When the snow finally came

We traveled from Dusseldorf back to Davos with rumors that it was actually snowing!  I was hesitant to believe it as it was pouring on the drive from the Zurich airport but when we climbed out of one of the upper tunnels on the drive, big fat fluffy flakes were falling.  Snowflakes in the air and accumulating on the ground!  It continued to snow for the rest of that day and then a few days later.  At first it was just enough to cover the mountains and ground giving an actual wintery look to the landscape but soon it was enough that we were no longer reliant on the manmade snow and we were able to venture out from the short training loops.  The day after the races in Davos our whole team along with the Canadian team headed out away from the stadium and up one of the valleys.  Kikkan had a portable speaker in her waterbottle holder and was blasting Christmas music as we skied along.  When we got to the end of the groomed trail, we continued on, first following ski tracks of others, and then breaking our own trail.  Powder…what is this stuff?  One 3 hour loop?  That’s almost overwhelming.  After a tough weekend of racing the ski was exactly what I needed and put the spring back in my step.  Spending the morning outside tromping through lots of fresh snow and cutting fresh tracks with my teammates and friends reminded me of how much I love the sport and how lucky I am to be here living this lifestyle.

Looking up the valley towards Davos

The girlies striding up the hill with Christmas carols in the air

Liz on the way back down

Making friends

This is the view from the stadium on race day. There were lots of Swiss fans with barrel sized giant cow bells

Feeling really lucky! It doesn't get much better than this!