Being a Midwesterner, I’m not used to the dry weather in the West. There are definite advantages to the dry air, like being able to forget wet ski clothes in a backpack and still have them be dry when you’re ready to work out in the afternoon. One of the disadvantages is that it seems to really dry out my throat and sinuses. I’ve been trying all the tricks in the book to help get rid of that: taking steamy showers, drinking warm tea, and laying a wet towel over the heater in my motel room. Those remedies all seem to be working. In fact, when I was leaving my room this morning, my hand stuck to the doorknob. While I was waiting for the knob to thaw so I could remove my hand, I realized two things: 1. there is plenty of humidity in the room and 2. it’s going to be really cold outside.
Sure enough, it was -22 F. Perfect. Got to try out my new Darth Vader mask by Air Trim. The classic skiing was perfect with fresh, solid tracks, albeit a little on the slow side.
Of course, you can’t wear a mask like that and not have a little fun with it! The mask really warms up the air so that when you breathe, it doesn’t feel anywhere near as cold as -22 F. It also helped take a lot of sting out of the dry air.
Kristina demonstrating how it's done.
We’re packing up this morning and heading north to Bozeman shortly. Racing resumes this weekend with a Skate Sprint on Saturday at Lindley Park in Bozeman and a 15km Classic at Bohart Ranch on Sunday.