FasterSkier

Category: XCFeeds

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

  • Rogla Sprints

    Tomorrow will see the last sprint race before the Christmas break. This is the first time Slovenia has hosted a World Cup in almost 17 years. The last time the World Cup circuit hit Slovenia was in Bohinj in January 1993. The last winner was the great Kazakh Vladimir Smirnov (there was no women’s race that weekend). The conditions are pristine and the weather is perfect which should make great skiing and a great time for the spectators. There are some notable absentees from the start list including Arianna Follis and Emil Jönsson, but the majority of the big hitters are revving to go tomorrow. Here are some predictions for tomorrow.

    Men
    1. Ola Vigen Hattestad
    2. Øystein Pettersen
    3. Kalle Lassila

    Women
    1. Petra Majdic
    2. Marit Bjørgen
    3. Anna Haag

    Skier to note: Known as Hanna #2 in Sweden, Hanna Brodin will be making her first World Cup start of the season. The 19-year-old has won three of
    the last four FIS races she has entered in Sweden, including two sprints. I expect her to have a good race tomorrow with a top 12 finish.

    North American News:

    According to Kershaw’s twitter account “Rogla is a no-go for me. Sick with a head cold and rocking Kulm life in Davos solo. Sunday will mark the worst birthday in Devon history…”. Very unfortunate and a little depressing, but this means Alex Harvey will be the lone Canadian male this weekend. The Americans have four guys on the start list, including Kris Freeman. On the women’s side, Crawford, Renner, and Randall are the only North Americans on the start list for the freestyle sprint. Back on home snow, the final qualifying race for the Olympics take place in Canmore this weekend with two classic sprints and a classic distance race. There will be lots of big names for a Nor-Am race with numerous American athletes hitting the start line as well.

    Til Tomorrow.

  • Back in the Midwest

    Most of the CXC Team Vertical Limit is back in the Midwest  for the Holidays.  Garrott Kuzzy and Audrey Weber will be representing our crew in Canmore next weekend.  You can check in on them HERE.
    Bryan and I are in Lakeville, MN right now.  Today I will head over to Hayward for Ski and Tea […]

  • In Canmore

    I am now in Canmore… and its amazing here!
    Its sunny and warm. I’m feeling better, and the skiing is spectacular!

    this is the view from our living room... nice, eh?!?!

    this is the view from our living room… nice, eh?!?!

    This last month on the road I have been able to use my culinary skills and be the US Ski Team’s chef. When I’m not on the ski trail working out, or in the wax room working on my skis, I’m usually in the kitchen making sure we are eating delicious dinners every night!!!
    So far there has been no complaints!

    my favorite kitchen so far... complete with a Wolf range and stove!!!

    my favorite kitchen so far… complete with a Wolf range and stove!!!

  • All in for SMS Seniors

    a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/SyqexneTLyI/AAAAAAAABwI/5Fa2DuXfe8w/s1600-h/IMG_1445.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/SyqexneTLyI/AAAAAAAABwI/5Fa2DuXfe8w/s400/IMG_1445.JPG” border=”0″ alt=””id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5416316077113290530″ //abr /Great news for our SMS seniors. They have heard nothing but good news from the colleges that they have applied to. Here is an update.br /br /Skyler Davis:br /UVM acceptedbr /Utah acceptedbr /CU acceptedbr /DU acceptedbr /br /Gage Fichterbr /UVM acceptedbr /UNH finds out in Jan.br /br /Austin Cobbbr /Middlebury accepted (early decision)br /UVM acceptedbr /br /Austin Caldwellbr /UVM acceptedbr /UNH finds out in Jan.br /br /Isabel Caldwellbr /Dartmouth accepted (early decision)br /UVM acceptedbr /br /Congratulations to them all!div class=”blogger-post-footer”img width=’1′ height=’1′ src=’https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4680416899705879324-5782374142879700363?l=smsxc.blogspot.com’ alt=” //div

  • Holiday Ski Clinic

    Holiday Ski Clinic with Garrott Kuzzy

    Wednesday, December 23,  9:00am -10:30am

    Wirth Park Chalet

    photo: zack simons

    photo: zack simons

    Join Garrott Kuzzy (USST/CXC) and the Hopkins High School ski team for a Holiday Ski Clinic at the Wirth Park Chalet in Minneapolis from 9:00 – 10:30am on Wednesday, December 23.  The skate clinic will be geared towards high school skiers, but everyone is welcome.  We will work on a variety of fun drills, play ski games, and spend time ripping around the snow.

