Unexcused Absences

Ted Ligety – Winner BOP GS 2010

We’ve just arrived in Beaver Creek, Colorado.  For the next ten days, we will eat, breathe and live World Cup ski racing.  The very best athletes from the entire planet are converging this week to test themselves against each other and against the mountains in the annual Birds of Prey World Cup series.  We’re here to volunteer our time and our sweat to help make it happen.

Thanks to my broken foot, I’ll be blogging on behalf of the Talon Crew, a group of volunteers who work to create and maintain the race course.  I’ll post links here so that you can follow the Crew over the next few days.

If you want to get psyched up for winter, for racing, or want to learn more about downhill ski racing, check out this video segment on the Birds of Prey race from the documentary “The Thin Line.”  Enjoy!

Ski long enough, well enough, or volunteer on a hill enough and you’ll probably get a free jacket. Ski parkas act as a secondary currency in this industry. Who doesn’t want or can’t use a new ski jacket? Win a race? Get a jacket! Earn a spot on a team? Congratulations, nice jacket! Volunteer to work a race? You earned your jacket!

Until spending the winter here at The Beav, I did not know about the currency of ski parkas. But like many items of clothing, I’m learning that certain items carry more caché than others. Ignorantly, I happily received my free Descente Jacket for winning my division in the 2007 NASTAR (National Standard Race) finals, my Halti 2009 Birds of Prey Talon Crew Jacket, and my Eddie Bauer First Ascent 2010 Birds of Prey Talon Crew Jacket. Now, I realize that wearing these jackets on the hill and around town means a whole lot more than keeping warm and dry in a great parka.

NASTAR Podium

My first jacket is from a NASTAR race.  At the race, a seasoned racer known as the pacesetter sets a par time on the race course which, along with your age and gender and race time, is used to calculate your handicap and standing. My win at the 2007 Nature Valley NASTAR National Championships in my age and skill division brings to mind the phrase, “It’s better to be lucky than good.” Arriving at the race course, I learn that my division consists of only three women. I ski my hardest during my first run in the race and move into in first place for my division! During my second run, I hit a rut, flip over, and slide down the hill on my backside while the waistband of my ski pants acts as a scoop and packs my pants with several pounds of snow. Unharmed and still legally in the race, I pop back up. Crossing the finish line, I immediately bend and drop my pants to my ankles, dumping out the snow. I turn around, expecting to see a fellow (female) competitor behind me. Instead I see pacesetter, Olympian, and World Cup skier AJ Kitt cruising through the finish, doubled up with laughter. I still win first place (beating all two competitors) and earn a gorgeous orange jacket (my favorite color). When I meet other racers with the same jacket, they have no idea I mooned AJ Kitt during the race – they only recognize me as a fellow winner.

Kent in the 2010 Jacket, Heather in the 2009 Jacket

How did Kent and I earn Talon Crew jackets? Beaver Creek annually hosts the Birds of Prey, the only regularly-scheduled stop in America on the men’s alpine World Cup circuit (read more about our experiences on the Talon Crew here). The Talon Crew is comprised of many folks who donate their time and muscle power to this annual event. This jacket (courtesy of the Vail Valley Foundation) means the wearer worked the race and generally marks the person as a bona fide expert skier. The jacket offers the wearer instant ski credibility in this town. Plus, they’re really nice parkas! Even out-of-towners know of the famous race, and question the owner about work on the race course. When meeting other Talon Crew on the bus or at the store, the phrase, “nice jacket,” generally precedes a friendly introduction.

Weasel Workers at the Vancouver Olympics

What’s rarer than a Talon Crew jacket in the Vail Valley? A blue Weasel Worker jacket from the 2010 Vancouver Olympics! The Weasel Workers at Whistler function much like the Talon Crew. Frequently, members of one crew will spend time volunteering with the other. I see a decent number of these jackets with the huge Olympic logo on the back around town, and I know that the folks that sport them earned these jackets the hard way (starting work at 3 am to shovel the race courses) and got to see the Olympics up close and personal.  [Many thanks to Jane Macintyre for the photo.  Read about her Olympic Adventure here.]

