This morning I got to strap the skis on again. Momentum ski camp teaches kids to ski better moguls and freeride. John Smart started the camp after competing in two Olympic games in the 90's. Four of his former students won medals in this years Olympics including Jennifer Heil and Alex Bilodeau. We meet John at the bottom of Wizard chair at the base of Blackcomb Mountain. The location of his summer ski camp is several thousand vertical feet above us on Blackcomb glacier. Up we go. John is proud to show us his mountain and tells us about his former students without taking credit for their most recent achievements. After shooting the interview at the top of the world "7th Heaven Chair" it's time to ski, and shoot, and ski some more. I manage the ENG camera easily on the steep and icy smooth packed runs. Then we get into the moguls. I head halfway down a steep incline dotted with treacherous bumps. The snow is hard and has no give on the top or between the moguls. As I set-up halfway down the run I signal for John to come down. He's very fast and looks on the edge of control as he screams towards me. The wireless mic I have on him reveals his thoughts as he gets closer. Expletives and laughs are recorded. He explains later that the run is dangerous to ski at speed. Again I head down the bumps below me. Eventually John's words of earlier give me an out and I traverse the run and take off my skis. I carry my camera and skis down the rest of the run without shame. Again we find smooth hard pack. Skiing without poles, and my camera held tightly to my chest, we head down the runs at speed. Sorry no still pics to show. I'm lucky enough to descend the mountain with my gear and pride intact.
As I enter the Whistler Media Centre where we have our newsroom I look for my new friend Mark Harvey. Mark is an editor from RDS in Montreal, and the only editor we have in Whistler. Yesterday he took his few hours off for his first snowboard lesson.
It ended with him in a rescue toboggan and an ambulance ride to the hospital. "It's a slight concussion, take the day off" he was told. Today he showed up with a backlog of stories to be cut. He's faced with a busy 12 hour shift playing catch-up.
Mark's face is bandaged, scraped and bruising badly.
He knows he's an important part of our Olympic coverage here in Whistler, so he soldiers on.
Fear and pain. We can't let it get in the way.
It's our Olympics too.
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