Sport

HOT AIR IN COLORADO

Rebecca Willis — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 14:54:16 +0000

~ Posted by Rebecca Willis, December 23rd 2011

It's snowing in the Rockies. A bit. They're still waiting for the "big dump" that sets the resorts up for the whole season. Vail is the largest single mountain ski resort in America, and in Vail Village the trees are covered in Christmas lights, there are gas fires in the street and the pavements are steaming as the snow lands on them - they are heated from underneath.

Our hotel in Beaver Creek has an outdoor pool and five hot tubs, all exhaling moist warmth into the freezing air, uncovered during the day and mostly unused until après-ski time. There are patio heaters outside restaurants, heated underground car parks, and of course the ski lifts churning away all day and the piste-bashers grooming all night... It's all a stark reminder that downhill skiing holidays are high energy as well as high altitude.

In our room, though, there is a slice of a tree with the word "CONSERVE" scorched into it, ranch style. We are invited to participate in "helping preserve and protect natural resources" by placing this sign on our rumpled bed in the morning. If we do so, the staff "will prepare it using [our] existing linen". That is to say, they won't change the sheets. For a night, anyway: "a full refresh of all linens and towels will be provided after the second night". A snowflake in a snowdrift, you might say.

Rebecca Willis is Intelligent Life's associate editor, and a former travel editor of Vogue

THE RISE OF THE EX-CAPTAIN

Tim de Lisle — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 16:52:00 +0000

More and more, captains are opting to return to the ranks when they step down. Tim de Lisle explains ... read more »

TEST MATCH SPECIAL...IN SAN FRANCISCO

David Thomson — Fri, 12 Aug 2011 15:37:58 +0000

The BBC's cricket commentary can now be heard in America. David Thomson, a film writer and listener from day one, finds it takes him back ... read more »

WANTED: MORE WIMBLEDONS

Tim de Lisle — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 11:29:06 +0000

Striking a balance between sport and commerce is now fiendishly hard, but one big event does manage it. Tim de Lisle explains ... read more »

WHAT GIGGS AND TENDULKAR HAVE IN COMMON

Tim de Lisle — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 16:52:56 +0000

Sportsmen are not supposed to get better at the end of their careers, but nobody told Ryan Giggs and Sachin Tendulkar. Tim de Lisle pinpoints their virtues ...
read more »

WHY SPORTSMEN TEXT

Wed, 12 Jan 2011 04:44:50 +0000

When they’re not hitting a ball, the world’s leading sports stars are stabbing at the keys on their phone. Simon Briggs has a message for them ... read more »

THAT'S ENOUGH TEAMWORK

Rob Smyth — Wed, 20 Oct 2010 19:20:25 +0000

At this year’s World Cup, the superstars fell to earth and dour organisation came out on top. Rob Smyth looks at what has happened to a delicate balance ... read more »

SURFING IN MUNICH

Noah Lederman — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 17:44:12 +0000

The landlocked city boasts some of Europe’s best waves. Noah Lederman investigates … read more »

PUCK, STICK AND UNICYCLE

Julia Belluz — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 21:18:20 +0000

In London's Hackney, Julia Belluz discovers a strange sport with a serious social mission ... read more »

A HAPPY ENDING

Thu, 15 Jul 2010 14:42:45 +0000

Though hardly a football enthusiast, The Economist's Africa correspondent heads to South Africa to "be a part of African history" and finds himself impressed ... read more »