snowboarding

For skiers, snowboarders and winter sports enthusiasts across the Northwest, this has not been the best season to get out and play in the snow — because there is very little of it to play in.

The cost of lift tickets at Mt. Hood Meadows in Oregon will rise and fall daily based on demand. What the ski industry calls "dynamic pricing" was pioneered by major resorts in Colorado, Utah and California. It has been slow to spread to the Northwest.

If you've been watching the Winter Olympics, you may have noticed athletes native to one country competing for a different country's team. In fact, there are three Northwest-raised and trained Olympians who are competing under foreign flags.

Strong winds forced a change: instead of snowboarders getting three runs to net a best score, they got just two tries. Jamie Anderson needed only one — and, she said, "my lion power."