We rented a lakeside cabin near Lutsen, Minnesota for the races. Little did we know it would be an artifact. This place is great! It was built by the owner's grandad, and he hasn't changed a thing. Hand made furniture and cabinets, generations of "special" stones and driftwood on shelves and the porch, faded children's drawings on the wall, old books, hand carvings, wood stove, etc, etc. It even smells old, like my uncle's farm in New York. Scott is loving the place. He thinks it's cool to see the old pots, plates, hand mixers, etc in the kitchen. And he enjoys jumping the rocks along the shoreline. Who cares about racing -- this is a vacation.
But sadly, we did come to race. Lutsen is famous for it's Spring championship race -- the Central US FIS Championships. The US Ski Team sent a healthy contingent here (6 or 7) to help with the point penalty and there's plenty of other competition, including numerous college racers. Due to an early thaw, the Giant Slaloms were cancelled, so it's now a four Slalom series.
After two weeks of temperatures in the 50's, we had a deep freeze for race day. Be careful what you wish for, they always say. The snow set up like a shiny brick -- so hard I could barely navigate for course inspections. The conditions took a toll on the less experienced skiers. Scott, however, skied well the first two days. He finished 12th and 10th respectively, right in the middle of the USST and NCAA guys. He scored some points, although not as many as he'd hoped. The first day he "... gave the hill too much respect..." the first run. The second run he inadvertently tripped the wand as he approached the start, easily losing a second. Arrgh!
But when you're skiing well none of that matters. Tomorrow's another day. Oh by the way, another beauty of our little cabin is that there's no cell service, WiFi or TV.
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