November, 2009

Monday is the first day of the work week for most people.  For me, like most NFL quarterbacks, it’s the one rest day I take each week.  Since my freshman year in college, Monday has always been set aside to do everything I didn’t get to do the previous week, or get on top of things for the week ahead.  After a full weekend of racing, it felt great to kick back and simply relax.  West Yellowstone is practically empty, with a handful of skiers wandering the streets as the tumbleweed rolls in from the Plains.

photo: Zack Simons

Zack Simons from Steinbock Racing was out on the trail taking some great photos this weekend.  This shot is of the CXC freight train: Kuzz and Cook shoveling on a little more coal.

Ski camp is all about having a good time.  Here are a few photos from the past week. . .

Bill Pierce carving one of our four turkeys (no leftovers!)

CXC crew taking over the warming hut pre-race. Chuck can't help showing off his guns any chance he gets.

Jessie, what is going on?

The Golden Arches.

The wolves can be heard howling every night, just blocks from our hotel.

Rob from Salt Lake takes his dogs for a ski. Or is it the other way around?

This photo really captures the essence of the Yellowstone Ski Festival, getting out and having fun on snow.  The town doesn’t salt or sand the roads, so you can ski or snowmobile practically anywhere in town.  If you’re into trying out skijoring, a friend of mine, John Thompson from St. Paul, wrote a great book called Ski Spot Run. You can find the book, along with all your skijoring gear, at New Moon Ski & Bike in Hayward, WI.

John Hugus entertaining us with one of his many tales.

The junior team, at odds even before their 18 hour drive.

It’s not going to be the same without the junior and masters team next week.

We did a little racing here too (photo: swix sport)

A brief follow-up to my previous post:  Someone from the Festival must’ve read about the need for podium girls on the SuperTour, because Kelli from Freeheel and Wheel was on hand with kisses for all the podium finishers.  Wow.

Another one in the books.  Solid skate race this morning.  Tried to start conservative and pick it up towards the finish.  Paced and raced exactly like I wanted and I’m very happy with the race.  Congrats to Leif on his win in classic Zimmermann style, laying down the hammer in the final kilometers.  Also great to have Hoff up there for an All-American podium.  Fish prepped some great skate skis for us again today and the training plan he’s written for us is paying off.  We had 3 CXC men in the top six, with Liebsch and Gregg taking 5th and 6th respectively.  It was awesome to hear all the spectators out on the course.  I’m pretty sure there was a corner with all Midwesterners that got me fired up ripping around the course.

Skis are prepped and ready for the 10km classic tomorrow.  After a lot of work on classic technique this summer, I’m looking forward to finally testing my skills in a distance race.

photo: swix sport

Maybe someday the SuperTour will get podium girls for the yellow jersey!

The reason Americans are faster cyclists than skiers.

Today was a solid start to the season.  It was a long sprint-only qualifier on an icy, fast course.  Thanks to Fish for some of the best classic skis I’ve ever skied on–fast glide and easy kick.  Woke up early this morning to a starry sky, which can only mean one thing in West: cold.  The snow set-up solid over night with temps below zero and we had ideal conditions for the race.  It was the first cross country race I’ve ever skied “blind.”  We weren’t allowed to preview the course before the race, sort of like an alpine event.  The icy fast corners took a lot of skiers by surprise and there were a number of casualties on the course.  Big points for everyone who stayed on their feet.  Great to be out racing again!  I’ll try to get up a better report later, but I’ve gotta roll. . .

photo: swix sport - sweet new poles

After a lot of hard work this spring, summer, and fall, the racing season is finally here. . .

"Product intended for users over 13 years of age. Can I see some I.D.?"

waxed and ready

The hay's in the barn

We’ll be racing a 1.5km classic sprint tomorrow morning at 9am.  There are 400 men and women on the start list, starting at 15 sec intervals.  No heats, just one blazing fast qualifier.  Hit it!

Every year in West Yellowstone, Salomon sponsored athletes lead a clinic called “Ski with the Best.”  This year, we got to ski with the Duluth East Ski Team, one of the best high school teams in Minnesota, as well as a number of other master skiers in town for the  Ski Festival.  Since there’s no Salomon Factory Team this year, the CXC Team led the clinic.

Brian, Audrey, Jessie, Jojo, Gus, Kelly, & Karl

We had an impressive turnout of participants. . .

Black attire required

We broke into small groups to work on ski technique and skills.  My group did a recon mission on the classic sprint course, testing the speed of striding vs. double-pole on the gradual climbs, and racing through the corners shoulder-to-shoulder.  To finish it off, we worked on our lunges across the line.

