Two Days on the Mountain
Before we get on with the scenic tour of the mountain, I wanted to mention that my blurry photo of Alexei, a.k.a. “the driver”, has emerged from my iPhone. He will be easy to distinguish from the panoramic views of the other photos below.
James just happened to mention to me at breakfast the other morning that he noticed a tattoo on Alexei’s hand.
“Yeah,” James said, “That tattoo means he’s been to prison.”
Maybe that’s why James told me to “just pay the money”.
But the good news for me (and the bad news for the blog) is that nothing that colorful has happened to me since.
Our current driver is Evgeniya, the head of press relations for the Sochi organizing committee. She arranges for us to speak with almost everyone we want and takes us almost everywhere we want to go. I have been trying to get to the ski jump venue to take pictures of the jump for reference to make a 3D model of it. But that’s the venue they’re having the most trouble with. The one where the venue manager was fired on the spot during the official visits a couple of weeks ago. But “there is nothing to show you there, just construction, so there is no need to take you there.” Evgeniya is not letting me anywhere near that one.
But she has very generously taken us to the other mountain venues and to the top of the mountain, first during a snowstorm, then the following day when we could see all the way to the Black Sea.
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- “The Driver”
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- John and me at the halpipe
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- The halfpipe walls are really high
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- Evgeniya and John at the halfpipe.
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- John. Frolicking.
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- The moguls
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- Start of the luge run.
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- Russian for Rosa Skytop
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- Snowfall on the mountain.
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- Building the athletes’ village.
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- From high atop Rosa Khutor.
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- The Black Sea in the distance.
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- Talking with the avalanche expert.
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- Jump on the men’s downhill called Russian Roulette
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- Part of the avalanche office. They sleep here often.
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- The hotels in the valley
Today I’ll be at Sanki, the sliding center. So while I’m there, enjoy the pictures.
Eat at Joe’s 
Beautiful pictures! The snow looks so pretty from my warm living room. Glad the drama is over and that you paid your driver!!!
Glad to see they have some snow —but do they get enough snow to have avalanches?
Thanks for the update and pix!
Great pix. Not everybody gets driven around by parolees,I bet!
Yeah, you didn’t really need to see that construction site. By the way, have there been any winter sport facilities I this area before, or is it all new?
That’s not the Brooklyn Maurski-Tomskakovs, is it? There was a small ski area on the mountain before they got the bid. So everything has been built in the past few years. Pretty much started from scratch. Has its advantages. Everything conveniently clustered together, both in the mountains and down in Sochi.
Nice work Brooklyn Maurski-Tomskakovs! (who are vacationing in Chicago this week, where there is probably more snow than Sochi’s Mountain — does it have a name?)
Pictures are breathtaking! Maybe not Alexei’s so much, but definitely the scenery ones.
@ Ms. Babushka. this part of the mountain is named Rosa Khutor, which is pronounced Roza Cooter. The name is loosely translated as the yard of the man whose wife’s name is Rosa.
As for your avalanche question, the top of the mountain gets lots of snow and has a substantial avalanche risk. So they set off small ones all the time to keep the danger down.
Today is moving day; going down to Sochi for the next few days. From avalanches to palm trees in an hours drive. Posts to come.
Sorry for the lack of posts from here in soggy Sochi but the wifi in our latest hotel is very weak. Early morning flight back to Moscow to spend the day then flying home Tuesday. Hope to have at least one more post. Have to tell you about Sahib, our awesome driver down in Sochi and my friend for life.
oooooohhh — an awesome driver and friend for life! would he be interested in doing the new york to cape porpoise run?? will pay in ice cream.
joey, thanks for the update.
LISTEN, ANNABABUSHKA!! I have been trying for YEARS to get hired as the winter caretaker in CP, and I would be happy to include chauffeur services (although I am not nearly as good looking as Branson, the Downton chauffeur, with whom I am deeply in lust). Now you’re going to hire – sight unseen – a non English-speaking driver who would charge you one chocolate chip raspberry cone up front, but then demand a double scoop upon arrival??? No more turnips for you, young lady!! 🙂