Snowboard Cross

My first day off here in Torino took me back up to the mountains to see Men's Snowboarding. Specifically the first-ever Olympic Snowboard Cross. We left town early and drove up to Bardonecchia. (bar-do-NEH-kee-ah). It is up Vale Susa just on this side of the Alps. Ten more kilometers and you'll need your French phrase book.

This is a modern ski town and it is ringed by some great mountians. We stopped at a cafe for a morning esspresso (no American coffee to be found here in Italy). Then made our way to the venue. We took our seats in the grandstand and braved the sharp wind and a mix of fat wet snow and light rain. But we were hardy souls and the crowd was ready for some great boarding races. The atmosphere is more X Games than Olympics. They play rock music and the crowd is definently more twenty-something than old-school skiers. As the day went on, the races got tighter and the weather cleared bringing a brilliant mountain blue sky that combined with the white slopes to nearly blind you. I actually got a suntan.

The race itself was a blast. Or I should say, races because we were treated to several hours of snowboarding. First there are qualifying heats and then a quartet of racers goes down the slope together. Each bumping and jockying for position. There are banked turns and several jumps where the boarders can get some big air. This was the first snowboard cross ever held in the Olympic Winter Games. It was fun to see an American kid, Seth Wescott take the gold.

It was a real treat overall to be in the mountains and watch an Olympic ski event.

Living Olympic in Torino.