Day 13 - Last Post

Arrived at the hill today and was informed that if we got the site cleaned up after the men's event we would have Friday off. After 10 shifts at Cypress I was glad to hear the news. We had a huge crew of volunteers today so the chop and step went pretty fast. We did some clean up while the men did their practice jumps and had our final pep talk from the crew leaders prior to the start of the event. The women's gold medal hockey game was playing on the big screen for the spectators so we got to see the game wrap up and hear the roar of the crowd at the mountain as Canada took home another gold medal. We got a acknowledgement from the site announcers for our hard work prior to the event starting and all of us stood on the knoll and did the wave for the 7000+ fans who gave us their support back.

The event started well with Kyle Nissen standing in 1st place after the 1st round of jumps. However it seemed that all the athletes took things up a notch and all of them went bigger and more technical in the 2nd round. Since Kyle had placed 1st in the 1st round he jumped last in the second - a medal was his to lose. His jump wasn't as difficult as the others and his form was off which resulted in his second jump not being worth enough points to make the podium. The athlete from Belarus took the gold and his coaches went mental! They were so happy for him that it was hard to feel too bad for the Canadians. At the flower ceremony the medalists turned and saluted us as we stood above them so that was a nice touch.

Before cleaning up we got a bunch of group photos on the triple jump and volunteers took turns sliding down it like seals. I took a run on skis halfway up the jump for a photo before we all started tearing down the fences and banners and putting away the shovels for the final time.

We got to wrap things up in the athletes lounge and were treated to some free beer and food to celebrate our hard work. The crew leaders said a few words and we toasted each other to finish our time at Cypress. Back on the bus for one more trip back to town where we all met up at a pub close to the shuttle point for a few more beers and some time to celebrate our two weeks as a team at the Olympics. Some more pictures and raised glasses before I said my goodbyes. Lots of hugs and high fives to end my time with the freestyle aerials crew. From what we were told from other volunteers at the other events, the aerials event is one of the toughest to work and the most physically demanding.

In retrospect, my time at the Olympics was worth every chop with the shovel, each painfully slow sidestep down the landing hill and the seemingly endless walk to the buses and back each day. Our crew was made up of an amazing and awesome group of people and I was lucky enough to be a part of it. I saw the Olympics from a perspective that not many people do and it will be something I will remember for the rest of my life. They are already looking for volunteers for the World Cup events in 2010/11 and I am thinking my schedule may be open for when it comes to BC again....

Day 12 - Slow News Day

My last day off before the men's finals so I kept busy doing laundry and doing a little shopping. Oh yeah, there was a small hockey game on TV as well. Good to see the boys getting it together just in time for the big game. Also watched Canada kick butt in Women's bobsled and come up with a gold and silver medal.

Tomorrow's the big day Cypress and Canada will have three men competing in the finals. The crew is pumped for the event and I am looking forward to my last hill chop! Make sure that you cheer on Steve Omischl, Kyle Nissen, and Warren Shouldice from home, I will be quietly doing it from the venue. (Volunteers aren't supposed to be to vocal in their support of the athletes according to the VANOC folks).

One more post after this as Friday is just a tear down day. I will likely have a wrap up once I am home and have thought about my experience after the fact.

Day 11 - Snow Day!

The sun was nowhere to be seen this morning as I picked up my co-volunteer Jay and headed to the shuttle bus. We arrived at the venue early to go and check out the women's ski cross event. We managed to see three runs of the 1/8 finals and saw a few Canadians move through to the next round including Ashley McIvor who eventually went on to win gold for Canada! The second biggest event of the day was the arrival of real snow falling on the mountain. It was wet sticky snow but snow nonetheless and it was awesome. We had forgotten what color real snow was and it stood out as bright white in contrast to the greyish crap we have been trying to work with. Somewhere between 5 - 10 cm fell during our shift of 1:45 - 9:30. The downfall was our 'waterproof' uniforms were not so much and the chop/step plus all the other work we were doing made us pretty sweaty so by the end of the night we were pretty much soaked.

Both the men and women who had qualified earlier in the week practiced so there were half as many skiers on the hill which made our work a bit easier. I spent the most time on my skis so far with repeated side slips to clear snow from the inrun to the jumps. I don't think I have carved a single turn in 2 weeks - just side stepping and slipping.

