Tag Archives: olympics

Mar201005

Cody

0

The Olympics Win Gold In My Book

With the Vancouver Olympics now over, Cody sums up his views from his first hand experience…

There have been a couple of times over the last couple of weeks where I’ve been a little ashamed of my British routes. I remember overhearing (read: eaves-dropping on) some guys in a bar talking about how another article had been written that just ripped the Olympics apart, and they finished that conversation with: “…. and guess who wrote the article? The British (of course).”

night lights

night lights

The Olympics received a lot of bad press from the British, and it’s a bit confusing because, to me, criticising these Olympics is like criticising Elmo. Who could do that?! In reality they’ve been absolutely in…..sane.  I’m gonna go and throw modesty to the wind and tell all the doubters that I should know because I’m here! The Olympic buzz in Whistler never came to rest. Every night different artists played a gig at the bottom of the mountain and the medal ceremonies, to massive crowds that were living off the pure excitement of the games. The Swiss practically took over the village, and every time they won gold they marched down the street ringing those frickin cowbells. The different events all told their own stories, from Shaun White achieving legendary status in the half pipe to Canada taking down the USA in the ice hockey final, completing their revenge. I was even fortunate enough to attend the ski jumping and one of the ice hockey games (Canada vs Switzerland baby) as well as skiing to the side of the Dave Murray downhill and watching all the speed skiing. Being here in the flesh at such a historic moment is one of the greatest things I’ve ever done and I’ve loved every moment. Canada were excellent hosts, and I would advise anyone who’s read otherwise to listen to me instead. It’s just a media angle. GO CANADA GO!

me and my academy colleagues ready to win gold!

me and my academy colleagues ready to win gold!

Well this was more of a cranky rant than a blog on this occasion but I think Vancouver should get the credit they deserve for pulling out all the stops and hosting an amazing Winter games. In addition I once again have no higher praise for Alltracks Academy, in this instance for providing me with the time to enjoy both the Olympics and my skiing equally.

crowds enjoying the atmosphere

crowds enjoying the atmosphere

Feb201018

Joanna

3

First hand account of the Olympics – is the negative hype to be believed?

Joanna, our CEO at Erna Low, is at the Vancouver Olympics and full of praise despite the negative publicity…

Waking up today to 10 cm of snow and perfect sunshine looking out over Whistler Creek from my cosy condo as The First Tracks Lodge, what better start to a day can you have?  Excitement was building at the sheer thought that we were going to be watchng the ladies’ downhill in just an hour and a half – and the whole resort was buzzing!   Sitting on a chairlift on the way up  Whistler mountain the snow was positively glistening and we were regailed with stories of bears hibernating – Ben  Ayling, our very own ErnaLowian turned Whistler-owian – spending his winters out in Whistler and summers in New Zealand – was taking us to a secret spot where only a handful of skiers could take advantage of a perfect view of the starting podium to the Women’s Downhill – where we would catch a glimpse of Britain’s own Chemmy Alcott competing against the best athletes in the world.   Leaping out of her hut – second out of 38 skiers down the treacherous slope, she managed a very admirable 13th spot – and just 2.5 seconds behind the American winner!  

Starting gate for the Women's downhill - C'MON CHEMMY!

Starting gate for the Women's downhill - C'MON CHEMMY!

As I watched the incredible prowess of the female athletes, it struck me again how brilliantly the Canadians have organized the whole event – and I could not stop myself feel more than slightly cross at the negative publicity coming out of the UK about the Olympics – as if some of the journalists had set their story before they had even written it.  Although the death last Friday on the luge was tragic and terrible, one feels that this has fuelled ALL the news to be negative – but if you are actually here on the spot, you experience a Canadian efficiency and hospitality second to none!

Me and my sons enjoying the privileged view

Me and my sons enjoying the privileged view

After having watched the downhill, we then spent the whole day floating through powder – silk under your feet, and views to die for!  We were so privileged:  there could have been no more than 500 skiers on Whistler mountain – normally 23,000!   And having explored the nooks and crannies of Whistler, we ended up on Blackcomb – connected by the incredible Peak to Peak gondola – and staring over mountain ranges that stretch up to Alaska ….

Finishing the day on the champagne powder

Finishing the day on the champagne powder