Elizabeth Guiney: Happy New Year!!

As I was walking through the Detroit Airport Tunnel yesterday afternoon (see below, if you haven't been there, it is a surreal experience), I realized that by luck of the airport connection draw, it was my third time in the Detroit Airport in the last 14 days. As a semi-nomadic skier/traveler, I guess I shouldn't have been too surprised, but it is a little crazy to think how much time I spend in transit: airplanes, cars, vans, and yes, the moving walkway!

I think the Detroit Airport believes this sound/light show is soothing, but believe me when you have 20 minutes to catch your plane in what feels like the world's most sprawling terminals, it is anything but!

My 6 short days in Craftsbury following Minnesota trials were a mix of good and bad. Good: the Craftsbury Christmas Party and perfect skiing. Bad: the dreaded stomach bug! Luckily it was just a 24 hour thing and I was back on my feet just in time to pack up and head home for the holidays. I was bummed to not be able to race the Eastern Cup Opener in Middlebury, but I think it was my body's way of telling me I needed REST after our races in the Midwest.

I arrived in Park City to beautiful mountains and a lot of grass sticking up through the snow. However, I firmly believed that my arrival would bring with it more winter storms, and I turned out to be right! We got a few inches each day that added up to perfect skiing by the time I left. The holidays were a total blur of family and friend time, training, hot tubbing, SO MANY Christmas cookies and just generally a really great time.

Anyways, after some quality Detroit airport time I'm now in Houghton, Michigan getting ready to race at US Nationals. First up is a 10k skate individual this Sunday, followed by a classic sprint Monday. The trails are in perfect shape and we had great extra blue skiing this morning on firm tracks, my favorite kind of conditions! I can't wait to race, and I'll try to keep everyone updated on how it goes.

Here are some photos from the last few days of 2014.

Family Christmas ski at my old stomping grounds, White Pine Touring.

Then it finally snowed in PC! And the holiday traffic was madness, but I didn't care because there was snow!

Obligatory family Christmas tree photo with my dad and brother

On my second to last day in Park City, I was finally able to ski at Round Valley, which is one of my favorite places to ski anywhere (and this photo probably explains why)