Rubbing Elbows with the Pros

On my ski this morning, I was up at Ullevålseter when a father/daughter combo came skiing up beside me. After starting in Norwegian, and my explanation of my limited language skills, the woman asked if I had found any other groomed tracks on the opposite side of the sports hut. The man seemed uninterested in my response, but very intrigued by my water bottle carrier.

He asked me- "Soldier Hollow?" 

I responded with a confused smile- "Uh, yeah..."

I still have my trail pass from Soldier Hollow, an incredible ski venue in Heber, Utah, close to Park City and the site of the cross-country events for the 2002 Winter Olympics. I had forgotten that it was attached to my hip!

"I've been to Soldier Hollow. I raced there in 1983."

WOW! Meeting nordic legends on the trail is no laughing matter! 

After some small talk, I continued skiing as they took a water break. Not long after, I heard the sound of skiers behind me, and with good trail etiquette (and being a bit star-struck) I jumped out of the track so that they could pass. I heard some giggles from the father/daughter duo as they scooted over into the other set of tracks. My concession would have been necessary in a race but for a weekday morning ski, it was a little overboard, a bit too polite. They thanked me anyway, and I had a chance to ski behind them for a few hundred meters before they flew into the woods.

No complaints from this gal. Sunny days (regardless of how short they may be), almost done with school, skis on my feet, and sharing the trails with Norwegian ski racers of all ages. Needless to say, I'm wearing a smile.