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Sort of like the 2000
Rockwood Olympic Watch, only colder.
February 11
February 12
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February 19
February 20
March 5
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March 17
March 26
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Sunday, March 17, 2002
Today, the last of the Olympic pictures. Tomorrow (or, at least, later), scenic pictures of Utah.
posted by Brian Lundmark at 11:40 PM
WOMEN'S GIANT SLALOM
The Women's Giant Slalom was actually kind of boring. The gates aren't close enough to each other that you can see an individual skier take more than a few, but they're too close to each other to allow them to build up a great amount of speed like the downhill. It ends up looking a lot like every hot-shot skier that's ever blown by me on the side of the mountain while I've been skiing. Impressive, yes, but only for a few seconds.
Anyway, take a look at...
A skier taking a turn (48k) about halfway up the mountain.
Another skier (32k) just moments after hitting the red gate.
A third skier (40k) blowing by us. Yes, they were going fast, just not 70 m.p.h. like a downhill skier.
Here's a technical note. Remember how I've endlessly praised the cameras that moved along with the speed skaters, skiers, etc.? They're called CamCats, and there was one at the Giant Slalom. They zip down the mountain following the athletes, then zip back up to catch the next one. They're not quite as cool in person, since you can't see what they see, but they do get a lot of people in the crowd asking "what IS that?"
posted by Brian Lundmark at 11:41 PM
FOUR-MAN BOBSLEIGH
After our trip to the Skeleton competition earlier, we were surprised to find you could walk all the way to the top of the track. For the Four-Man Bobsleigh, we thought we'd check that out. Have you ever walked up a mountain? At altitude? Believe me, it looks a lot closer from the bottom of the hill than it feels by the time you reach the top.
Yes, when I said you could get all the way to the top, I meant all the way to the top. Here (88k) is the Hungary 1 sleigh being pushed past me at the top of the mountain. Unlike every other event, where the people on the fence or the rail would let me by to get one picture, the bobsled groupies weren't quite so generous. They were on the rail, and by golly, they weren't letting you through for anything. Oh, and they were Canadians. Coincidence? I think not!
This (44k) is USA-1 just after crossing the finish line. The finish line, contrary to what you would think, is about one quarter of the way up the hill. Only gravity can stop a sled that heavy in any reasonable amount of time, so after they hit top speed at the bottom of the hill, they turn around and go back up. That's the kind of thing you never think about when you see it on TV.
How desperate were the people trying to get into the bobsleigh? Well, all four of these people (72k) got in, but as far as we can tell, no one had to get traded.
Finally, what my mother said was the best picture I took during the Olympics. This shot (112k) is the Monaco sleigh, piloted by Prince Albert himself, near the top of the mountain. The sled, the crowd, the Olympic rings...yeah, I guess this one is okay.
posted by Brian Lundmark at 11:42 PM
Okay, later this week, pictures from Arches National Park, Monument Valley, and Four Corners (which technically, is only one-quarter in Utah). See you then!
posted by Brian Lundmark at 11:42 PM
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