Olympic news
Posted: Sun Feb 12, 2006 10:05 pm
Nepalese Skier Upset There's No Medal For Getting Up The Mountain
TURIN, ITALY—Jay Khadka, a renowned Sherpa and Nepal's representative in the men's downhill skiing event, expressed disappointment Tuesday upon learning that the Olympic Committee would not be taking participants' time of ascent up the mountain and degree of route difficulty into consideration when awarding medals for the competition. "I have been training for what I believed to be the first half of this event for my whole life," said Khadka from his training base camp 8,000 feet up the sheer face of the Dolomite Mountains in the Italian Alps. "I climbed and skied down Everest three times in 2005 to ready myself. Now they tell me everyone else is taking a ski lift. I may as well just take my skis, poles, helmet, goggles, two pounds of dried food, signaling mirror, oxygen tanks, compass, and space blanket back down the mountain and go home." Khadka also informed Olympic officials that Austrian skiing legend Hermann Maier, whom Khadka was guiding up the mountain, would also not be competing in the event, as he died of frostbite about half a mile back.
TURIN, ITALY—Jay Khadka, a renowned Sherpa and Nepal's representative in the men's downhill skiing event, expressed disappointment Tuesday upon learning that the Olympic Committee would not be taking participants' time of ascent up the mountain and degree of route difficulty into consideration when awarding medals for the competition. "I have been training for what I believed to be the first half of this event for my whole life," said Khadka from his training base camp 8,000 feet up the sheer face of the Dolomite Mountains in the Italian Alps. "I climbed and skied down Everest three times in 2005 to ready myself. Now they tell me everyone else is taking a ski lift. I may as well just take my skis, poles, helmet, goggles, two pounds of dried food, signaling mirror, oxygen tanks, compass, and space blanket back down the mountain and go home." Khadka also informed Olympic officials that Austrian skiing legend Hermann Maier, whom Khadka was guiding up the mountain, would also not be competing in the event, as he died of frostbite about half a mile back.
