Unexcused Absences

It’s been a crazy two weeks of competition and festivities, plus another ten days of work leading up to the events, and we finally have a chance to take a deep breath and look back at the highlights of our experience.

A bit of background; Vail and Beaver Creek bid on and won the rights to host the 2015 FIS Alpine World Ski Championships (WSC – held every two years) over four years ago. The level of complexity to pull this off was staggering – from February 2 to 15 our resort hosted close to 500 athletes from 68 nations, plus around 1,200 international journalists and broadcasters, plus guests from all over the world, with everything put together by a dedicated paid staff and about 2,200 volunteers. Vail constructed a giant stage and awards plaza plus a qualifying race course and stadium, and Beaver Creek built two downhill courses, a massive finish stadium, and three giant temporary structures holding the broadcast facilities, the “poor” VIP tent, and a two-story Gold/Platinum VIP building.

The massive finish stadium at Beaver Creek

We spent the week leading up to the Championships working on the hill with both the professional race crew and as part of the volunteer Talon Crew, hanging A-net, shoveling, raking, setting up B-net, shoveling, anchoring A-net, shoveling, sideslipping, and did I mention shoveling? Some Italians (Andrea, Nicola, and Alessio), who thought it would be fun to fly a third of the way around the world to volunteer for the WSC, taught us how to say “shovel the snow” in Italian – “spalare la neve!”

Setting up ‘A’ net

Once the races started, our daily schedule was insane; wake up at 5 so we could load the chairlift at 6:30am, then attend the morning meeting at the mid-mountain lodge, followed by a full day’s work until about 4pm – lots of shoveling snow, or “spalare la neve”, or “pelleter la neige” (French), or “schaufeln den schnee” (German – we had a bunch of Germans and Austrians on our crew). Then it was time to visit the Beer Tent (excuse me, the “International Cultural Center”), usually followed by a festive dinner in Beaver Creek Village (the Coyote Cafe, or Blue Moose Pizza, or the Dusty Boot Saloon), although sometimes we went to Championship Plaza in Vail for the awards presentation and a free concert, and then home to bed by 9pm. Repeat (almost) daily.

An early, snowy morning with a bunch of other volunteers – I’m the one in the red/white/blue jacket

The good news is that we did have some days off to enjoy the races as spectators. In particular we got to see the Men’s Downhill, where the USA’s own Travis Ganong skied to a somewhat surprising second place, with Steve Nyman just off the podium in fourth place by a mere 3 hundredths of a second. The crowds were amazing, at least by US standards; the stadium sat 3,500, and another six thousand or so were in the two VIP areas or standing on the hillside above the finish line. The energy was breathtaking.

A downhill racer flies above the crowd

VIP areas (left), stadium (center), and overflow crowds (foreground)

Red Tail stadium filled to capacity

We got to see Ted Ligety come from 5th place after the first run and absolutely kill his second run to win the Giant Slalom WSC title for a record third time in a row. We also watched Eagle-Vail’s own Mikaela Shiffrin give everyone a scare in the Slalom. She was fastest the first run by about a quarter second, but after the first two intervals on the second run had ceded all that advantage and more back to her nemesis, Frida Hansdotter of Sweden, only to kick on the overdrive at the final pitch into the stadium and win the race by a third of a second. Needless to say the 10,000 fans in attendance went absolutely bonkers.

Slopeside crowds gathered to watch Mikaela Shiffrin

The organizers also put on a daily free concert in Vail, with some pretty big-name acts. We (OK, I) had hoped to see KC and the Sunshine Band, but we had a better offer of dinner with friends at the Gore Range Brewery that night. We did get to see both Philip Philips and the amazing Barenaked Ladies, who finished up a rockin’-good program with a killer cover of Led Zeppelin’s “Whole Lotta Love”.

Barenaked Ladies in concert

Some other highlights of the fortnight:

