Day 2 of the Border to Border Ski

Day 2 brought an earlier start to the day as the busses were scheduled to leave at 8 a.m. to deliver us to the trail. The 6:30 a.m. breakfast at the Tropiiki was amazing! There was no shortage of potential calories to be consumed with choices like Karelian pies as part of menu.

On the bus ride out, I had a nice conversation with Molly who was part of a group from Alaska. She is a veterinarian in Fairbanks, Alaska.

We hit the trail on the other side of Kuusamo with Taivalkoski being our ultimate destination at end of the day.

My wax job the night before really paid off as my glide was great and I made it to the first aid station quicky. Pickles, oranges, raisins, and chocolate were among the choices being handed out by volunteers as well as a warm drink.

Snow covered lakes and young pine plantations were the primary places we viewed along the trail.

Like on the first day of the ski, the trail would also follow powerlines.

The lunch stop would be at Sarkela where we were treated to an awesome salmon soup.

A shout out again to Chicken Tramper Ultralight Gear for the cool looking pack the made for me in Finnish colors. The pack is extremely comfortable, does not interfere with my ski, and allows me to pack dry clothing, snacks, water, and my GoPro equipment.

About 3 kilometers after lunch I would make a fateful decion to take on a steep downhill run under the powerlines. It would have been easy enough to not tempt fate by walking the hill, but I decided to go for it. It turned out there was an uneven swale that would launch me into the air and a face-first crash. I would end breaking a binding that would end my skiing day and leave me with a couple of injuries to what seems to be the top of one of my hamstrings and a shin. One of the other skiers tried to help me re-attach the binding, but it was clear it was beyond repair.

I quickly received a snowmobile lift from a volunteer and then a bus ride to Taivalkoski. I hit the sauna for a good hour, took ibuprofen, and even got in a two-mile round-trip walk to the store.

I received many offers to use extra skis, particularly from the Alaska participants, but after learning at the evening meeting that the wax technician would be too busy to address the needed repair, I made the decision to rent skis. As tomorrow is supposed to be one of the more beautiful days on the ski, I have decided to work through the adversity. I do have an option to bail out at 20k, so we shall see how it goes! Stay tuned!