Are the Winter Games Too Dangerous?

Besides the techno music thumping throughout the Olympic snowboard-cross venue and the mindless banter of the public-address announcers ("Why do the Swiss fans have bigger cowbells?" "Because there are bigger cows in Switzerland"), the other sound one kept hearing on Tuesday afternoon was a collective, anguished "Ooooohhhhh."

Granted, in snowboard cross, the Olympic sport in which athletes race four at a time down a mountain on a narrow, twisting track that's filled with perilous jumps, crashes are part of the game. But on Tuesday, things were getting ridiculous. Riders weren't just wiping out during their races (incidental contact with other athletes is bound to cause some spills); they were falling even during their qualifying runs, in which boarders speed to the finish line alone to determine their seeding for the actual contest.

Claire Chapotot of France went flying off a bump and skidded on her behind before coming to a stop. "Ooohhhh, that's got to hurt," yelped one of the p.a. guys. American Callan Chythlook-Sifsof smashed her back against the snow after bungling a landing; somehow, she bounced back up. "You know, I'd have to come down in one of those yellow baskets if that happened to me," said a wisecracking announcer. Naturally, replays of all the crashes conveniently popped onto the big screen at the bottom of the hill, where the crowd was gathered to watch the event.

Athletes failed to finish in three of the four quarterfinals. Sandra Frei of Switzerland flew into a fence. "There were a lot of crashes today," said American snowboard star Lindsey Jacobellis. Although she ultimately finished a disappointing fifth, failing to make amends for her infamous gaffe at the 2006 Olympics in Turin, Italy — where she stumbled at the end of a race she was on the verge of winning because she hotdogged it on the last jump, taking silver instead of gold — at least she had no broken bones. "We were lucky that nobody was carted off in a sled," she said.

Consider it a miracle. Monday's men's race, won by American Seth Wescott for a second straight Olympics, was another insane crashfest that could have resulted in serious injury. At some point, however, the laws of probability will prevail. During the 2006 Winter Games, snowboard cross — making its rookie debut in the Olympics — was a charming hit. Without question, it's one of the more spectator-friendly events; the races are fast, unpredictable and dramatic at the finish. Since the death of luger Nodar Kumaritashvili last week, however, it hasn't been that much fun to witness such dangerous pursuits.

The weather, according to the racers, was at the root of the problem. During the early qualification runs, fog mucked with visibility. And all the well-publicized rain and warm temperatures that descended upon Cypress Mountain, which sits about 30 minutes from downtown Vancouver, added to the course's difficulty. "It's challenging because the snow is so slushy," said Simona Meiler from Switzerland, who fell twice during her first qualification run and got a fat, bloody lip. "It's hard to keep your balance. You're not allowed to make any mistakes."

Despite all the crashes, several boarders refused to admit that their sport was unsafe, pointing out that the weather was beyond their control. But if inclement conditions put Olympians at risk, doesn't that make their sport inherently perilous? Two World Cup athletes have died competing in snowboard cross over the past five years. The winner of Tuesday's women's race, Maelle Ricker of home country Canada, had to be airlifted to a hospital after crashing during the final of the 2006 Games (she suffered no serious injuries).

Although the cross competition is now complete, snowboarding has some hazards to offer. Over the next two days, men and women will flip and McTwist off the 22-ft. (6.7 m) half pipe during that popular, perilous event. The snowboarding world is still sobered by the frightening recent incident involving Kevin Pearce, the American medal hopeful who struck his forehead on the pipe in December, resulting in a serious brain injury. The Flying Tomato himself, Shaun White, narrowly escaped grave injury while practicing a complicated trick last month. The Americans are favored to win gold. But is that medal worth the price some Olympic athletes may one day pay?