While I’m working in the Mix Zone, I’m just a few inches from the course. In fact, when the Skeleton athletes are practicing on the course, they usually spray me with ice on the way by. That was a cold shock the first time, but I’ve gotten used to it and brace myself for a pelting when I hear them skimming up the ramp from the finish line.

Here I am as the poster child for what NOT to do around a Bobsled/Luge/Skeleton course. They actually have an announcer at all the practices notifying everyone to clear the track, indicating that the track really IS clear, and telling where on the track an athlete or team is if a race is underway.

I asked a member of the Canadian skeleton team how cold it gets on the course. You’ve gotta figure that it’s pretty chilly if the air temperature is 21 degrees Fahrenheit, and you’re traveling at 120 mph. He told me it wasn’t cold at all. He wears a base layer of tights and an Under Armour shirt. Over that he wears a skin-tight head-to-toe body suit with what appears to be a motorcycle helmet. He’s lying down parallel to the ground on the skeleton sled so he’s pretty aerodynamic. Plus, he says he’s not on the course that long. He and his teammates did think that if the temperature dropped to about -5F they might start feeling it. A tough bunch those skeleton racers. They’re all standing there warm in their bodysuits while I stand there looking like Big Bird … shivering!

We’re now finished testing all of the circuits and after that, our installation will be complete. We’re ahead of schedule in that regard. Our biggest challenge is that the equipment we’re using is brand new and the software is still being “adjusted.”  While the manufacturer does tests and upgrades, we have to move into computer babysitting mode.  Unfortunately, while this is happening, the broadcasters we’re working with have to go into a holding pattern, too, in terms of doing final tests back to their studios.  Everybody understands and has been great to work with.  At the same time, though, we know in the back of our minds that we’re going to begin the biggest broadcast event in the world in a few hours and we’d like to make sure everything has been checked, rechecked, and checked again.  But this goes with the territory.

One final note, we got snow today!  We’ve had sprinkles of snow flakes over the past few days, but it came down hard today.  Ironically, they moved a snow making machine into the infield in front of my commentary building today, too.  I think the snow that has been on the ground had turned too grey and they wanted to spruce it up.  Nature may have taken care of that line item for us.

In my next post, I’m going to show several pictures for my tech friends.  We all love to see what kind of gear is being used.  For the rest of you, please forgive and overlook our geekiness.  Tomorrow, if you see the Opening Ceremonies, you’ll be thanking us!

– Rich

That may not seem like a long time until you realize that we had just worked an 11 hour day, climbed up and down the mountain several times, and hadn’t had much in the way of lunch that day. We were hungry. Plus, Dave had his heart and stomach set on some chicken wings.

So we worked our way through the crowds, checking at each possible food port, but getting the same answer every time: There was no food at the Inn. Two nice things happened while we were in the crowds, though. First, the Coke folks who were handing out souvenirs were extra kind to us because we still had our Olympic credentials with us. We’ve learned you can just about move a mountain with these IDs if you have to. It’s very nice but you have to be careful not to take advantage of people’s kindness. The second thing that happened was that a nice young lady indicated that Dave and I were both young and hip.

Okay, truth be told, after we managed to find some food and were headed back to the hotel, an attractive young lady approached us and asked if we had any papers or skins. For those NOT young and hip, papers and skins refer to rolling papers used to smoke marijuana. Unfortunately for our attractive young lady-friend, neither Dave nor I could accommodate her request so we had to send her on her way. When I told Ed this story the next day, he suggested that she must have smoked a good amount of the marijuana already if she mistook either one of us for someone who might have papers or skins.

Ed can say what he wants. I know I’m young and hip.

As for the restaurant we finally found, it was called the Elephant and Castle.  I’m sure there’s a story there somewhere, but I was too hungry and exhausted to care once we sat down.  I did have the $20 Signature Club Sandwich off the value menu and it was quite good.  Actually, all of the food I’ve had here has been good.  Fortunately, my mortgage broker tells me I’ll be finished paying for dessert by the time the Summer Games roll around in 2012.

Cheers,

Rich

My friend, David, with whom I worked in Beijing, is now the Venue Technical Manager at Cypress Mountain near Vancouver.  Cypress is home to the Snow Board competitions.  David emailed me yesterday to give me the rundown on snow conditions there: it’s being delivered by truck and helicopters.  Who’da thunk it?

