NEWS » Vancouver 2010 Olympics: the full story
It's been 2 weeks since the hecticness of the pipe contest and I've been back home in NZ for just over a week now, it's good to be home again catching whats left of summer. It hasn't been all about catching up on sleep since I've been back though, I've been getting the demo Global Cutter ready and packed up for shipping to Vancouver. I'll blog about that soon but for now heres the story about our how me and the ASP crew got the pipe built for the Olympics.
The gear involved:
2 Piston Bully 600 stick winches
2 Piston bully 400 park bullys
1 pisten bully 400 active winch
Global Cutter laser guidance system
2 Zaugg 22fters
2 chain saws
4 park monkey fertiliser spreaders
6 dye packs
4 scandinavian shaper vert shovels
15 scandinavian shaper rakes
Vancouver and the west coast weather didn't hold back on us and delivered some difficult and trying snow conditions right from the start.
After the initial 120cm base in late november, the snow was turning to rain. The first days of work were quickly called off. These days saw massive rain falls and waterfalls down into the carparks. This kept up for a week. The common call from some was "just like NZ eh" and my reply, "ah,.. not really . This is the hardest rain I've ever seen on a ski resort"
During the down time, the use off hay bales was brought up and soon used. The end of the earth structure finished very steep, and would use considereable snow to extend the walls, so 30 bales were included in the end. After we eventually had a clearance in the weather the pushing began. The man made pile of snow at the top of the pipe had shrunk quite a substantual amount but holding off before cutting into it had payed off.
Panorama, the adjacent run was also stripped clean of snow and we added to the man made as the walls were pushed. 600 winches proved there weight in gold as the climbing without a winch was impossible. The laser guidance system was also heavily used during the initial stages with setting bench marks on grade, straight line pushing from inside the pipe and cross slope checks to ensure both walls were the correct height and grade.
As the huge pile got pushed into place we were pleasently surprised with the snow consumption, making out the rough shape on both walls. Not a single blade of snow had come out the bottom yet. We were truely working inside our clean snow island where no other contaminated brown snow cats could enter. The final grading of the decks together showed that the last days of warmth and rain had made the decks sag, meaning the walls would be shorter, so we adopted the snow blower by blowing snow on the decks. While this was happening the shovel crew were getting started so the boys stayed busy with 200 sheets of ply for the form boarding of the outside of the decks. This saved any snow being lost outside the decks, as we knew the decks needed width.
The zaugging was a relatively simple procedure with the saw line at 19.5m wide and the rough shape being consistant from top to bottom. The snow conditions being soft allowed to rough shape quickly. We completed the decks and a day later the lighting guys moved in with the light placement. At this stage snow was getting very hard to come by, so again the hay bales were used in the drop in from the scaffold start podium. The remaining snow was used to cover the hay but more was needed for the drop in transition.This is where the sky crane comes in, 7 tons in one drop, 16 drops in a 45 min "cycle". This chopper was one of the special things I think I will only see at an event like the olympics.
The helied snow was soon used up as the floor was also leveled up and the finish area pushed out. With the final shaping the weather was starting to improve, but this was a mixed blessing. The floor didn't set up for the first day of training and the back side wall was set up about 2cms only. The left over sugar after training was cleaned out, meaning the remaining wall was deeper and wider. The clearing weather created the perfect conditions for pipe finishing and last day of training.
The show began with a monster double shift that night with another cutting and grooming straght after training that allowed the pipe to sit and set up for the next afternoon riding schedule. We couldnt believe our luck after battling with the weather for so long that it was a perfect bluebird and a clear calm night for the mens contest. The qualifers showed a particular pattern of riders going huge and technical so it was fitting to see these guys in finals. And finals didnt disappoint with a display that was pure jaw dropping. This was definitely the most excited I have been in a competition. I really did not want to see anyone get hurt, as the tricks were so serious that crashing would be huge.
After the excitement was over, we swung straight into another preparation for the womens. The shaping and riding in the dry, cool evening created a large build up of sugar, so the remaining result was again to cut down into the floor and wider . The following day was clear and warm so having a tighter field of riders was a bonus. Again during the day we added fertiliser from the park monkeys to create a firm colder base. The womans showed a great competition as the #1 spot shuffled from riders. Congrats to all the riders and coaches, on and off the podiums for the great show.
Thanks to Steve and all the Arena Snowparks crew that stepped up and allowed the show to go on in the most challenging conditions. And of course Steve for getting me out there to help. It was now over and time to have a beer and get some sleep!
See more photos of the build process in photos
Vancouver 2010 Olympic half pipe ready for 1st day of training
