First of all, I think it is very important to discuss the death of the Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili. This accident has affect everyone here differently. Everyone has been very respectful of the situation, even to the point of complete silence in the bar where we watched the opening ceremony. The Olympic rings (see picture from my last post) has become a dedication spot for Kumaritashvili. This accident has effect Lauren (my friend) as she is head of transportation for the sliding venue. She informed us at midnight (when she got home) that on a good note, all of the safety procedures where performed perfectly.
I was unaware of the accident as I decided to go skiing on Friday. I hit the slopes just about lunch time and rode the gondola up Blackcomb Mountain. It was snowing up on the mountain which is good and bad. Obviously, more snow is good, but the clouds make block the sun and just about eliminates your depth perception, so the ground just looks white and you can't see the contours. That makes for very challenging skiing. Plus, since we are in the PNW, the snow is wet and heavy which means turns your turns come all from your quads! Well, my quads were screaming at me on the second run, so skiing was...interesting.
I then met Elini (Lauren's friend) at the Dublin Gate Irish Pub (as usual) for a seemingly bottomless plate of Irish Fries, clam chowder, and of course, Guinness. We then stayed and watched the opening Ceremony, which did have some changes compared to the rehearsal I attended (but only slight). It was then time to head home and sleep.
ScottDate: Saturday, February 13
Today I am heading into the Village for some lunch and then up to the Luge track where I have a ticket to see the Men's opening round. The track has been modified where the accident occurred and the starting point for the men has been changed to the women's starting point (just after turn 3). I have been waiting for this for a long time! It will be a blast. I will have my rain gear on and cow bell in tow! Time to cheer!
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