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December 24, 2022This marks the fifth year I’ve volunteered to work on the Talon Crew for Birds of Prey-the World Cup men’s downhill ski races in Beaver Creek, Colorado. For me, this year’s edition was probably the best experience I’ve had since I started doing this thing.
I judge so much of what happens to me these days upon whether or not I can get a good essay out of the experience. In that respect, this was an instant classic.
Word Count: 1143
Once Again into the
White Circus Breach
For me, life should be a series of amazing adventures. Usually memorable for one reason or another too. My volunteer gig with the 2022 Talon Crew-Birds-of-Prey World Cup Ski Races was just such a series of amazing adventures, and all because of a variety of changes from past BOP-volunteer experiences. In my first three years of BOP, I carried out the odyssey as a course security person, but last year I was able to get on a crew working up at the top of the mountain for the Men’s Downhill start. A bit more actual labor for sure, but I happen to be one of those ambitious types who isn’t afraid of a bit of hard work.
An explanation is in order. Past experience has shown me that this work thing makes for a more exciting adventure in a lot of cases. I guess that’s why I keep doing it that way. Some folks would prefer to go in the opposite direction and try to avoid additional work. Then again, as most folks that know me can attest, I’m not like most folks. My 2022 BOP Talon crew gig didn’t disappoint in that respect. Scary when you really think about it? A guy who likes work? Totally un-American.
Setting up the downhill start right at the top of the race course has turned out to be a good fit for yours truly. The crew I worked with this year was extremely proficient, and we got our jobs finished in record time. Of course, it didn’t hurt that we had the able-bodied assistance of another group of Talon volunteers helping us with the construction of the flag pole fencing leading up to the start. I could be an asshole and say our crew did the entire job all by our lonesome, but Catholic guilt forbids me from taking all this extra credit. Once we got the fencing job done, setting up flag poles for all the nations competing in this year’s BOP was easy, and cutting steps leading up to the start tent was also pretty laid back. Made for a good feeling of being physically “tired” when the day was finished.
I guess the only drawback to this downhill-start crew gig was the fact that we were working at an altitude higher than 12,000 ft. Made for some strange work conditions. One minute you’re sweating profusely, take off a layer of clothing just in time for the wind to come out of nowhere and the temperature dropping 10 degrees in a 5-minute span. Then put your coat back on just in time for it to suddenly get hot again (“hot” being a relative term). This schizophrenic shift in weather patterns can be attributed to altitude, but also a thing often referred to as, “Global Warming”. This tends to play havoc on a regular basis with the earth’s weather patterns.
One thing the north and central parts of the state is getting a lot of this year, and something I wish were the case down in our part of Colorado, is lots of snow. On Tuesday, (11/29/22), Beaver Creek got a foot. That was nothing compared to the storm that hit the area on Friday, (1/2/22). This one gave them two additional feet. Needless to say, we can only hope the low-pressure systems that hit the 4-coners would give us that much of the white stuff.
Obviously, the men’s downhill race that was scheduled that day got cancelled, so we quit around 10:00. An early end to the day? Sort of, since the alarm clock still went off at 4:00 am. That morning. Is this fair? Depends on your perspective since I’ve got a friend back in Silverton who’s got this extreme-Ben Franklin habit of getting up at 2:00 am every morning. In his case, 4:00 am would seem like you’re sleeping in if you’re like the guy. He’s somewhat eccentric, but then again, so am I.
The day of downhill training run, plus the day of the actual racing itself left me totally impressed with the racers. Hard not to be affected by 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, Norway, the French and Italians. The U.S. ski racers also have that intense appearance, even though most people in this country could probably care less.
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, a single Spanish competitor, the one and only guy from the Czech Republic, and the lonely U.K. guy. You can always tell these racers since they’re the ones getting ready to burst out of the starting gate and still wearing old style warm up gear (90’s fashion?), 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 that of a competitor from Kazakhstan winning the World Surfing title. Then again, hope springs eternal, right?
I’ve come up with a new way to interrogate terrorists. All these Inquisition Officials need to do is deposit their prisoners to the top of a particularly steep section of a world cup ski race course (wearing a swim suit no less) and the prisoner is pushed off the edge. Think about it, the effectiveness of this interrogation procedure makes Waterboarding look like a casual visit to the Water Park.
Beaver Creek, since it’s a sister resort to Vail, is very fancy. So rich and ritzy that the main village down at the base has escalators all over the place that take you to upper and lower sections of the plaza. I’m reminded of a skiing experience at Purgatory (the resort I ski the most…) the winter after my first year with Talon crew (2017). My buddy and I had to lug our skis up a flight of stairs that wasn’t an escalator. My comment? “This is the last time I ever come skiing at this place. No escalators? What a Mickey-Mouse Operation.”
When all was said and done, the 2022 Talon Crew experience was a good one, and I’m hoping I can get on the BOP top-of-the mountain race prep. crew for future editions. I’m left with the feeling that these World Cup ski races are quite a bit of work to successfully pull off, (with a huge number of logistical details) than the casual observer realizes. Like the best things in life actually.