I was just thinking, in the interest of International Goodwill, that President Obama should consider an emergency relief airlift of snow from the front lawn of the White House — and from the greater DC area — to help out the poor snowboarders stuck at the top of Cypress Mountain with no way down.  Don’t know how far I’ll get with the idea, but if you’d like to help, perhaps a call or two to your representatives in Washington could turn this whole mess around.  After all, it takes a village …

My first day of work here went well. It turns out that I’m NOT working with Paul Graham, my Commentary Manager from Beijing, though I did speak to him on the phone today. He is working at Whistler Creekside, but thought he was working at the Sliding Center with me. I ever saw the list so I just went along with him. Nonetheless, I’m working with some great guys and I’m sure it will go well. Dave is my CCR Manager and Ed is the Assistant Manager. They’ve been here for a little while already so they have a lot of the initial installation work already done.

I got to pull out my handy soldering iron and put some connectors on cables out by the course at what’s called the Mix Zone. This is the area where athletes exit the course and the media all get to do their interviews. Here’s a picture of it without any media types. Each little stall has power and cabling to route their camera feeds and sound back to their networks. As I was working next to the course, I got to watch some of the runs today. Nice work if you can get it, eh. (Note the insertion of “eh” at the end of the sentence, eh. I’m already fitting in, eh.)

The photo at right is a Canadian Luge athlete coming up the long ramp following his finish.  It’s amazing how fast they go. I think I heard the announcer mentioning speeds around 135 mph — on a sled!  The finish line is a long way before they get off the course and the last 75 yards is all uphill. It reminds me of the runaway ramps for 18-wheelers on the sides of mountain roads. This is how they slow down from those high speeds. As I looked down this slope the first time, I thought it was the starting point … until I saw an athlete heading uphill.

On our competition schedule there are two breaks during the bobsled events.  I learned today that the reason for the breaks is because the sleds are much heavier than the luge and skeleton and they tear up the course. The off-days are for the purpose of repairing the surface of the course. There were guys out on the course this evening between runs with what looks like cement trowels smoothing the surface.  This photo is what the course looks like out my control room window.  The workers I mentioned are to the right of center near the Olympic rings.

One final note.  I learned today that they aren’t serving food at our venue until Sunday. Normally, one meal per day is catered.   I found this out when I asked when lunch was served and was told that it wasn’t. Fortunately, the catering crew IS on site getting the dining hall set up and they were nice enough to fix a snack for me which helped make the afternoon bearable.  It always pays to make friends with the right people. Here they are waiting for the food to come out of the oven. These ladies are definitely some of my favorite people here.  I went to the market after work today and bought a pre-made sub sandwich that I’ll have for lunch tomorrow along with an apple and some Oats ‘n’ Honey granola bars. I should be good to go.

By the way, they did a test evacuation of the facility while I was waiting for lunch.  Apparently they do this in case of an avalanche. One of the people coordinating the evacuation counted us then told us to stay where we were — not to evacuate.  I’m not sure if that means we were counted as dead or as survivors.  I feel okay, so I guess I don’t need to worry.

Well, that’s all from beautiful Whistler, BC for now. I’ll take a lot more pictures and post what I can when I can. Please feel free to comment and to share this blog with any friends who might enjoy it.

– Rich

My day started with a trip to the Atlanta airport. My contract said that I was to arrive THREE hours before my flight. That meant a 5am arrival. In truth, we didn’t make that, but we still got there plenty early. Incidentally, the WE here is my wonderful wife and two youngest kids who are great at cheering me on and sending me off.

Secondly, the first leg of my flight was a THREE hour hop to Denver .. followed by what felt like a three hour layover. It was actually only an hour and a half layover. Then came the THREE hour flight from Denver to Vancouver. To confess again, the pilot put the pedal to the metal and brought us in just under three hours. But before you think that’s a good thing, the unfortunate side effect was that we didn’t get a full meal because they don’t offer that on flights under THREE hours.

Finally, I arrived in Vancouver, made it through customs and found my way to the Media Bus to Whistler. After THREE delays, the bus finally took off and, yes, THREE hours later, pulled up in front of my hotel.

