Cold in Ostersund

This is a picture of the ski tracks from our hotel here in Ostersund.

I think the potato count is officially over 30 now, not that I am keeping track anymore…  Besides the lack of culinary variety, everything is going pretty well here.

Winter is definitely in full force here and the temperatures have continued to drop over the last week.  The past few days of training have been right around the -4F (-20C) legal limit for racing and it looks like it will remain the same for the first races.  Normally before a race the talk is all about how to ski a certain hill or the correct approach to the range, but this time it is all about keeping warm.  I still have not found a good solution for my hands and it has made for some tough shooting.  At times I have not been able to feel the trigger at all and I have had a really hard time loading the rifle because I literally cannot feel my hands.  Tomorrow I will try some new gloves and I am hopeful that will help.  Either way, I won’t be the only one dealing with these issues come race day…

Only a few more days to go!