In Alaska

When I go on the road with the team, it means that when I get back to Alaska I need to go on the road some more - to catch up with my responsibilities around here. So while the team has been getting some training and some schoolwork done, I haven't been able to see much of them because I've been spending most of my time flying around Alaska.

I did make it to one day of training.  We did some sprints at Kincaid.

More Kincaid sprints

We skied at Turnagain Pass over the weekend. The Girdwood Nordic Ski Club had groomed a 3km skating trail, and everybody was there.  Thanks Deb, Pete, and the rest of the Girdwood Nordic Ski Club!

The crust skiing came a little early this year.

Usually we don't get crust skiing at Turnagain until April or May.

Most of my time this past week has been spent in airplanes over Alaska...

...and in places like St. Paul Island, in the Bering Sea.

At larger airports, the de-icing process involves a large tanker truck that hoses down the plane with anti-freeze...

...but on St. Paul Island, it's done with a push broom...

...and a little hand-pump spray bottle.

It takes a long time.  This process took about an hour, and by the time it was over, the job needed to be re-done because it had taken too long and the de-icer was no longer effective. After a couple hours of de-icing, we made it out.  Almost had to stay for the night in St. Paul and wait for better weather to try again.  Actually, I think this is the first time I have NOT gotten stuck in bad weather in St. Paul.

This weekend, the team goes to Fairbanks for some racing (Besh Cup) while I go to California for a few days of alpine skiing.