Double SL Kitzbuehel! GO CANADA!

Hello from Kitzbuehel - home of the world famous Hahnenkamm race! I arrived yesterday! At first glance, the Hannenkam seems, well, not so impressive. I mean, Kitzbuehel itself is not surrounded by high, majestic mountains. It's actually quite low. But, today, I was able to get a closer look! I walked up to the first pitch during the training runs today! And, let me tell you that that I was literally staring at a wall! Woaw! Much respect those who challenge it!

But, not this year though. The downhill race has been cancelled (I think I already mentionned that) due to lack of snow. They actually helicoptered in some snow from a local glacier so that they could hold the slalom. Well, they pulled it off! The Canadians say that the course will be good.

I'm looking forward to the race tomorrow! It should be a big party! Apparently, it always is! If only I could get rid of this cold I have, so that I can participate in the festivities!

On a side note, I met Aksel! You know THE Aksel! Not exactly the way I planned though. Where to start? I met JP in Innsbruck on the way to Kitzbuhel! I was helping JP with his bags. We were waiting for the elevator and we happened to kiss! As we were kissing the doors opened AND GUESS WHO WAS STANDING IN THE ELEVATOR! Yup! Aksel! JP laughed and introduced me! I somewhat babbled a hello or something! I guess I ruined all my chances! Oh well....

More news tomorrow...

Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow!

I apologize for not having written sooner. There's been a lot of things happening, but not much to write home about...if ya know what I mean?

Where to start!? Well, JP's second race at La Plagne went really well. He finished the day in 20th position, which ranks him in 37th on the Europa Cup tour! Let's just put it this way, it's a much need small step in the right direction.

From there we drove to Zurich. We stayed at the Welcome Inn near the airport and ate some late night fondue. The next morning we continued on to Innsbruck (with a small pit stop in St. Gallen to watch the Downhill race in Val D'Isere where we won not one, but two podiums!). We arrived in Innsbruck in the early afternoon and went to dinner at Papa Joe's (it's a must when you're in Innsbruck - they have yard long beers)!

On Sunday, I decided to leave JP (and the team) to go to South Tirol to visit the Frisch's. The team decided to train in Innsbruck, but good training doesn't always equal good skiing. And, as much as I love JP, I've seen Innsbruck and I didn't feel like hanging out in the hotel room all day.

So, independent me went in search of snow! It was a good move because it started to snow here Monday night! Lot's of snow! Yoohoo! Yesterday, I finally skied some powder! It was a little heavy, but at this point, beggers can't be choosers! It was a lot of fun!

I'm going skiing again this morning. I can't wait!

Tomorrow, I'm heading to Kitzbuehel! For those of you that don't know Kitzbuehel it's THE RACE OF THE YEAR! But, unfortunately, they had to cancel the downhill due to...you guessed it - lack of snow! But, they're holding two slaloms and JP will be racing in both!

Ok! I'm going skiing!

A Ray of Sunlight on an Otherwise Rainy Day!

I arrived in La Plagne, France yesterday evening! It was a long, but beautiful ride over. I took the train from Sion to Annecy (three connections in total). One of my connections (from Martigny to St-Gervais) went through Chamonix/Mont-Blanc. The ride was incredible. The train goes into the mountains and literally hangs off the cliffs edge. It’s almost like riding on a roller coaster! I highly recommend it! A must do on any trip through the Alps.

JP’s tech, Yul, came to pick me up at the train station and drove me to La Plagne. I’m doing a lot of mileage and seeing a lot of countryside. I love Europe!

Today, JP had a Europa Cup race. The day went pretty smoothly, despite the poor weather conditions – a mix of snow and rain. JP started 37 and managed to qualify in the top 30. He started 5th in the second run. The visibility was pretty poor for the first five racers and JP made a small mistake that cost him some time at the bottom of the course. He finished in 25th position. It was a minor victory, since JP’s actually finished the race (which hasn’t been the case all season). Could this really be the end of his DNF streak? I certainly hope so!

JP has another race tomorrow! Go, go, go JP!

