Men's Journal

All week, Men’s Journal editor GORDY MEGROZ will provide an inside look at the events, athletes, and parties that make up the Winter Games. In this second dispatch, he heads up to the Whistler-Blackcomb ski resort, only to find the alpine ski race he’d hoped to see was canceled for the day—due to a foot of fresh powder…

With steady rain falling outside, I boarded a 5:30 Rocky Mountaineer train this morning for a two-hour ride from Vancouver up to Whistler-Blackcomb. The trip to the ski area is fantastic, with huge views of the Pacific Ocean and Coast Mountain Range. Upon boarding, one of the train’s crew members offers everyone a mimosa—not my typical pre-skiing drink but the Canadians are so damn friendly it’s hard to say no.

Unfortunately about halfway to Whistler, I found out the event I’d set out to see, the men’s super combined ski race, was cancelled due to about a foot of snowfall overnight and into the morning (lots of snow on a race hill makes conditions very dangerous for skiers). I grew up ski racing, so this was an event I really wanted to see and was quite disappointed that the race was postponed—particularly because this was probably my only chance to make it to Whistler during this trip. But here’s the thing: A foot of fresh snow at Whistler is never something to complain about.

I grabbed my skis and hustled to the Blackcomb Gondola as quickly as I could, making a beeline for the Glacier Bowl when I got to the top. I was lucky to hook up with a group of friends who are also out here enjoying the Games, and we all ripped powder turns for four hours. If you’ve never skied Whistler-Blackcomb, you need to. It’s definitely one of the top three ski areas in North America. For one thing, it’s huge (the two mountains combine for more than 10,000 vertical feet). It’s also full of steep chutes, giant open faces, and lots of great glades. And with all the lifts and the new Peak to Peak gondola, you barely have anytime to rest. By the end of the day, my legs were Jell-O.Before getting back on the train, I grabbed a beer at Citta in Whistler Village and watched the finals of the women’s snowboard cross event on T.V. When Canadian Maelle Ricker took the gold, the place erupted, even drowning out the music from the live band playing in the center of town. The manager of the bar quickly came out and updated the chalkboard, adding another gold for the hometown team.

On a sad note, engineering difficulties continue to plague these Olympics. Tonight in Yaletown, a barricade collapsed under the weight of concertgoers who surged forward to get closer to the stage. Fortunately the local news is reporting only one person was hurt, suffering from a broken leg. Also, the ice resurfacing machine for the figure skating venue isn’t working properly, the speed skating venue is suffering from cracking ice, and locals and tourists alike are very upset that there’s a big chain-link fence around the Olympic cauldron (they’re complaining that it’s impossible to get a good picture in front of the flame). I plan on heading over there on Thursday to check it out and see just how bad the obstructed view is. For the two days I’ve been here, the Games have been an amazing experience, and I hope organizers can point the ship in the right direction from here on out.

Tomorrow, I’m planning to finally see my first event: the men’s halfpipe. American and defending gold medalist Shaun White is favored and should put on quite a show. I’ll take lots of pictures and post them on the website tomorrow night.