John Walsh

As I watched the opening ceremony in Vancouver, British Colombia, of the 2010 Winter Olympics on Friday, a brief glimpse of Nancy Green, Canada's double gold medal winner in Alpine events from way back in the Winter Olympics of 1964, reminded me that we had met briefly back in 1993 and skied some runs at Whistler-Blackcomb Mountain. We, my friend Jerry Kane and I, were on a ski trip to the area led by Penny Pitou, herself a double silver medal winner for the U. S. in Alpine ski ...As I watched the opening ceremony in Vancouver, British Colombia, of the 2010 Winter Olympics on Friday, a brief glimpse of Nancy Green, Canada's double gold medal winner in Alpine events from way back in the Winter Olympics of 1964, reminded me that we had met briefly back in 1993 and skied some runs at Whistler-Blackcomb Mountain. We, my friend Jerry Kane and I, were on a ski trip to the area led by Penny Pitou, herself a double silver medal winner for the U. S. in Alpine ski events from the 1960 Olympics. Nancy and Penny were friends and we all had the privilege of joining them to rip some fast runs at the ski resort which is in the spotlight now hosting the 2010 Olympics. That day stands out as having been a real treat to meet and ski with such illustrious ladies.

Seeing Nancy, who was a torch bearer in the lighting of the Olympic cauldron, brought to mind the thrill of being in such a big-time place and hanging out a little with some of the skiers who were in Whistler that week for a World Cup Downhill ski race. Whistler Village is a compact, walk-about place, modeled after the European ski villages like Zermatt or Val d'Isere. We mingled with some of the best ski racers in the world and went to the ceremony where the top 15 downhill racers get to name their preferred starting positions.