Wrapped things up a little after 9 and headed back to the lodge to sign out. The bonus for being wet and tired was free hotdogs left over from the event concessions. Headed down and back into the rain of the city and arrived back at New West a little after 11 PM. One more day off tomorrow then back for the men's finals Thursday night. I will be up on the knoll where the jumps are for that event so keep your eyes peeled for me. I guess I kind of blend in with the rest of the 'Shovel Militia' or 'Smurf Crew' as we are called.

Day 10 - Men's Qualifiers

Another nice sunny morning here in the Lower Mainland. Didn't have to be on the hill until 1:15 so I had a good sleep and even had time to wander down to Westminster Quay to have a coffee and shoot some pictures.

Today was the men's qualifiers so that meant big crowds at Cypress and that we had to be on top of our game for the event. The boys had 2 hours of practice before they had two runs to get the highest cumulative score. Only the top 12 advance to the final and there were 25 competitors including 3 Canadians. I got another nice view of the event from the finish area where I was the lead snow removal guy. Basically our job was to take big snow scoops and run across the bottom of the landing area and clean up the large chunks of snow that collect at the bottom of the transition. Easy work but lots of pressure to get in and out fast between the end of practice and between the first and second rounds.

Canada was strong in the first round with Steve Omischl, Warren Shouldice, and Kyle Nissen all sitting in the top 10 after their first jumps. The crowd was crazy each time the Canadian boys were up! The American fans were a very close second with lots of noise as well. The second round started and all the skiers put down some amazing runs with very few mistakes. In the end though Canada prevailed with all three guys placing in the top 12 and making it through for the finals on Thursday. At the end of the event there was some live entertainment from the Sardis High School Drum Line. The kids came out and put on a great drum show with a bagpiper to boot. Too bad the crowd mostly missed it as they were making a break for the exit and buses home. The remaining fans and volunteers enjoyed it though.

A little more work to do before we wrapped things up; put the skis on and worked on sliding out the big pile of snow that had slid out into the bottom of the landing transition. The snow is still not sticking together well and each time the skiers landed a river of sugar snow would flow like water down the hill. Tommorrow is forecast for rain/snow at the hill which may be a blessing in disguise for us as any extra moisture and fresh snow could help the conditions and quality of the snow. Only three more shifts!

Day 9 - Bigger Crowds Downtown

Managed to get a good nights sleep but the body seems a lot slower to recover after the 5 shifts at the mountain. Another beautiful sunny day so I took a chance and wore shorts to go downtown to meet Emily and Kiranna and their moms. Met the girls right on schedule on Burrard and was their unofficial tour guide for some of the Olympic spots. Checked out the cauldron by Canada Place and was happy to see way better sight lines for pictures. Walked up Granville and watched a busker show of a juggler which was pretty impressive. Emily and Kiranna enjoyed the show as well. Continued up Granville to Robson Square and sat on the steps of the Art Gallery and soaked up the sun while resting our feet. The crowds were even more intense than my first trip downtown, mostly due to 'Super Sunday' with three high profile men's hockey games going on. Watched another street performer fit himself into a gigantic ballon by the skating rink that runs under Robson, another good free show.

After a look at the huge line at the HBC Olympic Superstore at Pacific Centre we decided against waiting and checked out the selection of clothing available on the fifth floor and the girls all found some official 2010 clothing to take home to Kamloops with them. Overall the kids liked what they saw but the crowds and walking made it tough on them. Said goodbye to them around 4:00 and they headed back to Kamloops and I grabbed the Skytrain back to New West. Back at the mountain tomorrow for Men's Aerials qualifications which will be televised in the afternoon/evening. Only one more practice day left for both the men and women then the finals go Wednesday and Thursday. The back and shoulders should be somewhat recovered for tomorrow afternoon, time will tell.

Day 8 - How early is too early?

