Category: XCFeeds

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

    a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://www.webskis.com/uploaded_images/fam@miessner_2-782042.jpg”img style=”float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 155px; height: 320px;” src=”http://www.webskis.com/uploaded_images/fam@miessner_2-781970.jpg” border=”0″ alt=”” //abr /Sunday, February 15, was a fairly typical winter day in Central Oregon. The Friday snow showers left about 5 inches of new snow in the Cascades surrounding Diamond Lake. The pointed summit of  Mount Thielson sparkled with a wind blown plume of snow whipping from the top. Mount Bailey to the south beckoned with  open bowls that invited alpine touring turns. And in the valley between these guardians, nordic skiers gathered at the site of the 23rd annual John Day Memorial race. divbr //divdivI mentioned in the title that this is a family affair. I first wish to acknowledge and thank my father-in-law, Dan Bulkley (age 91) for organizing and staging this race. Dan was a friend and comrade of the late John Day, the namesake of the race. Dan races often in other races here in Oregon and around the world, but on Sunday he wore the hat of race organizer. I also want to thank my wife, Dani for her help and support. She assisted Ryder Peterson in placing direction signs and flagging around the course as well as helped me pick up said signage. Ryder, although not blood family, has been a Bulkley family friend, training partner and co-chair of the race for some time and all those who race there know Ryder. Thanks also go out to the other volunteers from Ashland and Bend who helped run a great race./divdivbr //divdivThe course at Diamond Lake is family friendly. It is a flat to rolling set of trails that can be negotiated by absolute beginners or top level athletes. At this year’s edition I saw parents and children skiing together on a sunny day in the spruce/fir forest of trees flocked for a Christmas card. Husbands and wives participated in the same event encouraging each other. Seems that this is the race that for some participants is the only time old friends get together and build ski racing memories. In the class for men 85-89 Walter Krebs and Tom Gibbons shared stories of previous races and added another experience to their personal libraries of ski history.  /divdivbr //divdivThe pasta feed/lunch after the race is much appreciated after a morning of hard skiing. /divdivbr //divdivThe results?  This year Webskis Team athlete Eric Martin won the race by a large margin. His dad “Wild Bill” Martin also placed in  his age group 70-74. Summit High School coach Muffy Roy won for the women. I won the class for men 60-64. At the time of this writing I don’t have full results. Showing well for Webskis Team were Kerrie Raymond and Win Goodbody./divimg style=”float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 235px; height: 320px;” src=”http://www.webskis.com/uploaded_images/Win-G@JD09-761570.jpg” border=”0″ alt=”” /divbr //divdivI did have more photos I could have posted, but somehow I deleted them from my Blackberry before I got them saved. I have to admit to more skill with ski wax than high tech PDAs. br //divdivbr //divdiv(left: Win at the finish)/divdivbr //divdivAround the country, I know that many Webskis Team members are gearing up for the American Birkebeiner  in Hayward, Wisconsin next weekend. I see New England Webskis Team member Greg Allen skied well in the Costal Maine 10 km skate race. If you are a Webskis Team member and see this post and did not get recognition, comment on the blog and let us know what you are doing. /divdivbr //divdivHave great skiing./divdivbr //divdivBert/divdiv class=”blogger-post-footer”img width=’1′ height=’1′ src=’https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6589659500745667109-8182929556903781757?l=www.webskis.com%2Fwebskisblog.html’ alt=” //div

  • Rollerskiing

    Despite the warm weather and rain last week that melted all of the natural snow here in Minneapolis, I was extremely excited to Rollerski! Rollerskiing is the form of training that most Nordic Skiers use during the months when there isn’t any snow to ski on (usually spring, summer and early fall, but sometimes February as well!). Rollerskis are made of a wooden or metal shaft and two polyurethane wheels. They are designed to be used on paved roads and paths but I have had to use them on some hard packed dirt roads in Vermont.

    So when all of the lakes melted and the trails near my house began to resemble the lakes, I had to migrate Northwest to Elm Creek Park Reserve for some loops on their man made loop. The skiing at Elm Creek is incredible. The man made loop is almost 5 feet deep and the trail is 2.5K of varying terrain.

