FasterSkier

Category: XCFeeds

A collection of live feeds from cross-country ski blogs around the web.

  • Daboullie

    Daboullie Mountain doesn’t have the grand size of a Mt. Katahdin, but makes up for it in the diverse terrain and beautiful lakes along the trail. With the windshield wipers on high the entire drive over to the trailhead we knew we were instore for a wet run. But it was one of those runs where you actually enjoyed the rain. Besides keeping the temperatures down, the rain and fog added to the mystique of the area. Photo: Corrine and Grace


    Tracy heading up the trail


    Gary enjoying the rainy weather


    Leif letting everyone know that he was the first to the top

  • Big Crew for Weston

    Click picture to enlarge.br /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/TDNZk_IW5QI/AAAAAAAADLo/L5sxdbwc7JA/s1600/IMG_5035.JPG”img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;” src=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/TDNZk_IW5QI/AAAAAAAADLo/L5sxdbwc7JA/s400/IMG_5035.JPG” border=”0″ alt=””id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5490830862651417858″ //aThe boys start their 12 km warm-up. It was a bit faster than usual because of some “kid” with blue shorts and a tank top.br /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/TDNZJDQ7XbI/AAAAAAAADLg/-_5GEeHwa2Y/s1600/IMG_5038.JPG”img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;” src=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/TDNZJDQ7XbI/AAAAAAAADLg/-_5GEeHwa2Y/s400/IMG_5038.JPG” border=”0″ alt=””id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5490830382724767154″ //aThe girls.br /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/TDNYpk1D8tI/AAAAAAAADLY/TWHZdwaQL1M/s1600/IMG_5041.JPG”img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;” src=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/TDNYpk1D8tI/AAAAAAAADLY/TWHZdwaQL1M/s400/IMG_5041.JPG” border=”0″ alt=””id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5490829841978880722″ //aWill dropped in from Boise so he could single pole with Gage.br /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/TDNYBXbaj2I/AAAAAAAADLQ/QRapUa5tSxY/s1600/IMG_5044.JPG”img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;” src=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/TDNYBXbaj2I/AAAAAAAADLQ/QRapUa5tSxY/s400/IMG_5044.JPG” border=”0″ alt=””id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5490829151186882402″ //aBridger.br /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/TDNXYcUGXxI/AAAAAAAADLI/yoxZkM43YXE/s1600/IMG_5046.JPG”img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;” src=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/TDNXYcUGXxI/AAAAAAAADLI/yoxZkM43YXE/s400/IMG_5046.JPG” border=”0″ alt=””id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5490828448123739922″ //aCoaches had an easy time keeping up today :)br /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/TDNWr18wSLI/AAAAAAAADLA/7I1GPNfzsR0/s1600/IMG_5053.JPG”img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;” src=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/TDNWr18wSLI/AAAAAAAADLA/7I1GPNfzsR0/s400/IMG_5053.JPG” border=”0″ alt=””id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5490827681911031986″ //aTess “working it.”br /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/TDNWJ4XdMOI/AAAAAAAADK4/-znE61wadzg/s1600/IMG_5061.JPG”img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;” src=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/TDNWJ4XdMOI/AAAAAAAADK4/-znE61wadzg/s400/IMG_5061.JPG” border=”0″ alt=””id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5490827098444345570″ //aWe are working on keeping our hips up and forward during the single stick specific strength.br /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/TDNVkkYzMgI/AAAAAAAADKw/lb_QitNJ-wQ/s1600/IMG_5067.JPG”img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;” src=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/TDNVkkYzMgI/AAAAAAAADKw/lb_QitNJ-wQ/s400/IMG_5067.JPG” border=”0″ alt=””id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5490826457426113026″ //aPoppet gives encouragement and tips.br /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/TDNU-5UnpPI/AAAAAAAADKo/PKR4UDwlFZI/s1600/IMG_5069.JPG”img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;” src=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/TDNU-5UnpPI/AAAAAAAADKo/PKR4UDwlFZI/s400/IMG_5069.JPG” border=”0″ alt=””id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5490825810210694386″ //a”This is tough”.br /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/TDNUi9a1j7I/AAAAAAAADKg/6QC6E32t9uw/s1600/IMG_5071.JPG”img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;” src=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/TDNUi9a1j7I/AAAAAAAADKg/6QC6E32t9uw/s400/IMG_5071.JPG” border=”0″ alt=””id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5490825330274176946″ //a3X6 minutes single pole up Terrible Mtn.br /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/TDNTvZGEyPI/AAAAAAAADKY/cMrKxsVaMcg/s1600/IMG_5075.JPG”img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;” src=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/TDNTvZGEyPI/AAAAAAAADKY/cMrKxsVaMcg/s400/IMG_5075.JPG” border=”0″ alt=””id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5490824444350089458″ //aAndy did 4X8 minutes L3 with Doug in tow for the first 3…br /DA “He’s just a little stronger and fitter”.br /SC “Yup, looks that way.”br /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/TDNTJKvGALI/AAAAAAAADKQ/O5UGmWBGE0E/s1600/IMG_5079.JPG”img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;” src=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/TDNTJKvGALI/AAAAAAAADKQ/O5UGmWBGE0E/s400/IMG_5079.JPG” border=”0″ alt=””id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5490823787660574898″ //aMackenzie tries her new braking system.br /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/TDNSp8MZ2zI/AAAAAAAADKI/BtK395qJkD4/s1600/IMG_5083.JPG”img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;” src=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/TDNSp8MZ2zI/AAAAAAAADKI/BtK395qJkD4/s400/IMG_5083.JPG” border=”0″ alt=””id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5490823251181034290″ //aIzzy working on a quicker kick.br /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/TDNR9QWSxEI/AAAAAAAADKA/FMM47lZcAPU/s1600/IMG_5088.JPG”img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;” src=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/TDNR9QWSxEI/AAAAAAAADKA/FMM47lZcAPU/s400/IMG_5088.JPG” border=”0″ alt=””id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5490822483497108546″ //aRachel working on her glide.br /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/TDNRe7Mk0gI/AAAAAAAADJ4/e_MadYb0NkI/s1600/IMG_5090.JPG”img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;” src=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/TDNRe7Mk0gI/AAAAAAAADJ4/e_MadYb0NkI/s400/IMG_5090.JPG” border=”0″ alt=””id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5490821962423128578″ //aApparently Mr Cobb has heard this before.br /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/TDNQxQEZMnI/AAAAAAAADJw/lgAbHQqgY5w/s1600/IMG_5093.JPG”img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 316px;” src=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/TDNQxQEZMnI/AAAAAAAADJw/lgAbHQqgY5w/s400/IMG_5093.JPG” border=”0″ alt=””id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5490821177751974514″ //aPaddy tries out the running drill.br /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/TDNQL8J3EII/AAAAAAAADJo/zqenkMEsjXo/s1600/IMG_5096.JPG”img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;” src=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/TDNQL8J3EII/AAAAAAAADJo/zqenkMEsjXo/s400/IMG_5096.JPG” border=”0″ alt=””id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5490820536751034498″ //aMK and Izzy.br /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/TDNPmNTiNgI/AAAAAAAADJg/DD91Xbhn_MA/s1600/IMG_5099.JPG”img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;” src=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/TDNPmNTiNgI/AAAAAAAADJg/DD91Xbhn_MA/s400/IMG_5099.JPG” border=”0″ alt=””id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5490819888519984642″ //aHydrate Kody, hydrate!br /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/TDNPI6–wUI/AAAAAAAADJY/mGTxfPESGcc/s1600/IMG_5101.JPG”img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;” src=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/TDNPI6–wUI/AAAAAAAADJY/mGTxfPESGcc/s400/IMG_5101.JPG” border=”0″ alt=””id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5490819385385730370″ //aBoys relax after the last interval.div class=”blogger-post-footer”img width=’1′ height=’1′ src=’https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4680416899705879324-2122769024209140078?l=smsxc.blogspot.com’ alt=” //div