    Cost of the clinic is a $10 donation going directly to the Chris Ringsven Memorial Junior Grant Fund to benefit local junior skiers.  We will also be accepting used ski equipment donations for the Hopkins High School ski program.  Show up early so we can start skiing at 9:00.

    Questions?  Contact Rob Fuhr:

    rob_fuhr@hopkins.k12.mn.us

    See you there!

    Kuzzy working with Duluth East skiers in West Yellowstone 2009

    Kuzzy working with Duluth East skiers in West Yellowstone 2009

  • Rčng In the Lnd of Fw Vwels

    Cheery little Zlodej here is the mascot of the upcoming World Cup races in Rogla, Slovenia. The World Cup has only visited Slovenia proper once before, for a men’s 15k skate race at Bohinj in January 1993. (The podium: Smirnov, Mogren, Daehlie.) Before that, the World Cup had staged a few other events at Bohinj and at Sarajevo in the 1980s and 1990s, back when both places were located in

  • Big Weekend for R.N.R

    New York has finally received some snow and everyone has been making the most of it. Last weekend a couple of the Juniors headed north to Lake Placid. Without any time on snow except for a tour of the course on Saturday they had some exceptional results.

    Alyssa Likly started the season off with a bang winning the J2’s girls race!!! Her brother Reed has moved up from the J2’s to join the big guns this year in the J1 age group. Reed had a great debut placing 4ht in the J1 category. Adam Swayze also had a great start to the season now in his second year as a J1 placing second in his age group and proving that all his hard work this summer is sure to pay off this winter. The winner of the J1 race was Charlie Bencze (NYSEF) this was also Charlie’s first race as a J1. On a side note both of the boys took care of business on a club level beating all of the big guns from Peru and putting the H.U.R.T on a couple of other local
    NY Clubs
    The senior team headed to Byrncliff on Saturday and Sunday. With lake effect snow hitting the Buffalo area hard on Thursday the best skiing around was found on the Piston Bully groomed trails. Often forgot about Byrncliff offers 5k of lit trails and about 20k of total trails and often has snow due to it’s close proximity to the lake effect snow bands of Lake Erie. If you live in the Rochester area you gotta make it out there. There ability to groom with a Piston Bully make for some of the best skiing in the state.
    That’s it for now. I’m currently in Hartford airport waiting for my flight to Minneapolis. A preview of the weekends plans will follow!! Get out and enjoy the snow!!

  • Podium in Silver Star, BC

  • Not A Steinbock: Episode IV

    pA Johnny Klister |

  • A White Rhino

    img src=”http://2.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_kusoedXMs41qzt3xbo1_400.jpg”/br/br/pA White Rhino/p

  • “Last I checked I never ski well until I relax. Either way the heart is gonna redline and doing it…”

    ““Last I checked I never ski well until I relax. Either way the heart is gonna redline and doing it while you smile either racing or in other things shows some elan and panache.””br/br/ – emRandom Anonymous Coach Musings, Rocky Mountain Edition/em

  • Follow the MOD Squad

    In an attempt to make it easier for our supporters, sponsors, friends and family to follow our race results and travels, we’ve updated our MOD website’s calendar. Now you can go to:

