If I Never Hear a Cowbell Again, It Will Be Too Soon

I got asked to cover the Simon Ammann victory parade through Whistler Village the other night.  For those who don't know, Simon Ammann is a ski jumper from Switzerland who, out of the blue, won 2 medals at the Salt Lake Games in 2002, and who has since become NBC's Swiss sweetheart. Ammann dominated the ski jumping competition again here in Whistler this week, and he was set to celebrate with his fellow countrymen after a parade through town.

The problem with shooting anything in Whistler Village is that it's already a total mob scene to begin with. Thousands of tourists flood the cobblestone streets leaving no room for you to walk, let alone for a camera operator to maneuver a 75 pound camera and his tethered audio man. Add to that a bunch of crazy Swiss fans - with some of the loudest cowbells I've ever heard - who have swarmed the area to cheer on their country's most popular athlete, and you've got yourself one headache of an assignment.

I had two camera crews to work with - one was parked near the entrance to the parade in hopes of following Ammann through the sea of fans. The other stationed himself at the end of the route - he was wise enough to bring a crate with him so he could elevate himself above the masses. An hour and a half after the crews had taken post, the ski jumper finally made his way through the sea of people, and we got the 10 second shot we needed to feed down to Vancouver for the late night show on NBC that evening.

Here's the Swiss darling being carried through the Village:

 

On another note, my boyfriend TJ arrived the other day to spend the week in Whistler.  Yesterday he caught the medal heats of the 2-man bobsled competition.  And today, he's taking advantage of a sunny day on the slopes.  He just called me from the top of a bowl on Whistler mountain with this short message "Best day ever!"  He sounds like he's enjoying himself so much that he may get a guest author spot on this blog. Stay tuned!