With all the new snow in the East, we've been putting to use the snowmobile and grooming equipment we got through a SLU 'Innovation Grant' last year. The SLU Campus now has groomed skating trails open to the public! The trails are groomed into the multiple practice fields behind Newell/Augsbury.
To check the latest trail conditions, I've set up a Twitter account: @SLUSkateTrails
I have been working on a way to have this set up as a feed displayed directly on the side of this site. Until then, simply bookmark this twitter page to check on the status of the trails! Ethan, Bob and I will update as frequently as is possible, though keep in mind that when we are away at camps or Carnivals we may be unable to keep tabs on the trail network.
Happy skiing!!!
Sunday, December 30, 2012
Monday, December 17, 2012
Eastern Cup Openers
With the school schedule a bit odd this year exams are taking place this week, this we had only a small field of racers in this weekends opening Eastern Cups in Craftsbury. Ethan and I decided to split up, and he stayed back in Canton with the majority of the team while I was in charge of the racing crew (Erin, Sienna, Kate, Margot, Evan).
SATURDAY
Saturday's classic sprint was cool but warming, initially klister conditions on a transformed sugary track. Women raced first, and I had a klister combo that was in the "alright" range, I'd say. As our women's start times got nearer and nearer I apparently missed the memo that many were switching to a hardwax cover or simple warmer klisters, and the SLU girls weren't entirely thrilled with the boards. In general most everyone looked to be struggling at least a little bit on the final climb to the finish, though, probably a combination of the tricky conditions and everyone's (except for Craftsbury Green Teamers) lack of time on snow this winter.
Because of the track being closed, I also got reports from the girls of the sugary and extremely soft 'back hill' on the course, which nobody had been able to get to as the women started. With that info I had a better plan lined up for Evan: A real warm klister underfoot to get some purchase on that back hill, covered with a corn snow klister to prevent icing. Coming through he looked strong and smooth, and really powerful on the final climb. He told me the wax worked well, so I was 1-for-2 in that department.
...Women's results took an oddly long time to appear...while waiting I told everyone to change clothes, cool down, and eat some food. "Treat it as if you know you made the heats. What would you do? How would you prepare?" The girls mostly laughed at me, but I kept pestering them: dry clothes, food to refuel...
...Women's results finally appeared, and sure enough Sienna had made the J1/OJ heats (top 12 J1/OJ racers outside the open heats) in 6th place among that field. I began getting her skis ready...
...Women's results appeared again (???) and now despite Sienna moving up a place, there were not more Junior women in front of her, bumping her down to 15th...Everyone began travel waxing and packing up. (Evan is a U23 and was fairly confident that despite his good race it would've taken a lot to make the guys heats)...
Next thing we know, Fred Griffin is running down to the shanty-tent wax village, informing everyone that they've decided to re-run the qualifier. No heats, just the qualifier. Again. In an hour a half.
So the day began anew. Good thing the girls had listened to me and all changed, eaten and prepared as if they had another race all along, because it turned out everyone did! This development met with a pretty positive response from the whole SLUSKI crew...a chance to race again and correct mistakes, as well the opportunity for Coach Terko to get the kick right. This time conditions were stable, and I found a hardwax combo that the girls were all really happy with. Sienna again showed a lot of speed, and ended up 42nd (she would have made the heats OFFICIALLY this time in 9th if they had run them, though they did not) and Kate really made the most of the opportunity to race again. I told everyone to think about what they struggled with the first time and correct it, and Kate looked like a whole new racer this second time: speed, power and most of all, quickness were all 100 times better.
By the men's race, the sun was setting and it was getting cold. Martell and I worked out a combo we liked together. "These will be awesome" he told me, and headed up for his start. Somehow though, he almost missed that start and was forced to pull the newbie move of racing in his Swix pants. Additionally, the wax didn't work out quite as well as we both felt it did on the testing track. Evan was none too psyched with his race after having a good one that morning, but that's racing.
SUNDAY
Things were straightforward for this one. Sienna and Evan were no longer present, and Margot now joined the action. Kate looked really strong in this race, and had a nice crew of college racers to ski most of the whole race with, pulling away from them at the end and posting a very respectable finish. Erin and Margot ended up right next to each other and had mixed feelings about the day, but were nonetheless competitive in the massive field.
