TORINO: Snowboard: Bardonecchia gets crazy

TORINO: Snowboard: Bardonecchia gets crazyThe sleepy village of Bardonecchia in the Susa Valley has become snowboard central during the 2006 Olympic Games. The town of 3,000 inhabitants perched in the Alps near the French border was one of Italy’s first ski resorts, but has never had much of a shred scene until now.

Transworld Snowboarding magazine compared the vibe in Bardonecchia to throwing a party at your grandparent’s house: ‘They’re stoked you came to visit, but could you keep the noise to a minimum and leave soon. It’s a small town of people who are happily stuck in their ways and perfectly content.’

If the people of Bardonecchia are, in fact, stuck in their ways, they are also used to itinerants. In the Middle Ages, pilgrims, soldiers, wine merchants, cattle dealers and artists passed through the town en route to western Europe and frescoes painted by traveling artists from the 15th and 16th century are well-preserved in chapels around the town. Nearby Mont Cenis Alpine Pass (6,831 feet) was one of the great invasion routes for Napoleon, who built the first road over the pass into Bardonecchia in 1810. As the halfpipe riders wrapped up their training runs Friday afternoon, the town’s ancient cobbled streets were filled with a new breed of nomads passing through town snowboarders with shaggy hair, baggy pants and earphones hoping to leave their own unique mark on the historical hamlet.

Men’s halfpipe favorite and first-time Olympian as Shaun White said style would be the key factor for shredders looking for gold and glory in Bardonecchia.

‘In snowboarding, you want to go as big as possible, while doing your tricks and spins as smooth as possible’ he said. ‘It’s all about style and making the trick look good. It’s difficult to explain to people that are just tuning in, but it’s very important to the sport and culture.’

Of course, ‘smooth’ and ‘style’ are subjective terms on and off the hill, especially for a sport known for it’s free-spirited athletes. For instance, White told reporters that upon arriving at the Games, he and his teammates entertained themselves by driving around town and shouting ‘good day’ greetings in Italian at unsuspecting residents.

‘We’ve just been yelling ‘Buon Giorno!’ at people while driving by’ White said. ‘That’s been the best because they look at you and then they’re kind of confused. I think the people here are pretty cool.’

Fellow American rider Andy Finch made his pre-competition mark on Bardonecchia during a news conference during which he spotted a red fire extinguisher in the corner and mused aloud, ‘Do you think they would get mad if I lifted this up and started spraying it around?’ He then proceeded to take the name plate reading ‘A. Finch’ and balance it on his head as he answered more questions.

Danny Kass , 2002 Olympic silver medalist, said the shredder who makes the biggest mark in Bardonecchia might be whoever gets craziest in the pipe and on the town.

”There are a lot of defiant icons,” Kass said. ”There are a lot of normal people and a lot of crazy people. Beyond the competitive realm, it’s like chasing the storm. Sometimes there is that element of craziness, trying something you have never seen before. Sometimes that’s what it takes to win. You always have to take another step. That’s what is cool.”

Other members of the U.S. Olympic snowboard squad are better at toeing the company line.

‘It’s been a childhood dream of mine to be in the Olympics one day and here I am’ said women’s halfpipe favorite Gretchen Bleiler. ‘It’s unbelievable and I’m so proud to be here and have this opportunity.’

One thing’s for sure if the Americans perform in the pipe like they did in Salt Lake they’ll be leaving their mark in Bardonecchia by winning gold, silver and bronze and by painting the town red after the event.

‘I’m feeling pretty confident after the Grand Prix [qualifying events] and the X Games and stuff leading into this’ White said. ‘I hope we sweep again. I really honestly have to say that it’s a very likely chance that it could happen again because the team’s pretty amazing. … I think it will get pretty crazy if the Americans sweep again. I don’t know I think people are going to party no matter what.’

That is, everybody but Elena Hight, who at 16 is the youngest shredder on the squad and among the youngest U.S. Olympians (figure skater Kimmie Meissner is a month and a half younger). Her post-event schedule is a little more serious exploring angles and curves as part of her high school math class.

‘I come down the hill’ she said, ‘and I do my one-hour study session.’
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The Associated Press contributed to this report.