The snow has fallen, the clouds have cleared, the ground is white, the sun is shining and it is still freezing cold!!! This place is amazing in winter!!!
Last Friday saw the first of, hopefully, many snow falls for the season. We received a respectable 30+cm in Sun Valley, however much more fell higher up in the valley. We have had the opportunity to ski three times in Galena which sits 2400m above seas level; that is higher than Australia's tallest mountain, Mt Kosciusko. Despite the high elevation and noticeably lack of oxygen, the training skis that we have had have been amazing and can only be described as skiing in the alps.
Last Friday saw the first of, hopefully, many snow falls for the season. We received a respectable 30+cm in Sun Valley, however much more fell higher up in the valley. We have had the opportunity to ski three times in Galena which sits 2400m above seas level; that is higher than Australia's tallest mountain, Mt Kosciusko. Despite the high elevation and noticeably lack of oxygen, the training skis that we have had have been amazing and can only be described as skiing in the alps.
Unfortunately our first ski did not quite go to plan, well for me anyway. In -20degrees C, I soon discovered that yellow wax (used for Australian snow conditions) does not glide well on the incredibly dry and cold snow. As such, I had a little stumble which resulted in me doing the splits and ripping a massive hole in the crotch of my favourite over pants. For anyone who has not experienced temperatures below -15degrees C, I can tell you now that its cold. Actually that is a bit of an understatement, it is so cold that any moisture that you produce immediately freezes, you jackets turn white with ice crystals and in the case of our coach Tom, you beard produces icicles which make you look like an Walrus (refer to the image below). Taking this into account and the fact that I had a massive hole in my pants, it was fair to say that my legs were frozen, which much to the amusement of my team mates made skiing down hills very painful! As such I spent the following rest morning repairing them, although some assistance for our host mother Sue was required.
After 2 weeks acclimatising in Sun Valley it is now time to hit the road. On Friday Kat and I will join the Sun Valley Team and make our way to West Yellow Stone for a 9 day camp before our first race series, the Yellow Stone Super Tour. We will also both experience our first Thanks Giving (still not sure what the holiday actually represents, however we have been assured that it is an opportunity to eat lots of great food). Following Yellow Stone, we will be jumping in the vans with the Sun Valley Gold and Post Graduate (PG) Teams and road trip our way to Bozeman, Montanna for another Super Tour race. After this stage, Kat and the PG boys will head back to Sun Valley, whereas I will continue on the road with the Gold Team and travel up to Rossland, Canada for yet another Super Tour race series.
Kat and I are both super excited to get into the racing season! Check in here for our next blog post from West Yellow Stone.
For race results and regular updates follow my athlete Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Casey-Wright-Cross-Country-Skier/466897273408142
Kat and I are both super excited to get into the racing season! Check in here for our next blog post from West Yellow Stone.
For race results and regular updates follow my athlete Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Casey-Wright-Cross-Country-Skier/466897273408142