It started snowing heavily for the guys race, but since we had nobody racing we decided to jet before road conditions got worse and our drive home got even longer.
None of the snow made it to Canton, but Gatineau is open for business so we will be skiing this week as the team size whittles down as exams end and Winter Break looms.
SATURDAY
Saturday's classic sprint was cool but warming, initially klister conditions on a transformed sugary track. Women raced first, and I had a klister combo that was in the "alright" range, I'd say. As our women's start times got nearer and nearer I apparently missed the memo that many were switching to a hardwax cover or simple warmer klisters, and the SLU girls weren't entirely thrilled with the boards. In general most everyone looked to be struggling at least a little bit on the final climb to the finish, though, probably a combination of the tricky conditions and everyone's (except for Craftsbury Green Teamers) lack of time on snow this winter.
Because of the track being closed, I also got reports from the girls of the sugary and extremely soft 'back hill' on the course, which nobody had been able to get to as the women started. With that info I had a better plan lined up for Evan: A real warm klister underfoot to get some purchase on that back hill, covered with a corn snow klister to prevent icing. Coming through he looked strong and smooth, and really powerful on the final climb. He told me the wax worked well, so I was 1-for-2 in that department.
...Women's results took an oddly long time to appear...while waiting I told everyone to change clothes, cool down, and eat some food. "Treat it as if you know you made the heats. What would you do? How would you prepare?" The girls mostly laughed at me, but I kept pestering them: dry clothes, food to refuel...
...Women's results finally appeared, and sure enough Sienna had made the J1/OJ heats (top 12 J1/OJ racers outside the open heats) in 6th place among that field. I began getting her skis ready...
...Women's results appeared again (???) and now despite Sienna moving up a place, there were not more Junior women in front of her, bumping her down to 15th...Everyone began travel waxing and packing up. (Evan is a U23 and was fairly confident that despite his good race it would've taken a lot to make the guys heats)...
Next thing we know, Fred Griffin is running down to the shanty-tent wax village, informing everyone that they've decided to re-run the qualifier. No heats, just the qualifier. Again. In an hour a half.
So the day began anew. Good thing the girls had listened to me and all changed, eaten and prepared as if they had another race all along, because it turned out everyone did! This development met with a pretty positive response from the whole SLUSKI crew...a chance to race again and correct mistakes, as well the opportunity for Coach Terko to get the kick right. This time conditions were stable, and I found a hardwax combo that the girls were all really happy with. Sienna again showed a lot of speed, and ended up 42nd (she would have made the heats OFFICIALLY this time in 9th if they had run them, though they did not) and Kate really made the most of the opportunity to race again. I told everyone to think about what they struggled with the first time and correct it, and Kate looked like a whole new racer this second time: speed, power and most of all, quickness were all 100 times better.
By the men's race, the sun was setting and it was getting cold. Martell and I worked out a combo we liked together. "These will be awesome" he told me, and headed up for his start. Somehow though, he almost missed that start and was forced to pull the newbie move of racing in his Swix pants. Additionally, the wax didn't work out quite as well as we both felt it did on the testing track. Evan was none too psyched with his race after having a good one that morning, but that's racing.
SUNDAY
Things were straightforward for this one. Sienna and Evan were no longer present, and Margot now joined the action. Kate looked really strong in this race, and had a nice crew of college racers to ski most of the whole race with, pulling away from them at the end and posting a very respectable finish. Erin and Margot ended up right next to each other and had mixed feelings about the day, but were nonetheless competitive in the massive field.
It started snowing heavily for the guys race, but since we had nobody racing we decided to jet before road conditions got worse and our drive home got even longer.
None of the snow made it to Canton, but Gatineau is open for business so we will be skiing this week as the team size whittles down as exams end and Winter Break looms.
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
QC World Cuppin'
I could write all day about everything that happened last weekend. Bob even asked rhetorically "how many blog posts do you have floating around in your head right now" before we drove off for Canton on Sunday morning.
But I'll keep it simple. THE WORLD CUP WAS AWESOME. We went for the individual sprints on Saturday, waking up at 4am and booking it Northeasterly. We saw the qualification, we got the SLU flag on Eurosport, we watched Kikkan win, and we went out on the town for dinner before settling into our classy Old City hotel.