    I sometimes enjoy skiing through the woods or across the lakes and not seeing anyone else but I also love gathering at Elm Creek with all of the other Twin Cities’ skiers who are preparing in the final days before the American Birkebeiner!!! Elm Creek provides the opportunity to catch up with over 20 people in one 2 hour workout and get the opportunity to ski with each of them!

    After many loops, boredom began to sink in and more importantly my schedule began to fill. I could no longer drive the 30 min each way to ski and I had to make some decisions about what to do for my specific training two weeks from the World Championships. I realized that Minneapolis has one of the largest bike commuting population in the country and this is incredible considering the weather we can have. I checked out the bike paths and sure enough they had all been plowed and were mostly free of ice.

    Some people say they wait until June to start rollerskiing but I have to admit that I really like rollerskiing. With so many bike paths and fun neighborhoods to explore I could ski a different route everyday for weeks! I love exploring different areas of the city and I love that I can live two blocks from downtown and rollerski from my door!

    The rollerskiing was pretty good a few days ago but I realized that there is still not quite enough daylight, especially when there is still a few slick spots on the trail. I did have the chance to enjoy some of the most beautiful views of the downtown Minneapolis skyline. I’ll be heading out to the Czech Republic Monday for World Championships, but I won’t be bringing my rollerskis with me. I hope you have enough snow where you are or where you are going to keep the ski season going!

  • Rollerskiing

    Despite the warm weather and rain last week that melted all of the natural snow here in Minneapolis, I was extremely excited to Rollerski! Rollerskiing is the form of training that most Nordic Skiers use during the months when there isn’t any snow to ski on (usually spring, summer and early fall, but sometimes February as well!). Rollerskis are made of a wooden or metal shaft and two polyurethane wheels. They are designed to be used on paved roads and paths but I have had to use them on some hard packed dirt roads in Vermont.

    So when all of the lakes melted and the trails near my house began to resemble the lakes, I had to migrate Northwest to Elm Creek Park Reserve for some loops on their man made loop. The skiing at Elm Creek is incredible. The man made loop is almost 5 feet deep and the trail is 2.5K of varying terrain.

    I sometimes enjoy skiing through the woods or across the lakes and not seeing anyone else but I also love gathering at Elm Creek with all of the other Twin Cities’ skiers who are preparing in the final days before the American Birkebeiner!!! Elm Creek provides the opportunity to catch up with over 20 people in one 2 hour workout and get the opportunity to ski with each of them!

    After many loops, boredom began to sink in and more importantly my schedule began to fill. I could no longer drive the 30 min each way to ski and I had to make some decisions about what to do for my specific training two weeks from the World Championships. I realized that Minneapolis has one of the largest bike commuting population in the country and this is incredible considering the weather we can have. I checked out the bike paths and sure enough they had all been plowed and were mostly free of ice.

    Some people say they wait until June to start rollerskiing but I have to admit that I really like rollerskiing. With so many bike paths and fun neighborhoods to explore I could ski a different route everyday for weeks! I love exploring different areas of the city and I love that I can live two blocks from downtown and rollerski from my door!

    The rollerskiing was pretty good a few days ago but I realized that there is still not quite enough daylight, especially when there is still a few slick spots on the trail. I did have the chance to enjoy some of the most beautiful views of the downtown Minneapolis skyline. I’ll be heading out to the Czech Republic Monday for World Championships, but I won’t be bringing my rollerskis with me. I hope you have enough snow where you are or where you are going to keep the ski season going!

  • Rollerskiing

    Despite the warm weather and rain last week that melted all of the natural snow here in Minneapolis, I was extremely excited to Rollerski! Rollerskiing is the form of training that most Nordic Skiers use during the months when there isn’t any snow to ski on (usually spring, summer and early fall, but sometimes February as well!). Rollerskis are made of a wooden or metal shaft and two polyurethane wheels. They are designed to be used on paved roads and paths but I have had to use them on some hard packed dirt roads in Vermont.