Currently, the most avant-garde items in the Vail Valley are things with the 2015 logo. Why 2015? Vail and Beaver Creek will host the 2015 FIS Alpine World Ski Championships. Excited to host this prestigious event again, valley residents sport 2015 bumper stickers while 2015 ice sculptures sprout at busy venues. An official 2015 jacket in 2011 identifies you as an event insider. Oh, and if you happen to have a jacket from the 1989 or the 1999 FIS Alpine World Ski Championships held right here at Beaver Creek, your stock is on the rise. Very cool vintage.

Got Snow? With Scott Snow, Member of the US Ski Team

National ski team jackets command the highest value, as they are the hardest to earn and rather rare. Members of each nation’s ski team receive unique jackets each year; they all look great. To receive a team jacket, you have to earn a spot on your national ski team. Not an easy thing! But sometimes, athletes give them away (to family, friends, significant others, their professional ski tuners, etc.) or donate them to a favorite charity. Occasionally these rare jackets show up on Ebay. I’m really not too sure how these jackets enter the marketplace, but they have HUGE caché here at The Beav. The owner of a US Ski Team jacket in the Vail Valley can probably trade it for any jacket on the market, or sell it for a nice sum of cash.  [Thanks to Scott Snow for letting us use this photo.]

One word of caution – don’t plan on wearing the jacket of a national team (while skiing) unless you’re a really good skier. If you’re a good skier, you might be a retired racer, a friend or colleague of a racer, a coach, or somebody in the business who supports the the team. If you’re a rich person who generously paid several thousand dollars at a charity auction for the jacket, I doubt you’ll be skiing in it. If you’re a mediocre skier who paid $800 for it on Ebay thinking you’ll look cool… folks will actually think you should have spent your money on ski lessons instead.

Beaver Creek Ski and Snowboard School Uniform

The final jacket deserving mention in this post is not for sale, so it’s hard to value. The Beaver Creek Ski and Snowboard School uniform from DNA keeps instructors toasty warm on the coldest days and contains enough pockets to make your head spin (yes, there’s even one big enough for a file folder).  The only place you’ll find this particular jacket is on the mountain, where you’ll hear the instructors affectionately referred to as Smurfs.  We smurfs enjoy our work, work with fun colleagues, and love the wide variety of folks we teach (read about Kent’s first day on the job here).  Plus, the resort and local businesses treat us really really well.  A rumored bumper sticker making its way around the employee locker room sums it up, “My job is better than your vacation!”

I last purchased a ski parka in 2001. Are there gorgeous jackets for sale all around me? Yes! Is the Vail Valley one of the best spots for ski-wear shopping in the world? Yes! But, I enjoy my “free” jackets earned by racing and volunteering. They’re all great jackets, and it’s fun to mark being a part of an event. I don’t mind matching fellow NASTAR winners or Talon Crew volunteers when skiing or around town. It’s just another sign I belong here for the winter.

VIP Area!

The champagne and baked salmon (with capers and lemon) on Saturday were divine. As were the grilled asparagus, the artichoke and olive salad, and the spectacular desert table. Were we at one of Beaver Creek’s numerous gourmet restaurants? Had we lost our minds and dropped $50 a person on a buffet brunch? Had we somehow fallen asleep and woken up as wealthy celebrities? Nope, we just knew the right person.

“Fantasy” Saturday Lunch

Thanks to a well-connected friend, we were given passes to the VIP hospitality tent at the Birds of Prey race on Saturday (one of our days off). Rubbing elbows with the rich and famous proved a delightful way to watch the Super-G race. The VIP area occupied a large section right next to the finish – including a portion right next to the athlete’s finish area. “So,” we thought, “this is how the other half lives.”

Endless line of private jets at Eagle-Vail Airport

But at Beaver Creek, it’s more like how the other two-thirds live. Besides a fine pedigree in the racing world, The Beav is famous for attracting the ultra-rich and famous. To give you an idea, the minimum size for a slope-side home at The Beav is 12,000 square feet, leading to the phrase commonly used to describe a wealthy couple, “Oh, their house meets the minimum.” And during holiday periods, the private jets are triple-parked at the local airport.

“Reality” Sunday Lunch

Fantasy Saturday passed, and on Reality Sunday we were back on the bus at 6:00am headed for a pre-dawn chairlift ride to work another shift on the Talon Crew. The GS, short for Giant Slalom (a “technical” event more about agility and technique than raw speed) race was on, and we were back volunteering just above the Golden Eagle jump shoveling, raking, and minding the gates during the race. The athletes rocketed by at about at about 40 – 50 mph, cranking through a series of turns right in front of us. Yes, the view was amazing.