•  Meeting a whole bunch of fun new people on the Talon Crew, many from half-way around the world – in particular our new Italian friends and Manfred from Bavaria;
•  Attending the big press party thanks to our new friend Jacques, who works for the TV broadcast folks, and who also gave us a tour of the TV production facilities;
•  Getting our picture in the Denver Post  (this is deep in the archives, it may take a minute or more to load) while we were shoveling Golden Eagle Jump during a snowstorm (alternate link here);
•  Meeting (and taking a selfie with) Michael Williams, who was 100% of the Jamaican Ski Team, and getting two coveted JST baseball caps;
•  Travis Ganong (USA) taking an unexpected Silver in the Men’s Downhill, and then us winning his race bib (#22) in the raffle during the end-of-event volunteer party;
•  Watching the women race from our on-course station at Golden Eagle Jump (normal World Cup events at Beaver Creek are only for the men);
•  Being given tickets to the Silver VIP tent by a special friend;
•  Another special friend getting me into the Lech-Zurs private party room where we feasted on Austrian food and beer;
•  The excitement of hearing dozens of different languages spoken all around us on the hill (by the coaches and racers) and in the village (by visitors and guests);
•  Being surrounded by the world’s best skiers – everywhere we looked on the slopes were world-class racers skiing around on their days off;
•  The shared experience of hard work and hard play with our fellow Talon Crew workers;
•  Witnessing one of the most sublime race performances of all time, Ted Ligety’s second run of the GS (or watch the Austrian broadcast here);
•  I never asked his name, but I likely rode up the Centennial chairlift with legendary Norwegian ski racer Kjetil André Aamodt, who was in town for the races and to be inducted into Vail’s International Ski Racing Hall of Fame – we chatted about living in the Vail Valley and he said he was thinking of moving here to coach ski racing;
•  Seeing all the racers and coaches from all the countries not normally associated with ski racing, countries like Monaco, Malta, Macedonia, and Montenegro;
•  The final party for the volunteers, where we won not only Travis’ race bib #22 as described earlier, but also a downhill race gate panel and a giant 2015 banner that had hung in the finish stadium.

Us with the entire Jamaican Ski Team

We capped the event with an amazing experience the last day of the races. Heather had her favorite ski school clients in town that weekend, so she was busy working with them. I was not scheduled to work, so I was standing beside the Men’s Slalom course to watch from up close. Just before the races started, Heather texted me that her clients were taking her to the Platinum VIP building as their guests to watch the race, and they might have an extra ticket and was I interested in joining them? (Um, yeah…)

A few minutes later I got the word to join the party, so I skied down and Heather met me with a spare ticket and I walked into the plush confines of the very important people’s gathering, where I was escorted to… Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper’s table. Apparently Heather’s ski school clients are tight with the Governor, so tight that he was staying at their house over the weekend.

Platinum VIP building with Gov Hickenlooper (left, facing camera) and Heather (right foreground)

So I got to both “hob” and “knob” in the big leagues during the Men’s Slalom Finals. The big bonus was that an unheralded Frenchman, Jean-Baptiste Grange, won the Gold in a thrilling race a half second in front of the favored Felix Neureuther of Germany. Since I love all things French, it was exciting to see. And speaking of all things French…

“Coach’s Corner” at Golden Eagle Jump

During the women’s GS midway through the Championships, we were on course at our usual station at Golden Eagle jump, surrounded by a couple dozen coaches. Heather asked the French women’s coach if he would be interested in trading his awesome Colmar French Ski Team parka for my not-so-awesome J. Lindeberg 2015 shell. Amazingly, he said yes, but only after the final women’s race Saturday. Background; I have been coveting the French Ski Team jackets since our first World Cup race back in late 2009.

Me with my prized French Ski Team jacket

So Saturday found me desperately looking around the race course, the finish area, and Beaver Creek Village for this coach. I had no luck all day long, and had given up and had just sat down with a friend in a cafe in the Village, when the coach walked right by not 5 feet away! I jumped up and followed (ok, stalked) him back to his hotel, and asked as graciously as possible, “excusez-moi de vous déranger, voulez-vous échanger votre veste de ski?” (sorry to bother you, would you like to trade your ski jacket?). “Bah oui” (surely!). So right there on the spot he takes off his most awesome Colmar French Ski Team parka (why an Italian clothing company supplies the French Ski Team is a question for another day) and gives it to me in exchange for my 2015 jacket. He was in a hurry and I never got his name, but he made me one very happy boy.

So now the races are over, and the thousand-strong TV crew have packed up their gear, and the foreigners have mostly gone back home, and things are pretty much back to normal here at Beaver Creek, and we’re frankly more than a bit sad; the build-up and the races were amazing. Working at this event was everything we could have ever hoped for, times ten. So Vail and Beaver Creek, let’s get started with a bid for the 2025 World Ski Championships.

NASA control room? No, the inside of one of the three TV production trucks

The external patch panel for one of the TV production trucks

The broadcast compound; TV trucks in the foreground, temporary 3-story building in the background

Dessert bar in the Platinum VIP building

The new 2015 mural on the side of our condo building

Not quite “backstage” but at least “side-stage” at the opening ceremonies

Ski patrol hauling ~300 pounds of ‘A’ net on the men’s downhill course

A look at the Birds of Prey race venue from Larkspur Bowl

Race bibs at the Men’s Slalom start

Red Tail stadium February 1

Red Tail stadium the day of a race

Inside the Silver VIP tent

The time since our return from France has passed by in a blur, with trips to the Ft. Lauderdale Boat Show, the Bahamas, Beaver Creek for the annual World Cup ski races, followed by the holidays in Virginia with associated game nights, movie nights, cookie-decorating night, pot-luck dinners with friends, and the always popular Caddyshack Trivia night.

