APU invited me to their summer home, the Thomas Training Center on the Eagle Glacier. The training center alone is a remarkable facility nestled on the ridge 5,500 feet above Girdwood, Ak about 40 minutes south of Anchorage. The real gem however, is the 7.5km loop of skiing meters outside the door.
Several Sun Valley skier: Mike Sinnot, Colin Rogers, and Nicole Deyong and I joined up with the APU team. It was really fun to catch up on everyones summer training and endeavors. Through years of training and racing together we are all good friends. I think I spent a bit too much time reading the trashy Cosmos laying around the Thomas Training Center (yes 30 minutes is too much time). In addition to staying in tough with the feeling of snow one of my main motivations for this camp was to train with the many strong athletes who make up the APU and SVSEF elite teams.
Last season I felt I made a big jump in my ski racing. There were a number of factors contributing to that but I felt getting on snow in the summertime was huge for me. Last year Matt and I went to the Haig glacier. Classic striding has been a focus of mine and skiing on snow in the middle of the dry land season has helped me make some major efficiency improvements.
It was a challenging decision for me to miss the first 10 days of the CXC Team Vertical Limit camp in Ironwood, MI. Especially when the glacier camp cost about $1,000. It is an investment in my ski racing which I hope to regain this season. I did make it back for a few days of August camp. There is a V1 roller ski climb in Ironwood which is worth flying in from Alaska for.