Waking up at 2:30AM is not a fun thing. However I dragged myself out of bed and was on the road a little after 3:00. Met up with my co-volunteer Jay in Coquitlam and was handed a hot Tim Horton`s coffee which made things bearable. Everyone was a little tired when we arrived on the hill and were on the course at 5:30. The chop was okay and we were ready to go well in advance of the women jumpers arriving on the hill at 9:00 for some practice runs. Got a quick briefing on the requirements for being involved in the live broadcast. The main message was stay out of the shot - they want to see the athletes, not a bunch of volunteers standing on the sidelines with shovels.

That said, I got assigned to be at the top of the course where the athletes would enter. This area is a few hundred feet above where the jumps are and was a great vantage point to see the jumpers and the thousands of spectators at the venue. Today was the first day that I got a real feeling of being at the Olympics with the broadcast crews everywhere and hearing the roar of the crowd from the top of the course. I also got to see the women, some of them are still teenagers, getting themselves psyched up for their runs. Each women had two runs to qualify and only the top 12 would advance to the finals. The Canadian skier, Veronika Bauer had a strong first jump and stood in third place after the first round but unfortunately had a rough landing on her second jump and ended up outside the top 12. The crowd was behind her 100% and you knew when she was on the hill by the huge ovation she got. The weather was perfect and the course held up well and all in all it was a great day. Tomorrow is a day off and I got a surprise message that Emily is coming down for the day with her mom Sunday which is a day off for me. I`ll meet them downtown and will get the chance to share the Olympic experience with my daughter which is awesome. Sounds like a lot of photo ops will be in store!

Day 7 - Repeat, repeat

It is getting tougher to get out of bed as the week goes on but we are getting closer to the real action so that gets me motivated. Same routine today as yesterday and the day before. Show up early, check in, pick up my lunch, and head over to the course for the chop. The snow was icy again for the top 6 inches but it seemed better than the previous days. Mens practice was cancelled today for some reason so only the women were scheduled to hit the jumps at 2:00.

More broadcast people on the site as well and today they did a dress rehearsal prior to practice. two of the Canadian women showed up to get some jumps in with the cameras rolling. They did the whole thing - announcer, replays on the big screen, and even did a run through of the flower presentation ceremony to get the timing down in advance of the big day.

Women's qualifiers are tomorrow morning so we got the news that we need to be on the course at 5:30 AM instead of the 6:00 AM we were scheduled for. This translates into a pre 3:00 AM wake up to be on the 4:00 AM shuttle bus. Thankfully I get Sunday off so I will get some well needed rest. Since today was my sixth shift I got a Miga mascot as my reward - more loot for Emily's 2010 collection. Off to bed before 9 tonite and hopefully I can find a Tim Hortons on the way to pick up another volunteer over at Coquitlam Center Skytrain.

Day 6 - The Big Hurt

Went to sleep around midnight after my late shift yesterday and was up at 5:00 AM to be back at the hill for 7:45 AM. Needless to day 5 hours sleep is not enough. This was apparent when I took the wrong exit coming off the Second Narrows bridge then again when I took the wrong on ramp and ended up going back across the bridge. Regardless, made it to my shift on time. Everyone who worked the night before was feeling a bit groggy as we made our way to the site. A tough hill chop today with a cold night that made an icy top layer of 6 inches or so. This resulted in about an hour to get back up to the knoll of the hill. The snow condition is still an issue and today a big hose was set up to spray some water on the chopped landing zone to try and get the snow to become a bit more sticky. Another small chop to break up the chunks and followed this up with another step on skis down the hill to try to make it ready for the women's practice. The end result is that my shoulders and back were starting to hurt. Wrapped things up around 2:30 and made my way back down the hill and into the sun and warmth of the city. Popped by MEC and picked up some new sunglasses to deal with the sun. Also realized that I picked up a bit of sun on my face and had a mild burn. Sunscreen tomorrow! Time to watch Canada vs Switzerland and relax before doing it all over again tomorrow.

PS - my laptop is acting up and the keyboard is intermittantly seizing up. If my posts stop suddenly I'm okay, just my laptop isn't.

Day 5 - The Long Shift

A short post tonight as I worked until 9:30 and have to be up at 5:00 AM to be back on the hill by 7:00AM. A beautiful sunny day and as I get on the bus my trusty sunglasses decide to fall apart. Murphy's Law I guess.

