Group photo full of smiles as everyone is excited to go out skiing!!! ©courtesy of Dahria Beatty

November 20, 2014 – My past month has been full of fun events, highlights being the Fast and Female Power hour in Whitehorse in conjunction with my trip home and starting the race season with the two Frozen Thunder events!

Racing in our new Stoneham suits. ©courtesy of Dahria Beatty

The Frozen Thunder sprints mark the unveiling of our new Stoneham racesuit! I am crediting the suit with the Academy ladies success in the qualifier going 3 through 6 in probably the most competitive North American field we will race in this season. I was super happy to start off the season with a 3rd place in my first year as a senior and it was event better to have my teammates right there with me to race against. The Sprint was followed by a distance skate race a few days later again a very competitive race with the USSA Ski Team to compete against. Here a a few photos below of the racing action. Thanks to Noel Rogers of Bow Valley Photography for some great shots. If you want to see more of Noel’s work you can find him on Facebook here.

Enjoying the beauty of home and the wintery conditions ©Dahria Beatty

Leading up to the race season I decided to head north for 10 days to ski in Whitehorse on some different terrain and to get in some a good volume block. It was mainly to give my mind a break for the repetitive loops of Frozen Thunder and spend some much needed time with my family. It was great to ski with friends on those oh so familiar trails from my childhood that even though I have skied on them only limited amounts the last 3 years, I still remember where all the uneven little bumps and curves lie. The trail map so ingrained in my head that I doubt I will ever be able to forget it no matter how long the time gaps are between my visits.During my stay I had the opportunity to host a Fast and Female Power Hour at the Whitehorse Cross Country Ski Club for Cross Country and Biathlon athletes age 8-18 in Whitehorse. This was the first Fast and Female in the Yukon since Chandra Crawford originally hosted the event at the 2010 Haywood Ski Nationals in Whitehorse.

Ava showing off her master slalom skills during the Fast and Female obstacle course © Dahria Beatty

The girls having some fun going downhill © Dahria Beatty

It was great to see everyone so keen to try new thing. ©Dahria Beatty

This was the first time I had hosted a Fast and Female as the lead ambassador and what a rewarding experience it was. I have never before had the chance to work with such a keen and enthusiastic group of girls. We had over 35 girls and 15 coaches join us for an afternoon of skiing, team building and zumba.

Me posing for a pic with these young superstars ©courtesy of Dahria Beatty

It was wonderful getting to know the next generation of skier coming up through the Yukon Ski Team program and share my experiences with them, having hopefully inspired a few to pursue their passions so that they can share their love for their sport with others.Here are some photo’s of the girls rocking it in the obstacle course all matching with their purple and pink Fast and Female Buffs!!!

My amazing helper Annah and I with our awesome Lululemon ambassador hoodies Thank you Lululemon! ©courtesy of Dahria Beatty

Thank you so much to everyone who help make this event such a success!!! To read more about the event check out this article by the Whitehorse Star here!

Now we are just over a week out from the start of the official race season. I am really looking forward to 4 great weekends of racing in Canada and the States before heading home again for Christmas. Stay tuned for results and racing updates. Race results for the Nov. 29-30th, Dec. 13-14th and 20th-21st weekends can be found on Zone4.

Happy trails and hope you are all on snow soon as well!!!

Dream of snowflakes,

Dahria