And winter begins..

With a little snow on the ground, really good skiing, and temperatures in the 20s or colder, it doesn’t feel like October in Canmore.  The Nordic center Camore saves snow from the previous winter and rolls it out in the middle of October every year for “Frozen Thunder.”  Our first day here it was warm and the skiing was a little slushy and rocky but then the temperatures dropped and the snow began to fall and the conditions have been great ever since.  We have even been skiing on hardwax which is not normally to be expected in October!  There is only a 2km loop of skiing so we end up doing a lot of laps but the terrain is fun and its nice to be back on snow.  It reminds me a bit of Muonio, Finland last year except with fewer people, prettier views, and a lot less dark!  So far the training has mostly just been distance with a focus on technique but we also did a 10km TT and we have a sprint race with the Canadians in a couple days.  I’m staying with the US team right now but looking forward to the arrival of the rest of the GRP later this week!  Here are some pictures from the week so far!

We're staying in some cozy apartments in the Rocky Mountain Ski Lodge. It's a great location at the edge of town and across the road from an awesome coffee shop but the small kitchenettes make cooking team dinners for our hungry team a creative process.

This is the view from our deck! The Canadian Rockies are amazing!

Kris Freeman, Noah Hoffman, and Andy Newell during a distance classic ski.

Tad Elliott and Jason Cork skating with the mountains looming behind them. Watch out for the black and yellow this winter! (Noah Hoffman photo)

Looks like winter! (USSA photo)

The snow guns are blowing on the World Cup courses so my fingers are crossed for some more terrain opening sometime soon! (Noah Hoffman photo)

Yesterday morning for our OD workout we skied for a couple hours on the loop and then switched to running shoes and ran to Banff National Park. It was about an hour and a half run on ski trails and then single track trails with a few inches of powder on the ground.

Here is the group about a half hour away from Banff. The coaches picked us up in Banff and we walked around the town and warmed up with a warm lunch at a cafe in town.

Canmore is home of my great friend Chandra Crawford who has been showing us around the area while we are not training. She also has an awesome house in town with a normal kitchen and a very comfy couch so we've spent quite a bit of time relaxing at her pad! (Noah Hoffman photo)

We’re off for an afternoon ski and the rumor is that they’ve changed the direction of skiing today!  It’s going to feel like a completely new loop!