More of the same today, showed up for an afternoon practice session. Missed out having to chop the landing as I got borrowed with a few other guys to clean up the media corral so the snowcat could bring in more snow to cover up the hay bales they are using as a base. Moved some fencing around then carted some crash pads over to the logistics area.

Men practiced first today at 4:30PM and the landing zone took a beating as the snow is not holding together as well due to the warmer weather. The ladies were up at 7:00 PM and it was the same issue. Moving lots of snow to fill the holes left where they landed. Noted that the women are hitting the big triple jump this year and getting almost the same air as the men are. We were sent home a little early as we will be back first thing in the morning for another practice day. Off to sleep now...

Day 4 - More Gold At Cypress

Back to the mountain today, an earlier start and I was on the hill before 7 AM. It poured rain on the drive over and on the bus ride up but stopped for my walk to the lodge. Then it started again. Busted out the nice MEC rain poncho I got on Day 1 and headed over to the aerial venue in the rain and fog. Today was the first day of practice for the athletes and the weather was not cooperating. You know it's dark and foggy when they turn the lights outside in the morning. Chopped the landing hill then built up a supply of snow at the back of the jumps for filling in where the skiers land. Spent a lot of time on skis today, worked with the in-run crew to side step and slide snow along the edge of the course so the athletes could have a smooth run for speed checks. This is where they try and determine where they will start their run from to get an optimal speed to hit the jumps. The skiers make several runs at speed but don't hit the jumps; they go flying between them and check their speed that is captured by some electric eyes and shown on a overhead display.

The women hit the course about 10 AM and started jumping by 11. The rain had let up and it actually felt cooler with a bit of a breeze. The women stayed on the smaller single and double jumps and looked pretty solid. The landing zone was softer than they prefer due to the rainfall from the night/morning so there were a few tumbles after landing.

Caught an early lunch and headed back to help pack blocks on dry ice to get broken up and put into the tubes buried in the jumps. Moved back to the skis and did two top to bottom side steps of the landing zone to fix up the wear and tear from the women's practice. The men were scheduled to start practicing at 5 PM but I was done at 2:30. Headed down on the bus into the sun and warmth of the city. Rode down with Dee and Carol from work and had a nice visit with them and heard their tales of working in the transportation area. Back at it tomorrow with an afternoon shift. Got home to hear that Maelle Ricker won gold over at boardercross - could hear the crowd from aerials! Cypress is the place to see a gold medal won by Canada so far!

Day 3 - Ferris Bueller's Day Off

Decided to check out the sights downtown and take some pictures. Took the Skytrain from New West and went to Waterfront station and started my walking. Checked out the cauldron by Canada Place and was disappointed to find it behind a chain link fence about 50 meters away. Still managed to get some decent shots once I was able to get through the crowd to the front. The biggest thing I noticed today was the huge amount of people in the downtown core. I attempted to check out the Canadian Mint pavilion on Granville street only to find there was a 2 hour wait to see the regular stuff and a 4 hour wait to see Olympic medals. Funny story, the pavilion was located in the same building and room as I took my CISA exam in back in December.

Continued up Granville and saw the Zipline over Robson street - apparently an 8 hour wait for a 30 second ride. Lots of Olympic themed stuff everywhere and almost every store and restaurant was full. Kept on heading down towards False Creek and past Canada Hockey Place aka GM Place to see some pavilions. Checked out the Saskatchewan pavilion first to say hi for Michelle, I asked if anyone knew her, no luck. Also checked out the Quebec pavilion next door and found that both places were basically just beer gardens with TVs and a stage for music. Walked in the Quebec pavilion and ran into my pal from BCLC, Todd Rende! He is also a volunteer and was spending his day off exploring the sights. Thousands of extra people in a huge city and I keep running into my co-workers...

Back up towards Canada Place and stopped by the Canadian Mint again to find only a 20 minute line for the regular stuff - still a 2 hour wait to look at medals. Got in and saw some interesting coins, a gold bar, and the million dollar gold loonie. No luck on the coins Emily needs to complete her collection though.

