Olympics: Pros Stand on Styrodur

[Till-and-Jutta0]

The Olympic Winter Games got the nickname "the games of long distances." This is because, although the venues in the Italian Alps are close as the crow flies, the winding roads are long and slow, and many mountain passes are closed.

We were lucky and honored that the young disciplines of freestyle skiing and snowboarding took place just 700 meters walking distance from our cabin! Of course, you don’t miss out on such a chance. To enter Security Zone 1 you need a special permit, but then you’re rewarded with a unique sight, which was already apparent in summer thanks to the gigantic constructions.

Big Air

5 competition courses converge at one spot

Big Air up close

At the exit, you could take your (own) thermos bottle with you again

Experiencing the competitions live is totally different from watching on a screen. Important: You stand for hours on cold snow. So, you quickly grab your old ski clothes from the closet and slip into your moon boots. Pros like us cut old Styrodur sheets from the construction site to size. Unlike thermos bottles, you’re allowed to take these into the area, and they keep the cold from below at bay.

What happens in Freeski Slopestyle is often too high up to see with the naked eye, but you can follow everything on gigantic screens. And the fan groups around you make it unmistakably clear when their athlete performs an especially good trick.

There’s also a lot going on around the event: In the Fan Village you can take photos with the Olympic torch and soak up the Olympic atmosphere even without a ticket.

The torch and me

Thanks to the sponsor Airbnb, we were able to get into the spectator zone and made it up to the third row during the qualifiers. We’ll watch the rest of the competitions via live streaming at home.

Note about the sponsor Airbnb

A great experience! By the way, my colleague @Claudia331 had the honor of carrying the flag for the Republic of Moldova at the opening ceremony in Milan – which we of course watched on TV!

Somewhere there, Claudia is carrying the flag

[Rebecca]

What a wonderful opportunity @Till-and-Jutta0, and thank you so much for sharing this here with us! 

Super handy to have the freestyle events so close to your cabin! Cutting up Styrodur sheets for insulation is clever, never heard of that trick before! We don't have that much cold weather here, but I've recently found heated gilet jackets that are rechargeable so will be investing in one of them for the next rugby season. 

The atmosphere in the Fan Village sounds fantastic, especially with those giant screens and fan groups cheering! Did you get a chance to meet any athletes or spot anyone you recognised while you were there? 😍 

I couldn't make out Claudia in the crowd though! 😉