Steamboat Pilot & Today

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I'm preparing to get in my limo, or as the Canadians like to refer to it, the bus, to head from Whistler Village to Vancouver. It's a scenic two-hour ride from the mountains of British Columbia to the shore of the Pacific Ocean along the appropriately named Sea to Sky Highway. If you've never done it, it's worth a trip to Canada. I've already made the trip two times, and it appears that I will double that before the games are over. It's also difficult because the folks who organized these games didn't feel it was necessary to have a bus run from Whistler to Cypress Mountain, where all the freestyle and snowboarding events are taking place. That adds an hour to every trip and makes getting to 10 a.m. training sessions nearly impossible. I'm sure a few weeks after the games the organizers will look back on the decision as a mistake, and those of us in the media will look back on it as a minor setback that made things a little more interesting. That's one thing you miss when you watch the Olympics on television. The broadcasters have different crews at different venues, so getting from Whistler to Vancouver is little more than a flip of the switch. But for the thousands of journalists who are here bringing the games to the public day after day, that flip of the switch can mean several hours on the bus getting from one place to another. Don't take this wrong, because I'm not complaining. I would ride a bus anywhere for the chance to see Johnny Spillane racing to the silver (one hour from my hotel) or to see Lindsey Vonn celebrate her golden moment (about 10 minutes). Training, well, I'm not sure that it's worth six hours in a bus, but I will try to let you know when I get back.