They are coming, I promise. Here’s a short update on today – check back later for more.

We’re about 40 minutes from the start of the women’s downhill here in Creekside. It’s sunny and mild and reports from the course are that there are three different kinds of snow from top to bottom. This will make it very similar to the men’s race – skiers will have to adjust their skiing while rocketing to the finish. Reports also say that it is relatively bumpy, which could be a factor for Vonn, her shin is still bothering her. My prediction is that as soon as she kicks out of the gate, the pain will be gone.

Every seat in the press room is taken and people are madly typing away. I am headed out into the crowd where I’ll be tweeting away.

The men’s Olympic downhill is finally a go. I just made the trek – about a 15 minute, steep hike – up to the finish here at Whistler Creekside. The athletes are warming up, and the fans are pouring in.
The go is a relief to organizers, fans and athletes who have been dealing with several days of delays because of warm weather and rain.
This morning there is no fog, but some cloud cover which could make the light a bit flat. It’s not too cold outside and you could see the snow peeling off athlete’s skis toward the bottom run to the gondola.
On the hill I hear it’s a different story. In the last 48-56 hours hundreds of volunteers have been working on the hill. Then shoveled and slipped some more. They ran lines of folks fence to fence pushing off the soft stuff. They were up overnight, came in early morning and came back again to keep working. Because of that, there will be a race.
The US starters are Andrew Weibrecht, bib 4, Steven Nyman, bib 6, Bode Miller, running bib 8, Marco Sullivan, bib 27.
This is anybody’s race. Look back to the 2006 Torino downhill when Antoine Deneriaz won gold out of nowhere. He had finished no better than 7th that season and was ranked 38 in the world.
Listen to what Bode Miller had to say recently.
“I feel like I’m coming into these games in the unique position of still growing stronger. I’m psyched to be here and I’m ready to run. It’s a unique opportunity to be here and in a lot of cases it allows you to elevate your intensity, your focus and your inspiration to a level that you couldn’t achieve on your own and that’s unique to the Olympics. I think there’s something extra to be put on that.”
Sounds like a different person, doesn’t he?
All the US guys have a good shot. Miller is a threat all the time and he sounds motivated. Weibrecht is going to gun for sure, that’s just his style. This could be a great course for Nyman, lots of elements – including one part called the “Toilet Bowl.” Sullivan is fired up, too. His entire family is here, including his Dad, who I had dinner with two nights ago. I just saw him walking to the finish and gave him a big thumbs up. He gave me one right back.
Stay tuned folks.

Wow. Sorry for the lagged update, I am just getting settled here at the Games.
It’s been a whirlwind of a start here at the 2010 Winter Olympics. Weather has ravaged the alpine schedule, a terrible tragedy has occurred and thousands of fans crowded the streets of Vancouver for the Opening Ceremonies. I’ll start in Calgary.
Taking off from Calgary yesterday afternoon for the final leg of the trip here, the weather was winter-like and snow covered the surrounding mountains. That scenery changed as the plane descended through pea-soup fog into Vancouver. It was surprising to see green lush green grass and temperatures were in the high 40s. It is a far cry from winter in the host city – there are crocuses coming up already.
Downtown Vancouver was crowded with fans sporting red Canadian scarfs and hats, and restaurants were crowded with festive party-goers.
Five minutes after we got a a table and sat down for lunch at the Cactus Club, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger marched in with his wife, Maria Shriver. The Arnold was not shy as he made eye contact with people passing by. Schwarzenneger is a big fan of ski racing, I have seen him before at Kitzbuehel and at the 2002 Salt Lake Games.
Not long after that a man who ran a leg of the Olympic torch relay stood on a corner with his torch, and a crowd of police officers and other people stood around, taking turns posing for photos or simply touching it. A quick chat with one of the officers shattered the conception that there is just one Olympic torch. There are thousands used along the way, he said. The flame is the only constant.
Leaving Vancouver for the mountains of Whistler you drive by a gorgeous strip of scenery. By gorgeous, I mean stunningly, jaw-dropping beauty. Mountains cascade to the sea, and small spots of sunlight illuminated the water as fog clung to the peaks. The trees tower and bright green moss accents rocks amid lush undergrowth. It is a wild, pure and inviting scene. Even during the pouring rain.
The luge tragedy: sad start to the Games
Nodar Kumaritashvili, a 21-year-old luger from Georgia died during training yesterday at the Whistler sliding center. It was a rare and utterly tragic start, and that is an understatement.
Kumaritashvili had completed 26 training runs on the track, which is considerably faster than most tracks these athletes compete on. Near the end of the course there is a technically difficult turn, turn 15, which must be handled with extreme precision. Officials say Kumaritashvili came out of that turn late, resulting in a late entrance to to turn 16, which he could not navigate.
The young athlete lost control of his sled and careened off the track into one of many metal stantions near the finish. He spun and tumbled wildly at great speed – they have showed the replay numerous times and I have to turn away each time. The most horrific clip is one of medics trying to revive Kumaritashvili, pumping his chest.
Last night I had dinner with Marco Sullivan’s sister, mother and father. Sullivan will race for the US in men’s downhill. When the clip of Kumaritashvili popped up on a large-screen in the restaurant the weight of the tragedy really struck. Marco’s father turned to me and remarked that somewhere the excitement and celebration of an entourage of family and friends, just like theirs, must be experiencing shock and dismay.
Alpine schedule, a mess
Today’s men’s downhill has been canceled and rescheduled for Monday at 10:30 a.m., tomorrow’s women’s super combined has been postponed to a date TBD – it depends on if they can get a training run in tomorrow.
The bottom of the downhill track is the problem right now. Temperatures are very warm and the snow has been described at “bottomless” by athletes.
More later, off to women’s moguls SCHEDULED to start at 4:30 p.m. at Cypress. It’s Hannah’s big moment.