The trip did take a long time and was very tiring, but on a very positive note, the drive up to Whistler takes you through some of most gorgeous scenery imaginable. A friend on the bus took a lot of pictures which he promised he would share. (My camera was packed away in my suitcase stored under the bus.) If and when I see them, you’ll see them right here.

So here I am. I went shopping and bought some breakfast foods so I don’t have to pay $40 to the hotel for a continental breakfast. No, that’s not a typo. $40.

More on the cost of stuff at some future time. For now, I have to waterproof my jeans and go to bed. Tomorrow, it begins.

In Beijing, I worked at one of the smaller venues, the Slalom Canoe/Kayak Venue.  This is whitewater kayaking for those not familiar with the term “slalom” in water sports.  We had about 22 networks covering our venue and we provided full equipment and audio mixes for 14 of those 22 networks.  By way of comparison, the Birds Nest (the main coliseum where the Opening and Closing Ceremonies took place) provided feeds to 196 networks.

Meanwhile in Vancouver, I just found out that my venue, the Whistler Slide Center (Bobsled, Luge and Skeleton) will provide mixes to 20 networks.  I’m not sure the total number of network feeds we’ll supply, but that’s just six more mixes we’re providing for a big group of sports than we provided for a smaller sport in 2008.  Incidentally, the Opening Ceremonies will be covered by about 40 networks.  That’s 40.  Not the 196 we saw in Beijing.

The biggest events this winter are Figure Skating and Ice Hockey.  This is pretty typical.

I don’t know why people like to watch what they do.  I’m merely passing on the numbers. Regardless, it’s still one of the largest broadcast events on the planet, and I’m proud to be a part of it.  It’s one week and counting until I leave.

To answer the question that always comes up (since I’m also an announcer), no, I will not be the one doing the commentating. In fact, there isn’t just one commentator. In Beijing, there were over 190 broadcast stations carrying the games around the world. Each had its own commentator(s). I had the privilege of working with about 23 of the networks directly or indirectly. My control room mixed and routed audio for 14 of the 23 and provided circuits back to central switching for the rest. Yes, that does mean 14 separate network broadcasts happening right in front of me simultaneously. At least, I wasn’t working the Birdsnest, they handled 196 networks for the opening ceremonies and everything else that happened their. I was lucky. I was at a small venue.

Vancouver, or in my case, Whistler, could be a little trickier for me. The bobsled, luge, and skeleton competitions are more popular and I rather imagine we’ll have quite a few more networks to oversee. Furthermore, from what I’m told, Paul (my boss from Beijing) and I will be the only two in our Commentary Control Room. In Beijing, there were five of us. Should be interesting.

In any event, now that January has arrived, the clock has started ticking again. In fact, every day it seems to be picking up speed. I ordered my snow boots. I’ve received my credentials and flight information. I think I’ll have my work done here in time to leave. But there always seems to be one more thing…

Oh yeah, I’ve been fighting a cough for the past few weeks and the cough is not at all fond of any of the medicines I’m taking. Unfortunately, it’s dislike of them is not enough to make the cough actually leave. Hmmm.

As you know if you’ve attempted to follow this blog in the past, I am NOT a blogger. At least, I’m not the type who blogs all the time. I was pretty regular about it in Beijing and I will attempt to be regular about it in Whistler. I guess that’s my way of saying, “Don’t expect too much and you won’t be disappointed.” I’ll try to include some interesting behind the scenes stuff when I’m able and I’ll try to include pictures to make it interesting.

Thanks for following along on my journey. This particular adventure “officially” begins when I head for the Atlanta airport on February 3rd. I’ll fly back home on March 1st. Please fasten your seatbelts and make sure your seat is in its full upright position.

In most cases, I absolutely HATE to check bags on a flight. I’ve always managed to squeeze what I’ll need into one carry-on and a briefcase. If I have to wear two layers of clothes, so be it. I’m not sure I’m going to make it with nothing but one carry-on this time around. A month is a long time to be on the road, and since I’m going to the land of snow, I’ll be packing thicker clothing. I tried a preliminary “squeeze” tonight with no success.