    So when all of the lakes melted and the trails near my house began to resemble the lakes, I had to migrate Northwest to Elm Creek Park Reserve for some loops on their man made loop. The skiing at Elm Creek is incredible. The man made loop is almost 5 feet deep and the trail is 2.5K of varying terrain.

    I sometimes enjoy skiing through the woods or across the lakes and not seeing anyone else but I also love gathering at Elm Creek with all of the other Twin Cities’ skiers who are preparing in the final days before the American Birkebeiner!!! Elm Creek provides the opportunity to catch up with over 20 people in one 2 hour workout and get the opportunity to ski with each of them!

    After many loops, boredom began to sink in and more importantly my schedule began to fill. I could no longer drive the 30 min each way to ski and I had to make some decisions about what to do for my specific training two weeks from the World Championships. I realized that Minneapolis has one of the largest bike commuting population in the country and this is incredible considering the weather we can have. I checked out the bike paths and sure enough they had all been plowed and were mostly free of ice.

    Some people say they wait until June to start rollerskiing but I have to admit that I really like rollerskiing. With so many bike paths and fun neighborhoods to explore I could ski a different route everyday for weeks! I love exploring different areas of the city and I love that I can live two blocks from downtown and rollerski from my door!

    The rollerskiing was pretty good a few days ago but I realized that there is still not quite enough daylight, especially when there is still a few slick spots on the trail. I did have the chance to enjoy some of the most beautiful views of the downtown Minneapolis skyline. I’ll be heading out to the Czech Republic Monday for World Championships, but I won’t be bringing my rollerskis with me. I hope you have enough snow where you are or where you are going to keep the ski season going!

  • Rollerskiing

    Despite the warm weather and rain last week that melted all of the natural snow here in Minneapolis, I was extremely excited to Rollerski! Rollerskiing is the form of training that most Nordic Skiers use during the months when there isn’t any snow to ski on (usually spring, summer and early fall, but sometimes February as well!). Rollerskis are made of a wooden or metal shaft and two polyurethane wheels. They are designed to be used on paved roads and paths but I have had to use them on some hard packed dirt roads in Vermont.

    So when all of the lakes melted and the trails near my house began to resemble the lakes, I had to migrate Northwest to Elm Creek Park Reserve for some loops on their man made loop. The skiing at Elm Creek is incredible. The man made loop is almost 5 feet deep and the trail is 2.5K of varying terrain.

    I sometimes enjoy skiing through the woods or across the lakes and not seeing anyone else but I also love gathering at Elm Creek with all of the other Twin Cities’ skiers who are preparing in the final days before the American Birkebeiner!!! Elm Creek provides the opportunity to catch up with over 20 people in one 2 hour workout and get the opportunity to ski with each of them!

    After many loops, boredom began to sink in and more importantly my schedule began to fill. I could no longer drive the 30 min each way to ski and I had to make some decisions about what to do for my specific training two weeks from the World Championships. I realized that Minneapolis has one of the largest bike commuting population in the country and this is incredible considering the weather we can have. I checked out the bike paths and sure enough they had all been plowed and were mostly free of ice.

    Some people say they wait until June to start rollerskiing but I have to admit that I really like rollerskiing. With so many bike paths and fun neighborhoods to explore I could ski a different route everyday for weeks! I love exploring different areas of the city and I love that I can live two blocks from downtown and rollerski from my door!

    The rollerskiing was pretty good a few days ago but I realized that there is still not quite enough daylight, especially when there is still a few slick spots on the trail. I did have the chance to enjoy some of the most beautiful views of the downtown Minneapolis skyline. I’ll be heading out to the Czech Republic Monday for World Championships, but I won’t be bringing my rollerskis with me. I hope you have enough snow where you are or where you are going to keep the ski season going!

  • Kershaw’s Korner: The Kersh diet…

    The diet and cleanse business is a total gold mine. This isn’t N-E-W-S, as it’s been booming for years with award winning diets, cleanses and fads blossoming like cherry trees in the spring. The Atkins diet, South Beach diet, Pritikin diet, wild rose cleanse, the oatmeal-only cleanse, juice-only cleanse, are just a speck of sand in the desert of the industry.

