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Aspen... California?

Everyone’s seen the movie Dumb and Dumber. Though not actually filmed in Aspen, it was the setting for a hilarious winter movie. Well, just last weekend we got to "hang" in Aspen. It was the true Aspen experience.

Everyone’s seen the movie Dumb and Dumber. Though not actually filmed in Aspen, it was the setting for a hilarious winter movie. Well, just last weekend we got to "hang" in Aspen. It was the true Aspen experience.

We were there for three World Cup races, one giant slalom and two slaloms. It was also American Thanksgiving so the town was busy. There were expensive cars, ladies in furs, and families coming together to ski and spend a lot of money. I have been there a few times prior to this year and have always had a great time. This year was no exception, and the weekend of racing was pretty exciting as well.

The giant slalom on Friday kicked off the series of races. We had six girls at the start and three girls qualified for the second run.

The race hill in Aspen is definitely a demanding one. The start had about two gates on the flats and then it dropped off into the first pitch. After that it was a cat track for six gates and then you head into the "rock ’n’ roll" section. This section had everything in it, from big rollers to tough turns and slick ice. The run turned the whole way down and pushed you non-stop. I think it is definitely one of the toughest courses on the women’s circuit.

Saturday and Sunday were the slalom races, which were just as tough as the giant slalom. The slalom started a little lower than the GS so it still had some tough and rough terrain. Tanja Poutianen, who won the GS on Friday, was in the lead after the first run of Saturday’s slalom. The second run was getting pretty rough when the leaders started coming down. Anja Pearson came down and had a rough run but was still able to take the lead. Then, it was up to Jannica Kostelic. It was looking like it would be unlikely for her to take the lead but Kostelic tore the course apart. To watch her ski is unbelievable. I think everyone was in complete awe with her run; she made the course look like it was smooth. Tanja was the last to leave the start but Kostelic would prove to be unbeatable on that day.

Sunday’s race was just as exciting. This was partly because I just snuck in at 30 th place and qualified for the second run!

Overnight it snowed somewhere around 30 cm. This made for difficult race conditions – good free-skiing conditions, but not great for gates. The race crew worked hard and did a great job preparing the hill. Warm-up was cancelled so that the snow could be cleared from the run. It isn’t easy for the competitors when there isn’t a warm-up on the course before the race, but sometimes that’s just the way it works.

In the first run a lot of the top seeded girls didn’t finish. It was a fight to get down the course when I went at bib 46, but it was worth the fight to get in there for the second run and to have the opportunity to ski number one out of the start gate. Tanja Poutianen won that day, which gave her two wins and a third place finish for the three days of racing. Not a bad payday!

Overall I finished in 19 th and was very pleased with that. Up to that point I had been having a tough weekend and that result was exactly what I needed to get my confidence up and get some rhythm into the season.

I think what got me going was a call that I got from my brother – he basically told me to stop thinking and to start racing, which was exactly what I needed to do. Less is more!

Also this past weekend, the men were in Lake Louise for the speed events. They had some great results and I’m sure there will be more to come as they head down to Beaver Creek, Colorado for the next World Cup races.

I am now in Winter Park, Colorado with Brigitte Acton, Anna Goodman and Christina Lustenberger for four NorAm Cup races. The first race, on Tuesday, was a slalom, and we almost swept the podium! I finished first and Brigitte Acton was third. Anna Goodman was in position for a podium finish but unfortunately made a few mistakes in the second run and had to hike a gate. By Friday the races will be finished and we will be on our way home for three days, before heading to Europe for the next races. In the NorAm races I will look to podium and to work on my race runs, which I can take with me into the World Cup races.

Be sure to check out the women in Lake Louise this weekend. Melanie Turgeon is back racing and the rest of the speed team will be in the start gate as well. Emily Brydon is skiing strong as is Genevieve Simard and they hope to show the Europeans how it’s done on our home turf. Thanks for your interest and support – I’ll be back with the next update in two weeks.