rosa khutor

MY OLYMPICS JOURNEY: Churning out the content

Commentary, My Olympics Journey, , ,

“Once the Olympics get going, this building will be packed, which is why it’s so important …”

Nope. Too many words. I can do that faster.

So began a humbling, excruciating period of my Olympics experience. Our group had journeyed to the Sochi region’s mountain cluster to see the sights and shoot some stories. And shoot we did: I had already recorded enough video for three pieces, two of which would air in the coming few days.

By this point, we had reached the home stretch. After five bundled hours in the freezing cold, I simply needed to record one more stand-up. It would be the final on-camera line of a story about the Olympic superstores selling all the Sochi 2014 merchandise.

And I could not get it done.

***

“Once the Olympics get going, this building will be packed, which is why some –“

Nope. Tripped up on the last word. That won’t do; let me start again.

I talk for a living. True, I also shoot, write, interview, and edit video for a living. But mostly, I talk. I work in the communications business, and that requires me to convey a certain level of expertise with the English language.

Normally, I can handle that.

But on some days, my mental word bank gets tapped out.

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MY OLYMPICS JOURNEY: A look at Sochi’s mountain cluster

Commentary, My Olympics Journey, ,

At the turn of the 21st century, the Rosa Khutor alpine resort did not exist.

In just a few days, it will host the Winter Olympics.

And it will look splendid.

Much has been made of how Russian organizers basically built the Sochi Olympic venues from scratch (and how they continue to build it even this week), but from what I have seen, nowhere have they done so more impressively than in the mountains. Giant luxury hotels stand with gift shops and restaurants, including the most authentic Russian meal I have eaten so far. (Spoiler alert: it involved borscht.) They maneuver alongside a fast-moving stream that gives the area some natural charm.

Above all, of course, are the mountains.

The slopes of the Caucasus feature less snow than similar ones in Colorado and Utah, but they shine with white at the top. If the resort town’s buildings and shops all seem a little too pristine — a product, no doubt, of their youth — the mountains provide a much-needed roughness, an imposing edge.

See for yourself some of the highlights:

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