  • An Open Letter to Jacque Rogge re: Women’s Ski Jumping

    pDear Dr. Rogge:/p
    pWe were very dismayed by the way you elected to answer a question about women’s ski jumping asked of you last week at a press conference on December 10 in Lausanne.  You compared women ski jumpers to their male counterparts – both as athletes in terms of performance and as individual events within the sport of ski jumping.  As you are well aware, men and women athletes do not compete against one another.  They compete within their gender – men against men and women against women./p
    pWould you compare Usain Bolt to Florence Griffith-Joyner?  Catriona Le May-Doan to Sven Kramer?  Lindsey Vonn to Bode Miller? Olympic gold medalist for women’s hockey Hayley Wickenheiser is never compared to male hockey legend Wayne Gretzky.  These athletes are all admired and respected for their achievements against same-gender competitors./p
    pYou pointed out there are so few women ski jumpers active at the world championship level and you compared that disparagingly to “thousands of male ski jumpers.”  You neglected to mention that those male ski jumpers have participated in the Olympics since 1924, guaranteeing those men funding from their governments, their sports federations and support from trainers, coaches and sponsors, not to mention a fan base that has increased awareness of ski jumping as a sports opportunity for men.  Women’s ski jumping, as a sport, has never had the same level of support and as a consequence has not been able to develop at the same rate as men’s ski jumping./p
    pEven in 1991, when the IOC agreed to allow for the inclusion of both men’s and women’s events in all new sports at the Olympic Games, women’s ski jumping was puzzlingly left off the list. Isn’t it also significant that in 2006 FIS recommended our inclusion in the Olympics by a 114-1 vote?/p
    pIt is far more reasonable to compare us to the numbers of women in facility-based winter sports like bobsleigh, skeleton, luge, skier cross and snowboard cross. In 2006, when you denied our inclusion for the 2010 Vancouver Games, 83 women from 14 nations competed at the elite level in ski jumping, according to our sports federation FIS.  Hundreds more competed in their own countries at the national and club levels./p
    pBy comparison, at the time of their inclusion, only 34 women from 10 nations competed at the elite level in snowboard cross and 30 women from 11 nations in ski cross. You added women’s snowboard cross to the Olympics for 2006 and skier cross for 2010.  Shouldn’t the same concern you expressed for  “dilution of medals” apply to these sports? If you compare the numbers of women and countries competing at the elite level in luge, bobsleigh and skeleton during the 2006/2007 season, when we were denied entry, ski jumping had more women and countries at the elite level than those sports as well./p
    pIt’s time to admit there is no reasonable excuse for excluding women’s ski jumping from the Olympics. This has been found to be discriminatory under the laws of Canada and we are seeking leave to argue our case at the Supreme Court of Canada./p
    pAgainst tremendous opposition and well-documented discrimination, we have still achieved amazing results for our sport.  We love what we do, we know we do it well and we know there are enough of us to stage an exciting and competitive event in Vancouver 2010./p
    pSincerely,/p
    pAnette Sagen, Norway, Ulrike Graessler, Germany, Jenna Mohr, Germany, Monica Planic, Slovenia, Lindsey Van, USA, Jessica Jerome, USA, Karla Keck, USA, Katie Willis, Canada, Canada, Meaghan Reid, Canada, Zoya Lynch, Canada, Jade Edwards, Canada, Nata de Leeuw, Canada, Charlotte Mitchell, Canada/p

  • Canmore

  • Pun Jokes: A Confession

    It’s probably time for me to explain something.

    As some of you who also read fasterskier may have seen, I have been doing a lot of writing for that site.  I wrote a training tip for them, and soon you’ll see another article in the featured section by me.  In both, I have a bio at the bottom that mentions a few things.  Most significantly, it mentions the company I co-own with my college friends, lobsterjoke.com.  You may have noticed this earlier in my GRP blog, and if you saw that, then you may have also noticed that I wrote that pun jokes are one of my interests.

    So I’m going to come clean right now.  I’m a lover of puns.  I always have been.  Call me a nerd, call me a dweeb.  I don’t care, I just love ‘em.  I’m not even embarrassed.

    With that said, you should check out lobsterjoke.  There’s some real nice humor on there and I think you’ll love it.  If you like the jokes, you’ll love the shirts.  And the shirts make great Christmas presents.

    Not that you all know about me, here’s a great story:

    Yesterday Chelsea made a cake that was sort of like an upside-down pineapple cake, but instead of pineapple, there was pears.  So an upside-down pear cake?  Not sure.  The problem was that the pears were too soggy and they didn’t look good on the top, so she kept the pear side face-down.  But when we ate it, the pears would fall off the bottom.  Now that’s the background, but it gets better.  As Lauren was cutting a piece for Anna, the pear on the bottom fell off.  That’s the best part, so Lauren made an effort to get the pear back on there.  As she did this, Anna said… (and this is awesome)… “You’re re-pear-ing it!”

