HTDE: Curling Stones and Halfpipe Lines

Hey guys it's Peter once again in your weight weight feed I am so pleased to present you another episode of how to do everything by weight weight producers Ian and Mike. Now remember you can only get these episodes of how to do everything in our feed for a short while so if you love the kind of mysteries that Mike and Ian are revealing make sure you subscribe to how to do everything at their own feed. Thanks. If you have obsessively been watching the Olympics in Milan, Cortina the way we have you've probably seen a guy named Nick Monti. He's the one who skis out and paints the blue line in the snow in the half pipe and big air competition. Nick is with us now we have him on zoom and Nick it looks like you just got off a mountain. Yeah no no just go down and ready to go up one more time for the big air. So how do you do so all the blue lines that we see on the and the pipe are on the slope you've painted that and you're skiing while doing this. Yes well you must be pretty steady with the spray gun then huh well it's not that difficult it's not super easy in a little training of course you ski you have to go up and down the pipe with more or less 20 kilos on your shoulder so it helps when you go backwards when you go down because more weight more speed but yeah you have to pay attention and balance a bit. Wait so these Olympic athletes were skiing they trained their whole lives but you're also out there skiing and you're skiing at the Olympics how much training do you do before the games? Oh well not as I wanted I wanted to train a little bit before coming here in Corvatch the mountain where we have in St Moritz but it was always snowing so the pipe was not shaped it was not clean so I could just came here and remember how it did last year. So when is your title as the person who's doing this what's your job title? Here it's chief of color chief of die crew chief of color. That's an awesome title yeah I love it do people call you chief? Yeah you can nobody does but yeah you can. So this is happening like the lines need to be repainted whenever someone you know lands funny and chips the blue so you're going out during competition between skiers and snow borders right? It's possible yeah it's possible for example the last days during slope style we had to recolor the lines during the training or during the competition like yesterday was the TV so I wait on the knuckle next to the jump hiding from the cameras yeah I wait that the rider goes by the camera finish filming and then when it's gone I can go I do maybe one landing or two if I'm really quick and then I have to wait again for the next rider. Wow and so what when the crowd sees you come out what is the reaction? Well here in the video for the bigger it's big yeah the crowd loves it and I just hear a little bit I try to be concentrated on what I do but I hear a bit you know when I finish the line was it a surprise when you started getting a reaction from the crowd were you expecting that? No no no it was a big surprise yes. Has anything changed about the way you do what you do knowing that the crowd is cheering for you? Yes and no I mean I hate when I don't do the jobs perfect or super nice that always here even more. Here's a little mistake the crowd is down looking so I see it first I get angry with myself and then the crowd is not happy the people and everything so have you noticed that Nick have you watched a ski competition afterwards and notice like oh that line was crooked. Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah after I started this you know when I see videos on social media or whatever I look both the riders and whatever and then I look all the blue lines all there no they're not nice okay I can do better like this I mean I can learn something yeah that's right we got to keep growing right yeah Nick you must be one of the first people out on that snow before the skiers hit it right yes have you ever learned anything that you have to tell them like oh you guys it's too slow or it's too fast does anyone come to you and ask what's the conditions not the athlete directly but I always give the feedback to the or the fees guys or the chief of competition or anything I tell them look the the landing there it's not nice maybe there is a hole I remember last week one day they didn't redo the landing really perfect so we're after a rail where everybody was landing the day before there was a little hole and of course like you said I'm the first one that goes on the landing and the first one that touches them so I called the shapers right away I said guys look there is a big hole so if you can try to do something are you ever tempted Nick to make a target for somebody so they should know where to land like go here that helps them out no I did the opposite for example on the half pipe a few years a couple of years ago there was a place where a stone was coming out so they told me to yeah make the round like target so yeah I'm gonna seize it and avoid it yeah oh like a like a street with a pothole they just paint yeah oh smart or like draw a heart for somebody you know that would be very romantic oh you could send a message yeah yeah you know I was waiting snoop dog to come here and we wanted to write snoopy on the snow but then he didn't come up to where we have the warehouse he just came for the half pipe but yeah we had the idea yeah you could find him near a pipe well Nick thank you so much for talking to us about this thank you guys been a pleasure this is how to do everything I'm Mike and I'm Ian we're gonna stay at the Olympics we of course are not actually at the Olympics we're on our couchs on the phone with people who are one of