Hello From Turkey

Well it took me 33 hours (some 40 or so hours) of door to door travel to get here, but we all made it! Our hotel is great – it is right at the base of an alpine area. Fairly big rooms, great buffet 3 times a day to keep everyone fueled. It is wide open here, plains into ripply mountains. Looks like plenty of nice dry powder. One not so cool fact of the trip: I am the oldest coach here! They may start calling me grandpa boobs. Pete L especially likes my old man “tote” bag instead of one of the newfangled back strap things.

Being old has its benefits. I have figured out how to get extra room on airplanes more often than not – nice when you cross 8 time zones.

Team arrival to Erzurum: 1:30am, cold and snowy. Waiting to load the bags on the bus including the $2000 EU of excess baggage, wax, equipment and supplies.

View out the back of the Hotel.

One of two alpine areas behind our Hotel. The other is higher up at 2400 meters.

First team meeting. We’re still waiting on a few more to arrive (Corey Stock, Logan H, Eric Packer, Sadie and the U23’s coming in from the Poland World Cup – Noah and Jessie).

I guess you try and kill it (it is actually painted on). Then you go faster and straighter.

Yum yum, olives for breakfast!

Plenty of veggies and salad for breakfast too!

Norway already up to some special tricks.

I thought Turkey was famous for their special coffee. Best I could find at breakfast was this freeze dried instant…it could be long week. My mission will be to seek out some of the good gritty stuff.

View into town from the Hotel, 6500ft. The nordic trails are actually 40k across the valley below.