Grand Greetings from George!

Hey there, I'm George Gowdy (Some people call me Greg). I'm new to the team this year. I’m a sophomore from Walpole, New Hampshire, right on the Connecticut River.  I live on my family’s dairy; we milk around thirty cows. Currently, I’m interested in Environmental Studies and Education at SLU.

Skiing started for me when I was seven; I can remember watching the Vancouver Olympics and then going out to the back field and doing as many laps as I could until it was too dark out. I went to Fall Mountain Regional High School, where I ran and skied. The ski team there has always been tight knit, thanks to strong support from the community and some extremely hard-working coaches. The team's infamous cow-print uniforms have been around since the 1990’s. Skiing may not be the most popular sport at FM, but we always had fun sending it around the trails. 

Yours truly, my brother, and our friend Gabe at a race at Dublin

You can’t go wrong in a one-piece cow suit

Last year, I ran cross-country for SLU, and raced on my own to earn a spot on the ski team. Going into my Freshman year, I knew skiing at SLU was a stretch; the EISA is super competitive.. but here I am. Last year, I qualified for JN’s for the Mid-A team; it was a dream come true, for sure. Covid-19 threw a big wrench into the 15k; hopefully, things will improve by next March. I would’ve been on campus this fall getting ready for XC season, and last year I was the alternate for NCAA’s in Kentucky, but I plan on taking the bull by the horns next season. I'm currently off campus for this semester. 

Surprisingly calm despite a huge pile-up at Connecticut College

Just thinking about winter has been getting my heartrate up. I’m stoked to get back on snow and to get after it. I’m super grateful for all the help and support I’ve gotten over the years. The next few years at SLU are going to be full of hard work and a healthy dose of endorphins. 

Looking forward to some sticky klister fingers,

George Gowdy

We Are Back!

Hello again!

It has been too long since we have had the chance to catch up. Fear not, faithful followers of the SLUSKI blog, your dosage of high quality writing, pictures, training updates, and (last but not least) FUN is coming back to you live in the midst of a pandemic!

To open campus up to students this academic year, St. Lawrence University had to split students between three trimesters: Fall, Spring, and Summer. With each student coming back on campus for only two of three trimesters; our SLUSKI team will not be at full force on campus until the start of Spring semester unfortunately. Look for an update on off-campus SLUSKI activities coming to the blog soon.

Members of our on-campus squad have been moved in for about two weeks. After one week of casual and unorganized training, last week the team got into more formal and organized captain’s practices. With COVID, we are still able to train as a group, so long as we keep to less than 10 team members per practice, keep masks on, and do our best to stay socially distant. 

During the academic week, we have been exploring training options on campus. While running, roller skiing, and biking remain largely unchanged, fitting strength into the training plan has taken a bit more creativity. With the Newell Field House closed (along with the weight room), we have replaced traditional strength training with field plyos (spenst!) and bodyweight strength at the local playground. 

On the weekends, we plan on traveling off campus for more interesting and exciting adventures. Last weekend, we took our Saturday travel to Seven Springs for some high quality L3 bounding. For our Sunday OD, we elected to do a skate roller ski and run combo at the one and only Higley Flow State Park (home sweet home). This weekend will be River Road L3 intervals and a mystery OD adventure!

While our on-campus squad dearly misses our off-campus counterparts, we are welcoming a bright-eyed and bushy-tailed group of eight (yes, exciting!) First Year Saints skiers. They all bring a new and exciting energy to ski training in a pandemic and we couldn’t be more amped about the group. Watch for some get-to-know-you blog posts from the First Years soon!

Looking ahead to the race season, it is obviously unclear what we will and will not be able to do. Rumors and whisperings abound as to what our race season will look like, we are cautiously optimistic, and we plan on training just as hard whether we will have a traditional race season or not. While we hope to be competing with all the EISA for NCAA qualifying spots, we are truly grateful that, despite our pandemic, we can continue to join together in the sport we all know and love.

For now, that is all we have for you all. Thanks for tuning in and we will see you next time!

Until then, keep those hips forward,

Charlie Reinhardt '23