My 28-Minute Downhill
Women's head coach Rob Boyd helped Leslie Woit cut her time in half on Whistler's Dave Murray Downhill
by LESLIE WOIT
It’s three kilometres of ultra-steep,
stomach-churning drops and
ligament-snapping compressions—a
racecourse that helps provide the most exciting
two minutes of the Winter Olympics. With all the
crash-addled eyes of the world about to fix on
every nasty nuance of the Dave Murray Downhill,
we turn to one of Canada’s most beloved ski
racers for professional advice. Rob Boyd took the
gold on this very course in 1989—the first
Canadian to win a World Cup downhill on home
turf—and knows every nook and cranny.
“I used to ski that run home every day during
Christmas breaks, spring skiing…whenever I
could,” Rob recalls. “I would hike up it in the
summer and mountain bike down it. One summer
I worked for Whistler Mountain on the trail crew
and I hoofed bags of cement mix up to Coaches
Corner for the A net system—two at a time.”
Now the father of two boys under five, Dylan and
Evan, Rob is sharing his expertise with the next
generation of Canucks: his “other job” is coach
of the women’s Canadian Alpine Ski Team.
“Every course has its unique characteristics,” explains Boyd. “Some have tough sections
separated by easy sections, some are tough all
the way down. The Dave Murray Downhill builds
up to tough, but fun sections in the middle,
and now with the new lower section, keep that
fun challenge all the way to the finish. You
have to be sharp and on top of things right to
the finish line.”
Of course, we need more than good advice
to ski a downhill course like a pro. Try talent,
strength, training and balls—but still, any
recreational skier can ski the Dave Murray
Downhill and get that sort-of-like-a-pro
sensation. To find that feeling, the brain trust
at Ski Canada HQ took one gold-medal coach,
packed a random woman (me) into an authentic
Crazy Canuck catsuit, grabbed a map and some
extra provisions, and prepared to giv’er. Ooh, and
we also tried to hold our tummy in at the same
time (okay, that was me, not Rob). No one said
it would be easy….
0:00:00 LESLIE:So this is what it’s like
standing poised behind the start wand the
moment those beep-beep-beepers sound.
0:00:00 ROB:How you feel in the start gate
depends on how well you’ve prepared leading
up to race day, how well you know the course,
and whether or not you really want to keep
your head down and attack every section. If
you can rate 10 out of 10 for those questions,
then you’re champing at the bit and ready to
charge down the hill for the most exhilarating
two minutes of ski racing.
 0:02:46 LESLIE:Okay, my massage at the
Chateau Whistler already seems less than
adequate preparation. Why oh why didn’t I go
for the deep tissue!
0:00:26 ROB:I’m about to enter the Toilet
Bowl, hungry for speed and trying to keep as
low as possible. From the Start, it isn’t too
challenging—lots of tucking, a bit of air and
long gliding turns. But you’re going pretty
fast—130 kph—when you get to the
30-metre jump entering the Toilet
Bowl. (They tried to change
the names, kinda like all those
other things in life that seem
to be too offensive to certain
types, but we all use the
originals.)
0:014:48 LESLIE:
30-metre jumps? At 130
kph? Who needs a toilet
bowl, I’m already scared
$#!+less!
0:00:32 ROB:Skiers pick
up more speed as they
accelerate down toward
Carousel turn and the
Weasel. A tough turn on
the flats that you want
to take as much speed
through as possible to
where the bottom drops
out. You gotta get
forward and giv’er down
a steep and bumpy pitch—this is where
things get really hairy.
0:18:00 LESLIE:No problem, I just came
from my waxing appointment at the spa.
0:00:58 ROB:One more turn
and suddenly you’re at
the bottom and turning
through a compression
toward the Fallaway
section. I’m breathing
a little harder and
thinking I’m going to
cut off the line a
bit more because
I know I can
take some risks
and I’m feeling
strong. A bit of
air time, switching
in the air and ready
to make another quick
switch to the Fallaway,
which does just that
mid-turn—falls away.
Next thing you know,
it’s turbo-time down
the Sewer toward
Coaches Corner, a tough
right-hand turn at about
130 kph.
 0:18:09 LESLIE: And
the next thing you know it’s
actually cocktail hour! I prefer to slow down
and carefully consider that right-hand turn
by taking a directional reading—straight
through the accurate prism of a martini glass.
0:01:18 ROB:I just pulled off an amazing
turn through Coaches Corner. After a little
mistake from Fallaway (anyone remember
me flying sideways through the air there?),
I knew I had to make up time so I tucked
farther into Coaches Corner than anyone had
before and just pulled it off—with a lot of
speed. This is where I won the race back in ’89, from Coaches Corner down. I tucked more
than ever, low, hands up high and absorbing
every little ripple. The course was longer
then, going right down to Dusty’s, so stamina
was key to the bottom.
0:23:51 LESLIE:Okay, I’m here at Coaches
Corner—I wonder how I got ahead of him?
Maybe I’ll just eat this half of a Sweet Marie I
found in Chris’s cat suit.
0:01:48 ROB:Then comes the new section,
the Powerline Traverse to a few rolly turns
that lead to a big double jump (40 metres
plus), followed by another 40-metre crowd-pleaser
jump, which sends the racers on a
long flight toward the finish line.
0:28:37 LESLIE:Ooh, legs a bit wobbly
so lying down seems the order of the day.
I normally only take my “long flights” in
business class. So, Rob, at what point did
you know you had nailed it in 1989?
0:02:14 ROB:First training run. I won the
two training runs I took (there was another
training run, but I opted not to take it
because I didn’t want to over-analyze or
second-guess my chosen line). Then on race
day I just tried to repeat that same feeling. I
had prepared well and although the legs were
a little tired, I had paced it just right and
had juice in them to make the most out of
the bottom sections.
photo: ROBERT KWONG
Special thanks to: Colourist and wardrobe
expert Chris Kent, planetary co-ordinator Lauralee
Bowie, family planning Krista Watts and Benjamin
Cooper, Intrawest liaison Christina Moore and
Vanessa Murphy, and Whistler Ski Patrol for putting
up with Leslie’s antics in general.
FACTS + STATS
•Downhillers regularly exceed speeds of 130 kph.
In some sections, racers on the Lauberhorn in
Wengen, Switzerland, and the Hahnenkamm in
Kitzbühel, Austria, have hit 150 kph (93 mph).
• Only two Canadian men have won medals in
Olympic alpine events,both downhill bronze
medals: Steve Podborski at the 1980 Lake
Placid Games, and Edi Podivinsky at the 1994
Lillehammer Games.
•Canada’s women on the other hand,have clocked
up eight Olympic alpine ski medals:Lucile
Wheeler ,downhill bronze at the 1956 Cortina
Games; Anne Heggtveit ,SL gold,1960 Squaw
Valley; Nancy Greene, GS gold and SL silver,
1968 Grenoble;Kathy Kreiner ,GS gold,1976
Innsbruck; Karen Percy, downhill and SG
bronze,1988 Calgary;and Kerrin Lee-Gartner,
downhill gold,1992 Albertville.
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