West and the rest

Ok, so a lot has happened since I last wrote, which I suppose is why it has been so long since I wrote... Busy!

First of all, West Yellowstone. The team drove up unofficially two Saturdays ago. We immediately threw our stuff into our rooms and went skiing. Although there was no snow on the lower trails (not at first and not for the rest of the week) the skiing up on the plateau was really nice. It had some big hills, a few iffy spots and insane elevation. We did have to bus up, maybe a 20 minute drive, but it wasn't so bad and we never got stuck!

A typical day at West went something like this:
7:15-short 15 min jog around the o so tiny "city"
8:00-drive up to the plateau and ski for 2-3 hours. (we worked on technique a bunch)
12:00-sandwiches in the lobby followed by napping and pretending to do homework
3:00-ski #2, this time until it got dark, around 5
6:00-dinner at the Days Inn prepared by the kind people of Sun Valley
After dinner we would go to the expo or watch movies, stuff like that.

Basically it was a ton of skiing and super fun. My dad came out, which was cool too. We had Thanksgiving dinner together! Overall I saw a ton of people from the Midwest, which was nifty, almost as good as being home...

The races at the end of the week were an 11k classic, then a 9k skate. The results weren't anything too exciting one way or the other (summit timing if you want to look them up) but I thought just racing was awesome. They were tough races to be sure, but fun courses with decent conditions!

The Monday after we came back my grandma died. I flew back on Wednesday to attend the memorial service and be with my family. I am very thankful for all of the support I have received, everyone has been just wonderful.

Finals are in one week! I am studying already so hopefully everything will turn out ok. Saturday coming is the Bobcat Christmas Pole, a citizen race the team puts on each year to raise money. It should be interesting....