Ted Ligety (USA) on his way to 1st place in GS

Even more fun was watching America’s own Ted Ligety thunder by not 15 feet away from us on his way to winning his first Birds of Prey World-Cup race (he’s finished third, fourth, second and fourth here the past four years). Yes, these photos here are ones we took, not pictures grabbed off the web.

Priceless view

During a particularly large raking session between races (the GS has 2 runs), a gentleman stopped by and chatted with our section chief. We and the other volunteers jealously admired his Kjus “Birds of Prey” special edition jacket. Not that our Eddie Bauer First Ascent Birds of Prey jackets weren’t wonderful, but Kjus jackets typically sell for the price of a small car – and this one was just stunning. Afterwards, I asked our chief what that gentleman had done to get such a great jacket. The chief responded that he was the major American sponsor of the race, and head of a multinational chemical corporation. I found it interesting that he was out on the hill with the volunteers, and not in the VIP tent. Apparently, the view from the racecourse IS priceless!

Best seat in the house

One final note, to add to the “Why Beaver Creek” post, the final racer had finished Sunday and we were beginning the long process of taking down all the “stuff” associated with putting on a World Cup ski race when the Chief Race Director for the World Cup, Günter Hujara (the number one official in World-Cup-land), skied up to us and reached out a hand and personally thanked us for all the hard work we had put in as volunteers the past week. And then we watched as he continued down the racecourse and did the same with all the volunteers on the hill. Günter is a major celebrity in the ski-racing world, and he could easily have just gone on to his fancy hotel suite and catered meal, yet he took the time to look us in the eye and thank us personally. A truly classy gesture.

Heather adjusts a gate

Aksel Lund Svindal

Race Finish Stadium

Marco Sullivan (USA)

Beaver Creek Resort first opened in 1980. Originally conceived as an Olympic venue, it rapidly became a premier American racing venue. The Beav hosted the World Ski Championships in 1989, again in 1999, and was recently awarded the 2015 World Ski Championships.

Beaver Creek also annually hosts the Birds of Prey, the only regularly-scheduled World Cup ski race in America. The Birds of Prey consists of three races: the Downhill (the fastest and most dangerous event, a “speed event”), a Super G (another “speed event”) and a Giant Slalom (known as a “technical event” because it involves more precision and agility than raw speed). Top racers arrive every December to test themselves against the mountain and against each other.

Golden Eagle Jump

Hosting a World Cup ski race involves an enormous amount of work. While it might seem as simple as putting up a few sponsors banners, setting some race gates and organizing a clock, the race course actually requires tremendous preparation and maintenance. The work is so difficult that it is impossible to hire workers for the job. In Europe, where alpine ski racing is a national pastime, host countries assign army soldiers to prepre the race course. At Beaver Creek, the work is done by volunteers – hundreds of them – known as the Talon Crew.

The Talon Crew consists of about 400 volunteers who work for approximately 10 days, starting a week before the first race, to make sure that the hill conditions for the Birds of Prey are the best in the world. This is our second year volunteering with this group, and we thought you might like to know what it’s like to put on a World Cup Ski Race. This is what our work was like on Tuesday.

Pre-dawn chairlift ride

The alarm rings at 5:00 am. We start the day with “World Cup Breakfast Burritos” prepared by a friend who knows just how much energy the day is going to take. By 5:50 am we are fully geared up for a day on the hill and walk to the employee bus stop for a ride up the hill from Avon (where we live) to the resort. It is still dark when we load the chairlift on our way to the mid-mountain Spruce Saddle lodge, volunteer headquarters. A quarter moon hangs over the lift and the stars shine against the indigo sky while the lights of the homes in the valley fall softly on the snowy landscape. It is also very, very cold.

Volunteer Briefing

By 6:30 am we arrive at volunteer headquarters in the upper floor of the Spruce Saddle lodge. At 6:45 am the crew chief briefs the groups on the day’s events, projects, and safely procedures. After the briefing, we put on all of our gear and head to the top of the mountain. It is dawn.

