After more than a week of competing on courses lined with machine-made snow, actual snow and high winds forced the postponement or cancellation of at least two Olympic events Sunday as flurries blanketed courses and slippery roads made getting to them difficult.
Yes, the Winter Olympics can be too wintry — even in Beijing and its surroundings, a region that gets little natural snow and had seen barely a dusting of it thus far during the Games.
A steady snow that began Saturday intensified Sunday in Zhangjiakou, a city roughly 100 miles northwest of China’s capital that is host to some skiing and snowboarding events. A steady snow also fell in Beijing and Yanqing, home to sliding sports and Alpine skiing. Some of the events, including Alpine skiing, went ahead in low-visibility conditions, with skiers dashing through the flurries.