  • Summertime.

    It is great to be back training, and this is what I have been up to so far this training season:

    The end of the awesome 32 mile Keweenaw Chain Drive in Houghton, MI. (brockit photo)

    A week later in the 24 mile Superior Bike Fest in Marquette, MI. (Dennis Loy photo)

    Always fun to race with my […]

  • Summertime.

    It is great to be back training, and this is what I have been up to so far this training season:

    The end of the awesome 32 mile Keweenaw Chain Drive in Houghton, MI. (brockit photo)

    A week later in the 24 mile Superior Bike Fest in Marquette, MI. (Dennis Loy photo)

    Always fun to race with my […]

  • Summertime.

    It is great to be back training, and this is what I have been up to so far this training season:

    The end of the awesome 32 mile Keweenaw Chain Drive in Houghton, MI. (brockit photo)

    A week later in the 24 mile Superior Bike Fest in Marquette, MI. (Dennis Loy photo)

    Always fun to race with my […]

  • Summertime.

    It is great to be back training, and this is what I have been up to so far this training season:

    The end of the awesome 32 mile Keweenaw Chain Drive in Houghton, MI. (brockit photo)

    A week later in the 24 mile Superior Bike Fest in Marquette, MI. (Dennis Loy photo)

    Always fun to race with my […]

  • Race Summaries: Introduction

    This is type of graphic that I hope to do on a semi-regular basis once the World Cup season gets rolling.  These easily fall into the “fun” rather than “serious” category.  If you hadn’t already guessed, I like making graphs.  So these entries will be race summaries, but in graph form.  They are fairly labor intensive (manually scraping PDF files for split times, push the data around and annotate it by hand, etc.) so I’m going to pick and choose when I do this, ideally focusing on races that are interesting for some reason.

    Here’s an example using the Men’s Olympic Relay from the Vancouver Olympics (click for a larger version):



  • Hiking with the SBTC

    DSC03374

    Today the SBTC folks were going to hike Mount Mansfield, and since Lauren and I had pretty much free rein to do whatever we wanted for our OD, we went with them! It was very fun to get to hike with some different friends, especially since the rest of the team had left for the weekend and we would have otherwise been alone. The rowers don’t do much cross-training so it was great to see them up on top of a mountain.

    The Graves brothers apparently always race each other up the mountain, on a course that consists of just running up under the gondola. Although John couldn’t come because of a nasty infection in his leg, we took that route up. I have to say it’s definitely my least favorite way to get up the mountain. It did mean that we were spit out at the bottom of the Cliff Trail, though, which turned out to be incredibly fun – scrambling up rocks, using your hands to pull yourself up and in some cases squeezing between huge boulders.

    DSC03373

    The weather was absolutely gorgeous and it was a great way to spend the 4th. Plus, the mountain breeze was a nice respite from the extremely hot weather we were facing down in the valley.

