Last is a place too!

But not for our American team! The Americanskis took a respectable fifth place in the 3rd Annual Kamchatka Ski Alpinism Competition.

The race was exciting! Unexpectedly and at the last minute, three French teams signed on. The Russians were happy to host the international racers, however, when the French took first in the team competition, they were a bit stunned. Quite an upset! This is a serious competition - some participants don speed suits, others travel 10 hours by plane from Moscow, it is covered by national television (both Scott and Matt were interviewed) and is sanctioned as a qualifying event for larger races.

As to the individual competition, after drinking vodka and beer Saturday evening (btw - learned a new saying "Drinking beer without vodka is like throwing money to the wind"), Matt decided to race in the individual competition Sunday morning. From the start he set a fast pace and broke trail. Third to the top of the first uphill, he skied down to the more technical rock section and climbed the rope in strong position to place. Unfortunately we did not bring all the proper gear and this impacted Matt's ability to make a speedy exit of the traverse and the downclimb in order to reach the final ski descent. Matt ended up finishing 5th behind competitors from the Kamchatka Rescue service. He did receive and honorable mention: All admired him for the way he 'danced' on his skis (the sole Telemarker) and the Competition judges rewarded his prowess with a pair of socks. They also invited him back to teach the Russians how to tele.

We were also invited back for next year's race and likewise we promised to compete. I hope to team up with my new friend Inga from Yelizovo to become the first international women's team to enter. It would be really cool to return to Avacha Pass and experience it as a competitor.

Today we are off to Petropavlosk for the day - visiting the Rescue headquarters, meeting with the Director of Tourism for Kamchatka and having coffee with our friend Slava, the kayaker. It has been an awesome month and we leave on Wednesday for Seoul before returning home. Hope to update you then.