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