    We’re now preparing for a week-long BKL camp, which will be really fun but will considerably curtail our ability to go on any sorts of adventures, so it was nice to do something exciting before we settle in for a week of work – even if it’s the best kind of work!

  • Happy Forth of July!

    Usually the 4th of July finds me celebrating and enjoying the company of friends and family in Seward Alaska, but not this year. I am currently in Sun Valley, Idaho in the midst of moving! I have to admit that moving is not much fun…lots of cleaning, throwing, lifting and not to mention really exhausting! I am trying to get it all done as fast as I can, so I can put my feet up tonight and enjoy some dinner with friends and go to the fireworks!

    A lot has happened in the past two weeks! To begin, last week we celebrated Olympic Day at the YMCA. Olympic guest athletes, Morgan Arritola and Jon Engen joined in on the fun. The day opened with a video from the Vancouver 2010 Olympics. The video got the kids really excited! Morgan gave a talk about her Olympic experience and the importance of respect. We’ve been trying to instill the YMCA core value of respect, so it was very appropriate. We preceded to go to the park and play games, do relays, and enjoy some cookies and lemonade. The kids had a great time and it was fun to see their excitement for the Olympics.


    Now that summer has finally sprung, our team decided to hike a peak last week. Not much to our surprise, we tromped through a lot of snow! We hiked Hyndman Peak, approximately 12,000 ft. We knew we were going to run into a lot of snow, but we didn’t anticipate post-holing for 2 hours! Despite the long trek through snow, we had a great time! It was a beautiful, sunny day, so there wasn’t much to complain about.

    .

    Have a happy 4th of July!
    Cheers!

  • Happy Forth of July!

    Usually the 4th of July finds me celebrating and enjoying the company of friends and family in Seward Alaska, but not this year. I am currently in Sun Valley, Idaho in the midst of moving! I have to admit that moving is not much fun…lots of cleaning, throwing, lifting and not to mention really exhausting! I am trying to get it all done as fast as I can, so I can put my feet up tonight and enjoy some dinner with friends and go to the fireworks!

    A lot has happened in the past two weeks! To begin, last week we celebrated Olympic Day at the YMCA. Olympic guest athletes, Morgan Arritola and Jon Engen joined in on the fun. The day opened with a video from the Vancouver 2010 Olympics. The video got the kids really excited! Morgan gave a talk about her Olympic experience and the importance of respect. We’ve been trying to instill the YMCA core value of respect, so it was very appropriate. We preceded to go to the park and play games, do relays, and enjoy some cookies and lemonade. The kids had a great time and it was fun to see their excitement for the Olympics.


    Now that summer has finally sprung, our team decided to hike a peak last week. Not much to our surprise, we tromped through a lot of snow! We hiked Hyndman Peak, approximately 12,000 ft. We knew we were going to run into a lot of snow, but we didn’t anticipate post-holing for 2 hours! Despite the long trek through snow, we had a great time! It was a beautiful, sunny day, so there wasn’t much to complain about.

    .

    Have a happy 4th of July!
    Cheers!

  • Happy Forth of July!

    Usually the 4th of July finds me celebrating and enjoying the company of friends and family in Seward Alaska, but not this year. I am currently in Sun Valley, Idaho in the midst of moving! I have to admit that moving is not much fun…lots of cleaning, throwing, lifting and not to mention really exhausting! I am trying to get it all done as fast as I can, so I can put my feet up tonight and enjoy some dinner with friends and go to the fireworks!

    A lot has happened in the past two weeks! To begin, last week we celebrated Olympic Day at the YMCA. Olympic guest athletes, Morgan Arritola and Jon Engen joined in on the fun. The day opened with a video from the Vancouver 2010 Olympics. The video got the kids really excited! Morgan gave a talk about her Olympic experience and the importance of respect. We’ve been trying to instill the YMCA core value of respect, so it was very appropriate. We preceded to go to the park and play games, do relays, and enjoy some cookies and lemonade. The kids had a great time and it was fun to see their excitement for the Olympics.


    Now that summer has finally sprung, our team decided to hike a peak last week. Not much to our surprise, we tromped through a lot of snow! We hiked Hyndman Peak, approximately 12,000 ft. We knew we were going to run into a lot of snow, but we didn’t anticipate post-holing for 2 hours! Despite the long trek through snow, we had a great time! It was a beautiful, sunny day, so there wasn’t much to complain about.

    .

    Have a happy 4th of July!
    Cheers!

  • Happy Forth of July!

    Usually the 4th of July finds me celebrating and enjoying the company of friends and family in Seward Alaska, but not this year. I am currently in Sun Valley, Idaho in the midst of moving! I have to admit that moving is not much fun…lots of cleaning, throwing, lifting and not to mention really exhausting! I am trying to get it all done as fast as I can, so I can put my feet up tonight and enjoy some dinner with friends and go to the fireworks!

    A lot has happened in the past two weeks! To begin, last week we celebrated Olympic Day at the YMCA. Olympic guest athletes, Morgan Arritola and Jon Engen joined in on the fun. The day opened with a video from the Vancouver 2010 Olympics. The video got the kids really excited! Morgan gave a talk about her Olympic experience and the importance of respect. We’ve been trying to instill the YMCA core value of respect, so it was very appropriate. We preceded to go to the park and play games, do relays, and enjoy some cookies and lemonade. The kids had a great time and it was fun to see their excitement for the Olympics.


