Here are some photos from the Birkebeiner in Edmonton on Valentine's Day
weekend, Feb 2010.
Canadian Birkebeiner 2010
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So, we entered the 13 km Mini Birkie portion of the Canadian Birkebeiner. This is a race
with a lot of Norwegian history and it was my first time, although Natalia's second and
Donni and Karl's 3rd. Natalia and Bohdahna decided to paint their faces on the day of the race.
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I took a photo of the ladies in the car while I was driving out to the course. I appreciated the
I Heart ski drawings.
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Due to the logistics at the starting line, we had to catch a bus shuttle to the starting line from
our car. I thought an old school bus with people with skis was funny.
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Natalia and I in the bus. As we were running out the door from Calgary, Natalia reminded me
to grab my Viking helmet. How fitting was this for a Norwegian event? As we were coming into
the home stretch of the race, a volunteer hollered out to me, "Best Toque of the Day!".
I was quite proud. However, Natalia continues to get many compliments on her monkey toque
courtesy of Rick and Janet.
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Karl hanging out inside the food tent at the race.
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Maria and Julio had raced their course earlier in the day so they were finished by the time we got
to the event site.
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We had to walk a few minutes into the wind to the actual mass starting line. Here is Donnia
having fun with the camera. Yes, Natalia's rainbow leg warmers were a hit as well.
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I'm not entirely sure what pose Karl is pulling here but I love it. I think it was something
about how he's a pansy and found it cold waiting for the start. It might also have something to
do with Donni being anxious about the start and putting us out in the cold for 30 minutes too though...
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Maria and Julio braced the cold wind to see us off from the starting gate.
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Everyone waiting for the starting beep. It was a self-seeded event to try to keep the trampling
to a minimum. We started near the rear.
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Since we had Family Day off here in Alberta, Natalia and I decided to go spend the extra day
in Jasper, skiing Marmot Basin. Maria and Julio joined us as well. Here are Maria and Natalia
after getting their lift tickets.
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Jasper added a sweet high speed quad to Marmot, making the trip from the bottom to the top short
and sweet. Natalia and Julio have a sweet view of the peaks around.
Video of Julio skiing
Photos of the Columbia Icefields
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I thought the ice in the middle of this mountain was pretty cool.
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Nice view driving up to the Columbia Icefields.-
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Athabasca Glacier looking pretty awesome.