    Ever since, I’ve been thinking of how to use more pears in my life, in hopes that one will fall off, and someone will try to put it back on, and I can claim the re-pear joke as my own.

  • Top 10 Things Not to Miss on Your Trip to Alaska (compiled by a consortium of Alaska dwellers)

    pbr/ #10   Welcome to Alaska. You just spent between four and eight hours on planes to get here.  By the way, your rental car doesn’t have studs and we don’t bother to plow, sand, or salt the roads here. Have fun with that.  You love it here already, we can tell.br/br/ #9   Gwenie’s Old Alaska Restaurant: If you want a massive breakfast for cheap (well, cheap for Anchorage), go here.  Only 1 in 10 people will end up with food poisoning, so it’s well worth the risk.br/br/ #8   Kincaid moose: When you stop to gawk at the moose on the trails, be sure to step off to the side. When they trample someone in the middle of the trail it tends to really mess up the tracks.br/br/ #7   Spenard Road: Like Amsterdam’s red light district, but classier.br/br/ #6   Municipality of Anchorage Grooming Crew:  Arguably the most advanced grooming team in the country.  New and innovative techniques include tilling to a depth of 12” in only 7” of snow.  The groomers here are rumored to have a secret contract deal with BNS.br/br/ #5   Alaska Mountaineering and Hiking (AMH): When you decide you want that 4th pair of windbriefs afterall, AMH will be there, just waiting to charge you three times what they are worth.br/br/ #4   The men’s bathroom at the Great Alaskan Bush Company: Famed Ski Comedian Cindy Pierce claims they have the nicest little, round, blue bars of hand soap in there.  Plus the establishment itself is something that should be visited at least once a night throughout your stay.br/br/ #3   The Downtown Transit Center on 6th Avenue (Bus Station): Drop off any cocky junior guys in your group and let them hang out here for a couple hours.  They’ll come back scared S!tless and extremely well mannered.  Don’t worry, it’s perfectly safe, there’s on average only one murder there per year and it already happened in 2009.br/br/ #2  No visit would be complete without stopping to see Star (VI)* the Reindeer in her pen by the parkstrip.  Warm and cuddly feelings should abound.  Then walk a few blocks north to a street vender to enjoy a hot, delicious reindeer sausage.br/br/ *(Star II was brutally slaughtered in her pen and butchered on site in the 1980’s by an Alaskan Native from Kotzebue to the utter horror of onlookers.)br/br/ #1 US National Championships:  According to John Farra there are actually going to be ski races in Alaska this year.  If they happen, don’t miss out. br/br//p

