Technically, I was scheduled to post a new essay to my Blog last Friday (12/6/19), but at that time I was doing volunteer course security for the Birds of Prey-World Cup Alpine Ski Races in Beaver Creek, CO. over the weekend. Wanted to post an updated essay about this year’s experience instead. This year marked the third time I’ve volunteered to help out with the event, and once again it turned out to be a great experience. I’ve taken the essays I wrote about my BOP-Adventures from 2017 and ‘18, made major alterations to them including an update for this year’s edition. Changed one or three things, then added all sorts of new insights. Here it is for all you sports fans out there.

 

Word Count: 1,653

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Once Again into the

White Circus Breach

 

One of the things I love to do in the winter is follow the exploits of the U.S. Ski/Snowboard Team. I find myself constantly going to their website to check results from the previous weekend’s races. Doesn’t matter whether it’s the latest exploits of the traditional Alpine ski racers, the Freestylers, Nordic boys & girls, or even all those young buck Free Skiers and Snowboarders. Obviously, I’m a fanatic when it comes to keeping tabs on the racing end of the sport, in addition to peripherally involving myself in various aspects of it too.

In September of 2017 in the course of a casual conversation with the husband of my cousin, he mentioned that he’s been a volunteer course timer for the Birds of Prey World Cup Downhill races in Beaver Creek, CO. the first weekend of December. The first set of Alpine Ski Races (Speed events) take place every year in North America, and Birds of Prey is considered one of the more challenging races on the entire circuit.

January through March, most, if not all the races are in Europe so it’s a perpetual set of away competitions if you happen to be one of the kids from this side of the pond. Every race is an away game if you’re a competitive ski racer from the Southern Hemisphere. These guys are as rare a sighting as reindeer herders at a surfing competition.

Almost immediately I excitedly told my cousin’s husband that if a spot on the 2017 volunteer crew opened up, please forward me an application to fill out, send in, and hopefully they’ll grace me with admittance. As some of you well know, I jump on these volunteer bandwagons (Website/Blog Essay posting-11/10/17) about as often as most folks flip through the remote control to find out what’s on the Boob Tube.  Being one of the Birds of Prey course prep folks? How cool is that when you’ve transformed yourself into a ski race fanatic who makes diehard NFL fans look like normal, well-adjusted, human beings?

When you think about it, volunteering for this thing wasn’t going to be a laidback affair. For one, the races are located halfway across the state so that meant I’d be taking the better part of two days just to drive back and forth to Beaver Creek. There are definite disadvantages to living in such a remote rural area like South West Colorado, and this is one of them.

Two years ago, I made the big switch-back to using Alpine Ski gear, having gone the Tele-mark gear route for the previous eleven years. Switching back wasn’t that much of a problem as far as being on the course crew for BOP. All their course volunteers are required to more or less use Alpine equipment, so unlike the 2017 BOP Races, I didn’t have to rent any equipment. From that perspective, at least one inconvenience was eliminated. Boy oh boy, more time freed up to explore.

Not quite, two years ago the entire state suffered from a dearth of the white stuff, so while one problem was solved last year (not having to rent equipment) another crept up to take its place. Namely, driving up to Beaver Creek and having to tack on an extra hour or so just to get there and back. This year just like last, we’ve got a sufficient amount of snow, and fortunately I planned ahead and left Silverton early. Besides giving myself a little extra breathing space, I was also able to pick up my volunteer credentials and free ski coat before they ran out of large sizes. What a concept and in this particular instance it pays to plan ahead?

Since this is Colorado, the old saying as far as the weather holds true. As far as the weather goes, if you don’t like it, wait ten minutes and it’ll change. The line between Winter Wonderland and Class V Kill Storm is often very thin too. In classic fashion, my first day of volunteering on the mountain doing course security illustrated this. A series of intermittent snow storms blew in and out throughout the day, and this was only a mild precursor of the type of weather we experienced over the next four days. Blizzard conditions? Of course we had them.

Just like last year, I shared a condo with the same group of people as previous odysseys. Unlike the first year which had me feeling like an interloper to this sweet little set-up they had, having done this three times now had me settling in like one of the regulars. All of us got along swimmingly, and my only complaint about the housing accommodations situation was the fact that some of us (including the new guy-me) had to get up before the butt crack of dawn in order to catch a shuttle to report for duty early every morning. This inconvenience was only for four days, so I didn’t have much of a problem dealing with it. Definitely has its disadvantages. Squeezing into a pair of ski boots at 6:00 am, and putting on more clothing layers than that same southern hemisphere reindeer herder wasn’t much fun either. The advantages? You ever ridden a chairlift as the sun is rising up over the peaks, with a set of storm clouds on the horizon also brewing? I have, and it’s well worth all the effort, despite the fact that it’s viciously cold and just getting light while you’re sitting on that chair.

Hard not to be impressed with these competitors. All of them have this intense, focused look of determination that clearly gives them a man-on-a-mission appearance. Particularly the guys from countries that you know have a chance of doing well. The usual top notch Alpine Ski Racing suspects; guys from Germany, Switzerland, Austria, the Scandinavian countries, the French and Italians, the U.S. and Canadian skiers.

That brings up another subject; I found myself watching the competitors get ready for their races and rooting for the little guys. Contestants from countries that don’t allocate more money than their GDP to their national ski team. The Slovenians, Croatian, a few guys from Russia. You can always tell these competitors since they were the ones skiing by my security check point wearing old style warm up gear (80’s fashion) and without the most technologically advanced racing equipment. Obviously indicates that budgets for them are tight, and the chances of one of these guys landing on the podium are analogous to a competitor from Kazakhstan winning that same World Surfing title. Then again, hope springs eternal?

Just like previous years, the people I admired the most during this year’s edition of BOP Races weren’t really adrenalin junkies at all. Instead they were the race techs. What, you may be asking yourself? Once again D. Swanson is putting his eccentricity on full display.

For all you confused readers out there, let me explain.

Part of course security my group was required to monitor was the roped off area just upslope from a set of gates adjacent to the main race course. Individual teams had their race technicians testing out different wax formulations to find the fastest one for that particular day.

While doing my shift next to the rope preventing people from accessing the slope, I had the opportunity to view the various race techs. Almost all of the technicians I viewed were carrying two or three pairs of race skis on their shoulder, accompanied by carrying a back pack the size of an over-sized suit case, and ripping down the slope at Mach-5 speeds. Sometimes in the middle of a raging snow storm with visibility in the two to three-foot range. This is truly an amazing feat when one considers just how hesitant most people are when they’re skiing down a slope.

The highlight of this year’s edition? Getting the chance to be tested with my slope sliding skills on a steeper section of the course as a hoped-for precursor for working with one of the on-course prep crews next year. This year, I really looked forward to this little mini-test, and after having done it we can definitely conclude that I need to update my equipment. Particularly the boots and skis. Nothing like trying to pull something off using equipment that should’ve been relegated to the scrap heap a while ago.

Obviously, these World Cup ski races are quite a bit more work to successfully pull off than most people think. Particularly the majority of Americans, who’re only interested in downhill ski racing during Olympic years. Since these races happen outdoors, typical adverse weather conditions including bitterly cold temperature, full-scale blizzards, swirling winds, and all manner of inclement weather happened. In this case, it, creates this strange stew that once again resulted in the 2019 edition of Birds of Prey World Cup Downhill Racesbeing another challenging and unique experience. I’m glad I did it. A bit of a “bust-ass situation” as my old college buddy used to describe certain situations like this, but those are often the best ways to lead your life, aren’t they?