(click on any photo to enlarge) The 2010 Ski season came to an unwanted end today. Tahoe Donner is officially closed. I skied today in a snow storm on 3.5km of catrack from the Nordic Center to the Alpine Ski Area. I skied it up and back 6 times. The skiing was surprisingly good yet I was the only person out there. This time of the year the Nordic and Alpine Ski Areas shut down because of lack of interest - not lack of snow. Needless to say I am sad to see the skiing go away for 8 or 9 months. I say this every year. I don't find my racing legs until mid March so the season seems short. Maybe next year I can ski fast in January and then the season will seem longer. So I ended my racing season in Mammoth with a win in the Masters Category for the second year in a row. I managed to place fifth overall despite the 'Everest Like' conditions. The snow was the exact opposite from last years great conditions. I suffered more at Mammoth this year than ever in the past. There were times that I didn't even know if I was on the trail. The wind was blowing snow drifts onto the course that were 4 feet tall! I managed to beat Mike Karch (Mammoth Biathlete and skier that has beaten me in the last two Biathlons) by over a minute. I was wasted at the finish. I immediately got in the car and drove to the Alpenhof to take a hot shower and thaw out. Christi was kind enough to drive down to Mammoth with me but she was also smart enough to stay in the hotel room while I went into the storm to slay dragons. So she was warm and cozy when I came in the room, soaked and still in my race suit, and ran straight in to the shower. Finishing the season off with a win is great as I have bragging rights all summer long. I have been skiing, running and working on the front yard for the past couple of weeks. With no intensity necessary, all of my workouts are fun and easy. I start dryland training for Biathlon this Friday. We'll be running and shooting on Friday mornings at the range in Sierraville. Sorry that I don't have photos from the Mammoth race, the conditions were so bad that the photographers didn't even show up. I'll post after the Biathlon training session to let you know how it goes. On with the next Season!
