Whistler Olympic Park

After the WC racing finished on Sunday I took the chance to ski the race trails as well as some of the public trails (fully separated from the race trails). The race trails took a little flak from the racers after the racing took place – “too easy” and “shameful” were words bandied about by a few of the elite racers. Not the words Olympic organizers were hoping to hear I’m sure. Thought I would add my 2 cents to the debate. My thoughts are of course worth about 2 cents as I am not nor have I ever been a world cup racer. My thoughts are also based on the snow conditions which I had for the few days I was there. The snow was lightening fast hard pack (perfectly groomed!). Mostly transformed icy snow with repeated freeze-thaw cycles over the few days leading up to the events. The area could easily be buried in lots (and lots) of wet, soft snow as the coastal mountains often get and the conditions – and therefore trails feel could change dramatically. Maps of the courses can be seen here (beware they are big files that take a while to download).

In essence the courses are two interwoven 5k trails that start out of a stadium area. One course is designed for classic races and one is designed for skating. Each loop can be subdivided into varying lengths to make up the appropriate distance required for a race and – as is typical with World Cup racing - multiple laps of the same loop are required to get the full distance. For example the 30k pursuit for the Men did 4 laps of the classic course (3.75k) and then 4 laps of the skate course (3.75k). Spectators get to see the racers 9 times through the stadium over the course of the race. The individual loops don’t really go anywhere either. Rather they switch back and forth on the hillside above the stadium so in fact much of the race plays out in front of the spectators who only occasionally visually lose track of the racers

Of the two loops, the classic course is probably harder. It has some significantly steep climbs followed immediately by some steep drops with fast technical turns at the bottom, then right back into a steep climb. The only really flat part of the classic loop is the stadium area… once out on the course it’s either climbing or descending with not much else in between. From a pure climbers viewpoint none of the climbs are overly long – the longest being maybe 400m. The pure climber (Piller- Cotter? Babikov?) would bemoan that this isn’t long enough to make a significant gap on the competition… and if he isn’t good technically on the descent any gap will be eaten up on the next downhill thus nullifying the attack.

The skate course has significantly less climbing. The climbs that it does have are sharp and steep but mostly less than 100m in length. The skating course does have much more rhythm to it with constantly changing ups and downs. A skier with good transitional technique will find this an easier trail, but how much of a gap can be created on transitional technique alone? This stretch could be much more conducive to some very fast tempo skiing, stringing out a field and dropping off the pretenders. Like the skate course, the Biathalon has a separate trail for its events and I found it to be a trail with the most rhythm to it. Fast descents, tough climbs(but not overly long) and a nice transitional feel between the two. Overall a fun challenge.

Is this the most challenging set of race trails ever made? Who knows. Perhaps they lend themselves more to the team tactics we saw in the World Cup pursuit. Of course not every Olympic race is a mass start. The individual start courses will have a different feel to them altogether. As for the sprint courses they were all deemed challenging if only because they were long (for a sprint) but they did have some tricky corners which could lead to some action as they fight for the medals. Will this course determine Olympic Champions…well of course. A race will be run and someone will win. I for one will be watching and expect a good show.

Whistler World Cup Ski Races

Took some time off to head out to the West Coast (or should I say the warm coast) to see the World Cup ski races at the Whistler Olympic Park. This was a test event for next years Olympics so I thought it would be a great chance to see some racing on the trails. I had been looking to head out west anyway as my brother and family are out in Vancouver for a year’s sabbatical. Timing a visit with them, and a World Cup ski race, and maybe get a little skiing in myself… seemed too good a combination to miss out on. I had debated flying out west when the World Cup schedule came to SilverStar three years ago. I waffled over the decision, in the end didn’t go and regretted it as I watched the racing at home on TV. Following big league ski racing is a challenge here in Canada. For years all we got was perhaps some box scores in the local paper and eventually (usually in the spring) a magazine covering the seasons racing might hit the racks. Of late things have improved a lot with the internet providing streaming coverage of most races and more commentary and blogs than you can shake a stick at… but watching a ski race on a 2 inch You Tube screen just isn’t the same as being there. Time for me to right that omission in my sports viewing history.