those people is rich ruinin he is an American curling legend rich is a two time national champion but he never made it to an Olympic team now this year he's an alternate we have him on the phone rich where are you right now I am standing outside the curling arena in Cortina looking at mountains and an old beautiful arena from 1956 and when do you guys when do you hit the ice today well we hit the ice and about in hour and a half here okay that's our first game yeah I saw I think somebody said you you have the potential to become you rich have the potential to become the oldest American athlete in winter Olympics history that's true how does that feel it's awesome you know I I played my first a trial to go to the Olympics was in 1988 when it was a demonstration sport I played with my dad and my brother we missed the finals 24 or whatever it was in the country by one game and then in 22 I played and made the final 20 some teams but we didn't win and then I'd take a few years off because I went to law school and you know I played but not super competitively but basically since about 2002 I'd been playing to go to the Olympics and I've had some heart breaks you know a few I think three or four second places so just missing the Olympics and then a couple of thirds and fourths so it's been it's been a whirlwind and it's fun playing with the young guys they're keeping me young again and working my butt off you know so so Rich you went to law school are you a lawyer now? yes I am I'm a personally injury lawyer at TSR injury law in Minneapolis as a personal injury lawyer do you work with people who slip and fall in the ice? Yeah we do that's that's you know one of the jokes is the main way I can get in is if someone slips and falls on ice and hurts themselves on my team then I can get in so kind of kind of weird that that's what I do for a living although those those are very few of our cases but yeah it's kind of funny so you help your teammate up and give him your business card and take his place yeah exactly exactly but no yeah it's all I got to do is throw one rock and I will become the oldest US winter Olympian ever wait so just hoping we get in there just so we all know like how old are you? I'm 54 I'll be 55 at the end of March okay you know it was it's it's been a long hard road and and just to make it after the heart breaks and how long we've had to work is is been awesome the athlete village has been great and the people from other countries are just fantastic of course we know a lot of them because we we curl against the same guys all the time around the world sure so we're having a good time and hanging out and it's been great what I don't want to their coaches because I played I played against most of the coaches here back in the day because they're all in their 50s and 60s they're like I played you in 2002 so anyway it's kind of funny anyway I got to go I got to go though guys because I got to get into oh yeah of course you do okay can I ask you just one power are you guys here one quick question before Before you go, just when you were talking about sweeping, I just wondered. When you're when you're at home sweeping in your kitchen, you know, just to clean up are you are you thinking about curling? Oh, yeah, anytime you had to sweep the garage or something you're kind of laughing like hey, this is you know This is how I do it in curling, you know, so I got but I got to go Well shortly after really right after we got off the phone with Rich He went into the curling arena and This happened and here is rich ruin in 54 years of age Stepping in and able to make his Olympic debut in heaven. He was so emotional Hey, if you have a question for us, we are still taking questions in between Watching the Olympics you can send them to us at how to at npr.org Really we're about to run out of Olympics, so we need your questions. Yeah, we need you to need us These don't have to be sports related or winter related. They can be about anything So Mike something happened earlier in the show. Yeah, they just kind of went by Okay, and I do you know what I'm thinking about I have no idea what you're thinking about. Okay, I really don't Let me see if I can I'll bring up the tape play for you. Remember we when we talked to Nick Monty. Yeah, the chief of color Yeah, you know, I was waiting snoop dog to come here and we wanted to write snoopy on this know But then he didn't comb up to where we have the warehouse. He just came for the half pipe, but yeah, we had the idea Yeah, you could find him near a pipe When you when you heard that earlier in the show where you surprised I Left it in or did you think what did you? I want you to know. I only did that for you I only did that for you I know it's the kind of thing that if we heard someone else do that we would both Punch ourselves in the face But I wanted to do it just for you Yeah, you know, I was waiting snoop dog to come here and we wanted to write snoopy on this know But then he didn't comb up to where we have the warehouse. He just came for the half pipe, but yeah, we had the idea Yeah, you could find him near a pipe. Do you feel like okay? So by including it and then now bringing it up because I I didn't know where he goes. Do you feel like this you're giving me a chance to apologize? I just if you want a chance to apologize, you know what we've talked about this before when it comes to downhill skiing Right, we've talked about this in this maybe not this we didn't talk about this episode previous episodes in order to get gold You have to take risks when you're going down the road right and I feel like same thing applies here In order for us to get gold we have to take risks and in that moment I Took a risk. I