I have just returned from Bormio, Italy where the World Cup finals were held and by the time this hits print I will have been in Quebec City for two days of racing and then finally out to Whistler by the end of the week. Wow!

My last two weeks or so in Europe went well, besides the fact that events were cancelled. We started off in Germany for a Giant Slalom race, which was cancelled because of bad weather. Really high winds and pouring rain and fog doesn't really allow for ideal racing conditions! So, Emily Brydon, myself, and Rob Boyd packed up our van, known as "bluey" and drove 7 hours to Switzerland. I will add that the day before we had driven 5 hrs from Austria up to Germany. At least I got to play some guitar hero with the Tech team girls; that made the trip worth it. On the same weekend the men's team was up in Norway where they raced two Downhill's and a Super G. They walked away with some great results; Manny Osborne-Paradis was top 5 in the Downhill and Robbie Dixon just missed the podium and came away with a career best finish in the Super G. The race hill in Norway was a brand new track for Robbie, which makes his result even more impressive. 

The following week it was off to Switzerland, to the wonderful resort of Crans Montana. It was my first time visiting the resort and I had a great time. We stayed in a great little hotel and were treated very well. It was also really nice to be in the French speaking part of Switzerland because I could actually speak the language, although most of the staff in the hotel and in the town was actually Italian! I am working on that language too… Bonjourno!

That weekend we raced a Downhill and as Super Combined. I skied well in the Downhill and had a few little mistakes and settled for a 6^th place finish. It is a great placing but I am finding myself no longer being satisfied with juts a 6^th place finish! But, it still is good to be amongst the top girls every weekend. With that result I solidified my overall placing in 3^rd for the Downhill standings.

From Switzerland it was off to our final stop in Bormio, Italy – I could finally practice my Italian, well maybe. I could probably communicate with a 3 year old at this point! We arrived in Bormio, drove through the rain, and immediately had a training run the following day. It would end up being our only run down the track because unfortunately the weather did not cooperate and both the men and women's downhill races were cancelled. On the day that the men's training run was cancelled I was actually sitting out on the balcony of my room in my shorts and t-shirt reading my book!  I really did enjoy the track in Bormio, it was really fun to get a chance to run the track there. However it is a little harrier in December when the guys race the World Cup there. At least in March the sun is on the hill and the snow is a little more forgiving!

Conditions throughout the week were very spring-like and a little on the warm side for ski racing. But, the rest of the events went off fairly smoothly and at the end of the week all of the globes were awarded for each discipline. They also awarded the globes for the other FIS events on the same night and I was completely unaware of this at the time. The Snowboarders and Freestylers were there and we got to see many of the other Canadian athletes who were getting awards in their respective disciplines. I also caught up with Maelle Ricker briefly over a glass of champagne in celebration of our results. It was really great to see some other Canadians there.

I am happy to be back on Canadian soil and am also very happy to be returning with a 3^rd place medal for the Downhill standings – I really don't feel like I am number 3 in the world but it will be nice to try and be number 1 next season. We had a great season, Kelly and Emily both finished in the top 10 in Downhill and Emily also finished in the top 5 in Super G. You might be able to catch us training in Whistler over the next few weeks as our new season begins right away, as we will take advantage of getting some time on the Women's Olympic track. I also hope to get a little powder skiing in!