A Day Off
Today is a day off for the nordic events and the forerunners. I have taken advantage of this to see my sister in Vancouver, although a day of skiing was tempting. The recreational trails, and the competition trails, are wonderful. They are postcard beautiful, the grooming is impeccable, and the climbs and downhills offer a challenge that we do not see that much of in the Ottawa area. At the higher elevations the vistas are magnificent and it is interesting to ski over short sections of trail that have avalanche warnings. Generally these are short and I suspect they are more of a warning not to stand and admire the snow above. Our recreational ski outings usually start after the competition is over sometime about 1:30 or 2:00.
Photo: the trails
There apparently is a back country lodge that requires 8 kms of climbing which we hope to take on before we leave. The recreational skis along with the forerunning of the courses, however, have done a great job of increasing my fitness level. If altitude had any impact when I arrived, I now seem to have overcome it. Staying hydrated also seemed to be a problem in the first few days.
Yesterday’s events included the 20 km freestyle for the standing and the visually impaired men, and the 15 km freestyle for the standing and the visually impaired women. Each category skis multiple laps of a 5 km loop. The loop climbs for about 3 km with a few downhills and essentially no flats. With 10 cm of soft wet snow falling overnight, plus fog and warm temperatures the tracks were soft to begin with and changed significantly by the time the women’s race started. This made the tracks very slow. The forerunners ski the course before each event and because some of the skiers use the classic track this was particularly important for the afternoon event as the tracks became very soft and slow.
Photo: Colette Bourgonje in the 7.5 km sit-ski
The highlight of the day for Canada was obviously the McKeever brothers winning the gold medal. Watching them ski is inspiring as they are both excellent skiers, and secondly they work so well together. Their lead on the competition increased with each lap and there did not seem to be much doubt as to who would win.
The highlight for Kanata was the performance of Alex and Margarita. Both skiers put everything they had out on the course, and I do not think we could ask for anything more. Just to qualify for the Paralympics is a feat in itself.
Robbie Weldon from Thunder Bay also put on a great performance. I think she finished 6th but what made it interesting is that her guide could not set a high enough pace for her. By the last lap he would cut across switchbacks and where the trail doubled back, and Robbie would make her own way around, sometimes following competitors, sometimes following her own wits and visual limitations.
The sit-ski on Sunday and yesterday’s long distance freestyle really demonstrate what incredible people these athletes are. They have persevered and overcome incredible adversity to get to this point. Knowing some of the background on some of the athletes really makes the courage and strength that more impressive and inspiring. Next time you are out try to double pole a 3.75 km rolling course four times. I tried to do it once with full able bodied abilities and barely made it. If that is not enough try skiing a 5 km course four times using legs only, or even just using one pole.
It is unfortunate, even disgraceful, that we as a society cannot afford even 10 percent of the media coverage that the Olympics received. These athletes deserve more, just for the example they set not only for disabled, but for able bodied people.
Mike.