Off Piste

Easily the most fun Winter Olympics I ever worked were the 1988 Calgary Games. The organizers of those Games came up with the brilliant idea of erecting a big tent at most venues for pre- and post-event parties.

On November 9, 2008 one of my favorite mountain biking partners called to say that he couldn't ride that day as he was dealing with a bad strep throat.
It became so bad that two days later he went to see a doctor and by day's end had been given the news that he had stage three, rapidly advancing to stage four, throat cancer.

As the opening ceremonies of the Vancouver Winter Olympic Games approach, memories of the five games I've worked came flooding back. And like most memories, those from my very first (winter 1980) Olympic Games are still the most vivid.

Here in the dog days of winter it's fun to learn how some adventurous people have been spending or plan to spend their time.
For starters alpinist Apa Sherpa is planning to go for a record twentieth successful ascent of Mount Everest this spring.

Down And Out Or Coming Back: is Bend in as bad shape as we’re being led to believe?
 
Last Friday night a friend and longtime journalist who, like me, is slipping intoSenectitude, decided to give the Below bar at the new Oxford Hotel a try. Why not, we reasoned, see if the place is attracting any business.

A couple of months ago the revival of the once popular “guess the exact date when the snow depth at Mt. Bachelor’s West Village reaches 100 inches” created some interest.

It goes without saying that the Canadians have thought of everything when it comes to the upcoming Winter Olympic Games in Calgary. On one hand, the Vancouver Games are right in step with the times by having one of the key venues being foreclosed on by its lenders.

As anticipated by ‘front country” skiers, Mount Bachelor announced their new uphill access policy (www.mtbachelor.

This time of year it’s a treat to spend an evening reading a great adventure book. A book full of timeless tales that when can re-read years after a first reading still have some impact.

While the big news at NBC Television is the squabble over the Tonight Show time slot between Conan O'Brien and Jay Leno, there's another story at the network that's equally interesting to some. It's the story of how NBC is taking a bath (to the tune of $200 million) on advertising for the upcoming Winter Olympics is Vancouver.