Although we did not have tickets to any alpine events we did have something just as good - lift tickets and skis. This let us visit the on mountain viewing areas set up along the course.
The mens downhill was definitely a popular event and there was quite a line up to get across to Whistler on the Peak 2 Peak where the event is held.
We watched the mens event from a couple of different locations, getting to our first spot just before Manuel Osbourne-Paradis skiied. We missed our best racer of the day, Erik Guay but we had a chance to see a lot of racers from different vantage points. This event wa eventually one by the Swiss.
The womens downhill course is not as long as the mens and the viewing areas were not as good but I still managed to stay in one of these areas for over two hours to watch the race. What the womens downhill lacked in length it made up for in drama with numerous crashes throughout the race. I did not see any of these as my position was very close to the beginning of the course.
When you watch from a viewing area on the course you do not have any TV monitors or information screens of any kind to know who is in the start gate, why there is a delay in the race or who is in the lead. This is where a blackberry is handy combined with hard core fans with start list print outs or a sister watching at home sending me email updates. However I still had to wait to get back to the condo to see the horrific replays of the women craging after getting too much air in the bottom portion of the course.
There were many Americans in the viewing areas for the downhill all there to see their superstar, Lindsay Vonn. She didn't disappoint them and won the race. After Vonn skiied in position 15 the crowds thinned considerably allowing me to get right up to the snow fence ......
With my cowbell of course!
Sent from my BlackBerry device on the Rogers Wireless Network
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