I wouldn't classify myself as a very patient person, and when you are in an airport for 7 hours extra than originally scheduled... well you can imagine how anyone would feel. But I'm also not one for complaining so I tried to keep entertained. This was the start of a very long day of travelling and it had only just begun... "For Dreamers, IMPATIENCE IS A VIRTUE" Our first of 4 flights to Quebec was at 5:45am we arrived on time, checked in our bags and long ski bags. (I didn't get charged for any of mine - Bonus!) and waited for our zone to be called. I already had snacks but I got some water and some headphones before we boarded our plane. Once boarded, it looked like everything was ready to go, I was right next to the wing and noticed something with the propeller, it would jerk every few seconds interrupting the blur of the blades. It turned out something was up and we were asked to leave the plane and that we would have to re book. This was just the first of many things that shall we say.. astray? When we arrived at our first stop over, we had little time to dilly dally but I had just enough time to grab a book for our next two flights. On our way from Toronto to Quebec we were all beyond exhausted and our journey was far from over. Thankful that I the seat next to me was empty, I fell into a deep sleep only to wake up for the announcement of arrival. The lights from below were busy, which were ever changing shades and speed. It was Quebec City. With heavy eyes we collected our luggage and loaded the two rental vans. Lets just say I don't remember much of driving to Mont Sainte Anne apart from stopping at a Tim Hortons and trying our best to order in French our breakfast for the following day.. Oh wait it was breakfast for that same day! Zzzz..... Skiing on 3 hours of sleep was not as bad as I thought it would be. Groggy as I was, the cool breeze from mountain air soon woke me up. It was -3 and cloudless skies that was several shades of blue. We had two days of training with the Redefining Limits camp before the races. The camp was held by two former members of the Canadian Para-Alpine Team. Both days were enjoyable and followed by meetings in the evening talking about the many off-snow topics of ski racing. Including a quite bizarre 8 minute relaxation session in which when we eventually drifted back into the room it had felt like half and hour had passed! The 4 days of racing or in my case 2 days of racing and 2 days of forerunning (I was too young for two of the events) had amazing conditions and the visibility was constantly clear so you could see the stunning view. It definitely rose my mood slightly than if it had been foggy. For the days I were racing, both went very well, skiing some of the best I had all year and it felt excellent to end the season on a good note. I brought back some hardware, 1 gold for GS and 1 silver for Slalom both in the junior category. Its funny to think that I am the Junior Champion in GS, I had worked all season for this and the medal gleamed with it. Oh to see the sights! We were lucky enough to have time to sight-see in Old Quebec City and a team-mate and I decided to walk up 18 flights of stairs to get a photo of the vast, icy river. Here was the outcome.. Im glad to say that my trip back was a lot smoother, our 4 flights had no delays and I was able to grab some thai and a David's Tea for lunch at Toronto. It was great to relax and recover from our busy 9 days away.
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AuthorBeing a ski racer, one of the many perks is that I get to travel all over, My name is Mel Pemble and this is my blog. Archives
April 2015
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