knew what I was doing You know what again. Let's hear it one more time If you're if you're like us you probably can't get enough curling But right now we're gonna test that we're gonna try and give you enough curling the stones They use the curling stones they use all come from K's of Scotland and Rick English is the operation manager at K's Rick, do we have a right that every curling stone that we see at the Olympics you all made it? Yeah, so the all the stones you see at the Olympics comes for one uninhabited island 10 miles off the west coast and On that island you've got two different parts of the island You've got this south side and then off side and on the south side you've got your Alesa Craig common green Which makes the body of the stone on the north side? You've got the Alesa Craig bluehorn and then when you put the two bits of granite together makes a perfect curling stone Wow, and then so do you you get an order like the Milan Olympics needs this mini curling stones and then you you deliver them And then they're just for that games or how does it work? No, no, no, no, no, just necessarily that, no, it sounds stones to clubs all over the world So just now we've just done two orders for Canada Then we're another order in Alabama, but does this culling off over we've sold this and was in a secure place last year that you would never guess that scent culling stones to Yeah, we're just having a guess and Antarctica I guess I can do it outside We can do it outside The person who took the stones actually phoned me to tell me that the stones were working. Oh, that's great So it's probably the most southerly game of culling that's ever been. Yeah, I think so Um, I'm curious about this this island. So if you've been to the the island where you get the Yeah, we've been to have been yeah, so the island itself as it says So it's about 10 miles off the coast And to be honest, but if you've actually got Google Alesa Craig It's uh, it's kind of shaped like a culling stone, which is really strange It really is the island itself as it says uninhabited It's effective where nature reserve okay, we go there we call just we'll have to one is has to be a Certified rat catcher because they used to be rats in the island many years ago So we have to set rat traps in the landing craft before we go rat traps round about the island So there's there's a whole plan and there's no just as simple as jump on a boat go and get some grant and bring it back So Regan when you're watching the Olympics are you looking at those stones With a critical eye and thinking like oh, that's not a good rock or that's one of ours No, it's because you know that because you know how tough and durable the material is We're watching it fully pride that's better watching we're knowing that this stones I've been made in a small factory in Scotland and we make it with hand and there's no many places let us West in the world and it's 175 years old so like when I'm watching I'm like wow that that was incredible aim or incredible sweeping You might be thinking that stone looks amazing. Yeah, that's what we do do to be honest my partner She's kind of get fed up watching it to be honest Because it's always on the tail. It's never seen so much in all my life And it's can you on then try to get the kids involved in it to deserve a look at the stones Are they impressed when they watch it? I'd made that and press for two settings and then it way back in their playstations of the These kids they don't get it. No Let me ask you this you're watching the Olympics now. You're paying attention to curling Do you think can it? It was cheating when they touched extra against Sweden They want to stand the way to get involved with that kind of chat because but I'm those sure it's the same as anything and it's going to if you're Shocking our stone you're throwing a stone. Yeah, I don't think it would be intentional It was more probably more like a mushroom. Yeah, that should be a thrown that's being released I don't think there's I don't think there's any malice or any intentional cheating behind it to be to be brutally honest Good, maybe a way to think about it is the stone is so nice Who could blame him for wanting to touch it? I think it was more of a reaction. It got most of the views to be honest Yeah, yeah, well Rick. Thank you so much for telling us about this stuff No problem at all. That's absolutely fine Well, that doesn't for this week's show. What'd you learn Ian? I learned that there is a job called chief of color Yeah, right which I think probably if you were you know if you were a kid and somebody said that's a job You would imagine that person is in charge of Feeling the world with color Like choosing all the colors that we experience just going outside. Yeah I declare the trees green. Oh, yeah, and really it's just it's just the one color. It's just the one blue He's the chief of blue. He's just drawing blue lines It's a lot of power though Yeah, yeah, that's true. He could write anything. Oh, that's actually a really good point If you wanted all the skiers to come over to his house. Yeah, he could do that. Yep. If he yet it's at the end. He's got the Big air final and he's got his lines that go perpendicular across the hill And then he has two parallel lines at the end They're probably like oh, this is the way and it just takes them right into his house And he's prepared a meal for them. I thought uh Maybe you guys would like to try some Italian cuisine How to do everything is produced by Skylar Swenson with technical direction from Lorna White Some of our music this week came from Moby Gratis. Please send us your questions send them to us at how to at npr.org I'm Ian and I'm Mike. Thanks