A brief slideshow of photos....

I'm watching the Men's Mass Start right now and thought I'd post a few pics from the week. Kara's been on top of posting race and family pics [ www.haleykaralars.com ] but a here are a few from my view from the past few days:


I took a beautiful classic ski yesterday on the recreational trails in Whistler Olympic Park.


At one point I needed to cross the crowd to get from one trail to the next. This stream of spectators were on their way down from the morning's ski jumping event.


Sarah Murphy (Canada/Kiwi) and I skied up the Madley Lake trails and took a few shots through a maple leaf.


Black Tusk - one of the most prominent mountains up here.


Another beautiful view from the Olympic Park.


My eldest supporter here for these Games - JerryAnn Devlin from White Salmon, Washington.


Kara, Lars and I in rings in Whistler.


On Valentine's Day Dave and I met early in the morning and got a quieter moment with the Olympic symbol. Notice the flowers strewn behind us; they lay in memory of a Georgian luger who passed away just before the Games began.


I've been able to watch a lot of events on the dozen or so Olympic channels broadcasting throughout the day. Here's Lake Placid's Andrew Weibrecht during his flower ceremony.


Bode Miller, Axel Svindal (NOR), Andrew Weibrecht - second, first and third in the Men's Super-G


American fans at the Men's Super-G.


An ecstatic Bjorgen (NOR) during the Women's Cross Country Pursuit. This is her second gold medal of the Games, and a proud one at that for the skiing nation of Norway.


The flags being raised for the Women's Pursuit at the Medals Ceremony


Women's Pursuit Medals Ceremony.


Bjorgen's Gold Medal.


One of the coolest moments so far was during these medals ceremonies where I was able to sit on Lars' shoulders and get a great view of the stage and crowd, and from above proudly wave the American flag. Hope everyone is enjoying celebrating the Olympics!

Check out www.haleykaralars.com!

Kara, a.k.a. my Olympic maid of honor, has done an excellent job updating our website with photos, articles, press releases, and news about other fellow US Olympians, a press release from one of our sponsors, TEKO, or silly things like my video interview on Self.com.

Enjoy!!!

NSA in Vancouver

National Sports Academy Alumni compete in Vancouver!
Bill Demong - Nordic Combined
Nick Alexander - Ski Jumping
Chris Mazder - Luge
Haley Johnson - Biathlon
John Farra - US Cross-Country Team Leader

Drawn 30 years ago for the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid:

My grandmother, Rusty Hovey McKenna, was a well known artist in Lake Placid. Her pen and ink drawings are found all throughout town, but recently my mom recovered this particular one from the Olympics. Pretty cool, huh?

Our US flag bearer and more articles from my local paper

"We're so very Proud!" That was the message on pins people were wearing Sunday at Mount Pisgah Ski Center, at a rally for the Saranac Lake area's amazing number of athletes on the U.S. Olympic Team.

Local Dozen Making their way to Vancouver
LAKE PLACID - If they're not on the Cloudsplitter gondola riding up Whiteface Mountain, they're definitely on Cloud Nine around here - America's original winter playground has six homegrown stars competing in the Winter Olympics, including its first Alpine skier

Grimmette chosen as US Flag Bearer for Opening Ceremonies
VANCOUVER, British Columbia - At his fifth Olympics, it's a first for luge athlete Mark Grimmette, chosen to be the flagbearer for the U.S. team at Friday's opening ceremony.

Nordic Combined Team's time to Shine
VANCOUVER, B.C. - With 13 trips to the Olympics between them, 2010 U.S. Olympic Nordic Combined Team members Billy Demong of Vermontville, Todd Lodwick and Johnny Spillane are far from star struck at these Games in Vancouver. More so than ever, they're the stars.

They're coming!

My brother and sister, Lars and Kara, will begin their journey to Vancouver tomorrow. They are driving up from Steamboat, CO and will meet up with a whole slew of friends and family who will join me next week in Whistler. Because my siblings are way more photogenic and tech savvy they will be updating our website daily during their stay at the Games - www.haleykaralars.com

But, until I begin I will get out a few more photo posts.
Best,
haley

Mt. Washington, Vancouver Island

Today concludes the first week of my final preparations for the Games. We've spent the week at Mt. Washington Resort on Vancouver Island, just a short flight away from Vancouver. It is a unique place, but offered a good range and training venue to prepare for Whistler. Perhaps it has been most valuable because it has been a week of training in adverse conditions: snow, wind, fog, icy snow, slow snow, soft snow, light wind, gusty winds, hints of rain....I could go on. All such conditions we can be sure to encounter at the Whistler venue.