  • Mte Ste Anne Sprints

    a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/SymLH1ieY6I/AAAAAAAABwA/GTHoE8FBEz4/s1600-h/IMG_1539.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/SymLH1ieY6I/AAAAAAAABwA/GTHoE8FBEz4/s400/IMG_1539.JPG” border=”0″ alt=””id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5416012993636754338″ //aWe had a sprint practice with Dartmouth today. The course was tight and the competition was good so it was a great practice. We started at 9:45 and whipped through a prelim and multiple heats and were done by 11. Fast and furious action because it was COLD!br /Ruff is putting up the results on the Dartmouth Skiing site, but their server is currently down. I just have the prelim results.br /The course was good, but it was narrow and soft on the edges so it made passing tough but not impossible. br /We had told the SMS kids to try to figure out how to deal with the cold weather and to try to ski fast in the preliminary and then play with strategies in the heats. My guess is that the Dartmouth kids didn’t stress the prelims too much and saved their best for the heats (either that or they are just tougher then we are!). In the prelims, Skyler, Bridger, Austin Caldwell and Austin Cobb were 1,4,6,7, but in the finals the Dartmouth boys took 1,2,3 (Patrick, Erik, Nils) with Skyler 4th and Bridger 5th. For girls, the top prelim times were Sophie, Stephanie, Gage, Megan, Rachel, Katie B. and Heather. The final results were Sophie, Katie, Heather, Steph, Rachel.br /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/SymKvrLCKjI/AAAAAAAABv4/-9KMpST_AoY/s1600-h/IMG_1540.JPG”img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 307px;” src=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/SymKvrLCKjI/AAAAAAAABv4/-9KMpST_AoY/s400/IMG_1540.JPG” border=”0″ alt=””id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5416012578537220658″ //aBridger with Eric Packer, Skyler and Austin Cobb in hot pursuit.br /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/SymKdPJjKhI/AAAAAAAABvw/5fm8S9UYUmc/s1600-h/IMG_1548.JPG”img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 284px;” src=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/SymKdPJjKhI/AAAAAAAABvw/5fm8S9UYUmc/s400/IMG_1548.JPG” border=”0″ alt=””id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5416012261777156626″ //aKatie Bono leads 3 SMS girls in one of the semi’s.br /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/SymKO2xDLJI/AAAAAAAABvo/NlgPYUhnH9I/s1600-h/IMG_1550.JPG”img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 254px;” src=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/SymKO2xDLJI/AAAAAAAABvo/NlgPYUhnH9I/s400/IMG_1550.JPG” border=”0″ alt=””id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5416012014713777298″ //aStart of boys A final.br /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/SymJrhWz_qI/AAAAAAAABvg/zyGNgwEZxB8/s1600-h/IMG_1553.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/SymJrhWz_qI/AAAAAAAABvg/zyGNgwEZxB8/s400/IMG_1553.JPG” border=”0″ alt=””id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5416011407671164578″ //aPatrick O’B. runs away with the boys A final win.br /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/SymJdXmLW5I/AAAAAAAABvY/jVvLzsvJySI/s1600-h/IMG_1559.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/SymJdXmLW5I/AAAAAAAABvY/jVvLzsvJySI/s400/IMG_1559.JPG” border=”0″ alt=””id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5416011164533087122″ //aGirls A final. Sophie cruises to victory. We took some solace in the fact that even though Dartmouth took the wins, both winners were SMS alums :).br /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/SymJCGSaJGI/AAAAAAAABvQ/RNHAoSNjbHk/s1600-h/IMG_1566.JPG”img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;” src=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/SymJCGSaJGI/AAAAAAAABvQ/RNHAoSNjbHk/s400/IMG_1566.JPG” border=”0″ alt=””id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5416010696030299234″ //abr /We had an awesome classic ski this afternoon. Cold, hard tracks. Good kick and good glide. Tyler and Mac saw two moose (or is it mooses) too!div class=”blogger-post-footer”img width=’1′ height=’1′ src=’https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4680416899705879324-1069229148032811934?l=smsxc.blogspot.com’ alt=” //div