    Now that summer has finally sprung, our team decided to hike a peak last week. Not much to our surprise, we tromped through a lot of snow! We hiked Hyndman Peak, approximately 12,000 ft. We knew we were going to run into a lot of snow, but we didn’t anticipate post-holing for 2 hours! Despite the long trek through snow, we had a great time! It was a beautiful, sunny day, so there wasn’t much to complain about.

    .

    Have a happy 4th of July!
    Cheers!

  • We’re Going to Valley Fair!

    ‘We are going to Valley Fair!’ The kids have been talking about it since April. The weather was beautiful and everyone was up early for the big ‘Club Trip of the Month.’ Over 40 kids packed into the school bus at 6:45am for the drive to Minnesota’s best amusement park Valley Fair.
    Shana, Michela, Paige, Soriah, Kiera, and Brandon up early and exited for the trip. It is a long 4 hours on the bus to Valley Fair when you have so much energy. Thankfully my brother Chad helped provide me with plenty of riddles and car games to keep everyone thinking throughout the trip.
    Cheyenne, Shaylena and Aaron ready to get wet on the log ride
    My group The Blue Eagles spent most of our time on the water rides and in the water park. My clothes were soaked after the first ride and pretty much stayed that way until we loaded back on the bus.

    Valley Fair is Fun, but now I am tired. The entire bus pretty much took a quick nap before it was time to stop at McDonalds for dinner and a game of tag.

  • REG Skate TT Results

    I have had a bunch of requests to see the REG skate TT results so here they are. br /Disclaimers: These are just the results for the REG skiers (the Green Team was also there, but many of them had special race skis and they were on a different training schedule). All of the REG kids used their training skis. All roller skis are different speeds.br /Janice is working on getting a list of everyones roller skis and she will put up the full results with roller ski brand on the nensa site soon.br /br /Boys:br /David Sinclair GMVS 21:45br /Skyler Davis SMS 22:03br /Ben Lutsgarten MMN 22:10br /Austin Caldwell SMS 22:24br /Bridger Tyler SMS 22:31br /Welly Ramsey MWSC 23:06br /Austin Cobb SMS 24:07br /Reed Likely Rochester 24:08br /Chris Stock CSU 24:41br /Mitch Prevot BMA 24:44br /Hans Halvorsen GMVS 25:12br /Patrick Caldwell Ford Sayre 25:30br /Charlie Bencze Mid A 25:36br /Magnus Bigelow SMS 25:49br /br /Girls:br /Megan Killigrew Dart/SMS 25:13br /Isabel Caldwell SMS 25:31br /Heather Mooney SMS 26:31br /Rachel Hall SMS 26:52br /Elizabeth Izzo NYSEF 27:22br /Gage Fichter SMS 28:37br /Lizzie Anderson Ford Sayre 28:58br /Hannah Smith CSU 29:15br /Heidi Halvorsen GMVS 30:22br /Keely Levins Midd/Mt. Top 30:56div class=”blogger-post-footer”img width=’1′ height=’1′ src=’https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4680416899705879324-4110308273145181193?l=smsxc.blogspot.com’ alt=” //div

  • The Goal – cross the line in one (working) piece

    The countdown is almost over – I’m headed down to Seward within the hour. nbsp;July 4th is always an exciting time of year…. luckily it isn’t quite as hectic as last year. (I’m not getting married next week, rather celebrating my one-year anniversary!) br /br /div class=”separator” style=”clear: both; text-align: center;”

