Bobselds: the sasquatches of the Olympic Games

RICK MACDONNELL, SnowSeekers Inc.

Sadly, I was only able to attend a single Olympic event during my nine days in Whistler. Fortunately, though, that event was the 4-man Bobsled. These things are fast on TV, but they're really fast when they're ten feet from your face. Faster than a Tiger Woods sex scandal. So fast that it is nearly impossible to get a good photo. 

Sorry, let me rephrase that. They're so fast that it is nearly impossible to get a good photo when you're using something that has the shutterspeed of a box camera. I half expect my camera to let out a huge puff of smoke every time I take a shot.

Needless to say, my photographs left a little to be desired. The following is a montage of how my afternoon went.

"How hard could it be?" I thought. They're not moving that fast.

I was sure that I had the dexterity and peripheral vision to

capture a vehicle moving at 140 kilometres per hour.

I still don't know if I took the photo too early or too late.

I swear that this is a different photo. My problem was clearly

that I was trying to get in too tight on the track. But I wanted

that money shot.

Wanting to at least capture something in a photo, I

stood behind some people. Unfortunately, those people

became the entire focus after yet another miss.

When in doubt, shoot the Olympic Rings.

I'd like to tell you that this was meant to be just another

shot of the Rings, but a bobsled is just off camera. I think.

Things were getting quite ridiculous at this point. I feel

the need to point out to you that there's about a 3-4 minute

wait time between bobsleds. So I would wait 4 minutes

every time just to get a shot of some dude in a tuque.

This is as dynamic as it was going to get for me on this day.

A shot of a guy filling in divots with snow. Wow.

It was at this point that I started to worry that I wouldn't

be bringing any decent photos back for my piece. Hence,

the Canada hat. People eat this stuff up. Theoretically.

Realizing that my tight shots weren't cutting it, I moved

back. To similar results.

*Sigh*

A couple of Brits who found a silver lining to Great

Britain's disappointing Olympics. The sign reads

"CURLING WAS BETTER".

This was my breaking point. I had been standing in freezing

rain for nearly two hours trying to get anything that could be

used. After this shot, I got fed up. "Screw it!" I said. "I'm going

back to the rails, and I'm not coming out until I get my shot."

Persistence, as they say, pays off.

Almost there ...

ALMOST THERE ...

SUCCESS!

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The need for speed

RICK MACDONNELL, SnowSeekers Inc.

Try as it might, the pouring rain couldn't dampen spirits at the Whistler Sliding Centre today, nor could the bracing cold, or the agonizingly long lines that, I swear, must have stretched from Whistler all the way to Penticton.
All was forgiven and forgotten as the Men's 4-Man Bobsled competition got underway.
Much like yourself, I've seen bobsleds on television. I was aware that they approach 150 kilometres an hour. But to have actually been there within 10 feet as they whizzed by in a blur, ice and snow from the track literally hitting me in the face, was incredible.
These sleds take off faster than a Tiger Woods sex scandal.
"You can try these out all you want, but you're filling out your will first," said Claudia Henderson to her husband Todd, after the Russian-2 sled flipped over and skidded upside down across the finish line.
Todd had mentioned that the sliding centre will be opened to the public some time after the Games are over.
It was difficult not to side with Claudia on this one. There were probably a dozen crashes during the two-heat event. The fact that not a single rider was seriously hurt amazes me.
I'm not sure who manufactures the helmets, but these Games have certainly been a commercial for them.
If there's a silver lining to be found here, though, it's that a piece of the Russian-2 sled broke off and landed right at my feet. That, my friends, is called a souvenir.

The atmosphere was so much greater than I anticipated. I had assumed that bobsledding would attract a much more subdued crowd than the one I was a part of today. This place was raucous as raucous can be. There were dudes without shirts (for three hours) in the cold rain and snow. I'm sorry, but no amount of beer can compensate for that lack of body heat.
There were Brits and Aussies and Japanese and Dutch people all over the place, vehemently supporting their respective sledders. And right underneath the fans was slimy, filthy muck.
"With a little more rain we could have had a mud wrestling match!" said Anthony Charnley of Soutpark, England. He, along with a few friends, had brought along a marker and a board on which they would write whatever they had to say to the rest of the crowd.
"Curling was better" said one. They were obviously nonplussed about Great Britain's 21st place finish today.
This being my first Olympic event, my expectations were met and then some. The day was capped off with a marvelous run by Canada-1, led by pilot, Lyndon Rush. Honestly, could a sledder have a better name?
In the second-last run of the afternoon, Rush and company powered past the Germans to take sole position of first place, before the Americans came right behind and blew past Canada for first place.
It was an electric finish to what was an absolutely stellar day at the Sliding Centre.
"We went to see a hockey game a few days ago, and this was just as fun," Claudia said. "Hockey gets a lot of the attention here in Canada, but these other events are every bit as entertaining. Hockey players don't fly by you at 140 kilometres, I'll tell you that much!"
It was a unique experience, to be sure. Being that it's (probably) the only event that I'm going to witness here at the Games, it was an awesome one to see. I'll definitely be tuning in tomorrow to see how the event turns out.
And to Anthony: If curling was better than this, you were watching a different game than me.

Stay tuned to www.snowseekers.ca/olympicnews for daily blogs, videos and more throughout the Olympics.

For full stories on Western Canada's winter destinations, visit snowseekers.ca and friend us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.