XXV Olympic Winter Games, Milan Cortina 2026 (More Again)

Ski mountaineering is the only new Winter Olympics sport, and the first medals are being hashed out today. 

Wikipedia casts ski mountaineering as another offshoot of the military-patrol tree which also yielded the biathlon branch. (All-time medals leaders in military patrol, which was officially competed only once, at Chamonix 1924: 1, Switzerland 1 gold, 0 silver, 0 bronze; 2 Finland 0 gold, 1 silver, 0 bronze; 3, France 0 gold, 0 silver, 1 bronze.)

At least in the events they are showing on USA Network this morning, this is a three-minute deal of skiing uphill and then downhill. You start out in front of a big grandstand of fans like they throw up at a fancy country club for a golf major. First, you navigate the "diamond section" by filing into one of two lanes through a maze of obstacles. Then you go up some stairs, and then you go down a twisty, rampy path back down toward the grandstand. The whole deal has the feel of something that rich kids would figure out on the fly for one last competitive rush after their moms texted them to get back to the clubhouse for $40 chicken strips (i.e. Bro, you've gotta go through the landscaping on the way up and tag the fountain at the top, and you've got to do at least one jump on the way down ... Ready! ... Go!).

I don't envy the TV people who are tasked with both introducing me to a curious sport like this and emotionally investing me in the competitive landscape basically all in the same breath. There has been a good bit of talk about the precision required in equipment changes, even when heart rates are very elevated, and just how treacherous the course really is ("It never looks as steep as it actually is!"). It doesn't help NBC, of course, that Team USA isn't much a medal threat in today's events. But rest assured, they said, that the American dude is actually more of a distance guy, which better positions him for some other, presumably longer event Saturday. The juice they are really trying to squeeze is ski-mountaineering juggernaut Spain, which has won only five Winter Olympics all time, none at Milan Cortina and only one gold ever, at Sapporo 1972.

For me, though, the star of today's show is the snow. It is thick and beautiful over Bormio this (my) morning (their afternoon). Milan Cortina 2026 is down to three days and change of competition. I've enjoyed so much of it so far, and I'm going to enjoy every last second of it that I can--ski mountaineering and whatever else--through Sunday night. 

Spoiler alerts in the comments ...

XXV Olympic Winter Games, Milan Cortina 2026 (More)

The Winter Olympics over the last few cycles has been turning for me into the World Series of Curling with a whole bunch of other events and hoopla going on around and outside the arena. Kind of like when they used to play some basketball games and have a parade in connection with the Sugar Bowl. Maybe they still do.

Anyway, curling is fascinating, and I love it. The United States’ mixed-doubles team—a Corey and a Corey, “the Coreys”—has advanced to the medal round after two thrilling wins Sunday. Right now on USA Network, I’m enjoying their preliminary-round match, or round-robin match, or first-round match or whatever with the Italians. I’m sure the outcome here has bearing on seeding for the medal round, but I don’t really care. I’m treating this as more of a Monday-morning victory lap, and I’m hoping to not get too worked up because I need to focus on other things.

I enjoyed the Olympics over the weekend, mostly on mute, and I’m enjoying rooting for my American home slices, despite what an awful period we’re in as a nation. 

In his first term, President Trump lied and got a bunch of people killed and clobbered a lot of young Americans’ mental health and good feelings about the country, because he was too scared of what would happen to himself if he told the truth about COVID-19 being an airborne virus in the first several weeks of 2020. In his second term, he appears to be willing to do or say anything he can to enrich himself and his family and to distract his shrinking base of idolators from the pedophilia. (Also, over both terms so far, he has been awful to immigrants, refugees and other groups of vulnerable people, and our best moments in those areas are my favorite things about U.S. history and the primary reasons I am patriotic.) 

There is no plan. Certainly, President Trump doesn't have one; this poor abused and sick fellow is just hurting and lashing out. And while there are people around him who have their plans, it's just that they all think they're actually the smartest ones in the room, cleverly owning the libs or using Trump as a Trojan horse or whatever. But don’t kid yourself—there is no plan, and we’re dangerously lost. You can't fool around with somebody like this. We should've never done so.

It’s hard to imagine how we’re going to ever recover from President Trump, at least in my lifetime. We’re all just going to have to pray however we pray, and we’re all just going to have try our best in our own little ways and places. This is where we are. It’s awful. Please, God, for better. 

And, of course, in the meantime, it’s hard to have fun chanting U! S! A! … U! S! A! ..., as nothing at all feels U or fun. That stinks. But I'm fifty-freaking-seven years old, and the Winter Olympics come around only once every four years. So, go Coreys. It's 6-6 going into the eighth and final end on USA Network.

XXV Olympic Winter Games, Milan Cortina 2026

I sent off my $11 or whatever last week and got set up to watch all of the NBC Peacock Olympics coverage over the next couple weeks plus, and I started nosing around over the last few days--some preview stuff, some skiing qualifications a couple of days ago, some curling yesterday, etc. I love the Olympics.

But I've also been all over the place emotionally about the whole affair because I don't at all feel like having fun in cheering for the United States or giving money to any entity that is going to build up Donald Trump's wealth so he can better defend himself or escape from ... oh, my ... I see just now that this dude has shared some video depicting President and Mrs. Obama as primates.

Oh, forget it. What a disaster.

No medals awarded yet. Opening ceremonies are tonight. Please, God, for better.

XXIV Olympic Winter Games, Beijing 2022 (Paper Flags)

I am Nathan Chen.

Previous reports:

-- I Olympic Winter Games, Chamonix 1924
-- II Olympic Winter Games, Saint Moritz 1928
-- VIII Olympic Winter Games, Squaw Valley 1960
-- XII Olympic Winter Games, Innsbruck 1976 
-- XVII Olympic Winter Games, Lillehammer 1994 

-- XXII Olympic Winter Games, Sochi 2014 

-- XXIII Olympic Winter Games, Pyeongchang 2018

-- XXIV Olympic Winter Games, Beijing 2022 (Shustermania!)