Before leaving for West Yellowstone, Bryan and I drove around the Midwest and did 5 ski clinics, plus a Super Fit at the Bicycle Doctor in Dousman, WI. You can read about the clinics in detail HERE.
Our fall clinic tour started on November 7th, with the Ski and Tea women of Hayward, WI.
The next day […]
Before leaving for West Yellowstone, Bryan and I drove around the Midwest and did 5 ski clinics, plus a Super Fit at the Bicycle Doctor in Dousman, WI. You can read about the clinics in detail HERE.
Our fall clinic tour started on November 7th, with the Ski and Tea women of Hayward, WI.
The next day […]
We’re back in Silver Star. It’s so cold here that the battery on my camera hasn’t allowed me to take any photos outside. The men’s and women’s teams are staying at different condos here at the Star. This cold weather has really increased our appetites.
CXC Mens team: Brian, Matt, Bryan, and Karl
Silver Star is set up for training. Cook and I got into the weight room in the afternoon–a welcome opportunity to train in shorts and t-shirt after being totally bundled out on the trail.
Cook: stacking it.
Nothing extraordinary, just getting it done.
a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/Sx_yQuP0aCI/AAAAAAAABrA/DCUdJhQUpKk/s1600-h/photo.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/Sx_yQuP0aCI/AAAAAAAABrA/DCUdJhQUpKk/s400/photo.jpg” border=”0″ alt=””id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5413311646228834338″ //aAhhhhh… we had a great crepe dinner in Quebec City last night.br /br /As coaches, we try to help get our athletes into race day routines so that they have time to get good wax and a good warm-up. Once in awhile something happens and the plan has to be altered. Today we (coaches) decided to throw the kids a curveball. We told them that we would be doing some skate intervals and then switched to a “mass start time trial in seven minutes ” mode. We wanted them to have to deal with a sudden change. Maybe intervals and a TT are too close to get a big reaction or maybe they all took it in stride and adapted well. Either way, we were happy with everyones effort and it was good to see them playing with tactics and figuring out their relative strengths and weaknesses. Bridger edged Skyler for top time. Tyler snuck by Mac on the last uphill for top J2 boy result and Heather held of Rachel for the girls win. A couple of kids skipped the intensity because of sniffles, but it was a good day and we got the workout in before the snowstorm.br /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/Sx_vSUdGY_I/AAAAAAAABq4/XmCEFdLUK64/s1600-h/IMG_1404.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/Sx_vSUdGY_I/AAAAAAAABq4/XmCEFdLUK64/s400/IMG_1404.JPG” border=”0″ alt=””id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5413308375130072050″ //aMac took it all in stride and had a good time trial.br /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/Sx_u2V5SWoI/AAAAAAAABqw/z9LPgIBHTfo/s1600-h/IMG_1408.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/Sx_u2V5SWoI/AAAAAAAABqw/z9LPgIBHTfo/s400/IMG_1408.JPG” border=”0″ alt=””id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5413307894480394882″ //aGage bundled up for the warm down.br /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/Sx_uWzaTYWI/AAAAAAAABqo/uTYyhIfDDDs/s1600-h/IMG_1406.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/Sx_uWzaTYWI/AAAAAAAABqo/uTYyhIfDDDs/s400/IMG_1406.JPG” border=”0″ alt=””id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5413307352647688546″ //aMatt and Poppet were happy with the way the group responded.div class=”blogger-post-footer”img width=’1′ height=’1′ src=’https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4680416899705879324-3134512034693080818?l=smsxc.blogspot.com’ alt=” //div
Ellie in Copenhagen
Two summers ago, I spent three months at a biological field station in the middle of the mountains in Colorado, doing research for my thesis. I lived in a small cabin called “Mammal Lab” with six other college girls who were also doing their own research. We slept on army cots, the cabin had no heat or running water, and we had to use an outhouse. It was awesome.
One of my cabinmates was Ellie Johnston, who is from Asheville, North Carolina. Over the past year and a half, Ellie has remained an ecology student but also devoted herself more and more to environmental activism and organizing. At this very moment, she’s in Copenhagen at the climate talks as part of the US youth delegation. Go Ellie! I feel lucky to know someone so awesome.