Flying out on Friday to Vancouver I left Ottawa behind with -30C weather (-39C windchill) and stepped off the plane to +8C and fog… this was turning out to be great all round! After the drive up the Sea to Sky and a short night’s sleep (still on east coast time) I was up and at Whistler Olympic Park early under beautiful blue skies. The parking attendant couldn’t believe a spectator had already arrived. “No racing for hours yet”, she said. True, but I wanted to take it all in. Crews setting the stadium, wax techs furiously testing skis, athletes arriving and warming up… all building to race time which came far too fast. I was somewhat disappointed that a good number of the top skiers opted to stay at home. Understandable that they have a busy schedule of races in Europe and one weekend on the other side of the planet would only serve to stress their systems and risk illness or injury which could jeopordize their year… I guess I’ll have to go to a race in Europe to see them all race on the same day. That said there was enough of an elite field here and the Canadian and US skiers are making inroads on the top flite of skiers so the racing was good none the less. First up was the Men’s Pursuit (15+15k) where the Italian squad made a strong team statement controlling the pace until team leader Pietro Piller-Cotter dropped the hammer with a few laps remaining and left everyone in his wake. After a brief break in the action (time to take in some Nordic Combined at the ski Jumps next door) the Womens Pursuit was off. No team tactics here. The women took off from the opening gun stringing out the field. Justyna Kowalczyk pulled away from her only competition in the end for a good victory. And then the Nordic combined guys took the trails and put on a good show as an added bonus. Sunday – early again (still on east coast time) - I was back at the stadium ready for the Team Sprints which proved another good day of racing capped by Alex Harvey and George Gray pulling out a 3rd place in the final race of the day. Lots of photos of all the racing here

Sprinters rounding the last turn in the dash for home

The venue at Whistler Olympic Park in the Callaghan valley is quite a good one with the Jumps, Cross Country and Biathalon all just a short walk from each other and the mountains making for a stunning backdrop. Talking to some of the volunteers it should be interesting to see it next year with temporary grandstands built for 12,000 spectators at each venue. Glad I came this year as I was able to walk around quite freely to various points on the course while the races took place. That surely won’t be possible next year. More interesting still will be the transportation of these spectators as there will be no one allowed to drive into the valley and park during the events. The venue is quite a ways from anything - even Whistler is 20 minutes drive - so there will have to be a significant number of shuttles set up. Vanoc has yet to clarify how exactly that will work (even to the volunteers) but I’m sure they will come up with something. After the races on Sunday I went off to ski some of the trails… but more on that in my next blog.

Tour Du Cabane
Monday was supposed to be a great day weather wise warming to -5C and clear blue skies. Later this week the temperature is supposed to plummet so Bryan and I decided to take the opportunity and head out for a weekday ski – get in some trails while the snow is great and the weather matched it. As I was driving up to the park to meet Bryan – trying to pick a trailhead to start – it occurred to me that with two cars (Bryan’s and mine) we could do a traverse of sorts. Park one car here…. drive over there and then ski back to the first car. Bryan seemed game to try so we left his car at the visitor center and drove off to P12. Between these two points would be lots of options and access to a number of huts along the way. Up we went from P12 meeting the groomer as we climbed and found fresh trails throughout the day – nice! After the climb up to the ridge we popped in to Western Shelter for a quick pit stop. Sadly we found no fire roaring in the woodstove so we got one going and then headed on to Huron shelter in hopes of a warmer reception. Indeed we got just that as we arrived at Huron shelter which was jammed with people. Yes the stove was going but there was barely a spot to sit down. That said, hunger overtook us and we grabbed the last bench farthest from the woodstove and enjoyed our lunch amid the din in the shelter.
The groomers working the trails - courtesy Bryan

Everyones clambering for a little lunch
After lunch we cruised down to Shilly Shally… hardly a long effort. We were just going to get a quick photo but the hut was empty and the fire was roaring so we popped in for a short while. This small hut is rarely unoccupied so we took the moment to enjoy its atmosphere. Clearly the Tour du Cabane was coming together. Next stop Keogan which was also only a short distance along so we took only a quick photo and then headed off. I thought we might take this good opportunity to try some backcountry trails. Sadly today was also the day that the grooming contractor was working a base into them with some skidoos. While this will bode well after future snowfalls it meant a somewhat choppy rutted track left behind by the skidoos so we opted to stay on the main trails for the rest of the day. Soon enough all that was left was the drop down Penguin and over to Bryans car. Bryan had never been down Penguin before (how did that happen?) and he enjoyed most of the experience. On perfect snow it was a fun descent to the picnic field. Once across the Parkway however and on to the final steep drop off he cracked up in a supernova cloud of white “smoke”. Fortunately no injury greater than perhaps a slight bruising. He’ll perhaps have a little limp today – which should earn him major “coolness points” at the water cooler as he tells the tale (which will of course grow in statue the more times he tells it ;-). Today’s ski was a great one with lots of possibilities for trails to ski. The traverse idea worked exceptionally well although come to think of it, why wouldn’t it? It certainly had a different feel from the standard loop skis I do in the park. I’ll have to sit down and study the map to see what other possibilities present themselves for traverses for the next time we have two cars up in the park. Perhaps we could link six or seven of the cabins together... what about all the cabins on a Grand Tour du Parc! Hmmm,....

