After 7 years of chasing the sun we decided that it was time to do winter again. We packed up our skis that were in storage in Alaska and were pleased that our ski boots still fit, hopefully our gear won’t be too outdated. We decided to do this winter of skiing by first signing up for a five day clinic in West Yellowstone. We arrive on the 19th of November and check into our hotel. Afterwards we walk down to the trail head and aren’t quite impressed with the snow.

At least there is snow. This is the first snow we have seen since we left Canada.

Chicago has painted cows and Western Yellowstone has painted Buffaloes.

Notice the lack of snow! There is snow in the forecast, but there is also below zero temps predicted,

We meet the coaches on the morning of the 20th and are divided up into groups.

Our days will start with 30 minutes of warm up inside then out to the trails. We spend two and a half hours in the morning skating and the same amount of time doing classic in the afternoon. The coaches are great and we review our skills and improve our technique. We are exhausted by the fifth day. The snow cooperates and the last three days of the clinic we have groomed trails with tracks set.

It was well worth the time and effort to come. Now we are off to chase snow!