Over the last two day of slalom, I was able to put together two finishes. I was starting in the mid 40s and finished 13th and 24th, respectively. It’s pretty painful staring in the middle of the pack in soft snow, but making the flip and starting in the first few on the second run is certainly a pleasant experience. The last two days I made the flip (I was in 30th place or better after the completion of the first run) so I was able to pick my line on the second run and move up in the standings. So all and all, it was a satisfying end to the slalom series. I still have a lot of speed that I haven’t been able to put together, but I’m going to make a couple small adjustments with my set up on my slalom skis over the next few weeks and we’ll see if that makes the difference. I’m going to moving the front piece of my plate back a couple centimeters to see if I can get over my skis a bit easier (Chief the tech at Stratton came up with the idea). It’s worth a try.

Anyway, I’m in Canmore, Canada right now on my way up to Lake Louise for two downhills and a super g. I flew into Calgary and walked around the airport with a sign that said, “I need a ride to Lake Louise or Banff” until I found some nice Aussie folks that had ski bags and hitched a ride with them. They moved here for the season and are trying to find jobs at one of the mountains. Nice chaps.

While I caught a flight, Sam caught a ride with Sam Sweetser, a Maine native, in his purple minivan with all of my luggage so for the first time in ages I was traveling with only a carry-on and I loved every second of it.

Hope all is well, w


P.S. This morning in Denver I ran into Tague Thorson and Paul McDonald right after they were both royally screwed by Delta’s extra baggage rates. It’s become quite a painful experience traveling with skis since the airline companies have made drastic changes to their baggage allowances. Tague actually paid $1,800 and Paul paid $1,100 in extra baggage to travel to Munich. That does not include the price of the flight.