Ellie with a salamander friend out in Colorado
For a little inspiration, here’s an excerpt from a speech that Ellie gave:
Climate change raises our awareness of a lot of things. Though most important it teaches us that we must look out for the children. I am one of those children- although I’m growing up, I still stand firmly among the 3 billion people on this planet under the age of 24. Three billion people is equivalent to the global population in 1960. Today these 3 billion young people around the world stand to inherit a planet whose at once seemingly limitless bounty is now exhausted. There are few final frontiers left to inspire wonder and awe – the west is settled, the moon has been explored, and the oceans and mountains have been mapped. Though there is one left. One which continually insights inspiration and promise for me. And that perhaps is the ultimate frontier left for us—it is that of sustaining life.
As I’ve been following the international climate negotiations it has become apparent that not enough of our politicians get it. I hope today we can change their minds. Too easily we have seen our congressional climate and energy legislation become flooded with loopholes and giveaways for big oil and coal companies who complain about their bottom line as they rake in millions of profits annually and make war on the Appalachian way of life. Too easily we have sat back as President Obama has failed to follow his words with action to address climate change. Our global emissions must peak and begin to decline by 2015 at the latest. We must reduce our emission to 95% below 1990 levels by 2050. We must get our atmospheric concentration of CO2 down from 387ppm to 350ppm.
Don’t let the ceaseless stream of doomsday facts stun you into a hopeless and fatalistic state. They are merely the anticipation of what will happen if we are not committed. 350 represents this commitment, you all represent this commitment, and the children here today represent this commitment.
So what are we to do?
First we must breathe…. some of us are holding our breath waiting for something that we can only create – have confidence in yourself. Our biggest impediment to change is more than often ourselves.
Second we have to value life… there are dozens of ways to address climate change but if we choose methods that undermine people’s livelihoods anywhere than we are promoting an end which is no better than what climate change is creating itself. Coal, oil, and nuclear undermine people’s livelihoods – these are not energy solutions.
Third we must engage…. engage in our communities, engage in our political systems, and engage in our environment. We have to learn, we have to teach, and we have to share with everyone everyday.
Finally we have to take care of the children. There is a burden being passed on to us that is unjust. Young people worldwide recognize that climate change is the challenge of our generation and that we must take our future into our own hands. We are united in our vision and know that we must work together to achieve health and security for our communities—we are united for climate justice. We know that it is not about what works for one but what works for us all.
We can do this. Don’t wait for the captain planets of this world to take action. Do what you can today and keep doing more. I need your help; we all need your help. Today by taking action out in our community we are taking a phenomenal step towards the answer to my question for decision makers the world over. My question is: when will we matter?
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p…is whether or not local news weather media showcase cross country skiers in the streets of metropolitan areas./p
Calgary to Minnesota – After a fourty-five minute delay for de-icing we were finally off, leaving the cold (-31 Celsius) temperatures of Canmore behind and on our way first to Phoenix and then finally to Minneapolis. It was odd landing in Phoenix, seeing brown and green landscapes and feeling 60+ degrees after skiing for two and a half weeks. As we waited at our gate the three gates to our right read Oahu, Kona, and Maui, Hawaii, long story short we’re here in Minnesota now.br /br /
From Cosmo:
So not only did Brayton deal the mighty DC Yankee its only loss of the season last week, but he also bumped himself up 3rd seed in the fantasy playoffs. That means he and I will meet in Round 1—our 3rd and 4th weeks of competing head-to-head this season.
Lest you think I’m looking past this matchup, I’m still bitter about the tie in Week 4.
Cosmo, thank you for reminding me it’s playoff time. I will make sure to get my team in order before that sneaky Thursday game might catch me off guard. Rest assured, I’m not looking past this matchup either.
I took Sunday off of racing, part of the plan that my coach Bryan Fish and I made earlier this fall. Instead, I spent the morning exploring the vast network of trails at Bohart Ranch. My favorite loop was the Loggers Trail, which goes high into the Gallatin National Forest, and supposedly offers some spectacular views of the valley, but the overcast skies made visibility more limited. The dusting of new snow on the ground provided a great opportunity to see a variety of fresh tracks.
Loggers Trail – Bohard Ranch
After a couple of weeks skiing in West Yellowstone with hundreds of other skiers and the City Sprints in Bozeman, skiing on the empty Loggers Trail was exactly what I needed to relax and let my mind wander. I’m reading the book “Why We Run” by UVM biology professor Bernd Heinrich. So far, the book is more about nature and biology than it is about running, but his insights have opened my eyes to the environment on the trail around me.