  • Mte Ste Anne Sprints

    a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/SymLH1ieY6I/AAAAAAAABwA/GTHoE8FBEz4/s1600-h/IMG_1539.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/SymLH1ieY6I/AAAAAAAABwA/GTHoE8FBEz4/s400/IMG_1539.JPG” border=”0″ alt=””id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5416012993636754338″ //aWe had a sprint practice with Dartmouth today. The courses was tight and the competition was good so it was a great practice. We started at 9:45 and whipped through a prelim and multiple heats and were done by 11. Fast and furious action because it was COLD!br /Ruff is putting up the results on the Dartmouth Skiing site, but their server is currently down. I just have the prelim results.br /The course was good, but it was narrow and soft on the edges so it made passing tough but not impossible. br /We had told the SMS kids to try to figure out how to deal with the cold weather and to try to ski fast in the preliminary and then play with strategies in the heats. My guess is that the Dartmouth kids didn’t stress the prelims too much and saved their best for the heats (either that or they are just tougher then we are!). In the prelims, Skyler, Bridger, Austin Caldwell and Austin Cobb were 1,4,6,7, but in the finals the Dartmouth boys took 1,2,3 (Patrick, Erik, Nils) with Skyler 4th and Bridger 5th. For girls, the top prelim times were Sophie, Stephanie, Gage, Megan, Rachel, Katie B. and Heather. The final results were Sophie, Katie, Heather, Steph, Rachel.br /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/SymKvrLCKjI/AAAAAAAABv4/-9KMpST_AoY/s1600-h/IMG_1540.JPG”img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 307px;” src=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/SymKvrLCKjI/AAAAAAAABv4/-9KMpST_AoY/s400/IMG_1540.JPG” border=”0″ alt=””id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5416012578537220658″ //aBridger with Eric Packer, Skyler and Austin Cobb in hot pursuit.br /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/SymKdPJjKhI/AAAAAAAABvw/5fm8S9UYUmc/s1600-h/IMG_1548.JPG”img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 284px;” src=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/SymKdPJjKhI/AAAAAAAABvw/5fm8S9UYUmc/s400/IMG_1548.JPG” border=”0″ alt=””id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5416012261777156626″ //aKatie Bono leads 3 SMS girls in one of the semi’s.br /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/SymKO2xDLJI/AAAAAAAABvo/NlgPYUhnH9I/s1600-h/IMG_1550.JPG”img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 254px;” src=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/SymKO2xDLJI/AAAAAAAABvo/NlgPYUhnH9I/s400/IMG_1550.JPG” border=”0″ alt=””id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5416012014713777298″ //aStart of boys A final.br /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/SymJrhWz_qI/AAAAAAAABvg/zyGNgwEZxB8/s1600-h/IMG_1553.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/SymJrhWz_qI/AAAAAAAABvg/zyGNgwEZxB8/s400/IMG_1553.JPG” border=”0″ alt=””id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5416011407671164578″ //aPatrick O’B. runs away with the boys A final win.br /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/SymJdXmLW5I/AAAAAAAABvY/jVvLzsvJySI/s1600-h/IMG_1559.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/SymJdXmLW5I/AAAAAAAABvY/jVvLzsvJySI/s400/IMG_1559.JPG” border=”0″ alt=””id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5416011164533087122″ //aGirls A final. Sophie cruises to victory. We took some solice in the fact that even though Dartmouth took the wins, both winners were SMS alums :).br /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/SymJCGSaJGI/AAAAAAAABvQ/RNHAoSNjbHk/s1600-h/IMG_1566.JPG”img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;” src=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/SymJCGSaJGI/AAAAAAAABvQ/RNHAoSNjbHk/s400/IMG_1566.JPG” border=”0″ alt=””id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5416010696030299234″ //abr /We had an awesome classic ski this afternoon. Cold, hard tracks. Good kick and good glide. Tyler and Mac saw two moose (or is it mooses) too!div class=”blogger-post-footer”img width=’1′ height=’1′ src=’https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4680416899705879324-1069229148032811934?l=smsxc.blogspot.com’ alt=” //div

  • MWSC Biathletes prepare for second weekend of Olympic Trials. This weekend is also the Junior World Championship Team Trials

  • Canmore, Alberta

    Canmore is awesome.  The CXC Team left Silver Star on Monday and I moved in with the national team – a small group including Morgan Smyth, Lindsay Williams, and coach Abi Holt. Monday was a relaxing day off, doing almost nothing, after a full weekend of racing at Sovereign.  We spent Tuesday on the road, driving through Rogers Pass between Silver Star and Canmore.

    Needless to say, that’s some pretty cool country, passing through several Provincial and National Parks.  It was a bit overcast, but conditions were safe and we made good time.  Abi’s iPod provided almost endless entertainment over the journey and her iPhone got us from Point A to Point B without hassle.

    Columbia River outside Revelstoke

    Columbia River outside Revelstoke

    After a long day on the road, a good wood fired pizza from Rocky Mountain Flatbread in Canmore hit the spot.  Between the Dryer’s new brick oven pizza and the Rivers Eatery in Cable, I feel like I’m becoming a connoisseur of wood fired pizza.

    Morgan Smyth enjoying her pizza

    Morgan Smyth enjoying her pizza

    Of the three pizza’s we ordered, my favourite (we are in Canada, eh?) included chicken, cherry tomatoes, and apple.  I’ve never had apple on a pizza and was admittedly skeptical, but it tasted great.  Apple slices would be an excellent addition to my personal favorite: the Eau Claire, with barbecue sauce, chicken, and dried cranberries.  I’ll have to order that next time I’m in Cable.

    Of course, the skiing in Canmore this morning was awesome.  Great to be back.