XC Ottawa Duathalon
Sunday was another day at the races. The XCOttawa duathalon was held at the Nakkertok ski center. I’d helped out last year and it was a good time so I signed on again for another day of marshalling. The weather looked pretty grim as the day approached with bitter cold forecast. As I drove to the trails – with the moon sinking on one side and the sun slowly rising on the other I was a little worried but it actually turned out not too bad with just biting (instead of bitter) cold in the morning. In fact, once the sun came up it was almost pleasant. Of course skiing in this weather and standing at a trail intersection are two different things but I had worked my layers quite well – i.e. wear lots - and even tested out some chemical hand warmers in my gloves which worked pretty well. I took the opportunity to take a few shots of the races which would serve to remind me of some of the technical aspects of shooting in the cold. Should serve me well next weekend when I’m out at the Pursuit races (which is just another name for a duathalon… unless the rules have changed since I last looked). Next weekend shouldn’t be near as bad with temperatures forecast around zero for the races so some of the issues I had today - like battery performance plummeting and fingers going numb while adjusting settings on the camera – shouldn’t be an issue. More pictures from the races here.

For the initial open races I was somewhat free to walk around near the stadium area while staying near a particular corner (skating right, classic straight) but once the younger age groups got going I relocated to a corner a little further out in the woods. When the time came I walked down there but found no V-boards to demark my turn. No worries, I’ll just walk back a few hundred yards where I saw a huge pile of them… but just as I arrived at the V-boards, the starting horn went off! Mad panicked sprint ensued back to my corner with a couple of v-boards under my arm arriving just as the first racers did. Skiers (even young ones) move much faster on snow than I can run but fortunately no one went off course – crisis averted. All in all a fun day at the races. I went home and had lunch and an unanticipated nap before heading out to get my own ski in. As I looped around Pink Lake I had the moon starting to rise up in front of me thus – having seen it go down in the morning - made for a long day out in the fresh air… but a good one.

Mid-winter arrives with some perfect snow

skiers rounding the turn
Originally uploaded by kenmores

The last few days have been some of the best skiing of the season. Fresh powder on a nice base has made the trails just about perfect – be they groomers or backcountry trails. I’ve spent a couple of nights skiing the woods under an almost full moon and today I tried to ski exclusively on the backcountry trails. Brilliant sunshine on an otherwise cold day. Not as cold as I expected mind you with nary a breath of wind so I found myself somewhat overdressed. Gonna have to work on my moisture management a little better. I started at P12 and climbed up the big hills to get warmed up. With such a beautiful day the parking lots were jammed but, now that most of the trail network is in prime shape, the crowds get swallowed up by the woods only a few km’s from the parking lots as everyone heads off to their own agendas for the day. Once on top of the ridgeline I skied from one trail to the next redlining what I could and enjoying the afternoon mostly alone in the woods. Lots of soft snow at every turn and the few people I did run across were all beaming – nuff said.

I debated stopping in to one of the huts but it was so nice out and I expected the huts to be crowded so instead I kept skiing along, taking whatever trail presented itself. Sadly I had to eventually head home so I pointed the skis back down trail 40 to my car. Climbing trail 40 is perfect on a cold day for warming up…. but when it’s time to head down, the trail is equally perfect for cooling you off. Two to three km of mostly fast downhill tends to scrub off any built up warmth you may have had and sadly – being overdressed - I had built up a little moisture in my layers as well. Suffice to say while I might not get into what happens when the Dew point relocates to a point within your polypro and fleece layers (save that for someone else’s blog) it’s not pretty. No fear though, once down the hill my car and dry layers were just steps away so I stripped off the icy layers and quickly put on some dry clothes for the drive home.

Clearly I'm not alone in loving the new snow...

Tomorrow is the XCOttawa duathalon and I’m once again headed out to marshal a corner or two. I’ll be sure to manage my layering system a little better so as not to freeze up at my post.

Last ski of the Christmas break

New location for Taylor Lake Yurt
Originally uploaded by kenmores

Today I took the opportunity to ski around the Lac Phillippe sector on the last day before heading back to work. The conditions were beautiful today as yesterday's frosty winds had subsided making for comfortable skiing. As it turns out I picked the wrong end of the park to ski if I was looking for fresh grooming as not much had been recently groomed. Apparently they worked the lower reaches of the park pretty hard. For the most part however the conditions were okay. Still lots of debris on the tracks from last weeks wind storm including a monster tree which had been cleaned up/off the trail with some serious chainsaw work. After looping up to Lusk Lake I skied out to Taylor lake and discovered they had relocated the Taylor Lake Yurt this year. Its now sitting a little further along the lake on a nice point under some big pines. Nice spot and perhaps a little more sheltered than its previous location. Took a quick look inside and it looks like it would make a nice spot for an evenings stay. Back to work tomorrow which means evening skis... although I suppose I could start some morning skis as the days are getting longer now. With the buses on strike though I expect I'm just putting myself into a traffic ordeal with morning skis. I'll stick to night skis for a while until the City settles the strike and gets the buses rolling again.