  • On the Italian Front: Coach Johnston reports on leave

    span style=”font-family:Cambria;font-size:130%;”Shirking my coaching duties and leaving the MOD athletes to train on their own I arrived in Europe a few days ago meeting Midge who had already been here a couple of weeks biking the big passes of the Italian Dolomites with a group of friends. /spanspan style=”font-family:Cambria;font-size:130%;”Despite my being groggy with jet lag she started the flogging the ver/spanspan style=”font-family:Cambria;font-size:130%;”y first day. We’ve been touring some of the popular via ferrata in the mountains around Cortina. The literal translation of “via ferrata” is “iron road”. The term comes from the ironwork installed on steep and what would otherwise be technically challenging climbing terrain. The Dolomites have no shortage of huge, steep mountains comprised of very sound limestone. /spanbr /div style=”text-align: center;”a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Mg2hQbkHkNs/TDJMUGUiNOI/AAAAAAAAAco/maSRQgIV8TY/s1600/scott_midge+1.JPG”img style=”margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;” src=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Mg2hQbkHkNs/TDJMUGUiNOI/AAAAAAAAAco/maSRQgIV8TY/s320/scott_midge+1.JPG” alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5490534803895891170″ border=”0″ //aspan style=”font-family:Cambria;font-size:130%;”iBarbed wire still litters the old front lines. Behind rises Tofane de Rossa up whose face goes a via ferrata./i/spanbr //div pspan style=”font-family:Cambria;font-size:130%;”During WWI the Italian alpine troops and the enemy Austrians dug intricate fortifications and tunnels into the jagged cliffs over looking all the important passes of the Dolomites. Actually, the tunneling began in the late 19supth/sup century on what was already the border between the /spanspan style=”font-family:Cambria;font-size:130%;”Austrio-Hungarian Empire and the Kingdom of Italy. Ostensibly allies, tensions ran high as the Italians feared the imperialistic designs the Austrians had on Venice as a seaport. To get to the unlikely gun emplacements perched high upon and inside the 2000’ high vertical cliffs a /spanspan style=”font-family:Cambria;font-size:130%;”labyrinth of tunnels and caves was constructed inside these mountains and iron hardware was installed to allow access by the soldiers to these airy stances. Munitions and other supplies were carried into these positions on the backs of young men. Inside complete small camps and cities with barracks, mess halls and hospitals were carved from the solid rock./spanbr /br //pdiv style=”text-align: center;”a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Mg2hQbkHkNs/TDJMVWj_22I/AAAAAAAAAc4/Dp5dOSKu0Ao/s1600/scott_midge+3.JPG”img style=”margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;” src=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Mg2hQbkHkNs/TDJMVWj_22I/AAAAAAAAAc4/Dp5dOSKu0Ao/s320/scott_midge+3.JPG” alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5490534825435585378″ border=”0″ //aspan style=”font-family:Cambria;font-size:130%;”iTypical tunnel leading to gun emplacement 1000’ up a cliff face/i/spanbr //divpspan style=”font-family:Cambria;font-size:130%;”Sometime after Europe recovered from the devastation of the war to end all wars the sport of climbing returned to the high mountains and climbers soon discovered the abandoned handiwork of the energetic Alpine soldiers and began exploring what had in most cases been forbiddingly steep terrain. Since then new via ferrate have cropped up in some non-war zones as well. Guide books lead the ferratisti like ourselves to the base of the routes and once there is it is a simple matter of following the iron road to the summit. /spanbr //p pspan style=”font-weight: bold;”/spana onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Mg2hQbkHkNs/TDJMU5y8G_I/AAAAAAAAAcw/PS9JFTBKX-M/s1600/scott_midge+2.JPG”img style=”margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;” src=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Mg2hQbkHkNs/TDJMU5y8G_I/AAAAAAAAAcw/PS9JFTBKX-M/s320/scott_midge+2.JPG” alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5490534817713626098″ border=”0″ //a/p div style=”text-align: center;”span style=”font-family:Cambria;font-size:130%;”iMidge in the remains of a machine gun pillbox, on a summit, guarding a pass. Access was by a tunnel just visible, below and to her left./i/spanbr //div pspan style=”font-family:Cambria;font-size:130%;”This is my first experience with via ferrate and while not climbing as I have known it, it is none the less an enjoyable way to get to some incredible places. /spanbr //p pspan style=”font-family:Cambria;font-size:130%;”Today’s climb took us (unwittingly) up an Italian Alpine Troops training climb for 1500’. We got behind 38 Alpini as they thrutched their upward with full battle gear, including rifles and overnight packs while helicopters circled and dropped the occasional smoke bomb./spanbr //p p style=”text-align: center;”a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Mg2hQbkHkNs/TDJMWRWkv8I/AAAAAAAAAdA/P2e_7rCfnPo/s1600/scott_midge+4.JPG”img style=”margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;” src=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Mg2hQbkHkNs/TDJMWRWkv8I/AAAAAAAAAdA/P2e_7rCfnPo/s320/scott_midge+4.JPG” alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5490534841216974786″ border=”0″ //aspan style=”font-family:Cambria;font-size:130%;”b /biHere we had to wait on a ledge for Italy’s finest to be all they can be./i/spanbr //p pspan style=”font-family:Cambria;font-size:130%;”Tomorrow, another climb and exploration of a WWI tunnel system. The irony of these grim reminders of the years of bloody struggles that went on here is not lost on us as we traipse around this alpine wonderland./span/p span style=”font-family:Cambria;font-size:130%;”i /i/spandiv class=”blogger-post-footer”img width=’1′ height=’1′ src=’https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2910103639238326543-8805924040431041169?l=methowolympicdevelopment.blogspot.com’ alt=” //div

  • Perfect Day for a Hike

    a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/TC9q3KH0T_I/AAAAAAAADJQ/U5weQm087hM/s1600/IMG_5030.JPG”img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;” src=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/TC9q3KH0T_I/AAAAAAAADJQ/U5weQm087hM/s400/IMG_5030.JPG” border=”0″ alt=””id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5489723966630416370″ //aWe had a very nice day for our OD this morning, 70 and clear blue skies.br /The Elite group ran/hiked the Griffith Lake, Peru Peak, Style Peak loop while the Devo group went up Styles, 1/2 way to Peru Peak and then back.br /It was a fine way to kick off the July 4th weekend and we timed it perfectly with everyone finishing within 5 minutes of each other.br /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/TC9qdvyL7tI/AAAAAAAADJI/Dn8NvI_Ys2U/s1600/IMG_5032.JPG”img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 395px; height: 400px;” src=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/TC9qdvyL7tI/AAAAAAAADJI/Dn8NvI_Ys2U/s400/IMG_5032.JPG” border=”0″ alt=””id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5489723530063638226″ //abr /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/TC9pbSQhKLI/AAAAAAAADJA/_dmiCO4DDGQ/s1600/IMG_5028.JPG”img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;” src=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/TC9pbSQhKLI/AAAAAAAADJA/_dmiCO4DDGQ/s400/IMG_5028.JPG” border=”0″ alt=””id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5489722388266428594″ //aOn top of Styles Peak the Devo stopped for a water break and discussed the Long Trail (length of VT) and the Appalacian Trail (Maine to Georgia). On this section of trail, we are on them both LT/AT. At our next stop we were lucky to run into a man who is doing the whole AT. He started in Georgia on March 19th and should be done in mid August. He talked to us about his journey, what he has seen and who he has met. His plan was to get home for his 58th birthday, but he is a month ahead of schedule. New plan…have a good birthday party to celebrate.div class=”blogger-post-footer”img width=’1′ height=’1′ src=’https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4680416899705879324-2703535521841339425?l=smsxc.blogspot.com’ alt=” //div

