At 6:17 I wiggle into a seat aboard a 757 headed to Newark. In New Jersey I am to meet up with three teammates, a coach, and a serviceman, hop the pond to Stockhol, take a commuter to Kiruna, Sweden, then drive to Munio, Finland.br /br /If only travel were to happen perfectly to script. Lost luggage, plane delays, and their near requisite doppelganger, missed connections, give opportunity to remind myself that life is ten percent wha happens to you and ninety percent how you react to it. Still, the sexiness of travel once presented to the public, is gone. Long since gone.br /br /For the next three weeks I will live at a time of terminating daylight above the Arctic Circle. The memory of seeing the lemon yellow sun must suffice. The time to embrace living among domesticated reindeer, eating dense, dark bread topped with lingonberries and listening to Finnish love metal has arrived. It has been a slow train coming. Now the train is at the station. Now, the ski racing days are here.br /br /For some reason it is somewhat awkward to admit, but just knowing I would be in Munio or Gällivare, Sweden or racing through the old-town streets of Dusseldorf, Germany later this December kept the engines of aspiration and resolve burning hot. Knowing that, on a none-too-distant Saturday the opportuity to race Jens Arne and Emil up the big hill of Kuusamo with a World Cup title on the line fills me with the most ebulliant of hopes.br /br /But, alas, hope is not the same as experience. The time to just peek through the cracks or around the corner to glimpse boyhood ambitions is through. The time to tear back the veneer between thinking and doing, to bask in the afterglow of high achievement nears.div class=”blogger-post-footer”img width=’1′ height=’1′ src=’https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2691525267872963085-7047936436797993914?l=in-the-arena-torin.blogspot.com’//div
Category: XCFeeds
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3:32pm Dark
Kiruna, Sweden. One van heading for Muonio, Finland. One waiting in Kiruna for late passengers and luggage – either or both of which could arrive between 6 and 28 hours from now. Actually the luggage could be a week, you never know. Small coffee shop that is empty except me (Pete). Coffee cold. Internet stolen and spotty. Check back for updates from Northern Finland, Sweden from the World Cup crew and from Alexa Turzian, Leif Zimmermann and Noah Hoffman back home with the continental cup team. It is dark out. 3:32pm all for now from Kiruna, Sweden.
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3:32pm Dark
Kiruna, Sweden. One van heading for Muonio, Finland. One waiting in Kiruna for late passengers and luggage – either or both of which could arrive between 6 and 28 hours from now. Actually the luggage could be a week, you never know. Small coffee shop that is empty except me (Pete). Coffee cold. Internet stolen and spotty. Check back for updates from Northern Finland, Sweden from the World Cup crew and from Alexa Turzian, Leif Zimmermann and Noah Hoffman back home with the continental cup team. It is dark out. 3:32pm all for now from Kiruna, Sweden.
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3:32pm Dark
Kiruna, Sweden. One van heading for Muonio, Finland. One waiting in Kiruna for late passengers and luggage – either or both of which could arrive between 6 and 28 hours from now. Actually the luggage could be a week, you never know. Small coffee shop that is empty except me (Pete). Coffee cold. Internet stolen and spotty. Check back for updates from Northern Finland, Sweden from the World Cup crew and from Alexa Turzian, Leif Zimmermann and Noah Hoffman back home with the continental cup team. It is dark out. 3:32pm all for now from Kiruna, Sweden.
