Blogs

49ers Winter Fest: Saturday

The snowstorm in Tahoe hasn’t let up as nearly two feet of snow has fallen in the last 24 hours. That hasn’t dampened the spirits at the 49ers Winter Fest however.

It also didn’t stop the guests and former Olympians from ice skating this morning. A World Champion in 1986 and bronze medalist in the 1988 Olympics, figure skater Debi Thomas may not have had much practice skating in the snow, but she was certainly eager to mingle with the guests and give some pointers on the ice.

“I’ve never skated in a blizzard before so there’s a first time for everything,” Thomas said.

The highlight of the day though was a curling match between Jim Harbaugh and Trent Baalke. The 49ers head coach and GM were paired up with Olympians and a few of the Winter Fest guests who bid on the chance to play in the tournament. The money raised went to benefit the 49ers Foundation.

Team Harbaugh won the highly competitive match 2-0.

“It feels great,” Harbaugh said. “It was pretty thorough. We’re moving forward with humble hearts so we’re not going to gloat about our victory.”

Baalke’s team could have played for a tie in the second game, but that apparently wasn’t an option.

“Well, what do we have to do to win,” Baalke asked his Olympian teammate, John Benton.

Harbaugh also participated in a “Chalk Talk” session along with running backs coach Tom Rathman and defensive line coach Jim Tomsula. During the Chalk Talk, the coaches described the intricacies of their job and demonstrated various football fundamentals.

Below are some of the best photos from Saturday:

Head coach Jim Harbaugh

Running backs coach Tom Rathman demonstrates blocking technique

Defensive line coach Jim Tomsula

During yesterday’s curling demo, Tomsula insisted on taking the camera from me after our interview and doing some filming. He also participated as a sweeper. The result was the video below. Enjoy!