Its Only a Day Away!!

Sunny Steamboat Springs: And now the whole team is together, staying at the Fairfield Inn, which is right on the Main road into town. We are looking at less than 21 hours to race time for the nordic classic races! We were out on the course this morning, testing waxes, getting a good feel for the snow and skis, and getting a couple pick-ups in to freshen the fast-twitch muscle fibers!
Last night the team went to the opening ceremonies and banquet. The ceremonies were at the base of the gondola, with team introductions and welcome speech from the director of the local ski program. Then we boarded the gondola and headed up the mountain to a lodge, mid-way up the mountain, where the banquet was held. Pasta, dessert, and more introductions of athletes and coaches. Plus the title speaker, who talked about his experiences on K2 and what it meant to be a real teammate when the going got tough.
This afternoon we will be waxing more skis and then jetting over to the GS course to watch the men's second run on the alpine hill.
Then: coaches meetings and a dinner at the house of a Williams alum. We are having fun and getting tan (or trying not to get burned) in Sunny Steamboat Springs, and very much enjoying "Ski Town USA". (We even saw Todd Lodwick, whose home ski area is the one we are racing on, riding his bike the other day on the bike path near the ski center.)
pics on picasa
Link to Fasterskier article with more info
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Alice Nelson and dad, Dan

Where 1km meets 4km on course

Coach Fisher on course

The team is looking spiffy at opening ceremonies: Alice Nelson, Dimitri Luthi, Emily Porter, Geordie Lonza, Alex Dyroff, Laurel Carter

Sunset on the gondola up to the banquet