Yanqing, China—Asa Miller completed another full routine of training on Sunday—his fifth since arriving here a week ago—and believed he had adjusted to the Chinese snow.
“Today’s training was good,” said the 21-year-old Miller, now on his second consecutive Winter Games but is competing by his lonesome this time unlike in Pyeongchang four years ago with figure skater Michael Martinez.
Stockier this time in his 5’8” frame, Miller said the demands of alpine skiing takes toll on all athletes.
“No soreness and less pain this time,” said Miller, whose dad Kelly constantly monitors his routine at the National Alpine Skiing Centre on Xiaohaituo Mountain.
“His fifth-day [training] was good. He had a few good training runs,” said Kelly Miller after father and son descended from the glacier.
Beijing’s challenged by the lack of snow especially in the alpine skiing venue and organizers had to pump snow from a snowmaking equipment. A wires story described the process as spraying atomized water into the air along with mechanically created nucleators—tiny ice crystals—that act as seeds for the manufactured snowflakes.
The Portland-based Asa Miller will compete in the men’s giant slalom starting at 10 a.m. on Sunday and will return three days later for the slalom also at 10 a.m.