  • Regionals Relay

    There has been a lot of work done this season, and it’s really starting to show.  I’m finding myself impressed and in awe of the whole FXC crew (Comp and Devo) on a regular basis these days.  So cool.  So, SO COOL!

    Today was another instance of it – a lot of these guys have weathered some tough times, disappointing races, worst-possible-time for sickness and so on, but the whole group seems to be rounding into their best fitness of the year in time for the big races and the last two months of winter!

    With no coaching duties, today was another chance for me to break out the camera.  Some of my favorites:

    Megan

    Megan

    Lizer

    Lizer

    Lizzy

    Lizzy

    Mikayla

    Mikayla

    Maddie

    Maddie

    Ray

    Ray

    Jacob putting it to Jordan on Tower Direct

    Jacob putting it to Jordan on Tower Direct

    Jordan returning the favor a few minutes later

    Jordan returning the favor a few minutes later

    The Nuge

    The Nuge

    Kelsey

    Kelsey

    Stefan

    Stefan

  • A Special Time in Sun Valley

    This past week I had the pleasure to be a part of the Special Olympics! The Nordic and Downhill events were held in Sun Valley, while the other events were held in Boise, Idaho.br /br /div style=”text-align: center;”a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_bfd1dFDmRWA/SZcNLU_RDEI/AAAAAAAAAQg/o0tH4Zg5SXs/s1600-h/IMG_0166%5B1%5D”img style=”margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;” src=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_bfd1dFDmRWA/SZcNLU_RDEI/AAAAAAAAAQg/o0tH4Zg5SXs/s400/IMG_0166%5B1%5D” alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5302721574515838018″ border=”0″ //aspan style=”font-style: italic;”A view of the awards podium with Baldy in the background.br /br //span/divA couple weeks ago, I helped with a nordic ski lesson. I enjoyed skiing with several of the Special Olympic athletes from Sun Valley.br /br /div style=”text-align: center;”a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_bfd1dFDmRWA/SZcN1VOBbKI/AAAAAAAAAQo/iutxArzIyc0/s1600-h/IMG_0122%5B1%5D”img style=”margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;” src=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_bfd1dFDmRWA/SZcN1VOBbKI/AAAAAAAAAQo/iutxArzIyc0/s400/IMG_0122%5B1%5D” alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5302722296132234402″ border=”0″ //aspan style=”font-style: italic;”My friends Abraham, Denny, and Grant!br //span/divbr /div style=”text-align: center;”a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_bfd1dFDmRWA/SZcOJhe5SiI/AAAAAAAAAQw/DAMQKemlfog/s1600-h/IMG_0123%5B1%5D”img style=”margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;” src=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_bfd1dFDmRWA/SZcOJhe5SiI/AAAAAAAAAQw/DAMQKemlfog/s400/IMG_0123%5B1%5D” alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5302722643021613602″ border=”0″ //aspan style=”font-style: italic;”We are all smiles after an afternoon of skiing.br /br //span/divAs a fundraiser for the Special Olympics, Micheal Franti put on a concert in Sun Valley! We had a great time and even got a picture with him!br /br /div style=”text-align: center;”a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_bfd1dFDmRWA/SZcOtbqjebI/AAAAAAAAAQ4/WBU2cbSgfJo/s1600-h/IMG_0151%5B1%5D”img style=”margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;” src=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_bfd1dFDmRWA/SZcOtbqjebI/AAAAAAAAAQ4/WBU2cbSgfJo/s400/IMG_0151%5B1%5D” alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5302723259935193522″ border=”0″ //aspan style=”font-style: italic;”Micheal Franti onstage.br /br //span/divdiv style=”text-align: center;”a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_bfd1dFDmRWA/SZcO5YRNtvI/AAAAAAAAARA/59edNukDoYs/s1600-h/IMG_0154%5B1%5D”img style=”margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;” src=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_bfd1dFDmRWA/SZcO5YRNtvI/AAAAAAAAARA/59edNukDoYs/s400/IMG_0154%5B1%5D” alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5302723465182033650″ border=”0″ //a span style=”font-style: italic;”My sister Kristy, my friend Noi, and I posing for a picture with Micheal Frantibr //spanbr /div style=”text-align: left;”It was very fun having the Special Olympics in town and participating in the events. Thank you to all the organizers and volunteers for putting on such a great event!br /span style=”font-style: italic;”/span/div/divdiv class=”blogger-post-footer”img width=’1′ height=’1′ src=’https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5903545846797966075-5757208257488003426?l=in-the-arena-nicole.blogspot.com’ alt=” //div