I took a short run yesterday afternoon through the neighboring village. It snows so much here that it has become custom to just groom the "streets" instead of plow, which only adds to the winter wonderland allure of this place.

There is tons of snow here!

And there are kids everywhere taking advantage of the massive snow banks for sledding, climbing and snowcave building.

Cabins are packed in right next to the alpine trails.

China, Canada, Sweden, Germany and the US: the teams training here this week.

The snow finally ceased snowing yesterday afternoon to get a glimpse of the water below, reminding me that we are on an island.

Ha, funny sign to have in your neighborhood, huh? The curving downhills only asked to be ridden down.

The tall cedars and hemlocks are quite enchanting in the winter too. And here, they even seem small compared to the mainland and skiing around Whistler.

One of the stylish ski cabins.

Good wishes from one of the nearby ski cabins.

On my way back to our apartments.

Pre-OWG Camp in Mt. Washington on Vancouver Island

All is well here. I had a good week of R&R in Colorado last week and even got to catch up with my sister Kara - a.k.a. the person who takes care of all of my media, interviews, sponsors, donations, website, even facebook!, and is making sure I can stay focused without distractions this month - in Winter Park for a skate ski.

The 2010 US Winter Olympic Team - all 216 of us:

Total Number of U.S. Athletes

Women: 93

Men: 123

Total: 216

Full USOC Press Release

Name; Hometown

Biathlon (9)

Women (4)

Lanny Barnes; Durango, Colo.

Haley Johnson; Lake Placid, N.Y.

Laura Spector; Lenox, Mass.

Sara Studebaker; Boise, Idaho

Men (5)

Lowell Bailey; Lake Placid, N.Y.

Tim Burke; Paul Smiths, N.Y.

Jay Hakkinen; Kasilof, Alaska

Wynn Roberts; Battle Lake, Minn.

Jeremy Teela; Heber City, Utah

Bobsled (18)

Women (6)

Emily Azevedo; Chico, Calif.

Elana Meyers; Douglasville, Ga.

Erin Pac; Farmington, Conn.

Shauna Rohbock; Orem, Utah

Michelle Rzepka; Novi, Mich.

Bree Schaaf; Bremerton, Wash.

Men (12)

Chuck Berkeley; Pittsfield, Mass.

Nick Cunningham; Monterey, Calif.

Chris Fogt; Alpine, Utah

Steven Holcomb; Park City, Utah

Mike Kohn; Fairfax, Va.

Steve Langton; Melrose, Mass.

Steve Mesler; Buffalo, N.Y.

Jamie Moriarty; Glencoe, Ill.

John Napier; Lake Placid, N.Y.

Justin Olsen; San Antionio, Texas

Bill Schuffenhauer; Ogden, Utah

Curt Tomasevicz; Shelby, Neb.

Curling (10)

Women (5)

Nicole Joraanstad; Seattle, Wash.

Debbie McCormick; Madison, Wis.

Natalie Nicholson; Bemidji, Minn.

Allison Pottinger; Eden Prairie, Minn.

Tracy Sachtjen; Lodi, Wis.

Men (5)

John Benton; St. Michael, Minn.

Jeff Isaacson; Duluth, Minn.

Chris Plys; Duluth, Minn.

John Shuster; Chisholm, Minn.

Jason Smith; Chisholm, Minn.

Figure Skating (15)

Women (7)

Tanith Belbin; Aston, Pa.

Meryl Davis; West Bloomfield, Mich.

Caydee Denney; Wesley Chapel, Fla.

Amanda Evora; Sugar Land, Texas

Rachael Flatt; Del Mar, Calif.

Mirai Nagasu; Arcadia, Calif.

Emily Samuelson; Novi, Mich.

Men (8)

Jeremy Abbott; Aspen, Colo.

Ben Agosto; Chicago, Ill.

Jeremy Barrett; Venice, Fla.

Evan Bates; Ann Arbor, Mich.

Mark Ladwig; Fargo, N.D./Moorhead, Minn.

Evan Lysacek; Naperville, Ill.

Johnny Weir; Quarryville, Pa.

Charlie White; Bloomfield Hills, Mich.

Ice Hockey (44)

Women (21)

Kacey Bellamy; Westfield, Mass.

Caitlin Cahow; Branford, Conn.

Lisa Chesson; Plainfield, Ill.

Julie Chu; Fairfield, Conn.

Natalie Darwitz; Eagan, Minn.

Meghan Duggan; Danvers, Mass.

Molly Engstrom; Siren, Wis.

Hilary Knight; Hanover, N.H.

Jocelyne Lamoureux; Grand Forks, N.D.

Monique Lamoureux; Grand Forks, N.D.