Now we are back in Beaver Creek for the rest of the winter, helping to prepare for the Alpine World Ski Championships. The WSC comes along every other year, and is normally held in the European ski powerhouse countries like Austria, Switzerland, Germany, France, and Italy. But every one to two decades the Championships are held in the USA, and the past two in North America have been held right here at the Vail/Beaver Creek areas (1989 and 1999). The only other North American host was Aspen way back in 1950.

Countdown to the 2015 World Ski Championships

Over the past six years of working with the Talon Crew (the on-hill course workers who help prepare and maintain the race tracks) we have become quite heavily involved, with favorite wife Heather building and maintaining Taloncrew.com, the official website, and your correspondent filling in as Crew Chief a number of days when, in desperation, the leadership turned to me to lead up to 20 of our fellow volunteers through the days’ work projects. Now, suddenly, the 2015 World Ski Championships, which Beaver Creek has been working on for close to three years, are only one day away.

K & H with Mikaela Shiffrin

Celebrating a successful training session

About 10 days ago we were powder skiing late morning on Grouse Mountain, a section of Beaver Creek with expert-only trails, when a couple of folks with US Ski Team jackets approached us. Would we mind slipping the training course (pushing the powder off to the sides) for Mikaela Shiffrin (Olympic Gold Medalist, World Champion, and overall World Cup Slalom Champion skier)? Her coaches had set up a private training course on lower Grouse Mountain for her to train slalom. Heather said “sure”, while I said “how much” (naturally). So we skied over and took a couple laps pushing the snow out of the way and got to watch her race up close (amazing) and then got to meet the young lady herself. An unexpected bonus to an already excellent day.

After that it’s been pretty much a blur of hanging A-net, shoveling, sideslipping, and general course prep, while every day more foreigners show up (broadcasters, coaches, racers) and the excitement builds. Tomorrow it’s a training day for the women on their new downhill course, followed by the opening ceremonies in downtown Vail, and then it’s game-on for the next two weeks as the most important event in ski racing happens outside our back door. NBC and Universal Sports have an extensive coverage package for the races, so check your local listings and then look for us on the slopes – we, along with about 2,200 other volunteers, will be in the red/white/blue ski outfits.

For the next 10 days, we will both be working as volunteers for the Birds of Prey World Cup Ski Race.  We’ll join hundreds of other volunteers who come to Beaver Creek in Colorado each year to make this amazing race happen. These folks do work so difficult it would be impossible to find and hire personnel for this job. Why do we do it? To sum up an earlier blog post, we work in order to be part of an amazing community that contributes to the sport we so love. We’re proud of the astonishing amount of effort that we – and hundreds of others – will do in the days to come.

This is our fourth year working for the Talon Crew (as the volunteers are known). I also happen to be the official blogger for the Talon Crew  and will be posting stories from the trenches! You can check out all the behind-the-scenes action at TalonCrew.com.

Here is a link to the first Talon Crew Blog Post of 2012!

Heather previously posted the writings she did as official Talon Crew blogger for the 2011 Audi Birds of Prey World Cup Downhill at Beaver Creek, so here I’ll just add my $0.02 on our week in Colorado and include two slideshows of photos I took during the 10-day event. For more on what the Talon Crew is about, see Heather’s posts on the subject, “Life on the Talon Crew” and “A Volunteer’s Life”

My impression of this year’s experience on the Talon Crew was even better than the two previous years. The whole operation really is a well-oiled machine, from the top (Brad, Jen and Kerry) on down. Living in the base village was superior to staying down in Avon and having to deal with the shuttle buses, so thank you to The Charter for their discount Talon Crew rate! We had a minor glitch with our room layout that they solved with a smile, no questions asked. Moving the Tuesday night volunteer party to the Dusty Boot was another big win; while the Minturn Saloon of previous years was a good time, it was certainly more convenient for those of us without cars to attend the event at the base village.

And I can’t talk about how fun volunteering is without mentioning our crew chiefs, Sean and Kevin. They set a really good tone for the work, keeping things organized and flowing during the day, and definitely letting their hair down once happy hour comes around. From Sean and Kevin and the returning crew members all the way to the new recruits this year, this team is a blast to work with.

First slideshow is a set of photos from the pre-race course prep. The Talon Crew begins preparing the downhill track the Friday after Thanksgiving, and works for five straight days setting up A-net, slipping the course, preparing the start house, installing B-fence, and raking out uneven areas of the course.

TALON CREW COURSE PREP 2011

Beaver Creek Village

Spruce Saddle Lodge at dawn

Tools of the trade

Talon Crew hauling A-net liner

Sean Norris

Raising the A-Net

High-speed slip above "Pumphouse"

Grading the back of the A-net

Just in case

The steeps in "Pete's Arena"

Course prep with a chainsaw?

