Canmore to Minnesoooota

This past Sunday our team made the migration from Canmore to Minnesota, where we'll have IBU Cup trials starting this Saturday. Canmore was really cold when we left and Grand Rapids (MN) has been really cold since we got here. The've already delayed our race starts for trials in the hope that we won't have to delay further while waiting for temperatures to reach legal (safe) levels. 

Some pictures from the last week: (a bunch of the first shots are courtesy of our new team-friend Kristen Smith, of no relation to Casey, who was up with Casey's parents from the Methow Valley in Washington state).

Zeroing before the final race in Canmore.

Another shot from Zeroing before the race. Canmore can be tricky at this time of year because the sun comes up so late. You'll zero in the shade and then right before the race a huge bright sun comes over the distant mountains and almost completely changes the light on the targets. Luckily I don't usually move much relative to light changes, but some athletes definitely had issues with it. 

Watching the racers ahead of me leave the blocks. 

5, 4, 3, 2, 1….

  

GO! 

Standing battle….the woman in the yellow bib (Emma Lunder) started two places ahead of me, and the girl two mats behind me in blue and black (Emma Lodge - started one place in front of me) were in a three way duel for the top step of the podium with me in this race (a sprint). I missed two here and they each missed one but I actually had a fast ski race and pulled off the win! 

Off the mat and around one more lap to the finish! 

We had a couple of really cold days where skiing twice was just too strenuous for one day. I bundled up and went for an afternoon walk with my camera down to the steaming Bow River. 

It was really pretty but my hand just about froze off every time I pulled it out of my glove to take a picture. 

Steam rising off the water...

Frosty grasses along the river bank...

More steam...

Russell had a video shoot with some folks from Yahoo Sports….unluckily, it came on a REALLY cold day. Videographers were from Calgary so they claimed they were used to cold temperatures but I'm still pretty sure there were a lot of cold fingers and toes when that workout was done! 

Russell's very frosty rifle after the chilly film shoot. 

On one of the coldest mornings we were sitting around our kitchen waiting for temperatures to rise and these guys paid our backyard a visit.

Cold tracks. 

Cold toes….yes, I realize I have funny-looking feet.

Key to warming up after a cold ski is a hot lunch. My go-to lately has been tomato soup, grilled cheese and tea. Yum! 

Seth celebrated his birthday during our cold spell in Canmore…he and I took a ski together even though it was super cold. 

Watching the sun pass behind the mountains (to our right when I took this shot) and the shadows race across this field. 

This morning that we left Canmore (at 5am) I pulled up the shade to discover this on the window next to my bed….yikes! 

The map for the drive from Minneapolis to Grand Rapids looks a lot like this for 3+ hours. Awesome. 

Been really cold here in Grand Rapids since we got here. Raleigh's facial hair collects the frost pretty quickly when there's any amount of moisture in this cold air. 

Seth and I ventured out the back door of our rental house one afternoon to ski on the lake. It was pretty but once the sun went down it got really cold really fast! 

Adventuring on the lake. 

Check back this weekend for results from our first IBU Cup races….wish me luck!