So for starters, I have gone back and inserted images in the posts where technology had not allowed them previously. After riding Sunshine, our last night in Banff, Ottawa-Matt and Canmore-Sam met Captain Kirk and I at Eddie Burger for a delish meal, and a few trash cans.
An unfortunate lassoo related accident resulted in the demise of my camera, but watching Captain Kirk lose a tug-of-war against a hippie more than made up for it.
We set out early the Thursday morning, with our sights set on Winnipeg. The weather was great, and the drive was uneventful. General and Mrs. Henault were extremely hospitable, and sent us off Friday morning with a fantastic shoe-box lunch.
By midnight Friday, we had arrived in Sault Ste-Marie, and were both well rested after driving in shifts. The thought of wasting all of Saturday in the car seemed worse than the prospect of hitting a moose in the dark, so we powered through, and arrived safely home around 8:30 this morning.
All told, I had a fantastic time, from the moment I left to the moment I got home. I got to see a whole pile of this country that I had never seen before. I had the privilege of working with some extraordinary people from all over the world. I made some friends I will cherish for ages, and I had some great times that I will likely never forget. I was priviliged to be a part of something so big, so cool, and so fun. The 2010 games turned out to be something that all of Canada can be extremely proud of. We rose to the challenge as a nation, and set the bar very high for our colleagues in Sochi.
Our VMO warned us about something called the Olympic Low. She said that after such an intense experience shared with a group of people, it is very depressing to part company and go back to real life. She advised us to exercise a lot, and to stay in touch. Done and done.
Seeing how empty and lifeless Whistler was on Monday, I certainly got a good dose of that feeling. The trip home will help to distract me, as I'm sure will the piles and piles of work waiting for me this coming Monday.
When things get a little crazy, and I need to calm down, all I have to do is turn to my memories of these past five weeks. This is my happy place, and this is where I will go when I need a boost.
By the numbers:
12,000km + driven 1 tank of gas in the diesel automobile 9 days of big mountain skiing 2 days of backcountry touring 5 powder days 16 shifts worked 1 tampon dispensed 1 ACL injury splinted 12 Olympic events attended 14 BFFs 2 + broken hearts 0 regrets
I haven't received any questions, so a Q&A post is not likely to happen. Eventually, once life has settled, I'll get around to doing a picture dump on facebook.
Monday, I headed back up to Whistler to use the last day on my edge pass. It was very quiet and somber... nobody on the slopes, nothing happening in town. I rode both peaks on some modest snow, and had a reasonably fun day.
Dylan, Kara, and I did our traditional dinner at Memphis BBQ that evening, before I picked up Captain Kirk at SFU, to head to Kamloops and crash with his Mormon friends. Half way there, we received a call politely suggesting that we find somewhere else to stay, as we'd be rolling in on them a little late. On to Revelstoke!
We met up with Ottawa-Matt at Revelstoke Mountain Resort, and had a pretty good day skiing a recently opened area of the mountain.
In the coincidence to end all coincidences, after a 5 minute hike off the peak chair, two dudes asked me a question about where a certain chute ended up. One of those dudes happened to be my cousin Adam. That was bizarre! After riding, we motored on to Banff, where we put up last night, and tonight.
Today, we rode at Sunshine Village, because the snow reports were pretty bleak all around. The view was good, and the cruisers were enjoyable, and a good day was had by all.
The VW is locked and loaded. Dinner, and early to bed, and logging many miles to Winnipeg tomorrow.
As I've been making the most of my last three days as a Smurf, I didn't go home to Squamish at all. Couch surfing is not a good way to get over a cold, but the last few days of Olympic mayhem are not a good time to wimp out because you're sick either.
Last we spoke, the second run of the Women's GS was postponed until the next day. A good night's sleep chez the host family in Squamish, and I was ready to rock for the second day of Women's GS racing. The fog was equally menacing that morning, but lifted just enough to bang out the second run. Though everyone's tickets were going to be honoured, we were expecting a very light showing. Surprisingly, Euro ski fanatics showed up in droves. This just goes to show the passion and excitement they bring to each race... a willingness to bus in from all over the west coast for 90 minutes of racing in the rain, only 30 of which were relevant.
I say this because the second heat in GS and slalom events run the top 30 from the first heat in reverse order, followed by all of the slower racers. This means that 1st place changes hands repeatedly, which makes for some serious excitement, but this also means that after the first 30, the winner has been decided, and very few people stick around to watch the remaining racers.
After the race, we had a few hours to kill before our shift at the Medals Plaza, so Colorado-Craig, Halifax-Tisha and I had a soak in the Westin hot-tub, and introduced our American friend to the wonders of poutine. The Medals Plaza is the place to be! DJs spinning great music, go-go dancers, athletes getting their medals, Jimmy Fallon, the Roots, all-access accreditation... you'd almost forget it was a dry venue. I got some cool pictures of the action, as well as the Mounties and the mascots. I also took a poop in the backstage bathroom. How cool is that?