Top of Golden Eagle jump

The final grading

30 seconds of rest

The daily debriefing at the Coyote Cafe

Conference at the top of Golden Eagle jump

Our room (thank you, The Charter, for the nice discount!)

Next comes two days of downhill training and three days of World Cup racing action. I’ve got action photos of some athletes and other associated race-day photos.

RACE DAY PHOTOS, BIRDS OF PREY 2011

A VERY early chairlift ride on race day

A Sony broadcast camera with a BIG Canon lens

Slovenian coach (team motto, "Go SLO!")

Course inspection

Nordica ski tech

The finish arena during the downhill

Scott Snow greets his fan club at the finish arena

Big right foot turn in "Pete's Arena"

Ted Ligety on course

Aksel Lund Svindal (easy now, ladies!)

Snow squalls during the Super G

Austrian TV

Didier Cuche with his famous ski flip

Bode wins the 2011 downhill

Team Jacket Composite

I also shot a brief video of McD doing some course prep… with a chainsaw!!!

As part of my work for the Talon Crew, I gathered stories from fellow crewmembers and quotes from the athletes during the 2011 Audi Birds of Prey World Cup ski races.  Enjoy!

Bode Miller

I spoke with Bode Miller after the first training run for the Downhill.
Heather: What would you like to say to the Talon Crew, the volunteer course maintenance workers?
Bode: This is the most well manicured course on the circuit. There’s a great quality to the snow. It’s so smooth because there’s an army of folks out there busting their butts, and we really appreciate it.

Long-time volunteer Shelly Zuroff relates the following tale:
I am working below the Golden Eagle jump, directing slippers as they come down the pitch. As the ski club kids come through, they keep missing the fluff pile right next to me. I am getting a little frustrated, so I look up the hill and see somebody standing there. I point straight at him and yell, “You! I want you right here!” Then, I gesticulate from him to the pile next to me.

He takes off and just obliterates the pile of snow.

“You did that really well, thanks!” I say to him. As he turns around, I realize it is Bode Miller

“Well,” he replies. “I try.”

Scott Snow

Scott Snow, the youngest racer on the US Ski Team and rising downhiller, took his first runs down the Birds of Prey racecourse earlier this week. He skied as a forerunner during the downhill training runs.
Heather: I know you’ve kept a map of the course since you were 15 that’s about six feel long detailing every turn and pitch along this course. You work on it every time you visit Beaver Creek and ski Golden Eagle. You’ve just skied your first World Cup course on the Birds of Prey, how was it?
Scott: It’s the most fun I’ve had in about a minute-and-fifty-one seconds of my life! It’s just like the other athletes say, the course is so smooth, perfect! I can’t wait to run it again!

Jan Hudec (photo by Praz)

World Cup gold medalist Jan Hudec joined the Talon Crew for dinner at the Dusty Boot on Tuesday evening. The downhiller wanted to thank the Crew for their work.
Jan: I stopped by to thank the Talon Crew. It’s such a pleasure to come to a beautiful hill and a beautiful village like this. It makes you really realize why you’re a ski racer! The athletes really appreciate all of the work that you do. We’re going to go out there this weekend and rip it up!

Hubert Seigmann (photo by Marlo Maroon)

Team Captain Sean Norris relates this tale:
The public has already left the mountain when Asa releases us. I am sweeping behind my crew when I see two of our newest volunteers, Hubert and Marlo at the side of the slope. Hubert’s binding has just broken.

One of the race crew comes up and asks Hubert if he needs help returning to the bottom. Hubert says no, turns, and skis straight down the hill. I mean straight down the hill on one ski! Marlo takes off after him and damn can that girl ski. I have to totally let it run to keep up with her! We’re all chasing this one-skied madman down the hill. We can’t catch him and all of us have on two skis!

He finally stops to wait for us. Hubert, Marlo and I collapse in fits of giggles. We’re having so much fun! I see confusion on the faces around us as race crew and ski patrol gather around us. They’re all wondering who is this guy who can ski faster than everybody on only one ski?

Yeah, that’s Hubert. He’s a retired World Cup racer. He’s raced the Birds of Prey. He’s come back to Beaver Creek to volunteer with the Talon Crew. Amazing.

Hermann Maier (photo by taloncrew.blogspot.com)

A tale from a course worker who desperately wishes to remain anonymous:
A number of years ago, I was working at the start shack. I see Hermann Maier coming toward me looking very serious. I back up to give him room, to allow him to get in his race zone. He keeps coming toward me. He’s a big guy, and he looks mad, so I back up all the way to the fence. And he keeps coming toward me! I start to back through a gap in the fence that opens into trees and he’s still coming toward me! I freeze, having absolutely no idea what to do.

“Not you.” he says in his thick, Austrian accent. “Toilet.”