Amelia, Garrott, Erin, and Annie lunging for the line

The ski trails in West are Packed.  I’m curious how many skiers are in West Yellowstone for the Ski Festival.  Not sure how many there actually are, but I’m pretty sure they were all at the trail head at 9:00 this morning.

Tomorrow, the CXC Team Vertical Limit and Salomon will be hosting a ski clinic for anyone interested.  Meet at the Biathlon Range at 1:30pm to get out for a ski with your favorite CXC skier!

Dave Chamberlain and the crowd at the trail head

One of the highlights of West is Bullwinkle’s Bar, which happens to be a Packer bar.  They’ve got a variety of memorabilia on the walls and it’s the spot to watch Packer games in town.  Of course, we had a solid contingent of CXC skiers at the bar cheering on America’s Team.

Every winter a few of the Packers players travel to Yellowstone to snowmobile into the park.  After the Pack won the 1997 Super Bowl, they came to West and, when they discovered Bullwinkle’s was a Packer bar, they gave the owner their Super Bowl rings, so they wouldn’t get lost while they were snowmobiling in the park.  Ever since, the players have brought memorabilia for the bar whenever they come to West.  Bullwinkle’s has built a pretty extensive collection.

Autographed Game Day's from the 2007 season

West Yellowstone is Packer Country

Photos from Maria Stuber and Bryan Cook’s website: xcskialliance.com.  Happy Birthday, Maria!

I can’t remember ever traveling with a team this big.  Our junior team rolled into West Yellowstone last night and the masters team members have been trickling in over the past two days.  In total, we’ve got 12 CXC Team Vertical Limit athletes, 15 CXC Junior Team athletes, 20 CXC masters team athletes, and 7 CXC coaches.  By the end of the week, this number will total 60 people staying with CXC at the West Yellowstone Ski Festival.

The two most important people in the whole group are Pete and his daughter from Sublime Subs in Hayward.  They arrived with the Junior Team at 6:30 last night after the 18 hour drive from Hayward.  By 7:30, they’d fixed us an awesome meal of honey-cured ham, mashed potatoes, steamed broccoli, fresh salad, and bars for dessert.  It can’t be easy cooking for 60 people in a hotel kitchenette, but man they do a good job!

Nicole and Olivia serving up

Gus showing off his skillz while the rest of the team feasts

We had another great day of skiing.  It snowed intermittently all day and the dustings are starting to add up.  One of my goals this week is to narrow my fleet of skis.  Ideally, I’d travel with six pairs of skis: three skate and three classic–one cold, one universal, and one warm ski for each discipline.  Pat Casey, my National Team coach, and I spent the morning testing classic skis.  Pat is my same height and weight and he’s a lot better and feeling skis than I am.  By the time we race on Wednesday, I will have picked out my favorite pair in the bunch.

I caught up to several Masters Team skiers (it wasn’t too hard) and the end of my workout.  Yuriy took this picture of Don Becker, Irina, and I.  Don owns Becker Law in Madison and is a big supporter of CXC, especially the Adaptive Program, as well as a variety of other organizations.  Irina is the mastermind behind all of the CXC video and graphic design, including the banner on this site.  Thanks to both of them for their support!

Don, Irina, and Garrott

Today is the only day that it is illegal to shoot a firearm in the state of Wisconsin.  That can only mean one thing: tomorrow is the first day of deer season.  Students in the Hayward School District will have the entire week of Thanksgiving off of school, just to deer hunt.

Enjoy a little deer season humor with Gary Larson and Da Yoopers. . .

The Far Side - Gary Larson

I’ve been on my own or with other teammates for the past few weeks.  As of this morning, the whole CXC crew was back together and ripping around the Rendezvous Trails.  It was a surprisingly typical day in West, getting woken up at 4:30am by the elk hunters next door (they came home this afternoon with a small cow), then waking up again at 7am for isometric strength.  The trail was in good shape, although a little soft around the edges for pole plants.  Tested some new skis and I’m into the new boards.  Fish was out on the trail with his video camera and lactate analyzer, keeping us honest in our training.

Brian Gregg

There are surprisingly few skiers out on the trails.  I saw a couple biathletes and some tourists, but for the most part, it was a typical CXC domination of the trails.

Caitlin Compton and Audrey Weber

Kristina Owen showing off her new Vertical Limit jacket and Rudy Exowinds

Don’t forget to check the West Yellowstone Ride Board.  There is a ride coming up from Salt Lake on Saturday morning and Alye Bohn is looking for a ride from Bozeman on Sunday.