Post-shift, we checked out the Fire & Ice show in the village, had 2 pitchers after 2 pitchers after 2 pitchers at the GLC, and crashed at 3:45, before a 6:00 start the next day. For the record, there were 6 of us sharing those pitchers, so it was not a drunk night, just a late one.
An early start to the Women's Slalom the next day was not as tough as would have been thought. There is a two hour gap between runs, so we cover off allowing everyone on the MedSpec team an hour to relax. I instructed everyone on the RRR position (Ryan's Rest & Recovery Position), that involves sitting in a chair, and sleeping with your forehead on an examination bed. More than one team member made good use of it.
As some of our team had to peel out of Whistler on Saturday evening after our last shift, we decided that Friday night would be our so-long party. Our whole team showed up for bevies and grub at the Boston Pizza at Creekside, and watched Bernard wet the bed, err, win a silver medal on the curling sheet, before watching Team Canada defeat the Slovaks. Everyone made it an early night, to be ready to rumble for the final showdown.
Still raining, Men's Slalom was the last alpine event of the games. Despite the third consecutive day of rain, Olympic spirit was proudly on display, as many a competitor scrambled back uphill to catch a missed gate, and avoid a DNF despite having lost any hope of a medal. The slalom attracts a much more geographically diverse crowd, and the Snow Leopard from Ghana personally flashed me a peace sign while boarding the gondola.
When all was said and done, we said some goodbyes in the trailer, and a few of us loitered for half an hour until the volunteer appreciation party kicked off at the timing flats. Free beer and hotdogs, and a raffle that I didn't win. Actually, I pulled a fast one, and used my losing raffle ticket as a beer ticket, which is a win of sorts.
Once the party ended at 7:00, I de-smurfed, and booked it into the village to check out Usher at the Medals Plaza; this time as a civilian. I'm not crazy about his music, but he puts on a good show, and I enjoyed the opportunity to spend a little more time with some of my teammates.
Post usher, we watched the final Fire & Ice show with a few EVS (EVent Services) staffers from Creekside, and miraculously found a few tables at a pub on an Olympic Saturday night for our merry band. We watched an enormous bearded Norwegian devour three entrees at the table beside us. I'm not even kidding. I wish I had a picture of this guy.
I surfed one last couch-wave, bid adieu to the last of the MedSpec Mohicans, and took a near empty bus back to Squamish this morning to pack my stuff, and make my way back to Vancouver. The packing was quick, I thanked my host family, exchanged sentimental goodbyes, and made a dash for the city, in hopes of catching the puck-drop.
I made it to Dylan and Kara's with minutes to spare, and watched the big game with a bunch of hyperactive Vancouverites who may or may not have been pre-gaming since breakfast. You all saw the game, no doubt, but this city went off the hook, and remains so as I type this. I can still hear hooting and hollering through the closed patio door, and we're across the inlet from downtown.
After Crosby's historic goal, I took off to meet Ottawa-Tiff and rock the closing ceremonies. The streets were wild with people, honking and screaming and waving flags. Security was a breeze, and we got our killer seats with plenty of time to spare. Each seat came with a kit with a poncho, coloured poster-board with viewing port, moose antlers, flashing light, and light-up snowglobe. Ushers in each sections provided instructions on how and when to use each prop, to maximize the effect that you all witnessed at home. Essentially, what I'm trying to say, is that I was one of more that 55,000 stars of the show.
The Skytrain was nightmare, so I hoofed it home on the same feet that have worked 16 straight days in wet hiking boots, and have a MOAB (Mother Of All Blisters) that's ready to blow. I'll use my med-kit to take care of it, because I need to get three more days of snowboarding out of that foot.
The game plan going forward is to ride Whistler tomorrow, crash in Kamloops tomorrow night, ride Revelstoke on Tuesday, ride Kicking Horse on Wednesday, and then drop the hammer to get home, ETA Saturday night.
All told, I had a fantastic time, from the moment I left to the moment I got home. I got to see a whole pile of this country that I had never seen before. I had the privilege of working with some extraordinary people from all over the world. I made some friends I will cherish for ages, and I had some great times that I will likely never forget. I was priviliged to be a part of something so big, so cool, and so fun. The 2010 games turned out to be something that all of Canada can be extremely proud of. We rose to the challenge as a nation, and set the bar very high for our colleagues in Sochi.
I haven't received any questions, so a Q&A post is not likely to happen. Eventually, once life has settled, I'll get around to doing a picture dump on facebook.