  • Washington to Alaska Adventure

    div style=”text-align: left;”For the past five days my brother and I have been road tripping from Washington, across Canada, and up into Alaska. I must say, I now have a new appreciation for how far north Alaska is. A three hour flight over the ocean from Seattle to Anchorage just doesn’t really define the reality of it.br //divdivbr //diva onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_l4L_01UOs1s/TC53khhWjAI/AAAAAAAAAVA/n_91Lhb-Ing/s1600/DSCN3747.JPG”img src=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_l4L_01UOs1s/TC53khhWjAI/AAAAAAAAAVA/n_91Lhb-Ing/s320/DSCN3747.JPG” border=”0″ alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5489456465168468994″ style=”display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; ” //adiv style=”text-align: center;”span class=”Apple-style-span” style=”font-weight: bold; “Beginning of road trip/spanbr //divdiv style=”text-align: center;”span class=”Apple-style-span” style=”font-weight: bold;”br //span/divdivbr //diva onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_l4L_01UOs1s/TC54ArIRB_I/AAAAAAAAAVo/N50_0bpZBJs/s1600/DSCN3786.JPG”img src=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_l4L_01UOs1s/TC54ArIRB_I/AAAAAAAAAVo/N50_0bpZBJs/s320/DSCN3786.JPG” border=”0″ alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5489456948783941618″ style=”display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; ” //adiv style=”text-align: center;”span class=”Apple-style-span” style=”font-weight: bold;”Sun roof allowing me to keep constant check on my bikes above./spanbr //divdiv style=”text-align: center;”span class=”Apple-style-span” style=”font-weight: bold;”br //span/divdivbr //diva onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_l4L_01UOs1s/TC53rVvBF8I/AAAAAAAAAVI/CrJPSp9wyyw/s1600/DSCN3750.JPG”img src=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_l4L_01UOs1s/TC53rVvBF8I/AAAAAAAAAVI/CrJPSp9wyyw/s320/DSCN3750.JPG” border=”0″ alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5489456582263642050″ style=”display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; ” //adiv style=”text-align: center;”span class=”Apple-style-span” style=”font-weight: bold;”R/spanspan class=”Apple-style-span” style=”font-weight: bold;”adar detector, CD’s, rear view mirror that you can’t see with because my car is so full… set to go!/spanbr //divdiv style=”text-align: center;”span class=”Apple-style-span” style=”font-weight: bold;”br //span/divdivdivbr //divdivThe first night we didn’t get very far, just across the canadian border where we visited one of my good friends in Summerland. I was set on spending the afternoon on Lake Okanogan because I figured it was the last time I was going to feel 90 degree weather like that in a long time!!! /divdivbr //diva onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_l4L_01UOs1s/TC54Z-g3oDI/AAAAAAAAAWY/ZGcTSvEI_w0/s1600/DSCN3819.JPG”img src=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_l4L_01UOs1s/TC54Z-g3oDI/AAAAAAAAAWY/ZGcTSvEI_w0/s320/DSCN3819.JPG” border=”0″ alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5489457383484137522″ style=”display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; ” //adiv style=”text-align: center;”span class=”Apple-style-span” style=”font-weight: bold;”Lunch of a Road Tripin’ CHAMP!/span/divdiv style=”text-align: center;”span class=”Apple-style-span” style=”font-weight: bold;”br //span/diva onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_l4L_01UOs1s/TC7b68pOeFI/AAAAAAAAAXA/vT0S5FfTLVM/s1600/sadie+and+erik.jpg”img src=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_l4L_01UOs1s/TC7b68pOeFI/AAAAAAAAAXA/vT0S5FfTLVM/s320/sadie+and+erik.jpg” border=”0″ alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5489566801569151058″ style=”display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; ” //adiv style=”text-align: center;”span class=”Apple-style-span” style=”font-weight: bold; “Summerland Sun/spanbr //divdiv style=”text-align: center;”br //divdivThe next morning we woke up early and drove hard for 15 hours across B.C. to Fort St. John where we spent the night in a pretty sketchy one star hotel. We were there enough time to cook a bowl of canned chili in the microwave and get in six hours of sleep before we hit the road early again  for the 15 hour section to Whitehorse. From then we spent the next day relaxing in Whitehorse with another college buddy- walking around town and getting a workout in. It was super nice to have the day off after two long days of being cramped in the car./divdivbr //diva onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_l4L_01UOs1s/TC54Ejs-h2I/AAAAAAAAAVw/WUc_dglxg6A/s1600/DSCN3790.JPG”img src=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_l4L_01UOs1s/TC54Ejs-h2I/AAAAAAAAAVw/WUc_dglxg6A/s320/DSCN3790.JPG” border=”0″ alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5489457015509911394″ style=”display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; ” //adiv style=”text-align: center;”span class=”Apple-style-span” style=”font-weight: bold;”One rule of thumb- when you see gas…. you get gas! Not many places to stop in the middle of no-where. Here a small gas station right as our gas light went on./span/divdivbr //divdivbr //divdiva onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_l4L_01UOs1s/TC5338i16FI/AAAAAAAAAVY/oxX3nnwlZ7M/s1600/DSCN3774.JPG”img src=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_l4L_01UOs1s/TC5338i16FI/AAAAAAAAAVY/oxX3nnwlZ7M/s320/DSCN3774.JPG” border=”0″ alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5489456798839990354″ style=”display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; ” //a/divdiva onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_l4L_01UOs1s/TC538rhFYWI/AAAAAAAAAVg/nqSQt2pZ19o/s1600/DSCN3785.JPG”img src=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_l4L_01UOs1s/TC538rhFYWI/AAAAAAAAAVg/nqSQt2pZ19o/s320/DSCN3785.JPG” border=”0″ alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5489456880168558946″ style=”display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; ” //a/diva onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_l4L_01UOs1s/TC54Vs6yx8I/AAAAAAAAAWQ/gv4Jdw0d7HQ/s1600/DSCN3813.JPG”img src=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_l4L_01UOs1s/TC54Vs6yx8I/AAAAAAAAAWQ/gv4Jdw0d7HQ/s320/DSCN3813.JPG” border=”0″ alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5489457310041556930″ style=”display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; ” //adiv style=”text-align: center;”span class=”Apple-style-span” style=”font-weight: bold;”Lots of pretty views/span/divdiv style=”text-align: center;”span class=”Apple-style-span” style=”font-weight: bold;”br //span/divdiv style=”text-align: center;”br //divdiv style=”text-align: center;”span class=”Apple-style-span” style=”font-weight: bold;”span class=”Apple-style-span” style=”font-weight: normal; “a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_l4L_01UOs1s/TC54h3s781I/AAAAAAAAAWo/FaMLUkNv63g/s1600/DSCN3826.JPG”img