Down to the Seabus and over to Lonsdale Quay to see the Russian Tall Ship that is moored there. Of course if you want to get onboard you have to pay $18 for the privilege so I just took pictures. Back across the water to Waterfront station and back to New West on a packed Skytrain. I am thinking that my decision to drive to the Capilano College was wise as the Skytrain/Seabus route takes about 30 minutes longer.

Day 2 - The Sun!

Tough loss last night for Jenn Heil - she just plain got out-skied by the American girl. Felt bad for the folks who had to sit in the pouring rain but that is West Coast weather for you.

The day started off watching a volunteer freak out at the shuttle when he was told he had to walk through the fence maze to get to the bus rather than bypass the line. It ended in him being told he couldn't board the bus by the driver because he was being verbally abusive. Nothing like a little drama to start the day. The mood changed once we were underway and the volunteers started singing along to Neil Diamond and Sweet Caroline over the bus speakers. Once up the hill the weather was better and the sun even came out during the men's moguls qualifying.

Spent the morning chopping and side stepping the lower transition below the landing area. Lots of volunteers on the course today, almost 30. After lunch the spectators started arriving for the mens moguls and I ran into a co-worker Sarah, who had tickets to the event. On the way out to the buses later I ran into another BCLC co-worker, Dee who is voluteering and is involved at the transportation at Cypress.

The afternoon was spent working on the in-run above the jumps. Basically a few hours were spent on skis climbing up the hill then sliding snow from the high spots and side stepping it into the low spots so the athletes have a smooth run leading into the jumps. The rest of the crew was busy breaking up dry ice and moving it in buckets to the tubes built into the jumps to keep them cool from the inside and try and slow down the deterioration from the weather. A bonus today was watching the qualifying runs for the men's moguls from our course which is right beside our course. I left with Alexandre Bilodeau in the top 5 and arrived back in New West in time to watch him take gold. It was an awesome experience to hear the roar of the crowd first hand and see the spectators from around the world taking in the event. That is a definite bonus being an on course volunteer - having the best seat in the house and getting to see the athletes up close.

Tomorrow is a day off so I will be resting up and nursing my sore muscles. I haven't worn my skis since last year at the World Cup event and I am feeling it today.

Day 1
Up early to get on the road to the shuttle point at Capilano University. Traffic is quiet at 6AM so I was able to get there within 25 minutes from New West. Upon arrival they kept directing me further away from where the buses were and eventually I was parked about a KM away. Packed up the skis, boots, poles, and pack and rushed to the shuttle point to find out the 6:45 bus had left. However another bus was ready to go and left a little after 7:00. 30 minutes or so later we arrived at the mountain. For this event, no buses are allowed to go right up to the gate so everyone has to make a 15-20 minute trek up the road to the screening point. Lots of security and there is a massive temporary garage that all vehicles must go through and be checked over by the RCMP. There is a big police presence at the hill, quite a change from the World Cup last year.

I arrived an hour early as instructed for my orientation; this never happened. I ended up sitting around drinking coffee and chatting for the entire time as the rest of the crew was scheduled for 9:15. Met up with the 25 or so volunteers for Aerials and recognized quite a few faces from the World Cup in 2009. Headed over the the aerials site and the biggest change from last time was the massive grandstand at the bottom that looks like it could hold a few thousand people. Headed up to where the jumps are and met our supervisors, one of whom was from last year. The course is laid out the same as last year, just way more TV platforms and way less snow. There is enough snow in place to work with and the jumps have tubes in them that can be filled with dry ice in case it gets too warm.

Not much course work was done, there was mostly cleanup of scaffolding and forms, and removal of all unnecessary equipment. It actually started sleeting/snowing at the jumps and was almost a cold wind blowing. Since there were so many people and not a lot of work we wrapped up around noon instead of the scheduled 3:00. Got my lunch in the lodge and hung out until just before 1:00 PM before heading back to the buses. On the way out I walked past 1000 or more spectators lined up to for the afternoon's moguls event. Everyone has to go through the security checkpoint so they were in for a long wait. With the slight change in elevation the snow was more like rain and lots of the public coming in were not prepared for the wet afternoon in the bleachers. Grabbed a seat on a very full bus of wet volunteers and headed back to town and eventually to my temporary home in New Westminster.