The next morning we went for a scenic 2 hour run around the city. We threw ourselves down snowy hills on our stomachs, the girls team talked with Kikkan and got her to sign all their clothes, and we stopped for a quick pic with Devon Kershaw and Lenny Valjas as they trained on the course before taking off for Canmore. Incredible to think about everything we saw and did within a 48 hour span of time...
But I'll keep it simple. THE WORLD CUP WAS AWESOME. We went for the individual sprints on Saturday, waking up at 4am and booking it Northeasterly. We saw the qualification, we got the SLU flag on Eurosport, we watched Kikkan win, and we went out on the town for dinner before settling into our classy Old City hotel.
The next morning we went for a scenic 2 hour run around the city. We threw ourselves down snowy hills on our stomachs, the girls team talked with Kikkan and got her to sign all their clothes, and we stopped for a quick pic with Devon Kershaw and Lenny Valjas as they trained on the course before taking off for Canmore. Incredible to think about everything we saw and did within a 48 hour span of time...
Sunday, December 2, 2012
A week of snow-hunting
The weather really came through for us this week. We were able to basically extend our on-snow volume we began in Canada with skiing in the North Country that got better and better as the week went on, the result of a little more snow each night and being in the right place at the right time. Though the early week saw me spending a fair amount of time behind the wheel (when is a ski coach NOT spending time behind the wheel) in search of the best snow, it was well worth it for everyone to have our options dialed in.
TUESDAY
We began skiing at Star Lake on a few inches Tuesday, mostly sticking to the upper areas that drain water well as the ground wasn't quite frozen. People were icing up but the repeated laps meant we 'self-groomed' a loop that was much better by day 2 (Wednesday).
WEDNESDAY
Our self-groomed loop was in great shape by Wednesday after setting up overnight. The team got in some solid skate intervals in a dark blizzard, which actually helped narrow the focus on balance and staying in control. Headlamps became the norm when darkness fell.
Boys team getting some skate intensity Wednesday
THURSDAY
Snow fell into Thursday, enough so that we attempted a classic ski at Higley. It would've been great in the morning, unfortunately temps warmed considerably by practice time and kick was hard to come by if you weren't on fishscales (a good lesson to the team about the value of always having a crappy pair of Grandma's old skis with you...you never know)
FRIDAY
When things cooled down overnight and into Friday morning in Colton, Ethan and I fired up the snowmobile and made a few passes at Higley...no grooming equipment yet, but three trips around with the machine itself made for more great skating and some longer, easier intervals on the smooth terrain.
SATURDAY
This was the real treat. Ethan and I were up at dawn, and I took the snowmobile, this time with a roller attached, and made a nice loop at Star Lake. I was having a blast, really trying to make use of every space there. In the end, we may have even had up to 6 or 7k totally groomed, mostly wide enough for two abreast. I even groomed a twisting downhill run that slalomed between some trees...right after creating it I sent three of our girls down it and everyone ended with their faces in the powder. Guess we need the practice! Additionally, I groomed a smaller loop on the highest, driest part of Star Lake, with the intent of having it left unskied and able to sustain the rain and warm temps we now have...don't think it's gonna happen.
Wide tracks and good skiing at Star Lake. Looks just like Gatineau, right?
The second highlight of Saturday morning was the trip Ethan and I took to the extremely rustic 'Hillside Diner' after we finished grooming (the team hadn't arrived yet). With our snowpants strapped on and reeking of two-stroke, we fit right in with the two other people in the joint. I ordered 3 large pancakes, which got our waitress and the kitchen staff all riled up. Apparently in 22 years only 2 people have finished all 3 cakes. They were 14 inches wide and almost an inch thick. I take my breakfast food very seriously, so despite already having eaten breakfast that morning (oatmeal and 2 eggs) I wasn't about to back down after placing my order. It took me an hour, but as the team vans rolled past I triumphantly choked the last few bites down, much to our host's surprise. I ate the pancakes at 9am and wasn't hungry again until 8pm that night, so for $4.95 I'd say you can't go wrong if you're ever hungry in the Star Lake area.
Hillside Diner...breakfast of champion groomers
The team skied for 2.5 hours Saturday, as we swapped overdistance days knowing it would unfortunately be all melted by today...campus is now awash in a downpour, but as we head into a recovery week it's been incredible to get this skiing in right when we needed it!
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