the Ollies hill in Val D'isare (Face) is truly scary at speed....
The Face is scary even doing slow speeds An insane slope to say the least. L'épaule du Charvet is impressive as well, but the worse is the Tunnel with its stupid narrow start: if you miss the first turn you are in for a really really long tumble down. Don't ask how I know!
My favorite slope there is the vallon de la Sachette, you start at 2800m and go down to 1550m in one go without hitting a groomed or marked slope for most of the way. Don't do it in the fog though, even with a guide, there is no way out. Don't ask me how I know
Opps.....
Face is ace; but scary. Did you hike up to the start hut? That's proper steep! Don;t ask me how I know.....
You'll like Lake Tahoe ... it's nice "sliding"!!!! I stayed at "The Ridge at Lake Tahoe" ... it's on the back side.
For a good cheap dinner go to the "All-You-Can-Eat Buffet" at the casinoes .... they'll fill you up!!!!
On a sunny clear day go to the top!!!!! The view of the snow covered mountains w/ the green Pondarosa Pines and the blue Lake Tahoe is just spectacular!!!!
Oh, while driving, if it is snowing stay far, far away from any car w/ California tags .... it's a good bet they have NO clue how to drive in the snow!!!!! I watched a guy w/ a Jeep Cherokee w/ chains get stuck in a flat parking lot!!!! Unbelievable!!!! They also like to STOP at the bottoms of hills first before they start up ..... AHhhhhhhhhhh
A huge Dutch tragedy just now when our national speedskating hero Sven Kramer (superstar in Holland) misses the gold medal after his coach wrongfully gives him the instruction to switch lanes. He only had a few laps to go and was 100% sure of winning the gold medal since he had a big lead over #2.
Well, I am now living in Vancouver since beginning of January and experiencing my first ever winter Olympics host-city (was in Montreal during the '76 summer games).
Pretty awesome weather so far...nobody can believe it's actually winter.
Off to my first event tomorrow...Women's 2-man/person bobsled.
I'll be trying to get a spot for my boat at Jericho soon.
How about that Canadian Women's Hockey team? Did you see their game last night? Should be a realy good game tonight vs. USA but I think the Canadian girls are going to be very tough to beat if they play like they did last night. I have not yet seen the US team play, I hear they are good too, I hope they can keep up and make a game of it.
A huge Dutch tragedy just now when our national speedskating hero Sven Kramer (superstar in Holland) misses the gold medal after his coach wrongfully gives him the instruction to switch lanes. He only had a few laps to go and was 100% sure of winning the gold medal since he had a big lead over #2.
That sucks, 4 years of training to have your coach screw it up for you. That coach better change his name and move.
"I said, now, I said ,pay attention boy!"
The cure for anything is salt water - sweat, tears, or the sea Isak Dinesen If a man is to be obsessed by something.... I suppose a boat is as good as anything... perhaps a bit better than most. E. B. White
Agree with the Utah, Harry. Reason I moved to Vail was I was in entertainment, and they rolled up the sidewalks at dark in Utah. My first gig in Vail was the Holiday Inn. The manager there also owned a restaurant on the other side of the highway called the Iron Works. He hired me to play there for the season, and after that I was glued to Vail. Lots of other gigs after that. It was at the Iron Works that Tanya Tucker's friend Didi Kahn (sp?) came to see me play with the thought of going on tour with her, Tanya and Johnny Cash. Dang! Never happened though. Still, it was great -- ski all day, work from 5-7 and play all night. It was a tough life, but someone had to do it.
Neat part, when we got fresh snow my ski buddies and I were able to get in about 30,000 vertical of untracked snow per day. Just had to know the route. Had to get out of the back bowl after two runs or you would be stuck there for an hour wait in line.
Wow! That was fun. Looking forward to this week, despite it not being powder skiing. Rick
Next week, Alta and Snowbird. Never been before but really looking forward to it. For Harry, I will ski today at Loon. We picked up about 9 -10 inches last night and its still snowing. Another storm on its way for tomorrow but this one looks like rain.
Did you see the poor girl in Downhill who came out of the gate, poled twice and fell over? 4 years of training for THAT! I think she came back for a silver in Combined but I'm not positive. Remember the old Wide World of Sports line...... The agony of defeat?
The speed skater had already won gold prior to this debacle though hadn't he? He is a moose! Huge! Look at the quads on these guys. Even the girls except that one girl who was 5-7 and 130 lbs. And I think she won too.
The nice part about being a pessimist is that you are constantly being either proven right or pleasantly surprised. - George Will "It's not that liberals aren't smart, it's just that so much of what they know isn't so" -Ronald Reagan
At Lillihammer it was the Gold Medalist Cross Country skier who waited for the last place finisher, from a African country at the finish-line ... refusing interviews ... and would not leave but stayed to help the gentleman from Africa remove his skies and hug him to honor him for his determination and spirit
Last night it was Joanie Rochette ....
Who skated the performace of a lifetime w/ what must be a broken heart ..... for her mother ....
With or without a medal .... she is a CHAMPION !!!!
That sucks, 4 years of training to have your coach screw it up for you. That coach better change his name and move. [/quote]
Bob Costas suggested last night on NBC that the coach better enter the Dutch Witness Protection Program..he might be right, the passion for the sport in the Netherlands is equivalent to Football and Baseball combined!
That sucks, 4 years of training to have your coach screw it up for you. That coach better change his name and move.
Bob Costas suggested last night on NBC that the coach better enter the Dutch Witness Protection Program..he might be right, the passion for the sport in the Netherlands is equivalent to Football and Baseball combined!
7m viewer last night, on a population of 16m pretty much sums up the popularity of speedskating. The coach is giving a press-conference in half an hour, should be interesting.
The jokes started almost immediately after the mistake:
At Lillihammer it was the Gold Medalist Cross Country skier who waited for the last place finisher, from a African country at the finish-line ... refusing interviews ... and would not leave but stayed to help the gentleman from Africa remove his skies and hug him to honor him for his determination and spirit
Last night it was Joanie Rochette ....
Who skated the performace of a lifetime w/ what must be a broken heart ..... for her mother ....
With or without a medal .... she is a CHAMPION !!!!