Carni Crush and Crazy Conditions- Dartmouth carnival

Two weekends ago was the Dartmouth Carnival! This will be a quick recap as I am quite behind... First I got sick, then there was spotty internet in Middlebury, followed by lots of school work to catch up on. So it goes.

This year the Dartmouth Carnival was at Oak Hill... Again! 2 years in a row must be some kind of record. Just kidding. However, the snow cover was great. We just ran into some tough weather.

Jackie on the chase

On Friday, we had a long interval start skate race. The women started with a 10k. It was a bit of a slushfest. Jackie led us in 23rd. Kate had a great race, though, coming in 47th, even with a tough fall. The men came after and had an EVEN WORSE slush fest and hot sun. It looked like a tough time, but everyone got through. Bryan got 31st with a broken pole, though, so that was good! Frustrating to have some bad luck, I'm sure, but encouraging nonetheless. Thanks to our alpine team for coming to cheer! Their races were cancelled, so they checked out the dorky nordic scene.

Jordi conquering the slush

A narrow mass start! - 3 lane start straight down to 2

Some tough downhills (Bob photo)

Kate flying by (Bob photo)

Coach Kyle and Kate (Bob photo)

Lucy/Steffi tag (Bob photo)

Steph in the zone (Bob photo)

Jackie bringing it home (Bob photo)

Jackie digging deep on the anchor leg

Erin getting sendy (Bob photo)

On Saturday, we had relays! These were a blast. The course was solid ice, but it worked. 3x5k for both the men and women. Our women's teams came in 14th and 22nd. The men had some tough conditions again with really icy and skied off downhills (I don't know how we keep getting the better end of this deal - even when some weekends we start second?), but came in 18th and 26th. They really battled it out this weekend.

Brian looking strong (Bob photo)

Nathaniel looking speedy (Bob photo)

GH working the downhill (Bob photo)

Tim lapping through (Bob photo)

Matt hauling (Bob photo)

After that, we had carni crush, which as always was a wonderful mix of cute, awkward, embarrassing, and of course, hilarious. Thanks for checking in! And thanks to Bob Townsend for coming to cheer and getting some great photos!! Also, to my dad for getting some photos. Lots of photos.

All results for your perusal

We're halfway there! - UVM recap and photos :)

GH cruising

Tim digging deep

Brian pushing the pace

This weekend we headed over to UVM for a carnival. The whole weekend was set up to be a preview of NCAAs. Jordi and her family were also so kind as to let us stay at their house. It was absolutely beautiful! Don't worry, we also continued the rom com tradition. Something tells me that the half of the team staying at the hotel didn't, though. Anyway, Friday dawned clear and cold for our 5k/10k skate. The course is incredibly fun, starting with some sweeping downhill turns before some switchbacks and a tough uphill finish. Brian had his best distance race, in 20th! It was especially impressive to see lots of personal bests this weekend, as it was an open carnival, where there is more competition. Tim was 54th, and GH was 66th to round out the scoring squad. Jackie also absolutely threw down, coming in 7th! It has been awesome to see her become a consistent top 10 skier and regular podium threat. Lucy was in the top 30, and Kate was 50th. Jordi's parents, Pete and Sally, also had us over for dinner, which was incredibly generous. Thank you so much. It was great to get to know them better all weekend (and also eat great food). 

Jackie on her way to the top 10!

-Lucy

Me getting some splits... Also, notice Stowe's beautiful mountains!

Tim looking strong

Erin flying down the hill

Thanks to our friend, Liesl, for pictures of the skate day! Also, thanks to my dad for the pictures of the classic day. I think they are mostly of the guys, because he was probably cheering too loudly in my race to actually figure out how to use his phone...

Men's 10k

Graham rounding the corner

Women's 5k

Nathaniel hauling

Ian striding it out

Lauchie in a pack

Saturday was a classic mass start, 15k for the women and 20k for the men. Day 2 of the UVM Carnival began with an early wake up call for the girls who started first that day. We were on the road to Stowe by 7:30am, but those of us who got lucky enough to stay at Jordi’s house wanted to stay at least another week. Thank you again for hosting us, Pete and Sally!! Thankfully the wind calmed down for our second day, so it didn’t seem as blisteringly cold. The race was a killer for everyone; 3 or 4 laps around the 5k course that includes a fast, downhill corner right out of the mass start (accurately coined “Talladega Turn” by Kyle), more sharp corners in a field that tend to send skiers off-course, and then a brutal 1k climb into the finish/lap (but Steph’s cheering made it possible! - she was sidelined by sickness). Despite the pain, Trapp’s is known as one of the most fun courses in New England, and I think our skiers handled it quite well! Even with a couple casualties—Emily and Kate got into quite a wreck, Jackie tangled up with a Harvard girl, and Brian broke both skis (just the tips)—our guys and gals put up quite the fight. It was cold, but everyone had a great time cheering each other on; it’s always fun to watch your teammates crush.  The gals were led by Lucy in 27^th, Jordan had her best race and carnival finish ever in 43^rd, Erin notched a top 50 as well for one of her best races ever and a big jump, and Jordi crushed her first 15k with a 58^th.  Our guys were led by Brian who skied the whole 20k on his broken skis, and Nathaniel had one of his best races ever in an open carnival, finishing in 59^th. (Side not from Lucy... Jordan won't appropriately brag about herself. Cracking the top 45 is a huge deal!) After the races, we were treated to a food table with lots of delicious treats, and then packed up and hit the road back to SLU.  Thanks for a chilly, exhausting, but awesome race weekend UVM! 

-Jordan

Women's 15k

Men's 20k
Team Results

Matt Young working the hill