src=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_l4L_01UOs1s/TC54h3s781I/AAAAAAAAAWo/FaMLUkNv63g/s320/DSCN3826.JPG” border=”0″ alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5489457519094657874″ style=”display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; ” //a/span/span/divdiv style=”text-align: center;”span class=”Apple-style-span” style=”font-weight: bold;”Erik and I hanging out in the sun at Whitehorse/span/divdiv style=”text-align: center;”br //divdivSoon enough we were back in the car for the last section of the trip- the 13 hours from Whitehorse to Anchorage. I was pre-warned about this section, so I had an idea of what was coming- but I didn’t really realize the degree of craziness. Right before you cross the border, back into the US there is about a 100 mile section of huge frost heaves that could very possibly swallow your car. I actually couldn’t even believe they considered it a road. It was almost as if a river ran down the middle of the road at one point. After the huge ruts and bumps, the next hour was on dirt roads, where they were doing a bunch of road construction. After driving the crazy bumpy pavement- the dirt road actually seemed like a relief./divdivbr //divdiva onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_l4L_01UOs1s/TC54Q8s56TI/AAAAAAAAAWI/nNzfgN03vPU/s1600/DSCN3809.JPG”img src=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_l4L_01UOs1s/TC54Q8s56TI/AAAAAAAAAWI/nNzfgN03vPU/s320/DSCN3809.JPG” border=”0″ alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5489457228378925362″ style=”display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; ” //a/divdiv style=”text-align: center;”span class=”Apple-style-span” style=”font-weight: bold;”Sign Post Forest. We actually found a Bjornson Street./span/divdiv style=”text-align: center;”span class=”Apple-style-span” style=”font-weight: bold;”br //span/divdiv style=”text-align: left;”br //diva onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_l4L_01UOs1s/TC54IcbrLAI/AAAAAAAAAV4/LeJfp58gRWA/s1600/DSCN3800.JPG”img src=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_l4L_01UOs1s/TC54IcbrLAI/AAAAAAAAAV4/LeJfp58gRWA/s320/DSCN3800.JPG” border=”0″ alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5489457082277768194″ style=”display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; ” //adiv style=”text-align: center;”span class=”Apple-style-span” style=”font-weight: bold;”lots of wildlife right beside the road./span/divdiv style=”text-align: center;”span class=”Apple-style-span” style=”font-weight: bold;”br //span/divdivThe trip was super long, but also very pretty. Lots of wildlife, lots of road construction, lots of RV’s, lots of people living in the bush, and lots of open land.  I have to say one of the craziest things we saw during the trip was on the last day, when we were driving through the upper yukon, we passed a large native, walking a baby in a stroller down the side of the highway, with a huge gun wrapped around his back. If I wasn’t scared of the man’s intentions, I would have stopped and taken a picture- because it was sure a sight to see. I have come to realize there is a reason people are out in the bush- not necessarily a bad reason- just a reason… and its better to not ask./divdivbr //divdiva onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_l4L_01UOs1s/TC54p72CXSI/AAAAAAAAAW4/g-rjExZhQ8U/s1600/DSCN3844.JPG”img src=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_l4L_01UOs1s/TC54p72CXSI/AAAAAAAAAW4/g-rjExZhQ8U/s320/DSCN3844.JPG” border=”0″ alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5489457657645522210″ style=”display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; ” //a/divdiv style=”text-align: center;”span class=”Apple-style-span” style=”font-weight: bold;”Glacier we drove by near Anchorag/spane/divdivbr //divdivI have some pictures from the trip- Erik and I decided to randomly take pictures along the way. We were switching driving a lot, and Erik was too lazy to pull out the camera- so we missed some of the super cool sections…. but still some shots to explain the trip./divdivbr //divdiv style=”text-align: left;”br //diva onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_l4L_01UOs1s/TC54l28paPI/AAAAAAAAAWw/LwtsPOfBUDY/s1600/DSCN3839.JPG”img src=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_l4L_01UOs1s/TC54l28paPI/AAAAAAAAAWw/LwtsPOfBUDY/s320/DSCN3839.JPG” border=”0″ alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5489457587611592946″ style=”display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; ” //adiv style=”text-align: center;”span class=”Apple-style-span” style=”font-weight: bold;”Lots of Road Construction!/span/divdiv style=”text-align: left;”br //diva onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_l4L_01UOs1s/TC54MaAhlpI/AAAAAAAAAWA/p655M_2vY7M/s1600/DSCN3803.JPG”img src=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_l4L_01UOs1s/TC54MaAhlpI/AAAAAAAAAWA/p655M_2vY7M/s320/DSCN3803.JPG” border=”0″ alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5489457150346499730″ style=”display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; ” //adiv style=”text-align: center;”span class=”Apple-style-span” style=”font-weight: bold;”Hanging out waiting for pilot car./span/divdiv style=”text-align: center;”br //divdiv style=”text-align: center;”span class=”Apple-style-span” style=”font-weight: bold;”span class=”Apple-style-span” style=”font-weight: normal; “a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_l4L_01UOs1s/TC53xkzDN7I/AAAAAAAAAVQ/u2DPgTzYSyE/s1600/DSCN3765.JPG”img src=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_l4L_01UOs1s/TC53xkzDN7I/AAAAAAAAAVQ/u2DPgTzYSyE/s320/DSCN3765.JPG” border=”0″ alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5489456689386305458″ style=”display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; ” //a/span/span/divdivOh yeah…. we hit a moose twenty miles from Anchorage on the way into town and crushed my car. It was raining hard and the dang thing came out from behind the overpass at a pretty good speed. Luckily neither of us were hurt…. but my car was. 2400 miles of road tripping… and the last twenty minutes “the shit hits the fan”.  BIG BUMMER. I guess it makes for a good “You know your in Alaska when…..” story. I took my car into the shop and it looks like it is supposed to take three to four weeks to fix. I suppose its back to the “These boots are made for walking”./divdivbr //divdiva onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_l4L_01UOs1s/TC54eMhmPDI/AAAAAAAAAWg/sEuCHzIgKgU/s1600/DSCN3820.JPG”img src=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_l4L_01UOs1s/TC54eMhmPDI/AAAAAAAAAWg/sEuCHzIgKgU/s320/DSCN3820.JPG” border=”0″ alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5489457455964765234″ style=”display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; ” //a/divdivAnd its off to my first Glacier camp with APU this weekend!/div/divdiv class=”blogger-post-footer”img width=’1′ height=’1′ src=’https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2018521813175454198-6036145779689747494?l=sadiebjornsen.blogspot.com’ alt=” //div

