Pyeongchang is the “hub of winter sports” in Korea; I passed multiple signs and billboards while on the bus today that read emYes! Pyeongchang!/em, emTowards the Olympic Games, /ememRemember, Dream of Pyeongchang/em! that remind everyone of PyeongChang’s vision and passion for the 2018 Winter Olympics. I went for a run at the venue the other day and ventured down into the main ski jumping stadium. Like a jobsite in the spring after the winter thaw, the jumps, stands, landscape, and main building were littered with pipes, tarps, wood, railings, debris and bricks and a few jumps are still covered in scaffolding. In the background I could hear a table saw. The dreary, rainy winter day juxtaposed to the continued work at the jump site illustrated the Koreans’ collective drive, despite even a melting winter day, to build this venue to fulfill their vision of hosting nordic, biathlon and ski jumping events for Asia, and for the world.br /br /divbr /divimg id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5304029839510427618″ style=”DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 179px; TEXT-ALIGN: center” alt=”” src=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_k1DHbqzFvCE/SZuzCX4XV-I/AAAAAAAAAfk/ur5HghwPrnE/s320/carolyn.jpg” border=”0″ / /divbr /divHere is Carolyn during training. We each have our own green women’s “training bib” that we wear during each training session throughout the World Cup season. The men’s are orange.br /br //divbr /divimg id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5304029844966747634″ style=”DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 205px; TEXT-ALIGN: center” alt=”” src=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_k1DHbqzFvCE/SZuzCsNQLfI/AAAAAAAAAfs/pAt9cAMVPVk/s320/course1.jpg” border=”0″ / /divbr /divHere is a look at the backside of the course. Oh yeah, we are racing on a golf course. It looks a little bit whiter now, but the rain last week hit the venue pretty hard. /divbr /div/divimg id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5304030104924603330″ style=”DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center” alt=”” src=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_k1DHbqzFvCE/SZuzR0oCQ8I/AAAAAAAAAgM/g63FS0_Bi7k/s320/P1010123.JPG” border=”0″ / /divbr /divSquint, and you see that that is nearly 50 degrees F. The board on the left prounances an “Urgent Notice” about the closing of the trails to save the snow. The board to the bottom left is one of a few at the venue. The air and snow temperature at both the stadium and on the highest part of the course are recorded throughout the day. This is crucial information for our wax techs, who test skis and grinds throughout the day.br /br /br /divbr /div
