Sunday - Canada Breaks the Medal Record!

This was the last day for our unlimited lift pass, so just haaaad to be a ski day.

I checked out, instead of checking in, as I had done every other morning, in order to receive my parting gift. You see, every day that you work, you get a sticker, and every three days that you work, your Accreditation card gets punched and you receive an appreciation gift. Girls, you'll see the loot when I get home, so I don't want to spoil the surprise here, but we'll have lots of fun divvying (sp?) it up, for sure!

I uploaded by 10am, and even though I knew many were gone, I had no idea the place would be so desolate - banners and flags are being rolled up, I didn't have to go through any security, not an athlete to be found anywhere, no blue jackets, fences down, hardly any equipment in our ski storage room, the soup tent at Midstation which was a social hive every day for the last 3 weeks was deserted. But, no bother, I'm here to ski today, so up one more chair, past the fog, to the top. And voila! Visibility!

Skied the higher runs for a few hours, and then the weirdest thing happened: for those of you who have been here, you'll know that the Harmony Chair accesses some of the most lovely skiing, and is very popular with the experts on the hill - usually lots of great skiing and boarding to be seen from the chair. But, at about 12:15 I was riding up, and I noticed the dwindling numbers had fallen to zero - I scanned the entire mountain of runs visible from this chair, and there are many - not a skier, not a snowboarder, not a Mountain Host or a Ski Patroller in sight. I suddenly felt totally alone in the world, and completely ill at ease with the thought of skiing anywhere at all. If I had a fall, I could be there forever - bloody hockey game! (Sorry hockey fans). I really felt it wasn't smart to continue while every other human being in this town was apparently glued a TV. I skied back to Midstation, and even had a tough time convincing the lift operators to let me download, as they were going to shut the gondola down while the game was on since there were no races, and the public is still not allowed up that lift. If I didn't go down now, I'd be stuck up there till who knows when. So down I came, had my last VANOC soup lunch - let's hear it for everyone's favourite - the Garlic Tomato - mmmm!

Scooped up my skis, boots and poles, and parked myself here, at the hotel, typing away for the afternoon. I did, in fact, get up and saunter over to the lobby bar to see the last two minutes of the Gold Medal Hockey between Canada and the US - so I wasn't totally ignoring it - well, almost - don't know why - don't like pickles, and don't see the fuss about hockey - just my taste, that's all. In any event, I'm very proud of Canada's most recent win - elevating us to record medal-holder status.

I'll now be off to the bus, with not just my usual backpack on my back, but my boots hanging over it, my skis on my shoulder, and two pairs of poles - a friend very generously gave me a great pair he couldn't use, so Siobhan and Brenna, if either of you wants my old poles, they're now up for grabs!

A couple of you have asked if I'm going to the Closing Ceremonies - the answer is no, one would have to have purchased tickets way in advance, which were very expensive, and don't forget, I'm not in Vancouver, I'm two hours north in Whistler.

My plan is to spend a nice evening at home with my host, Loraine. (Leo is working back home in Vancouver right now.) She's an amazing cook, we'll enjoy some wine, and I'll start to prep for my departure in a couple of days. Leo is coming back to drive us down on Tuesday morning. They have very kindly offered their home to me in the city for one more night. Then, I depart Wednesday night. I am going to see if I can get an earlier flight though - here's hoping...my heart is already on its way, now I just need my body and baggage to catch up...