Blowing & Drifting

Forecast: Significant blowing and drifting, with the possibility of heavy accumulation in rural areas.

No Snow, No Ski Racing

DSCF3432Things are dire all around the world's ski-racing scene. The first two events in the World Cup Tour de Ski, scheduled to be held in Nove Mesto, Czechoslovakia, on the 29th and 30th, were canceled for lack of snow. By ditching the prologue and a shortened pursuit race, the TdS  shrinks down to six stages over eight days, and becomes somewhat less friendly to sprinters, who were likely to do well in those initial, short-distance events. The three Scandinavian countries are sending typically strong teams. My picks:

Women
1. Marit Bjorgen (Norway)
2. Virpi Kuitunen (Finland)
3. Kristina Smigun (Estonia)

Men
1. Tobias Angerer (Germany)
2. Anders Sodergren (Sweden)
3. Axel Teichmann (Germany)

Here in the states, my dad reports that lack of snow in the Upper Peninsula, a.k.a. Big Snow Country, is jeopardizing the U.S. Nationals, to be held in Houghton, Michigan, in the first week of January. Looking at the finish-area webcam, you can see why. Of course, as I write this post, the nightly news is reporting "heavy snow" in the U.P. Here's hoping they get enough between now and New Year's Day to let them run one of the biggest elite-sports events in U.P. history.