Part of my frustration is nothing new to regular air-travelers. Not long ago, you could check one back for free and carry on two bags. Nowadays, you can only carry on one bag and they charge for everything else. Of course, I know why they do that. It’s so they can get more money out of me without having to raise the posted rates for the flight. That’s why meals cost extra now, baggage costs extra, and leg-room costs extra. I suppose it won’t be long before they install pay toilets and charge you for a seat.

A friend of mine, Duane, was shopping for a new minivan for his family of four several years ago. He found a dealership he really liked that said they could custom order the van he wanted and get it to him quickly. He and the salesman apparently reached an agreement on price, Duane signed some papers and finally left the dealership knowing that his new vehicle was on its way from the factory.

Some time past (a few hours or maybe a day) and he received a call from the salesman apologizing for the inconvenience but saying that there was no way they could provide the vehicle for the agreed upon price. The salesman explained that he had forgotten to add in the cost of anti-lock brakes. Duane said that was okay because he didn’t really care if he had anti-lock brakes or not. The salesman replied that the van only came with anti-lock brakes to which Duane asked, “Then why aren’t they included in the price?”

Apparently this manufacturer had invented something called a “forced option” which means that it’s listed as an option but you have to take it. Why? So they could list a lower price for the vehicle in all the advertising, yet charge a higher price at the dealership.

And we wonder why there’s a problem with the American auto industry. Apparently the airline industry thinks this concept is dandy and is increasing its forced options on a daily basis.

I realize that nothing I’m talking about is new news, but it’s in my face at the moment. Any useful suggestions will be welcome. As it is now, I’ll probably be wearing my snow boots onto the plane since I don’t have room for them in my luggage, under my seat or in the overhead storage compartment.

Now another detail you may or may not know, is that home base for me is Georgia. Yep, the southeastern United States. We don’t get 30 inches of snow per year, much less 30 feet, so finding Snow Boots is a bit difficult.

My first thought was to shop REI. Their website has lots of snow boots so I figured the store would, too. Not so. I went to the Mall of GA store and they had nothing. Same with the main Atlanta store. So I went back online. The website will ship to the stores for free, so my plan was to order several boots that I thought might be good contenders, have ‘em sent to the store where I would try them on, then send back the rejects.

Turns out that REI lets you take them HOME to try them on and they’re pretty liberal with their return policies, so this was looking better than expected. I ordered three pairs.

The first pair I tried on (at left in the photo) is the Sorel Alpha Trac snow boot. Admittedly, they look sort of like what storm troopers wear, but they seemed to have what I needed.  Unfortunately, when I tried them on and wore them around for awhile, they seemed too stiff, and the straps were skinny and the inch string at the top was difficult to work with gloves on.  The fit, however, was good.

The second pair was the yellow Squamish from Baffin (in the center).  I liked the fat straps and the velcro closure, and the bright yellow happens to match my jacket, but the top of the boots are wide and stick out pretty far from my legs.  This begs the question, are snow boots supposed to go over pants, or do the snow pants go over the boots.  In this case, the pants would never fit over the boots, and the boots had room for several pairs of pants.

Finally, I tested the third pair, the black Baffin Wolf boots.  These were the cheapest of the three, but far and away the most comfortable for my feet AND the easiest to get on and off.  Admittedly, I’m not a high-adventure trekker.  In fact, I just need to get to and from the venue where I’ll be working, so I may not be the best judge of boots, but if you’re looking for comfortable boots that will keep your feet warm and dry, and will give you plenty of traction, I think these are the ones.

Having made my selection, it was time to head back to REI to make my returns.  True to their word, there were no questions asked and the return process went without a hitch.  I’m told that there are those folks who abuse the system and actually wear the boots for a season and then return them.  For me, I wore each pair for a couple of hours around the house and made sure they were still in like-new condition when they went back to the store.

Well, I think this means I’m about ready to go clothing wise.  I have my base layer clothing from UnderArmor and Patagonia.  I have my boots and socks from REI and Baffin.  The only thing I’m not sure of is which gloves to take.  I have some really warm gloves I use when I ride my motorcycle, but they’re electric (they plug into the bike) and I’m just not sure what the TSA folks will say if I try to get wired gloves through security.