It's Melting

We've had some nice warm weather this week up around 18 degrees most days (though right now on saturday its raining/snowing)so the snow on the hill is melting quite fast. We open for the the summer and mountain biking in 4 weeks.

..........Thursday April 15th

.................Monday April 19th

.........................Thursday April 22nd

Winter is Over - Kind of!

Well Canada Olympic Park (otherwise known as the hill, where i work) is closed for the winter season! Though unfortunately the weather did not get the message that winter was over and this week we got snow again and have more snow forecast in the week ahead! As much as the snow looks beautiful it makes work harder for me and getting around is not fun!
This is the view from my bedroom window of the snow this week.

Canada Olympic Park on the last open weekend for winter.


So i realised talking to Amy at easter that many people might not actually know what I'm doing for work these days so thought i would try and let you know the sorts of things i have been doing over the winter.

During the winter I worked 2 days a week as a lift attendant and 3 days a week in park grounds. I worked the lifts last winter and most of the last summer but i was starting to get bored i had done some work in grounds and they needed more staff so thankfully my boss Tim had me move into grounds but staying in the lifts aswell, though this summer i will only be working grounds.

Lifts is pretty much what it sounds like attending the lifts making sure people get on and off safely, making sure all the snow ramps are in good working order, shovelling snow, setting up gates in the mornings to form the lines people wait in, also watching the magic carpets (a conveyer/treadmill like contraption people stand on to move up the lower areas of the hill), helping people if they fall etc.
Me at the lift loading station (not watching the people load!)


This photo is taken from the top of the progression carpet we have 4 carpets and 2 lifts at the park.


Park grounds surprisingly is also as it sounds, I pretty much attend to anything within the grounds of the park that needs doing. One day a week I work with James and the other two days Im by myself. We take care of the outside of all the park facilities during the winter i've done things like snow plowing, emptying all the outdoor garbage bins, putting daown salt when needed (the salt helps melt any icy areas around the buildings), fixing signs, changing flags, shovelling snow, helping set up for events, painting, daily walk/drive around to make sure everything looks good and more i cant really think of now.

Truck 34 with the snow plow on front, that I get to drive around the park.


This is James and I changing the large flag at the top of the hill. James unhooks all the clips and i use the winch to raise and lower the flag. It is a huge flag and weighs about 80 pounds.



The Olympic Flag that I helped put up for during the winter Olympics.


This time of the year there are lots of geese at the park, unfortunately one morning two got hit by a truck and I had to remove them off the road. I didnt think I'd have a problem doing it but it was kinda creepy.


This is the flag court out front of the main building that has all the flags from the countries that competed in the 1988 Calgary winter Olympics, we have to keep them in good condition and change any that get ripped.

During the summer there is alot more to do but ill put that in another post later when i get some more photos to add (also this post got alot longer than planned!)
I hope this helps enlighten everyone as to the things I've been doing at work here in Canada!

New Laptop

Well as the title suggests I have a new laptop! My old computer has been dying for some time and it finally croaked it and I had saved up the money so on my day off I went laptop shopping. I bought a 14inch Acer Aspire its nice and a bit smaller than my last so it will be easier to travel with. Its been fun playing with it and reloading all my programs etc.