  • Ski with Intention

    While I was in Rossland training before coming over to Europe, Ellis & I, along with some of the rosslanders, spent some time discussing technique. It was good to have some technique discussions that were more egalitarian than the normal coach-athlete technique session. Ellis & I did some video analysis and put some thought into how I could be skiing better, faster, more efficiently. I think this type of peer review is a superlative way to approach technique because it encourages me to take ownership of my technique changes and decide for myself what needs to be done instead of depending on someone else to tell me.

    My conclusion after two weeks of focused, uninterrupted training in Rossland was that I need to ski with intention. Maybe I liked that idea because I’m not exactly sure what I mean by it. There’s something freeing in choosing a catch phrase that’s open to whatever interpretation fits my mood.

    Too often when I watch myself skiing I think “lazy, lazy, lazy.” There’s not so much wrong with the basic technique movements as there is the attitude behind them. There’s too much of just going through the motions; I’m lacking the frenzy of wanting to cover that next 10m so badly that I look like I just might fall on my face. Not, of course, that falling on one’s face would be the goal.

    Ski with intention. Other candidates for my slogan were ski with a purpose (except I kept thinking “porpoise” instead of “purpose” which is distracting) and ski like you mean it (but I frequently like words based on their syllable count). Ski as though the only thing you desire in the world is to move down the track as fast as possible. It’s simple, but sometimes I get caught up in weight transfer and dynamic legs and my world view shrinks to the space my body currently occupies and I fail to plan its future occupation of the space ahead of me.

    I want to ski with intention. I want to live my life with intention. If I can ski and race like it matters, then I can live like it matters. I believe that’s a sufficient (although not necessary) condition for achieving that elusive satisfaction with life. If you can convince yourself that a ski race is meaningful I think it’s easier to find the meaning in the rest of life.

  • Ski with Intention

    While I was in Rossland training before coming over to Europe, Ellis & I, along with some of the rosslanders, spent some time discussing technique. It was good to have some technique discussions that were more egalitarian than the normal coach-athlete technique session. Ellis & I did some video analysis and put some thought into how I could be skiing better, faster, more efficiently. I think this type of peer review is a superlative way to approach technique because it encourages me to take ownership of my technique changes and decide for myself what needs to be done instead of depending on someone else to tell me.

    My conclusion after two weeks of focused, uninterrupted training in Rossland was that I need to ski with intention. Maybe I liked that idea because I’m not exactly sure what I mean by it. There’s something freeing in choosing a catch phrase that’s open to whatever interpretation fits my mood.

    Too often when I watch myself skiing I think “lazy, lazy, lazy.” There’s not so much wrong with the basic technique movements as there is the attitude behind them. There’s too much of just going through the motions; I’m lacking the frenzy of wanting to cover that next 10m so badly that I look like I just might fall on my face. Not, of course, that falling on one’s face would be the goal.

    Ski with intention. Other candidates for my slogan were ski with a purpose (except I kept thinking “porpoise” instead of “purpose” which is distracting) and ski like you mean it (but I frequently like words based on their syllable count). Ski as though the only thing you desire in the world is to move down the track as fast as possible. It’s simple, but sometimes I get caught up in weight transfer and dynamic legs and my world view shrinks to the space my body currently occupies and I fail to plan its future occupation of the space ahead of me.

    I want to ski with intention. I want to live my life with intention. If I can ski and race like it matters, then I can live like it matters. I believe that’s a sufficient (although not necessary) condition for achieving that elusive satisfaction with life. If you can convince yourself that a ski race is meaningful I think it’s easier to find the meaning in the rest of life.