  • Week In Review: Friday July 2nd

    My first full month of blogging is in the books!  I’ll be travelling a bit over the next ten days, so posting might be a little lighter than usual, but not much.  I’ve got a bunch of stuff lined up already written…

    Here’s a look back at what’s been going on here this past week:

    • I took my alternative FIS point method, EqPB, out for a drive to see how it handles.
    • We took a look at Kris Freeman’s victims and nemeses, which took us on a bit of a data detour.
    • I expressed my not so veiled opinion about the diversity of events in cross country skiing.
    • I took a look at skiers who’ve just missed the podium in a variety of unusual settings.
    • I gave a brief overview of shooting accuracy in biathlon
    • Finally, our retiring athlete series continues with Virpi Kuitunen.


  • Career Retrospective: Virpi Kuitunen

    Finnish skier Virpi Kuitunen is among the group of retiring skiers this year and she’s next in line for a retrospective look at her career.

    First we need to dispense with the issue of doping.  Kuitunen was caught using a banned blood plasma expander at the 2001 World Championships in Lahti, Finland.  She received a 2 year suspension and then returned to racing.

    Kuitunen has twice won the World Cup overall competition (2007, 2008).  I found 34 individual podium finishes<1 in distance events and 21 in sprints.  This includes Tour de Ski results as well, which she won in 2009.  She has never medalled in an individual race at the Olympics that I can see.  Her best Olympic results were a 5th in the sprint in 2006 and 9th in the 10km classic race, also in 2006.

    Let’s look at her distance results:

    Virpi Kuitunen's distance results.

    There’s a single World Junior’s result before Kuitunen started appearing on the World Cup scene in 1997.  Her dramatic improvement from 2000 to 2001 is evident, as is the gap corresponding to her suspension.  This past season was a bit of a drop-off for her, compared to a very consistent stretch of results from 2004-2009.

    Let’s look at these results broken down by technique:

    Virpi Kuitunen's distance results by technique.

    The FC category refers to pursuits.  For some reason, I had in my head the idea that she was a stronger skater, but clearly that’s not the case.  The 2007-2008 season in particular stands out for some stellar classic skiing.

    Next, a look at these results classified by distance:

    Virpi Kuitunen's distance results by length.

    Not many strong patterns here, although you might argue that she was stronger at somewhat shorter distance (less than 15km).

    How about sprinting?

    Virpi Kuitunen's sprint results.

    Seasons 2004 through 2008 were clearly the high point for her sprinting.  She clearly excelled at sprints, though, if you notice that nearly all of these results are better than 30th, meaning she nearly always qualified for the elimination rounds.  Was she a classic specialist in sprints as well….?

    Virpi Kuitunen's sprint results by technique. y-axis label should be Rank not FIS points.

    Yup, pretty much.

    So there you have it, another career in pictures.  So long, Virpi!


    1. Including a victory in the pursuit at the 2001 WSC’s that she apparently was not disqualified from. <↩