At one point during my ski, at least an hour from the lodge without a soul in sight, I stopped next to some particularly big tracks crossing the trail. My first thought was that the tracks were from a bear, but realizing it was the middle of winter, I reconsidered. Taking a drink of water, I got an eerie feeling that I wasn’t the only one out in the woods. I began to sweat a bit, even though I’d stopped and was cooling down. Looking into the trees, I soon realized that, sure enough; I wasn’t alone. There was a moose staring right at me.
Continuing along the trail, I almost ran into a fawn standing right in the middle of the classic tracks on a downhill eating buds off a small pine. Glad that wasn’t the moose!
Finally, toward the end of the ski, I spotted a grouse, also eating buds off a tree. I’ve got no idea why I never see grouse just sitting around when I’m actually hunting them. At any rate, it was pretty cool to see it just hopping around and eating.
Grouse sitting on a tree branch in the middle of the photo
The 3+ hour ski turned out to be a great little adventure on the (posted) Bohart Ranch trails. . .
We’re back. And I’m excited. Very excited. After two weeks in Montana we made the two day drive across the border and I’m again settling into a condo on the Knoll at Silver Star (if it sounds fancy and resorty, that’s because it is). Yesterday’s drive (Bozeman to Spokane) was smooth sailing – 400 miles and 6 hours of I-90. Today wasn’t particularly hard, but it just didn’t go as fast. Between crossing the border (3 minutes) and shopping for food in Vernon (more than 3 minutes), it took somewhere between 7 and 8 hours to get up here, but we still made it in time for an evening ski.
p…with apologies to the Alaskans who apparently see this every 15 seconds./p
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After the first weekend of races, we stuck around in West Yellowstone for a few days to get in some good skis before moving on to Bozeman. We lucked into getting a nice spacious cabin only a five minute walk from the Bohart Ranch, the site of Sunday’s races, which also featured a beautiful view of the Bridger Range across the valley. We had no internet or TV or cell phone service, but the area was so nice, I wish I’d been able to go backcountry skiing from the house every day instead of racing.
Now for the race reports:
Saturday’s race was a skate sprint on a loopy course near downtown Bozeman. It was cold with freshly fallen snow that made the turns not quite as zippy fast as they had been when we’d previewed the course the day before. I think we all had a bit of trouble getting warmed up enough for our qualifying heats, but three of us qualified for the heats anyways. Ida qualified 6th, won her quarterfinal, and went on to place 12th. Tim and I both qualified 23rd, and then were knocked out of the heats after 4th place finishes in the quarterfinals. It was a great course for spectating and cheering, and I think we all enjoyed it despite the cold. My only regret was that I just wasn’t aggressive enough in my semifinal. In sprints you really have to go for it and not let a gap form, and I just didn’t quite have the confidence for that this time around. I’ll have to remember that for next time!
Sunday’s race was a 10k/15k classic race at Bohart, on one of the craziest 5k loops I’ve skied on. It looped around, up and down with lots of tight corners, and included what I think is the steepest hill I’ve ever herring-boned up in a race. It was a fun, tough course. The race was made even tougher by the fact that it was either -8 or -2 degrees Fahrenheit, depending on which thermometer you looked at. Despite having trouble motivating to get out of the door, I ended up having a good race, finishing in 8th place! This was really exciting because I still know that I can ski better, and it gave me a taste of skiing with some of the top women. Other GRP finishes were Lauren in 36th, Tim in 30th, Matt in 38th, and Ollie in 40th. It was the kind of day where we were all just happy to finish and get inside, and there were some frostbitten fingers and toes to thaw out afterward.
Here’s a picture of Pepa scraping skis on the porch with the Bridgers in the background. Pepa was as tireless and awesome as ever, waxing tons of skis for us and making everything happen. Thank you Pepa!!
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a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_T8lplfcx_Ro/Sx5sqM83IPI/AAAAAAAAAXY/QC-PtBTAXLg/s1600-h/HPIM0987a.jpg”img style=”margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 253px; height: 320px;” src=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_T8lplfcx_Ro/Sx5sqM83IPI/AAAAAAAAAXY/QC-PtBTAXLg/s320/HPIM0987a.jpg” alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5412883274432717042″ border=”0″ //aTuesday is a ski testing day. A few new experimental structures were tested by feel and in a speed trap. divdivbr /divThe test skis got a fresh grind – in this case there were 3 structure variations prepared, and two benchmark structures for comparison. With the current conditions and morning temperatures, the
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