  • Ski with Intention

    While I was in Rossland training before coming over to Europe, Ellis & I, along with some of the rosslanders, spent some time discussing technique. It was good to have some technique discussions that were more egalitarian than the normal coach-athlete technique session. Ellis & I did some video analysis and put some thought into how I could be skiing better, faster, more efficiently. I think this type of peer review is a superlative way to approach technique because it encourages me to take ownership of my technique changes and decide for myself what needs to be done instead of depending on someone else to tell me.

    My conclusion after two weeks of focused, uninterrupted training in Rossland was that I need to ski with intention. Maybe I liked that idea because I’m not exactly sure what I mean by it. There’s something freeing in choosing a catch phrase that’s open to whatever interpretation fits my mood.

    Too often when I watch myself skiing I think “lazy, lazy, lazy.” There’s not so much wrong with the basic technique movements as there is the attitude behind them. There’s too much of just going through the motions; I’m lacking the frenzy of wanting to cover that next 10m so badly that I look like I just might fall on my face. Not, of course, that falling on one’s face would be the goal.

    Ski with intention. Other candidates for my slogan were ski with a purpose (except I kept thinking “porpoise” instead of “purpose” which is distracting) and ski like you mean it (but I frequently like words based on their syllable count). Ski as though the only thing you desire in the world is to move down the track as fast as possible. It’s simple, but sometimes I get caught up in weight transfer and dynamic legs and my world view shrinks to the space my body currently occupies and I fail to plan its future occupation of the space ahead of me.

    I want to ski with intention. I want to live my life with intention. If I can ski and race like it matters, then I can live like it matters. I believe that’s a sufficient (although not necessary) condition for achieving that elusive satisfaction with life. If you can convince yourself that a ski race is meaningful I think it’s easier to find the meaning in the rest of life.

  • Ski with Intention

    While I was in Rossland training before coming over to Europe, Ellis & I, along with some of the rosslanders, spent some time discussing technique. It was good to have some technique discussions that were more egalitarian than the normal coach-athlete technique session. Ellis & I did some video analysis and put some thought into how I could be skiing better, faster, more efficiently. I think this type of peer review is a superlative way to approach technique because it encourages me to take ownership of my technique changes and decide for myself what needs to be done instead of depending on someone else to tell me.

    My conclusion after two weeks of focused, uninterrupted training in Rossland was that I need to ski with intention. Maybe I liked that idea because I’m not exactly sure what I mean by it. There’s something freeing in choosing a catch phrase that’s open to whatever interpretation fits my mood.

    Too often when I watch myself skiing I think “lazy, lazy, lazy.” There’s not so much wrong with the basic technique movements as there is the attitude behind them. There’s too much of just going through the motions; I’m lacking the frenzy of wanting to cover that next 10m so badly that I look like I just might fall on my face. Not, of course, that falling on one’s face would be the goal.

    Ski with intention. Other candidates for my slogan were ski with a purpose (except I kept thinking “porpoise” instead of “purpose” which is distracting) and ski like you mean it (but I frequently like words based on their syllable count). Ski as though the only thing you desire in the world is to move down the track as fast as possible. It’s simple, but sometimes I get caught up in weight transfer and dynamic legs and my world view shrinks to the space my body currently occupies and I fail to plan its future occupation of the space ahead of me.

    I want to ski with intention. I want to live my life with intention. If I can ski and race like it matters, then I can live like it matters. I believe that’s a sufficient (although not necessary) condition for achieving that elusive satisfaction with life. If you can convince yourself that a ski race is meaningful I think it’s easier to find the meaning in the rest of life.

  • Ski with Intention

    While I was in Rossland training before coming over to Europe, Ellis & I, along with some of the rosslanders, spent some time discussing technique. It was good to have some technique discussions that were more egalitarian than the normal coach-athlete technique session. Ellis & I did some video analysis and put some thought into how I could be skiing better, faster, more efficiently. I think this type of peer review is a superlative way to approach technique because it encourages me to take ownership of my technique changes and decide for myself what needs to be done instead of depending on someone else to tell me.

