I say my goodbyes, and hopon the accredited shuttle to the top of the venue. The plan is for me to start at the top of the venue and meet Rod and Nate somewhere on my way down, and their way up.

I get to the top just in time to see a live bobsleigh start. The German team is starting. The first glimpse I get of them is just their bulging calves. These men have muscles on top of muscles, and their calves are at exactly at my eye level since I’m on a stage a bit below them. I think this is why I never got to past the Emery’s house on my Yankee Clipper. My calves never have looked like that.

I watch one more bobsleigh start, and head down the hill. Rod and Nate are just beyond the start. We meet up and start our walk down together. The loudspeaker overhead announces the next run. We get to a curve and prepare to take pictures. This is not an easy feat. Up until now, I am less than 50% in actually catching a luge or skeleton in the frame after shooting. I hope to increase my percentage, and think of a plan to catch them. I mark a spot on the track well ahead of where they are and decide to pull the trigger before they get near me. When the luge or skeleton sleighs are coming, they cannot be heard that well. When a bobsleigh comes down the hill, you can hear them coming before they get to you. This is a good thing because it makes setting up the camera a bit easier. I look at my mark on the track, listen for the announcer, and can then hear the sleigh coming. Ready, watch…..watch…watch….I see the sleigh out of the corner of my eye. I am ready, the sleigh hit’s the mark and “click” I shoot the picture. I look down at my camera as the sleigh flashes past me, and there, in the frame is a blurry picture of a bobsleigh. I DID IT! You can’t tell what it is, but it is in the frame!! Woo Hoo….success!

We walk down and watch a bobsleigh at each curve. It is amazing how fast they go, and remarkable about how near we are to the track. Each discipline is a bit different and exciting to watch in it’s own way.

We get to the bottom and Rod and Nate tell me about a bobsleigh that goes through about 3 curves, rolls over, and they slide on their sides and backs down the entire track before I had come to a stop on the way back up the hill after the finish. At the bottom, there are men and women with hooks to grab the sleighs as they start their way back uphill to the finishing stage and where the sleighs are pulled out. This sleigh was the Australia 2. They tell me that now, whenever they make a really awful mistake somehow, they are going to call it an Australia 2.

When we are at the finishing area after the finish line, there is another crash. This time it is the Canada bobsleigh with Pierre Lueder on board. This is the man with whom Lueder’s loop is named. The sleigh comes ripping around curve 16 and starts up the hill bumping around from it’s side to it’s back. Nate and I are standing near where the sleigh stops and where the crew with the hooks stop the sleigh, and where the medical team converge immediately. The Canadian coach is the third group on scene. Lueder and his brake man get out of the sleigh, unharmed, at least physically, and the crowd cheers. We found out later that he decides to pull out of the rest of the 2 man bobsleigh, to save himself for the 4 man bobsleigh where he is a medal contender.

The event is over, and we decide to not take the gondola because there are so many people in line, and decide to walk down the snowy path to the village. It is a challenging walk because the snow is like sugar crystals and deep and there are places where it is steep. I have come down this run numerous times on skis, and I like it better with skis.

At the end of the day, we go to Black’s Pub for dinner, but sit and don’t get served, so we leave, and go to the old standby, The Old Spaghetti Factory, and have a late dinner. I was so tired, that I spilled my drink twice. Each time we laughed with the punchy laugh that comes out when one is really too exhausted to contain oneself. Rod and Nate were so happy they had gone to the venue, and I was so happy we were able to spend the time together. I only wish that my daughter, Tia, could have come up. She doesn’t have a passport, yet, and can’t take time off of work. I miss her.

We were tired enough, that for the first time, we took the bus back to our bus stop, 3 blocks from the house. It seems right after hiking all over the super G venue, walking to work, walking all over the village, and walking all over the sliding centre. But I like this kind of tired…..it is very satisfying.