Leaving the Olympic City

It was hard to leave all the energy of Vancouver behind and face the 10 hour drive back across the Rockies. Fortunately, we have DeFeet customers along the way and I was able to catch the 1000 meter speed skating event on the television at Runner's Sole in Kamloops. I had a pair of Share the Road socks with me so offered that as a fee - that seemed to be greatly appreciated. Canada won Gold which made it especially exciting.

The most daunting aspect of this drive is the dreaded Roger's Pass which is usually snow covered and icy at this time of year. But, as the whole world knows now, there is no snow in Canada this year or at least it is only in the very high alpine! But, even in the best of weather, the dark tunnels and roads of this pass terrify me. As I approached the pass, the sun was going down on the mountains so I took some photographs to divert my mind away from driving. It truly is beautiful country up here.

I will resume blogging when I do some traveling in the east in a few weeks......I have some serious office work to catch up on. Au revoir.....

Canadian Cross Country Olympic Ski Team

One of the biggest highlights of this Olympic visit was to meet the members of the Canadian Cross Country Ski Team at a reception held for sponsors and friends of the team at Canada Olympic House at Whistler this evening. DeFeet has been a sponsor of the team since 2008. This is a World Class organization with the warmth of a local club. This is not a sport for the faint of heart and Nordic skiers record some of the highest VO2 measurements in the world. We look forward to seeing them race more the coming days.

After a spectacular drive on the new Sea to Sky highway, we arrived at the Whistler venue and were greeted by the Team Director and an RCMP officer. We were also serenaded by two Swiss gentlemen who played Alpenhorns to the tune of Amazing Grace. The Swiss have had great success at these Olympics and they are celebrating!

Thanks to Mike for these great photographs.

Colbert Crowd

A crowd of thousands gathered in a mud soaked open air field to listen to Steven Colbert insult every possible stereotype of Canadian culture. Despite a long wait on a brisk morning, he did not disappoint the crowd. He was downright insulting including a risque question to a well liked Provincial Minister of East Indian descent about which Caste he belonged to? Nice. He seemed to struggle a little with his Canadian funnies and had to do a few retakes, but no doubt it will be hilarious when it airs on the Colbert Nation later this week or next.

Red Mittens

The official Olympic colors are green and turquoise, but it is a sea of red that dominates the landscape in this Olympic city. Russians, Brits, Austrians, Swiss (OK, they have matching flag colors) stand in long lines to buy crates of these Red Mittens.
These mittens are a good practical national symbol as it does get cold in Canada; that is, most years. Vancouver is experiencing the the warmest winter in 120 years! Actually, it seems it is the warmest Winter Olympics on record. This just might change Canada's reputation as the frozen tundra and may also add credibility to Al Gore's Hockey Stick theories about Global Warming. The mass of Olympic humanity here could also be raising CO2 levels???

MEC is a Happy Place

After a few hours of meetings at the MEC headquarters, a store visit was in order to see yet another sock rack.....but, this was no ordinary rack. MEC is known for their knowledgeable staff so I asked to photograph our sock wall and was not only granted permission but staff member Anna obliged. Got to love that enthusiasm!

To be surrounded by all the patriotism of the Olympics, it was fitting to have a scheduled meeting with MEC, arguably one of Canada's companies that best represent the essence of this country's values and where I have had the luxury of meeting so many good citizens passionate about their work and the preservation of our environment.

Vancouver Vibe

After Bode's bronze and a little work it was back on the Vespa into the downtown action. The energy from all over the world has lit up Vancouver. The Olympics unites us in such a positively charged environment.

The Hudson's Bay Company whose heritage is tied to the fur trade and part of Canada's early history, is the daily centre for frenzied shoppers looking for Olympic merchandise, especially those red mittens. We joined the madness this evening and then Mags and I strolled down to the harbor to photograph the Olympic cauldron. - lets hope those floating petrol stations aren't too close!

Creativity is everywhere. Native sculptures and totem poles are surrounded by modern art and giant murals with slogans that inspire. Its always good to see some black and yellow action shots too!

Syl is up at he crack of dawn to train, sometimes with Newman, her new little friend who loves to run with her. The rest of us are trying to keep up. She is gearing up to race the demo snowshoe race after the close of the Olympics. She is part of the team that treat such athletes as the Speed Skater Clara Hughes and Hayley Wickenheiser, the Captain of the Women's Hockey Team so we get lots of good reports from the front lines.

Thanks to Marg for her great shot of the snowboard art and the Cauldron.

Way to go Bode!!

Not only is Bode Miller one of the most exciting skiers to watch, he is a big fan of DeFeet socks and we sponsored him for a few years. And Bode calls it like it is. SO good to see him on the podium in the Men's Downhill.