    My conclusion after two weeks of focused, uninterrupted training in Rossland was that I need to ski with intention. Maybe I liked that idea because I’m not exactly sure what I mean by it. There’s something freeing in choosing a catch phrase that’s open to whatever interpretation fits my mood.

    Too often when I watch myself skiing I think “lazy, lazy, lazy.” There’s not so much wrong with the basic technique movements as there is the attitude behind them. There’s too much of just going through the motions; I’m lacking the frenzy of wanting to cover that next 10m so badly that I look like I just might fall on my face. Not, of course, that falling on one’s face would be the goal.

    Ski with intention. Other candidates for my slogan were ski with a purpose (except I kept thinking “porpoise” instead of “purpose” which is distracting) and ski like you mean it (but I frequently like words based on their syllable count). Ski as though the only thing you desire in the world is to move down the track as fast as possible. It’s simple, but sometimes I get caught up in weight transfer and dynamic legs and my world view shrinks to the space my body currently occupies and I fail to plan its future occupation of the space ahead of me.

    I want to ski with intention. I want to live my life with intention. If I can ski and race like it matters, then I can live like it matters. I believe that’s a sufficient (although not necessary) condition for achieving that elusive satisfaction with life. If you can convince yourself that a ski race is meaningful I think it’s easier to find the meaning in the rest of life.

  • Ski with Intention

    While I was in Rossland training before coming over to Europe, Ellis & I, along with some of the rosslanders, spent some time discussing technique. It was good to have some technique discussions that were more egalitarian than the normal coach-athlete technique session. Ellis & I did some video analysis and put some thought into how I could be skiing better, faster, more efficiently. I think this type of peer review is a superlative way to approach technique because it encourages me to take ownership of my technique changes and decide for myself what needs to be done instead of depending on someone else to tell me.

    My conclusion after two weeks of focused, uninterrupted training in Rossland was that I need to ski with intention. Maybe I liked that idea because I’m not exactly sure what I mean by it. There’s something freeing in choosing a catch phrase that’s open to whatever interpretation fits my mood.

    Too often when I watch myself skiing I think “lazy, lazy, lazy.” There’s not so much wrong with the basic technique movements as there is the attitude behind them. There’s too much of just going through the motions; I’m lacking the frenzy of wanting to cover that next 10m so badly that I look like I just might fall on my face. Not, of course, that falling on one’s face would be the goal.

    Ski with intention. Other candidates for my slogan were ski with a purpose (except I kept thinking “porpoise” instead of “purpose” which is distracting) and ski like you mean it (but I frequently like words based on their syllable count). Ski as though the only thing you desire in the world is to move down the track as fast as possible. It’s simple, but sometimes I get caught up in weight transfer and dynamic legs and my world view shrinks to the space my body currently occupies and I fail to plan its future occupation of the space ahead of me.

    I want to ski with intention. I want to live my life with intention. If I can ski and race like it matters, then I can live like it matters. I believe that’s a sufficient (although not necessary) condition for achieving that elusive satisfaction with life. If you can convince yourself that a ski race is meaningful I think it’s easier to find the meaning in the rest of life.

  • Regionals Mass Start

    Tough Course, nice weather, and hard racing.  One of my favorite races of the year.

    First downhill in the girls race

    First downhill in the girls race

    Girls lead trio lap one

    Girls lead trio lap one

    Claire pulling a train, Maddie in the background

    Claire pulling a train, Maddie in the background at left

    Megan getting nice and forward as she rides her ski

    Megan riding her ski forward

    Lizer getting up for the V2 alt

    Lizer getting up for the V2 alt

    Ray

    Ray laying down some power

    Lizer's got the eye: Watch Out!

    Lizer's got the eye: Watch Out!

    The men's race started hard from the gun

    The men's race started hard from the gun

    Men's Lead coming out of the Black Funk

    Men's Lead coming out of the Black Funk

    Pat had a good one

    Pat: showing a sign of what's to come?

    People looked good today… fitness is building, technique is improving… there is work to be done, but the future is bright.

  • Noahs Update

    Sometimes a little rest is needed…

  • Noahs Update

    Sometimes a little rest is needed…

  • Noahs Update

    Sometimes a little rest is needed…