Daily Updates — Live from Nagano

The Mountain Zone Dog and Pony show has arrived in Nagano with help from our main homey Teru Nagano. We knew that with a name like Nagano, we couldn't go wrong. Teru took us straight to Tokyo to taste the local flavor and get a glimpse of the shimmering city before we headed into the Nagano mountains.

Drunk on coffee and delirious with time travel, we flipped in and out of consciousness as Teru navigated us into the Shigakogen Heights.

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After unpacking our techno-gear-fest, we discussed the guerilla tactics that might have to be employed for this our critical upcoming unaccredited mission. Then, upon realizing our need to quickly adapt, I adorned a robe, smoked some incense and performed a dangerous Vulcan mind meld with our unsuspecting host.

"Smoked some incense and performed a dangerous Vulcan mind meld..."

Our first mission was media infiltration and incorporation, but with 9,000 police and security, we barely got near the press center — let alone the athletes. Then, in a desperate attempt, we started dropping names like some cheap tabloid reporter. Strange enough it almost worked. We got past two security check points before our "connections" were questioned and they began watching our every step.

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We were able to drop a "send reinforcements" e-mail and plaster our stickers around before being politely asked to keep walking. So it was off to secure our technological stronghold and suck as much power from our hotel as humanly possible. We began by loading up every outlet in the place until it looked like we wouldn't be able to sleep in the mass of cords and cables connecting our mission control center. Then even if we did we would surely die in the inevitable electrical fire storm that would spontaneously combust at any minute.

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But, we ended up sleeping quite nicely amongst the buzzing gadgetry and roaring snore of our new host.

The sky shone bright upon Nagano on Friday, as the torch completed its long journey. The people lined the streets to catch a glimpse of the gold medalist fire bearers. Practice continued for the snowboarders while the ski jumper had a day of rest. We got a chance to talk with pro snowboarder/announcer, Jim Rippey .

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He told us he thought the halfpipe was perfect and that we looked a little crisp. So, I told him we lived about 15 minutes down the road.

Stine Brun Kjeldaas was beaming and practicing her smile and wave combinations for the Opening Ceremonies. She couldn't stop smiling. We did the only thing we knew we could...stare. We knew what we had to do — hike. We trudged up a little bowl behind our hotel and built a kicker. We hucked into the night and came to realize just how many ski resorts there are here. When night falls, the hills light up with groomers and night riders. Although the nightlife seems non-existent, the hills are alive with the sound of Olympics.

Let the Games begin.

— Hans and Brent, Zone Team East, adopting new religions for The Mountain Zone