The next day we slept in and got a late morning start up to Park City, only 25 minutes outside of SLC and home to the Olympic Training Center.
Since we were starving, we started out our visit with lunch along Main St. and some shopping. This is the perfect little mountain ski resort town. Loved it and would love to go back!
After we finished up some shopping there, we headed onto the Olympic Training Center, the site of the 2002 Winter Olympic bobsled, luge, skeleton, and nordic events. It was insane. It costs $4000 a day to keep the bobsled track iced. While we were there, they were taking test sleds down. Piloting this one was Pat Brown (the guy John Candy played in
Cool Runnings.)
Wave, everyone!Here you can see the giant Nordic hill. The nets and such are there because they were converting from summer training to winter.
Note the Olympic logo on the landing spot.
Here we are at the top of the Nordic hill. Note now that you can't even see that Olympic logo because the hill is that steep.
Nordic, no thank you.
At the top of the nordic jump.
Athletes only, of course.
This was one of the coolest sports venue tours I've ever taken. It has me seriously begging Mr. G to take me to Vancouver 2010, but I'm mostly interested in the ice skating, of course!
I'm at a point of confusion. The tour guide definitely said it was Pat Brown that we were watching in the bobsled, and a Google search of his name says he coached the Jamaican Bobsled Team. However, Ashley and Wikipedia says the coach was Howard Siler. So who actually was the coach?
ReplyDeleteHere are the facts as I know them, my darling husband.
ReplyDelete1. Pat Brown is currently the UAF Bobsled and Skeleton Head Coach, working at the Utah Olympic Park. He took the test track run that day.
2. While I have seen citations of Siler, I also find many citations that Brown coached the '88 Jamaican bobsled team in Calgary. http://www.olyparks.com/uop/bobsled_skeleton_recruitment.asp
Perhaps the team had more than one coach? Go forth and Google.
Amended to say: I just called the Utah Olympic Park and spoke to Gill. He is going to ask Pat Brown who Howard Siler is, so I will know tomorrow.
ReplyDeleteYou are funny :)
ReplyDeleteFor anyone who might be reading this, Brad can attest to these facts as we were on speakerphone.
ReplyDeleteI called Gill back the next day, and he had asked Pat Brown who Howard Siler was. Apparently, Siler was the original coach of the Team, however when it came time to go to the Olympics, he was not able to make the trip because of his day job (don't know what that was.)
Pat Brown accompanied the Team and coached them at Calgary. According to Gill, he even pulled out his 1988 Olympic credentials to prove it.
So they both coached the Team, at different times.
And I think I provided Gill with a little entertainment.