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College Update
a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_l4L_01UOs1s/SRdNz-IJspI/AAAAAAAAAB0/NreNTf62pyU/s1600-h/CIMG1050.JPG”img style=”float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;” src=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_l4L_01UOs1s/SRdNz-IJspI/AAAAAAAAAB0/NreNTf62pyU/s320/CIMG1050.JPG” border=”0″ alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5266763844478939794″ //aa onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_l4L_01UOs1s/SRdNSKgl-jI/AAAAAAAAABs/JbozZmsPOJI/s1600-h/CIMG1045.JPG” style=”text-decoration: none;”span class=”Apple-style-span” style=”color: rgb(0, 0, 0);”br //spanimg style=”text-decoration: underline;display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; ” src=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_l4L_01UOs1s/SRdNSKgl-jI/AAAAAAAAABs/JbozZmsPOJI/s320/CIMG1045.JPG” border=”0″ alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5266763263687129650″ //aspan class=”Apple-tab-span” style=”white-space:pre” /spanView from Abovebr /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_l4L_01UOs1s/SRdMdIGQxyI/AAAAAAAAABk/v610GG0G8bc/s1600-h/CIMG1038.JPG”img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;” src=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_l4L_01UOs1s/SRdMdIGQxyI/AAAAAAAAABk/v610GG0G8bc/s320/CIMG1038.JPG” border=”0″ alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5266762352506750754″ //aspan class=”Apple-tab-span” style=”white-space:pre” /spanFirst day skiing at Hatchersbr /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_l4L_01UOs1s/SRdMBeK77EI/AAAAAAAAABc/ZfNmLdZoCxY/s1600-h/CIMG1035.JPG”img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;” src=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_l4L_01UOs1s/SRdMBeK77EI/AAAAAAAAABc/ZfNmLdZoCxY/s320/CIMG1035.JPG” border=”0″ alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5266761877395598402″ //aspan class=”Apple-tab-span” style=”white-space:pre” /spanSteffi (one of the german skiers) and mebr /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_l4L_01UOs1s/SRdLo0wta0I/AAAAAAAAABU/YKm5e6xQODM/s1600-h/CIMG1025.JPG”img style=”float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;” src=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_l4L_01UOs1s/SRdLo0wta0I/AAAAAAAAABU/YKm5e6xQODM/s320/CIMG1025.JPG” border=”0″ alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5266761453962881858″ //abr /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_l4L_01UOs1s/SRdLUfwgZWI/AAAAAAAAABM/uFmWkzM8wvw/s1600-h/n873020191_4748097_1139.jpg”img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;” src=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_l4L_01UOs1s/SRdLUfwgZWI/AAAAAAAAABM/uFmWkzM8wvw/s320/n873020191_4748097_1139.jpg” border=”0″ alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5266761104727500130″ //aspan class=”Apple-tab-span” style=”white-space:pre” /spanThe Team before the snow camebr /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_l4L_01UOs1s/SRdLD0ecffI/AAAAAAAAABE/Emn6QbEgecU/s1600-h/n873020191_4747660_6518.jpg”img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;” src=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_l4L_01UOs1s/SRdLD0ecffI/AAAAAAAAABE/Emn6QbEgecU/s320/n873020191_4747660_6518.jpg” border=”0″ alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5266760818231115250″ //abr /div Hatchers Pass in the mornings/divdivbr //diva onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_l4L_01UOs1s/SRdI0ViWlCI/AAAAAAAAAA8/PnZbj7jddNA/s1600-h/beautiful.jpg”img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;” src=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_l4L_01UOs1s/SRdI0ViWlCI/AAAAAAAAAA8/PnZbj7jddNA/s320/beautiful.jpg” border=”0″ alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5266758353204712482″ //aSorry I haven’t updated my blog in a couple of months. I am now in Anchorage, Alaska going to college at University of Alaska Anchorage. It has been great so far. I love it here, Alaska has so much more than you would expect. I am living with two Canadian alpine skiers, and a German nordic skier in a mac apartment. It has been really fun with these girls. The Norwegian skiers live directly below us, so we spend lots of time with them as well. I have, of course, been learning lots in school, and finally figuring out the whole college system. It works quite a bit different then high school I must say! My team is GREAT! Everyone is super motivated and excited. The woman’s team is stacked, 8 girls that are all very competitive and close. It will be fun to be able to ski races this winter with a team to work with! The coaches are great, very INTENSE and fun. We got snow here in anchorage some time in October. I believe we have been skiing close to a month now, so we are SUPER lucky. We have spent most of our weekends up at Hatchers Pass, which is one of the top five most beautiful places I have been to. All of these pictures are from Hatchers. I have my first race next weekend against APU skiers up at Hatchers Pass. Then the weekend after that I have my first official race against our rivals UAF and friendly neighbors APU in Fairbanks, Alaska. I will keep you updateddivbr //divdiv class=”blogger-post-footer”img width=’1′ height=’1′ src=’https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2018521813175454198-5075405469876064400?l=sadiebjornsen.blogspot.com’ alt=” //div