ZHANGJIAKOU, China — Even a snow-block version of the Great Wall could not protect the athletes from the cold wind that blew through Saturday’s slopestyle competition at Genting Snow Park.
The temperature at the start of the women’s snowboard qualifiers was about 0 degrees Fahrenheit. Steady breezes of roughly 15 miles per hour pushed the wind chill factor to about minus 20 degrees. Gusts reached 27 m.p.h. during the two-hour competition.
“The coldness makes it harder, or kind of zaps the energy right out of you,” said Jamie Anderson, the two-time Olympic champion from the United States.
Anderson finished fifth among 28 snowboarders. The top 12 advanced to Sunday’s final.
The slopestyle course, with three rail…
