Meribel, France – It wasn’t Santa’s sleigh, but it was the next best thing that whisked FIS officials and the World Cup freestyle teams from seven countries, including the Canadian National Mogul team, away from the land of reindeer on Sunday.nIn the wake of a Finnair strike that left the teams desperate to get themselves and their considerable luggage to France in time for the Meribel FIS World Cup this Wednesday, FIS Freestyle Coordinator Joseph Fitzgerald went into overdrive and chartered a 737 from Kussamo, Finland direct to Geneva, Switzerland. In Fitzgerald’s words it was a “dramatic situation” that provided the only viable option for moving 74 people and 200 pieces of luggage from Ruka, a mere 100 km from the North Pole, to central Europe.

Both the U.S. and Canadian ski teams have high hopes for this week’s competition in France coming off Saturday’s moguls event in Finland. Patrick Deneen, of Cle Elum, Wash., and Hannah Kearney, of Norwich, Vt., each topped the podium in Ruka. Montreal’s Jenn Heil and Deux Montagnes, Quebec’s Mikael Kingsbury each earned silver, and a bronze went to Summerland, British Columbia’s Kristi Richards.

“Its exciting to see the veterans and rookies performing like this,” says Canadian Freestyle Ski Association High Performance Program Director David Mirota. “There is no doubt that this mogul team has depth.”