Erika Lawler; Fitchburg, Mass.

Gigi Marvin; Warroad, Minn.

Brianne McLaughlin; Sheffield Village, Ohio

Jenny Potter; Edina, Minn.

Kelli Stack; Brooklyn Heights, Ohio

Angela Ruggiero; Simi Valley, Calif.

Molly Schaus; Natick, Mass.

Karen Thatcher; Blaine, Wash.

Jessie Vetter; Cottage Grove, Wis.

Kerry Weiland; Palmer, Alaska

Jinelle Zaugg-Siergiej; Eagle River, Wis.

Men (23)

David Backes; Blaine, Minn.

Dustin Brown; Ithaca, N.Y.

Ryan Callahan; Rochester, N.Y.

Chris Drury; Trumbull, Conn.

Erik Johnson; Bloomington, Minn.

Jack Johnson; Indianapolis, Ind.

Patrick Kane; Buffalo, N.Y.

Ryan Kesler; Livonia, Mich.

Phil Kessel; Madison, Wis.

Mike Komisarek; West Islip, N.Y.

Jamie Langenbrunner; Cloquet, Minn.

Ryan Malone; Pittsburgh, Pa.

Paul Martin; Elk River, Minn.

Ryan Miller; East Lansing, Mich.

Brooks Orpik; Amherst, N.Y.

Zach Parise; Prior Lake, Minn.

Joe Pavelski; Plover, Wis.

Jonathan Quick; Hamden, Conn.

Brian Rafalski; Dearborn, Mich.

Bobby Ryan; Cherry Hill, N.J.

Paul Stastny; St. Louis, Mo.

Ryan Suter; Madison, Wis.

Tim Thomas; Flint, Mich.

Luge (10)

Women (3)

Julia Clukey; Augusta, Maine

Erin Hamlin; Remsen, N.Y.

Megan Sweeney; Suffield, Conn.

Men (7)

Tony Benshoof; White Bear Lake, Minn.

Mark Grimmette; Muskegon, Mich.

Dan Joye; Carmel, N.Y.

Brian Martin; Palo Alto, Calif.

Chris Mazdzer; Saranac Lake, N.Y.

Christian Niccum; Woodinville, Wash.

Bengt Walden; Northbridge, Mass.

Skeleton (5)

Women (2)

Noelle Pikus-Pace; Orem, Utah

Katie Uhlaender; Breckenridge, Colo.

Men (3)

Eric Bernotas; Avondale, Pa.

John Daly; Smithtown, N.Y.

Zach Lund; Salt Lake City, Utah

Skiing (59)

Alpine (22)

Women (10)

Stacey Cook; Mammoth Lakes, Calif.

Hailey Duke; Boise, Idaho

Julia Mancuso; Squaw Valley, Calif.

Chelsea Marshall; Pittsfield, Vt.

Megan McJames; Park City, Utah

Alice McKennis; Glenwood Springs, Colo.

Kaylin Richardson; Edina, Minn.

Sarah Schleper; Vail, Colo.

Leanne Smith; Conway, N.H.

Lindsey Vonn; Vail, Colo.

Men (12)

Will Brandenburg; Spokane, Wash.

Jimmy Cochran; Keene, N.H.

Erik Fisher; Middleton, Idaho

Tommy Ford; Bend, Ore.

Tim Jitloff; Reno, Nev.

Nolan Kasper; Warren, Vt.

Ted Ligety; Park City, Utah

Bode Miller; Franconia, N.H.

Steve Nyman; Sundance, Utah

Marco Sullivan; Squaw Valley, Calif.

Andrew Weibrecht; Lake Placid, N.Y.

Jake Zamansky; Aspen, Colo.

Cross Country (11)

Women (5)

Morgan Arritola; Ketchum, Idaho

Holly Brooks; Anchorage, Alaska

Caitlin Compton; Minneapolis, Minn.

Kikkan Randall; Anchorage, Alaska

Liz Stephen; East Montpelier, Vt.

Men (6)

Kris Freeman; Andover, N.H.

Simi Hamilton; Aspen, Colo.

Torin Koos; Leavenworth, Wash.

Garrot Kuzzy; Minneapolis, Minn.

Andy Newell; Shaftsbury, Vt.

James Southam; Anchorage, Alaska

Freestyle (18)

Aerials (8)

Women (4)

Ashley Caldwell; Hamilton, Va.

Emily Cook; Belmont, Mass.

Jana Lindsey; Black Hawk, S.D.

Lacy Schnoor; Draper, Utah

Men (4)

Matt DePeters; Buffalo, N.Y.

Dylan Ferguson; Amesbury, Mass.

