Covid-19, controversies and the actual competitions aside, one of the biggest talking points of this year’s Winter Olympics is the snow - and it turns out a bunch of kiwis have had a bit to do with it all.
The single slope at the National Alpine Centre in Yanjing being used for the Beijing Olympics and Paralympics uses artificial snow which some athletes have stated is some of the best they’ve ever raced on.
At the centre of it all is chief groomer and Wanaka local Dave Crotty.
“I came here in November 2018,” Crotty told 1News.
“I walked the course with a course designer and I thought it was crazy they’d build a ski field in the middle of a desert-type area with no natural snow.”
But, Crotty still took on the chief grooming role in the middle of no man’s land and recruited more than 20 others from around the world to help him bring it to life - four other Kiwis included.
It was a project three years in the making but resulted in one of the steepest of its kind with a vertical drop of nearly 900 metres, covered in 1.3 million cubic metres of water which converts to a whopping 3.3 million cubic metres of snow.
However, the hard work paid off with the team now enjoying some of the best seats in the house.
“We’ve put in 12-14 hours, seven days a week,” Crotty said.
“We’ve been here since November so we’re enjoying watching it unfold at the moment which is nice.”
Crotty had an extra special treat on Monday, watching Alice Robinson take to their slope while representing New Zealand in the giant slalom.
“We had the flag flying high,” Crotty said.
“We made plenty of noise.”
While their slope may have got the better of Robinson in the giant slalom – the Kiwi flagbearer finishing 22nd in the event - they believe she could bounce back in the super g later in the week.
“Her second run was way better than the first run so she’ll adapt to the conditions,” Crotty said.
"The more training she gets in, the better she’ll get so we’re confident she’ll improve.”
She’ll get another shot to prove them right on Friday when she enters the women’s super-G at 4pm NZT.
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