Snowhunting

Craftsbury put on a snow-production clinic last weekend at the Eastern Cup, giving racers great tracks and snow. Unfortunately, Craftsbury is the only ski area in Vermont with real skiing being offered, and it's kind of a haul for me to get there. Every blog on the interwebs is focused on searching for snow and skiing wherever and whenever possible. A run on the roads and a lift just didn't seem fair for December 20th, so today I decided there was more to do with my morning hours than drinking coffee and refreshing the fasterskier homepage. I packed a bunch of old skis in the car and spent almost 2 hours driving to wherever I thought skiable snow might be found. It was a nice adventure that took me from Bolton Valley to Cochran's ski hill in Richmond, over the notch to Harwood High in Duxbury, and down into the Mad River Valley and Sugarbush. I later found out that Stowe's Smugglers Notch Road (the road at the base of Stowe Mountain Resort that goes over Smuggler's Notch and is closed to cars in winter) has great skiing, but my journey took me the other direction. I headed South on Route 100, Vermont's legendary "Skier's Highway". When I pulled up, Sugarbush looked like a real winter scene. While the mountain didn't really look like they'd be keen on having me rip around on skinny skis, I took a note from Star Lake and headed to the mountain's golf course. The half-snow, half-grass surface provided surprisingly great classic skiing on a pair of old beater waxless skis. I got in a nice scenic hour of skiing on a beautiful day, and I still got in a lift that afternoon for good measure.

Cochran's had snow, it just wasn't really spread yet
Sugarbush, meanwhile, actually looked like winter
Barely enough snow, but nice scenery
Gotta have a pair of old beater waxless boards!
Looking down a fairway
Getting some striding in. Half grass, half snow
Panorama of the golf course, with Sugarbush in the background

TerkTech self-groomer

Skied at Star Lake on a few inches this morning. I kind of wished it was a little more packed out there, so when we got back to school I went back to the dump behind the SLU facilities plant and built a little device to test out tomorrow morning...



Happy Holidays!
-Adam

On a roll

Yeah the snow situation is rather bleak but two bright spots over the past week.

The team won the Mt. Borah gear for a year design contest which is pretty cool. I didn't really do anything myself other than pass on the info to the team and the guys really got into it. I think we submitted like 6 designs which I thought were all pretty cool looking although I do like our current suit design.

http://fasterskier.com/2011/12/mt-borah-announces-gear-for-a-year-contest-winners/

We will see how they look this winter and maybe it will be time for a change or perhaps these will just be a collectors item for years to come.

On another note we also won a small grant which will allow us to groom some trails right on campus. More on this when the official announcement comes out.

Looks like a small snow event over the next 24-36hours, although it could all be rain. We will see.

SLUSKI Movember

The most important pictures from Canada are surely the shots that capture our team's feeble attempts at facial hair growth. We were definitely outdone by UVM, but our Movember (a campaign to grow mustaches and raise awareness for men's health) was still entertaining. I didn't get a photo of everyone's complete mustached transformation (maybe Connor can put up his collection as well) but here is a sampling. Some were barely noticeable, while others were downright scary. I myself am a double-edged sword. My facial hair comes in blond and light, yet thanks to my dad's genetics I have quite a thick and rich mustache. As soon as camp ended though, I made sure to get rid of it quick before returning to real civilization. The look definitely isn't for everyone. Brace yourself before you scroll down:

5k TT

A few pics from the 5k TT on Saturday, more to come soon(ish)...

pics from foret TT

some photos my father took of the foret tt on Saturday.

Camp recap, from Zach

This year we once again made the trek north to Foret Montmorency in search of snow. Where we were staying throughout the week, in Stoneham, Quebec, there was no snow, save for some man-made on the alpine runs of the resort. That, however, did not deter us from getting on snow.

Saturday, upon our arrival, we went for an easy 1 hr jog around the ski village. After finishing up, we returned to the boys’ house for dinner–Ethan’s parents heated up some delicious lasagna which the team made quick work of.

Sunday made for an epic run. We drove about 15 minutes north to Jaques Cartier Parc where most of us were going to trail run, while about four others would rollerski. Due to falling wet, heavy snow, and slush covered pavement, those planning on rollerskiing had a quick change of plans. We set out on our trail run through timber cuts, slush and some pretty gnarly terrain. The trail took us all the way back to the top of the alpine mountain, and after 2 hours and 45 minutes of running, we never hit pavement once, and arrived back to our houses muddied and tired with appetites like no other.

