With temperatures dipping toward zero and winds gusting to 40 mph at some Olympic venues, the art of keeping warm has been a popular topic of discussion among athletes.
Climate change has rendered their seasons steadily shorter and more temperate. Fake snow and a sunny sky have become more common than not on the World Cup circuit.
Genting Snow Park in Zhangjiakou is a different story, with midday temperatures rising no higher than 6 degrees. Some veteran skiers and snowboarders add heated socks and hand warmers to their outfits. For the women’s 15-kilometer skiathlon at the National Cross-Country Skiing Center on Saturday, racers wore neck gaiters stretched over their chins and head coverings tugged down tight against the 12-degree afternoon.
Lips can dry and crack. Exposed cheekbones and noses need protection too. Zinc works for both ultraviolet rays and icy winds but some athletes prefer specialized products such as Dermatone, a pomade that comes in round tins like shoe polish and promises to deter frostbite. Artificial surfaces work well for some events, such as alpine races, because of their consistency from top to bottom. Ragnhild Mowinckel of Norway praised the downhill run, calling it “extremely grippy and aggressive.”
The women’s slopestyle final in Zhangjiakou on Sunday caught a break when winds calmed down but, at the national alpine venue in Yanqing, about 40 miles away, unpredictable gusts kept changing direction and forced postponement of the men’s downhill. A jump that left skiers vulnerable in midair was of particular concern.
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