Pre-race pickups, parking and getting pumped

The trails were busy again today, this time with skiers stopping and starting along the track to do pre-race pick-ups, starts, and other trail-clogging activities. By now, all of the teams competing in this weekend’s races have arrived, which means, in addition to heavy traffic on the trails, a packed parking lot.

Since we started skiing at Olos over two weeks ago, the 8am occupancy of the lot has increased from a single, unaccompanied, and seemingly ever-present Russia National Team van, to a multi-rowed parking puzzle. Among the Volvo’s, Peugot’s, VW’s and an assortment of squarish van-buses, an entertaining picture of the European ski world is painted in the form of sponsorship logos, team name translations, and a nice coat of wintery dirt.

These folks have sure been doing a lot of training. And driving, it appears.

Some teams just have it better than others.

Like, a lot better:

Like, WAY better:

Trends being what are, Team USA should probably look into one of these.

Some people might like this method of transportation, which is certainly cost-efficient:

But I’ll stick with my ride:

You can rest assured that we will claim our regular parking spot tomorrow morning, exactly on time. And, with the expertise of our Finnish wax tech, Petri, the tireless work of our coach, Pepa, and a solid summer and fall of training behind us, we have everything we need to be ready for our first race. Now it’s just about getting on the line, going as hard as you can, and going even harder when you hear Pepa screaming “Come on baby!!” from the side of the trail.