Monday was our first day on snow. We made the 40 minute drive north to Foret where they had about 10 cm of crusty white stuff. We parked the vans and began skiing up a trail/logging road header. The going was slow and hard, as breaking trail through the crusty snow proved to be extremely taxing. Eventually we came to a point where we skied in a 1km stretch due to the efforts of everyone on the team. There, we did some no-pole drills and ended up with a solid 2 hours on snow. During our training session, some of the girls saw a cow moose pop out on the trail in front of them, and about 30 minutes later, the guys’ team saw another cow on the trail in front of them. Certainly some wild country and a unique place to ski! We used the afternoon to go for about a 30 minute jog and stretch out some tired legs. Total for the day was 2.5 hours.

Tuesday we drove back up to Foret to get on the 1km loop that had been groomed. We classic skied on some rock-solid tracks and made for a morning total of 2 hours. The afterno0n’s workout made for a 15 minute warm up jog and cool down, while we made up a strength session in between. With a couple medicine balls benches, staircases, and playground equipment, the team engaged in a strength routine that was anything but a walk in the park.

Wednesday made for a double session at Foret. Classic ski in the morning on the 1km loop, followed by skate skiing in the afternoon on a 3km groomed stretch in which rock skis were a must. We hammered out some intervals, 5x6min, all the while weaving in and out of on-coming ski traffic. While we all skied for at least 3 hours, there were some that closed in on 3.5 and 3.75 hours.

Thursday’s workout made for skate skiing in the morning, then an immediate switch to classic skiing on the 1km loop. We got in a total of 2.5 hours before coming back for Thanksgiving dinner, go-karts, and a relaxing evening in Quebec City.

Friday we embarked on another epic journey through the wilds of Foret. We skate skied un-groomed trails and log-roads, never knowing exactly where we were going, just hoping that we’d eventually circle around to the vans. After skiing through un-broken trail and seeing copious moose and wolf tracks and skiing an unforgettable downhill run of upwards of 2.5 minutes, we eventually made our way back to the vans, starved, beat up, and all smiles. The afternoon consisted of a half-hour jog and stretch.

Saturday was a time trial between SLU, UMPI, Colby and Bowdoin. Results can be found here: Foret 5K TT Results 2011 Definitely some impressive times by some SLU-Skiers. Those unhappy with their finishes shouldn’t be too concerned, as we have had a huge week in volume, and those arms and legs should have been a bit tired anyway.

Sunday morning we went for a trail run up a hiking trail that brought us to the top of the ski mountain and back down. Some continued on for an extra half hour, while most of us ended at 1 hour. After a quick breakfast, we packed, cleaned, and took off for Canton, New York.

All in all, we had a big week in volume, putting up 22 hours of training, while some pushed it to 24. Certainly an unforgettable week with an awesome crew.

camp update

So Thanksgiving day went well, after skiing we came back and got ready for the traditional go karting at Karting Extreme in Quebec. An excellent outing once again. Unfortunately no result sheets were produced, not sure why this time. It appears Connor took the day but we also raced in two groups so I am sure this could be contested.

We returned to a massive feast thanks in large part to my mother and Barb (Will's mom). Lots of hands pitched in though. Afterward an outing to Old Quebec for a couple hours.

Today we headed up the hill yet again. We decided to take a break from the manmade loop and 3K out and back that starts at the dormatory for another go on the road we skied on Monday. With the snow deflated and packing rather easily now it was pretty good for skating.

I am not sure if they got any pictures but most of the team went on a rather epic ski today, highlighted by a 3-4minute downhill in the wilderness of Foret Montmorency.

There has been some talk of a 5K classic time trial on the manmade loop for tomorrow with the other college teams who are interested. Although at this point we haven't made any firm plans.

Foret Forays

We found snow. It took a few prayers, poems and inside-out pajamas, but Foret delivered this year. In the last two days we've put about 5 hours on snow, from rock-solid classic tracks to powder to crust skiing. The pictures can do the talking.

Ready for TNT - ValleyCitizen - Teton Valley's Local News Source

Here is great story about Kyle Marvinney '11 now coaching the Teton XC team.

