Steamboat Pilot & Today

• Share this Email, Facebook, Twitter
• Discuss Comment

The women's downhill event was like nothing I'd ever seen. From the amount of media, seemed like there were thousands, to Lindsey Vonn's gold medal and Julia Mancuso's silver. In the mixed media zone, where all the reporters convene like cows in a pen, there was no room to move. None whatsoever.

Then seeing Vonn's run was something special. The emotion she displayed was all genuine. She'd worked her whole life for that moment, and the tears and emotions were real. One of the top moments at the games so far. And yes, I can say it. Lindsey Vonn is a freaking fox. Maybe even more so in person.

The other great thing about covering Alpine skiing, is you're done at a relatively decent time. It gives you an opportunity to check out things. So in addition to listening to a band from Montreal, must brush up on my French, I found a little off the beaten path art shot. The artist, her name's slipping me at this point, was there and has been in Whistler since 1971. "Back then it was just hippies running around naked," she said. The change, however was inevitable. She talked about how lots of the old-timers have moved up north or to other ski towns nobody knows about. She said she stayed because Whistler, in whatever form, felt most like home for her. Her stuff was also really good. She had all these paintings of Whistler and really had that old school look to them. They reminded me of the one of Steamboat where the four girls are carrying their skis in the old snow suits. She said business wasn't as good as everyone thought it would be, but she's holding out hope. I bought a couple of gifts and was on my way.