Winter fun and games

Sunday was the High Gravity Games at Eagle Crest ski area.  Steve and I didn't hear about it early enough to participate, but did head up the mountain to watch and take pictures of the fun.  Oh man, just being up on the hill made me want to go skiing!  I think we'll try to get up there next week to ski.  There's a ton of snow out there - more than 10 feet at the top of the mountain and 5-6 feet at the base. 

This was part of a relay race.  One team member starts at the top of the mountain and skis down, hands off the baton to a nordic skier, then to a snowshoe runner who runs a course then hops on a sled for the 'dog sled' portion, where they're pulled by team members through an obstacle course.  These are our friends Molly, Adam, and Dan in the last leg of the race.  They were team axolotl (thus the costumes).

There was some fresh snow on the mountain last night, and someone was making good use of it by hiking up into the backcountry area and making first tracks.

Some high fashion, Alaska style:

Zena the warrior princess meets Alaskan sense of humor.

This adorable little girl was trying to eat the blue snow - which was painted blue to mark the finish line.  Her mom caught her a second after I snapped the picture (and before she ate any).  I wonder if blue snow is better or worse than yellow snow??