Ready for TNT - ValleyCitizen - Teton Valley's Local News Source

Foret/Stoneham trip day 2

Yesterdays drive was rather uneventful. Freshmen got taste of my typical missed turns and getting turned around but never really lost. I have been lost before and while I missed a couple turns toward the end of the trip I wouldn't consider it being lost at any point.

This morning we possibly could have done some ungroomed skiing at Foret but decided to go with the long trail run from Jaques Cartier Park. It is pretty sweet 2.5-3hr run point to point that finishes at Stoneham. This afternoon I took a drive up to Foret to see for myself and it certainly looks like we can ski a bit there. Yeah its not going to be like Yellowstone is but so be it, I enjoy seeing the freshmen figure out how to get milk out of a 1 liter plastic bag and into a small pitcher without making a mess.

At Foret they currently have about 4-5inches of somewhat wet snow that should dry and freeze up a bit tonight. They could probably roll some of their trails but havn't yet. Anyway tomorrow we will try skiing on some of the roads and if they groom then all the better.

Photos from the week

Here's a bunch of photos from this week. XC Regionals, Classic ski/run OD, practice, etc.

Unfortunately John Johnston from SLU didn't take the win (he was 2nd) but this kid was fast and led clean from start to finish. The team gets some fuel before switching from classic gear to running on Sunday's OD. The team (in full cheering attire) at the Regionals XC meet Saturday. Redman and Brownman (Connor and Austin) cheer at the XC meet. Nera, the Redbone Hound! Meng keeping it classy at the XC meet. XC member Andrew "Goody" Goodwin cheers on his teammates at the XC meet. Bogden rollerskis under the mysterious Canton clouds on Miner St. The crowd cheers on Amy at the XC meet.

SluSkiErg

Thanks to team alumni donations SLUSKI acquired a new Concept 2 SkiErg last spring. The other day the whole team did a 1k test on the erg while in the gym on a rainy day. The 1k test seems to be somewhat of a standard competition distance for these things, and there are some other times on the Concept 2 "world records" page we could compare to. I made a quick video of the action below. I was also completing the lifting workout as this was taking place and was unfortunately wasn't able to get video of everyone, but here's a little sampling of the hammerfest.

Higley Trail Day

It was a beautiful morning for our annual 'Higley Trail Day' down in Colton today. The team spent a few hours working on trails for this winter. Most of the effort was spent leveling-out, widening and digging out stumps on the new trail we made last fall. Last year we essentially chopped out a brand new technical trail for uphill intervals, complete with a banked switchback turn and long sections of unbroken climbing. Unfortunately last winter it wasn't in a condition that allowed for much grooming or skiing (aside from some backcountry powder days), but with lots of shoveling, uprooting and grade leveling we should be able to really make use of it this year.
The technical switchback
Leveling the top rise for easy groomer access

Midsem Bolton Ski

After two weeks of tough testing it seemed like everyone was ready for a breather going into Midsemester Break. I personally gave my body a chance to fully recover and took two (!) days off in a row, spending more time watching ski movie trailers and searching mountain webcams for snow than actually training for it. I didn't lay low for long, though. Whenever I'm home in the Green Mountains I try to take advantage of as many big hills as possible. I called up Eric on Friday and met him and Austin Meng (who was staying at Eric's house, getting a taste of real East Coast VT life in Burly-town) at the base of the Bolton Valley ski area access road. Skating up this steep 4-mile monster might just be my favorite workout, and I do it numerous times in the summer. It's a pretty gnarly climb with only one small section of downhill, the rest being 8-11% grade of switchbacks, curves and grinding V1 climbing.
The view looking down one section of the climb

After a warmup down on Rt. 2 Eric, Austin and I started off. Though we weren't racing, it takes a good deal of effort to maintain good technique throughout the climb, and keeping your movements sharp and powerful up a long climb like this is one of the main goals I always have. I've never actually raced or done a max effort here, but I always time myself for this workout. I am usually bent over to exhaustion after reaching the top, but I was surprised to find that Friday, after reaching the top and still feeling strong, I'd finished the climb over 4 minutes faster than I ever had before. Eric and Austin weren't far behind, and all three of us were well under the previous "record" for the hill. Looks like all the testing and training, not to mention the resting, is paying off! We took a few photos during our cooldown near the top (the only way to ski more is to just go back down a ways and ski back up); the leaves were starting to fall but there's still a bit of fall color left.

-Adam