Compton and I dragged Kikkan into a boutique and insisted that we dress her up. Pleased to say that I picked out the outfit for her... I think I did a good job, don't you?

Big coats were in, so we added one to the ensemble. Big coats, high heels & short skirts, yes, in winter.

Kikkan's brother Tanner has his own line of apparel, Nanuq of Alaska. Maybe he taught her how to be a fashion model. Then again, maybe not.

I guess what a big deal World Champs was didn't really hit me until we started mobilizing as a group. We filled several truckloads worth of gear the night before we left to be driven down to Tokyo since our flights from Sapporo to Tokyo couldn't handle the load. This is only one small pile of gear, the piles extend down the sidewalk, into the hotel and fill the lobby. It was like Strega-nona's spaghetti.

The mad chaos of transporting gear continued at the airport in Tokyo.