I still have vivid memories of enjoying previous Winter Olympics from the comfort of my own home, marveling at the splendor and majesty of the quaint mountain villages such as Lake Placid, Albertville, and Lillehammer.
These places looked so picturesque and appeared as though they were created by the Lemax Christmas Village Collection.
Every snowflake seemed hand-placed. Each light twinkled in perfect rhythm to whatever backing track ABC Sports played as the camera panned out to fully showcase the majestic scenery.
In my mind, these places were the Winter Olympics.
Not Nagano. Not Sochi. And sure as heck not Beijing. Nothing against those cities, but sprawling urban landscapes with hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of residents (and no mountains) have never been my idea of the Winter Olympics.
That’s why I’m so pleased our traveling quartet decided to devote part of our Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Games experience to Cortina.
Cortina d’Ampezzo, formally, is a resort town nestled among the Dolomites near the Austrian border, making it a popular spot for alpine skiers in the winter. Its year-round population is a shade under 6,000, which, to me, makes hosting an Olympiad (for the second time; it was the sole host in 1956) absolutely bonkers.
Yet, there we were.
Opening Ceremony Parade of Nations? Yes, Please!
Clockwise from upper right, our view for the Parade of Nations; one of the first nations through was Argentina; Canada was representing in front of us; Australia approaches our location; there’s a better-than-average chance Carol and I were on some international news broadcast; the train stations from Venice were decked out with Olympic spirit; the Tofane Ski Center was illuminated each night.
When the decision was made to begin our Olympic journey in the mountains, I believe we all figured it would cost us any opportunity we may have had to witness the Opening Ceremonies.
I’ve never been a big Opening Ceremonies fan. Sure, there is artistry and grandeur to be witnessed and a welcome from the host nation and its people, but I’ve found them to sometimes be wildly esoteric and, quite frankly, confusing, unless I have the Jim McKays, Bob Costases, or Mike Tiricos of the world in my ear helping me understand what it is I’m seeing.
I always figured if I was lucky enough to make it to the Olympics, I’d devote my resources (both time and monetary) elsewhere to maximize my enjoyment of the Games.
That said, the one part of the Opening Ceremonies I have always enjoyed, however, has been the Parade of Nations. That’s the part with the delegation from the participating countries marching in outfits that, somehow, represent their country. There is always a flag bearer who has been selected (typically) by their fellow athletes.
It’s pretty cool to see the stadium field fill with the colorful garb of the various nations.
Imagine our delight, then, when we learned there was going to be a quasi-Opening Ceremony in Cortina that included a Parade of Nations for those athletes who needed to be in the area in advance of their competition dates.
We arrived at our rental home in San Vito di Cadore in the early afternoon and decided to venture out after we were settled.
Unsurprisingly, there were plenty of folks already in Cortina, and since getting near the Olympic Cauldron to see its lighting seemed a long shot, Carol and I stationed ourselves in front of the Hotel de la Poste. Our friends Tim and Tracey chose, instead, to remain mobile and bounced from place to place, seeing what could be seen.
It was a lengthy and chilly wait, but Carol and I were ultimately rewarded with views of the athletes making their final turn for their buses right in front of our vantage point. They frolicked, they laughed, they high-fived fans lining the street. It was, in essence, a massive street party to start the Olympic Games.
While I have nothing to compare it to, it felt more enjoyable than sitting in a massive stadium hundreds of feet away, passively watching the Parade of Nations.
Up First – Men’s Luge
Clockwise from upper right, Carol and I had our photo snapped in front of the Olympic Rings at the Sliding Center; we made it as high as the finish area, which was, understandably, crowded; I wound up watching the Men’s Luge Singles finals the next night and saw German Max Langenhan celebrate; a luger finishes his run; one of the mascots, Tina, made some new friends at the Sliding Center; I can’t imagine whipping around this turn at 80 miles per hour; the setting sun made for a gorgeous photo.
Harkening back to my younger self on the living room sofa, there were a few sports I equated to the Winter Olympics: Speed Skating, Alpine and Nordic Skiing, and Sliding (Bobsleigh and Luge, both).
These were the types of events, save the occasional World Championship or similar, whose highlights aired during an episode of ABC’s Wide World of Sports that you only saw once every four years.
I considered myself fortunate to secure tickets for the first night of the Men’s Luge, where fellas lay on a small bladed sled and hurtle themselves down a mile-long frozen course that featured 16 curves and a vertical drop of 107 meters, reaching speeds of up to 140 kmh (86 mph).
It was a little bit like watching the Indy 500 or the Tour de France, as you’re really only able to see the competitors for a second as they speed by, but like most Olympic events, there was a giant screen to view the entire run and, when there were breaks in the action, a DJ to keep everyone bopping to the music.
Tim and Tracey made the trek up the hill to the starting area, while Carol and I remained lower. We did venture to the finish area to see a few sleds come skidding to a stop and the fans in the bleachers cheering on their favorites.
Trouble at the Bus Stop
Clockwise from the top, note the orderly queue for the shuttle bus from our second night in Cortina; the shots below are from our day visit (and early departure) at the time the bus arrived; note the lack of an orderly queue.
On our first night in Cortina, we left the village before the Opening Ceremonies were complete. Essentially, we beat the crowd and made it back to our home in San Vito Cadore without incident.
On the night of our Luge experience, however, we lingered and enjoyed a meal at the Swiss House (many nations host hospitality houses during the Games; a previous Conversations with Sports Fans guest, Tiffany Assman Pope, discusses them here). It was ideal to get out of the chill, watch some Olympic action on the big screen, and enjoy some Swiss eats, including a cheese and charcuterie board, butternut squash spatzle, smoked salmon and lake trout mousse, and, of course, some Swiss chocolate.
