There is actually snow here to ski on apart from the race venue. The canadians report that the race venue is still mostly dirt. The nordic combiners have a race tomorrow afternoon so they should have the course built by then. We hope. It's not looking too promising for the 2009 World Championships venue. Our trip to ski this morning was also not very reassuring. While we were sitting on the bus waiting to leave we spotted our bus driver through the window getting what looked like directions from another driver-- lots of hand motions, it looked like there were some corners on this drive. We started driving and got out of the city and started to gain elevation. This was promising because there was no snow and no sign of snow. We drove up this very scenic valley. Scenic in the sense that there were leaf strewn sides with large old rock outcroppings and small rundown homes with small yards and garden tucked into the flat land as able. And then every time the valley opened up there was a huge abandoned factory and a cluster of dilapidated houses or apartment buildings. I can't imagine who would have thought there'd be the demand there for huge factories up in this valley. Makes me appreciate capitalism. Anyway. The valley was not right because we stopped and our driver went out to ask several other people for more directions. Then he turned us around and drove up another small windy road. After several more wrong turns and stops and asking directions and talking fruitlessly on his cell phone, some of the Japanese athletes on the bus got out and got a taxi, which we then followed to the ski area. All in all it took us about 70minutes to get there. Good easy ski. 20minutes to get back to our hotel (different bus).

After lunch we got blood drawn for doping control. I hear some of the russians got the 5-day suspension for having hemoglobin levels too high. I'm sure if they're suspended it'll be announced.