Jeret Peterson; Boise, Idaho

Ryan St. Onge; Winter Park, Colo.

Moguls (8)

Women (4)

Shannon Bahrke; Tahoe City, Calif.

Hannah Kearney; Norwich, Vt.

Heather McPhie; Park City, Utah

Michelle Roark; Denver, Colo.

Men (4)

Patrick Deneen; Cle Elum, Wash.

Michael Morse; Duxburry, Mass.

Nate Roberts; Park City, Utah

Bryon Wilson; Park City, Utah

Ski Cross (2)

Men (2)

Casey Puckett; Aspen, Colo.

Daron Rahlves; Sugar Bowl, Calif.

Nordic Combined (5)

Men (5)

Brett Camerota; Park City, Utah

Billy Demong; Vermontville, N.Y.

Taylor Fletcher; Steamboat Springs, Colo.

Todd Lodwick; Steamboat Springs, Colo.

Johnny Spillane; Steamboat Springs, Colo.

Ski Jumping (3)

Men (3)

Nick Alexander; Lebanon, N.H.

Peter Frenette; Saranac Lake, N.Y.

Anders Johnson; Park City, Utah

Snowboarding (18)

Halfpipe (8)

Women (4)

Gretchen Bleiler; Aspen, Colo.

Kelly Clark; Mt. Snow, Vt.

Elena Hight; South Lake Tahoe, Calif.

Hannah Teter; Belmont, Vt.

Men (4)

Greg Bretz; Mammoth Lakes, Calif.

Scotty Lago; Seabrook, N.H.

Louie Vito; Sandy, Utah

Shaun White; Carlsbad, Calif.

Parallel Giant Slalom (3)

Women (1)

Michelle Gorgone; Boston, Mass.

Men (2)

Tyler Jewell; Steamboat Springs, Colo.

Chris Klug; Aspen, Colo.

Snowboardcross (7)

Women (3)

Callan Chythlook-Sifsof; Girdwood, Alaska

Faye Gulini; Salt Lake City, Utah

Lindsey Jacobellis; Stratton Mountain, Vt.

Men (4)

Nick Baumgartner; Iron River, Mich.

Nate Holland; Squaw Valley, Calif.

Graham Watanabe; Sun Valley, Idaho

Seth Wescott; Sugarloaf, Maine

Speedskating (28)

Long Track (18)

Women (9)

Rebekah Bradford; Apple Valley, Minn.

Lauren Cholewinski; York, S.C.

Maria Lamb; River Falls, Wis.

Elli Ochowicz; Hartland, Wis.

Catherine Raney Norman; Elm Grove, Wis.

Heather Richardson; High Point, N.C.

Jennifer Rodriguez; Miami, Fla.

Jilleanne Rookard; Woodhaven, Mich.

Nancy Swider-Peltz, Jr.; Wheaton, Ill.

Men (9)

Ryan Bedford; Midland, Mich.

Shani Davis; Chicago, Ill.

Tucker Fredricks; Janesville, Wis.

Brian Hansen; Glenview, Ill.

Chad Hedrick; Spring, Texas

Jonathan Kuck; Champaign, Ill.

Trevor Marsicano; Ballston Spa, N.Y.

Nick Pearson; West Allis, Wis.

Mitch Whitmore; Waukesha, Wis.

Short Track (10)

Women (5)

Allison Baver; Sinking Spring, Pa.

Kimberly Derrick; Memphis, Tenn.

Alyson Dudek; Hales Corners, Wis.

Lana Gehring; Glenview, Ill.

Katherine Reutter; Champaign, Ill.

Men (5)

J.R. Celski; Federal Way, Wash.

Simon Cho; Baltimore, Md.

Travis Jayner; Midland, Mich.

Jordan Malone; Denton, Texas

Apolo Anton Ohno; Seattle, Wash.

Catch up on some recent articles

USA Today: "US Talent Flowing out of Lake Placid"

Meri-Jo Borzilleri penned this article about Lake Placid's 2010 Olympians. A local Placidian as well, her sister's family helped me out a bit this fall with some necessary rifle stock work evenings in their garage.

Women's Health Magazine "Hear from Athletes"

It has been pretty neat to accompany some big time athletes in magazines this winter; I've gotten to know Emily Cook from training in Lake Placid, and the other women are pure powerhouses in their sports. And, I've been able to watch Lindsey Vonn race quite a bit on Eurosport this winter.

Adirondack Daily Enterprise: "Haley Johnson: Product of her environment"

This article was a lot of fun to respond to because it was written by my a former middle school classmate of mine, Tim Follos, whom I do not believe I've seen since then. I enjoyed reconnecting and being interviewed by a local reporter.