Visiting the Swiss House was the perfect cap to an already lovely night … until it wasn’t.
Let’s discuss the bus system into and out of Cortina.
There was a parking area just off downtown, which is where those gathered who needed to catch the shuttle bus that traveled to the communities down SS51 to Ponte nelle Alpi.
Upon arrival, we noticed, as we did the night before, there were no volunteers manning the area, so folks simply took their place in a queue … until the motor coach arrived, in which case it was full-on Hunger Games, every person for themselves to claim a spot on the bus.
Tim and Tracey made it on.
Carol and I did not.
Fortunately, Tim had the key to the house.
Unfortunately, Carol and I realized the same thing was about to happen again as the masses of folks who were leaving the night’s competitions continued to stream into the parking lot.
After some back-and-forth – and the realization that a 6-mile walk home was not happening – Carol made the bold suggestion that we should walk down the road to the previous bus stop, board the bus returning to Cortina, and then stay put upon arrival and watch the carnage play out on the other side of the bus windows.
I’m not going to lie, there were a few anxious moments as we waited close to 20 minutes for a bus to arrive, but one did; it was free of passengers, and we took our seats directly behind the driver.
And, yes, there were plenty of people left out in the cold waiting for the next bus to come along after folks pushed and shoved their way into the coach.
To the Top of the Mountain
From left, Carol chilling out atop Mount Faloria; the lodge used for scenes from Cliffhanger; the view from Faloria across the valley to Mount Tofane; the main entrance into Cortina; the view of Cortina d’Ampezzo from Faloria.
While we didn’t secure tickets to any of the women’s Alpine Skiing events, we did make it up a mountain; just not to the Tofane Alpine Ski Center.
Rather, we took the Funivia Faloria cable car up Monte Faloria. Faloria, by the way, was the home to several scenes near the conclusion of the 1993 Sylvester Stallone film, Cliffhanger.
The views? Spectacular!
The sun? A little brighter!
The village of Cortina d’Ampezzo below us? As picturesque as any of those Olympic communities I recall from my youth.
Two items of note:
- Shortly before our bus arrived in Cortina, those watching the Women’s Downhill on their phones saw Lindsey Vonn‘s horrific accident. As we exited the bus, the helicopter airlifting Vonn to a nearby hospital was just leaving the mountain.
- As we were atop Faloria, we noticed a television camera aiming across the valley toward Tofane. We asked one of the people operating the camera what was going on, and he said this was the camera utilized for the long shot of the ski competition across the valley. I looked it up later; the distance between the two peaks is close to six miles. Incredible!
Up Next – Mixed Doubles Curling Semifinals
Clockwise from upper right, Sweden (yellow) and Great Britain shake hands following Sweden’s 9-3 semifinal victory; Cory Thiesse lines up a shot for the Americans; the competitors flags above the Curling Center; Italy’s Stefania Constantini lines up a shot; the Italian fans brought plenty of passion; Cory and Korey talk strategy; a wide shot of the Curling Center; an exterior shot of the Curling Center; our view for the night’s action; I knew this fact because Ricky English from Kays Curling in Scotland was a guest on Conversations with Sports Fans; Korey Dropkin salutes the crowd after the American win; Tim, Tracey, Carol, and I at the Curling Center; we watched the Americans fall in the championship the next night from our apartment in Milan.
Full disclosure: We lucked out on this one, big time!
Prior to the start of the Curling Tournament, I’m unsure anyone expected the American duo of Cory Thiesse and Korey Dropkin to make a run and qualify for the semifinals. That they drew the host Italian duo of Stefania Constantini and Amos Mosaner was merely icing on the cake. d some
It meant the Cortina Curling Center was pretty much jammed with spectators, mainly to support the Italian pair, but with a fair number of American supporters scattered about.
Even better, for us, is that our seats were closest to the rink where the U.S. and Italians were curling. The far rink (for us) was the other semifinal featuring Sweden and Great Britain.
Sure, there was the occasional cheer from the other action on the other rink, but the vast majority of us only cared for what was occurring on the other sheet of ice.
It was electric and, I dare say upon reflection, the most exciting spectator moment for me at the Games.
“U-S-A! U-S-A!” chants rang out on multiple occasions, and Dropkin (the male Korey) was all too eager to play to the crowd.
Couple this with the fact that the Americans were on their A-game throughout and the match came down to a deciding Eighth End when the U.S. scored two to clinch a 9-8 victory; well, it was scintillating curling action.
(And I state this with my tongue fully out of my cheek!)
The Cortina Fan Village
During our various trips into Cortina, we found our way into the Cortina Fan Village on a few occasions.
Located in Largo del Poste in the village, it offered plenty of fan experiences and engagements. I’m told something similar existed in Livigno location and we later experienced the one in Milan.
Again, due to the quaintness and charm of Cortina, I much preferred the Fan Village experience here to Milan’s, but that’s just my opinion.
A few photos from the experience:
Clockwise from upper right, look at me, I’m a bobsleigh athlete; the Coke Peak Experience offered an opportunity to hold a torch and have a Coke made with your image laser engraved; Carol and a member of the Jamaican Bobsled Team (seriously!); Carol receiving a very wet kiss from someone dress as Mario; me with the Olympic Torch; the Paralympic Medals; the Olympic Medals; fans could test their Curling skills.
- Next Time: The Milano Experience
- Last Time: Getting There