P.S. I’m officially a CAST volunteer! They actually put me to good use and gave me a walky-talky to report the times back to the coaches! I guess if I want to travel with the team more often, I have to make myself useful! And, I thought standing in the finish and looking pretty was useful enough…I guess not…

Arolla: A Trip Back in Time

Gilles, Nico, and Olivier (a couple of local boys) brought me to Arolla yesterday. What can I say about Arolla...it's this little ski resort in the middle of no where. You arrive at the mountain and you think that you've been brought back in time and dropped in the middle of the 50's! For real! First of all, there are only Poma lifts! And, for those of you who remember what Poma lifts are like, well, let's just say there's a reason why we haven't seen any in Canada for 20 years!

So, I reluctantly got on the Poma lift. But, as JP will attest, the last time I was on a Poma lift, I was dragged about 10 meters on my butt because my leg and my snowboard were caught on the arm of the lift. Ok, so I put the image of that bad experience aside and I got on the lift! After all, I was on skies this time, not on a snowboard. But, as soon as I got on the lift, kicked forward and pulled me slightly in the air. I had a moment of panic, I swear I got whiplash, but I was still standing!

As we got higher, I started seeing the amazing view. The sun was shinning, it was warm, and we were surrounded by mountains. Suddenly, my fear of the Poma lift was gone! It was definitely worth it!

From there, Gilles and Olivier went ski touring, and Nico and I did some runs. The skiing was good. Natural, hard packed snow. We all met up at the top of the mountain at around 11am. We chilled on the terrace and in typical Euro-style skiing form (or so I was told) we had some wine. I was scandalized, but I was told that it was all part of the experience.

After camping out on Gilles couch for nearly a week now, I'll be heading to La Plagne, France to meet up with JP. My next transmission will be from there!

Let the Sun Shine Down!

Today was a beautiful day! The sky was blue and the sun was shinning. I decided that "today was the day!" For skiing that is! I went for a nice leisurely hike in the morning. I got back to Gilles, grabbed a bite, put on my ski boots, grabbed my skies and I was off. I got on the lift excited to be out. The conditions were...ummm, how could I put this nicely, crappy! How could I describe it...ice covered with granulated sugar? Yup! That about summarizes it! But, the weather was fantastic. I decided to do only runs that would allow me to get a tan as I rode up the lift. How superfical of me! But, if the skiing wasn't great, I was committed to get something positive out of it! And, yes, dear readers, I am now a little pink! Hurray for me! It'll take some work to get rid of the public servant look I got going for me (you know...dead white with dark circles under the eyes...kinda zombyish!).

All in all a good day!

No Skis, No Snow, No Camera!

After getting slightly lost in the London airport and a missed connection in Frankfurt, I finally made it to Zurich! I wish I could say the same about my bags! They were lost in transit! From Zurich, I made my way by train to Sion, where I was greeted by Gilles who took me up to his place in Les Collons!

Normally I would be really excited, but my skies are AWOL (somewhere between Frankfurt and Zurich) and there’s a serious lack of snow. I can’t even play tourist because the charger for my camera is MIA! The good news is that I packed an extra pair of clothes in my carry on, so I’m not completely suffering! And, I have my trustee laptop, so all is good. Not to mention really good company! If I get too depressed I’ll stock up on red wine and Swiss chocolate! Mmmmm!

We did have to go down to Sion to do some grocery shopping. Gilles, my host has nothing but chips, cookies, donuts, and croissants. It blows my mind how he can stay so skinny. He’s a regular toothpick (at least next to me). If I ate that way, you would have to lift me with a forklift. Anyway, I digress! We went grocery shopping and it was a real intercultural experience. My half of the cart was filled with veggies (of course) and his side was filled with, well, junk! I nearly passed out when we got the bill. Mine barely cost 40fr and his cost 110fr. What a revelation! In North America it’s expensive to eat well, in Europe it’s expensive to eat badly. That, my friends, explains a lot...

And, now Gilles and his friend are drinking beer and playing with guns! Yes, that’s Swiss class.