Dawn at the top of Beaver Creek

A World Cup ski race can’t be held on a normal ski hill. Work on the Birds of Prey course begins with the Beaver Creek professional race crew in October. They supplement the natural snowfall with manmade snow to ensure that all rocks, trees and obstructions of the mile-and-a-half race course are covered. Then comes the “A” net. This is the last and biggest line of defense in case a racer, who travels at speeds up to 80 mph, should fall or loose control. These nets catch the skier who may fly (literally) off the course and keep them from hitting trees in the woods. They are about 25 feet tall and run along almost the entire course. In front of the “A” net is anywhere from 1 to 3 layers of “B” fence which serve to catch (or at least slow) falling skiers prior to an impact on the “A” net. Between the professional crew and the volunteers, over 5 miles of “B” net are installed along the race course.

Slipping the Course

Now, World Cup skiers don’t ski on snow. Really? Yes, they actually ski on ice. The industry phrase is “injected snow.” Starting 10 days before the race, the Talon Crew sets out with fire hoses and long pipes with dozens of nozzles and soaks the race course with approximately 2.5 million gallons of water. This water freezes and turns the race course into semi-vertical ice skating rink. The ice will last until late March, making this slope, “Golden Eagle,” the most challenging ski run in the county.

Finish Stadium

The Talon Crew has four basic assignments beyond watering; we “slip the race line”, meaning we slide with our skis sideways to the hill or in a wedge to remove any actual snow from the ice’s surface and to polish the ice to a smooth finish; we stomp down and then rake or shovel this excess snow off the race course over the “A” and “B” nets into the woods; we install “B” nets; and we smooth the race course between racers by slipping the course or or by raking.

This is all physical, challenging work which frequently lasts from dawn until dusk on slopes so steep that it is often impossible to stand without crampons. So, why do we do it? We actually have a great time! It’s fun!! The Talon Crew consists of a group of people with positive attitudes and a great fun streak, and we are happy to join them. And the bonus? Being on the race course, feet away from the best skiers in the world as they pass you at speeds up to 80 mph and soar off jumps that take them over 100 feet through the air.

The downhill course at “Pete’s Arena” – steep!

We arrive with our crew at the top of the race course just after dawn. Our first trips down the course involve pushing any overnight snow off the race course with our skis. This is actually a lot of fun. Our crew of 9 takes turns sliding sideways down the race course. The goal is to keep your skis sideways to the hill and push the excess snow down with you. Basically, we each start a mini-avalanche and ride it down, much like surfing, to the shovel-out area at the bottom of each pitch. Each skier takes a section of the race course as wide as their skis, following tip-to-tail the path cleared by the preceding teammate. In areas where the snow is too deep for this, we trample it down and subsequently remove it by rake and shovel. This part is not so fun. It’s like riding a StairMaster at 10,000 feet with 20 pounds of skis and snow on each leg.

Once the race course is suitably cleared of snow around 11:00 am, we quickly consume sandwiches at the volunteer hut and report our assigned area just above the Golden Eagle jump. We work on the surface of the jump, smoothing the racecourse and removing any excess snow. By now it’s 12:30 pm – showtime!

Kent and Gunter Hujara, Top FIS Guy

At 12:30 pm the racers begin coming down the hill. Today is a training run, but it is executed exactly like a real race. I stand on the sidelines, directing the skiers who travel down the course between racers (coaches, ski technicians, and course maintenance workers). Kent stands with a big yellow flag just above the Golden Eagle jump. Should a racer have an accident on the Golden Eagle jump, Kent will wave the subsequent racer out of the course, stopping the race. We are quite close to the racers as they come down the course, and they make a most unusual sound. The sound of a human traveling 70 mph without the aid of machinery is difficult to describe. The racers thunder as they pass, but the sound is soft, like a rocket ship with a velvet engine.

Bode Miller on Course – Kent watches with the Flag

The training runs all happen without incident, and the last racer finishes the course at around 2:30 pm. The Talon Crew heads back to the top of the hill. We spend the next few hours shoveling excess snow from “The Brink”. By the time we finish and ski to the bottom, the sun has set. It is about 5:00 pm. Just another day on the Talon Crew.

Aksel Lund Svindal (NOR) – Heather’s Heart Beats Faster

NBC will cover the Birds of Prey race Sunday, December 5th at 2pm ET. Universal Sports will also webcast the event.