Weasels are unsung heroes of the slopes

Workers shovel excess snow from the downhill course at Whistler Creekside after the men's Alpine Skiing Super Combined event was postponed due to weather at the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics in Whistler, British Columbia, February 16, 2010.

WHISTLER (Reuters) - Unlike some of the slender and short-legged residents of the surrounding forest, Whistler's weasels are neither bright-eyed nor fury-tailed.

Working tirelessly through the night in sub-zero conditions to groom the Olympic Alpine ski slopes, the 'weasel workers' are volunteers fighting a round-the-clock battle against everything the Canadian climate throws at them.

Without their efforts, skiers like Switzerland's Didier Defago would not have been able to leave the start hut atop Whistler's Dave Murray course on Monday to claim the gold medal.

They have their own website (www.weaselworkers.com) and have been building and maintaining courses in Whistler for over 30 years, also helping out at past Winter Games and World Cup races in North America.

"We have volunteers from all across the country," venue manager Peter Bosinger said after the postponement of the men's super-combined on Tuesday. "We have reached out across Canada to include our ski racing community in this event.

With the weather forcing two men's races to be postponed in four days, the blue-jacketed men and women have had their work cut out for them on both the Dave Murray and Franz's Run pistes.

EXTREME CONDITIONS

Men's race director Guenther Hujara said the weasels had been working ceaselessly for 90 hours and would continue through Tuesday night so Wednesday's women's downhill could go ahead.

"Here we work under extreme conditions and it is really astonishing how they keep their motivation and how much dedication they have to the races and events," he told Reuters. "And the people are still smiling ... I admire them.

Bosinger said there were about 1,200 weasels on call, some who shovel fresh snow off the icy piste while others trample down the surface with their skis.

"We have crews that we put out on the mountain in the early hours, at two or three o'clock in the morning, that can start to prepare the racetrack while the snow is coming down to keep it off the race line," he said.

The workers have been told not to talk to the media, but some of the volunteers coming off the hill were happy to share their experiences.

"We've been working on the slope all morning with shovels," said one weasel, taking a breather as others tramped through the slushy puddles to the gondola taking them up the hill for the start of their shifts.

"We've got the racing line cleared so when it freezes tonight its going to be icy rock-hard."

(Editing by Frank Pingue)