With a blizzard on the way tonight, a solid base up at higher elevations, and the snow guns firing at Craftsbury, we’re off to a lucky start in November. My friend Ben is an actual carpenter (as opposed to the Terko method of “measure 0 times, cut 10”) and helped craft a human-powered tracksetter in addition to our homemade skate groomer. So the Notch Road was partially-tracked for a Sunday morning classic ski. Thanks Ben! Of course we didn’t spend all the time going back and forth in the tracks when there was plenty else to explore…
On a day like Sunday, the Notch Road was a “who’s who” of VT skiing. It was great to see everybody out there and getting the snow time! It looks like we’re in for a lot more in the next 48 hours so be sure to keep tabs on www.xcearlysnow.com for some word on where the getting is good!
At this year’s MNC Annual Meeting, professional skier Ben Lustgarten gave an amazing talk ranging from his competitive skiing experience, to the struggles surrounding the 2018 Olympic trials, to what it means to endure and embrace the pain of racing your hardest. It was an awesome speech that had the crowd on the edge of their seats during, and then standing up OUT of their seats at the conclusion. Ben was kind enough to pass along a transcript of his presentation for those that weren’t able to make it. It is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED reading!
Calling all skiers looking for a stonegrind! If you are looking to refresh your ski bases, our friends at Skirack have offered the club a team price for a batch order of $55 per pair. Here’s how to get involved:
Clean and scrape the skis you would like ground. Put skis together with tape or rubber bands, not ski ties!
Clearly mark your name, and desired grind, on masking or painters tape on the skis
Drop off your skis downstairs at Skirack any time before 10:00AM on Wednesday, Nov 14 and let the staff know you are part of the Mansfield Nordic Batch for Nov14
Skirack will ideally have the skis turned around by Monday, Nov 19th. Skiers pay for service at time of pickup.
This is the deadline for grinding batch 1, but with 10 or more pairs these batches can continue being assembled!
Find more information on Skirack’s nordic grinds HERE. After a season of testing and racing on Skirack grinds (both personal skis and the MNC wax test skis), Adam recommends the 6.7 for skiers with 1 pair of skate or classic race skis. This is a very adaptable grind for mid-range conditions that can be modified for warmer temps with hand structure!
Informational packets and grind menus can also be found at the MNC Annual Meeting.
The MNC Masters had another busy weekend of tearing up the road on rollerskis, as the gang headed over to the Plattsburgh area to compete in the NY State Rollerski Championships!
Led by the ever-speedy Mike “Mic Drop” Millar in 4th place, the MNC crew fought hard against the likes of NYSEF, Peru, and more. Things are looking good for the MNC Masters crew to continue their hot streak in pursuit of this year’s NENSA Club and Zak Cup points!
There is also some great race footage, compiled and edited by “Killa Kort” Longenbach, MNC President and the leader of this rowdy record label of hip hop nordies.
That’s what I’ve begun referring to the last 30 days as, with nothing but clouds and rain and cold temps. It all culminated in one of the more epic days to ever be had for training Saturday, when our group convened at Trapps for one of two tough sessions: bounding intervals up Trapp Hill Rd (the dirt side), or the NENSA Elite Invitational rollerski race.
First up was bounding, where our group of Pugs joined up with some GMVS and Craftsbury skiers for 5×4 minutes of L4 action from Nebraska Valley road up to the nordic center. It started off with a little wind, and ended with sideways hail and frozen hands. Luckily I got one quick photo from the run DOWN to the start, before the madness ensued.
Even this photo is blurry from the already-rough conditions
After everyone thawed their hands and changed their clothes, it was off to the local sandwich shop for some soup and lunch…right before we headed back up the road to cheer on the racers in the NENSA Invitational. Aidan, Magda, Ali, and Sammie were all invited to compete in this event which was a tough 10km from Nebraska Valley, up Barrows Rd pas the high school, and then up the steep Luce Hill Rd to Trapps.
Our crew was all U16 athletes last year (including Aidan who is still a U16 this year, and along with Quincy the only two U16s who qualified to race) so the 10km distance is the next step up. It’s especially tough to get to learn the distance when you’re competing against Caitlin Patterson, Ida Sargent, Julia Kern, Ben Lustgarten, Adam Martin, a bunch of college teams…you get the picture. This race wasn’t your average event, and everyone who just got to compete alone was a standout athlete!
Samu! Photo by Paul Bierman
Sammie continued her strong string of classic races, and this time her and Quincy finished less than a second apart and ahead of a couple of strong collegiate competitors. Magda wasn’t far behind, and Ali raced with great tempo and energy and looked like she had some serious new energy after a few busy weeks. Here’s a short clip of Magda I took as she breezed by in the rain:
In the men’s race, Aidan got a sweet ride with Middlebury skier Wilson Moore, and the two skied together up the steepest and toughest climbing section to the finish. It propelled him to a pretty killer race among the Juniors, especially when you consider that Aidan was the youngest guy in the race by a full year. Afterward, it was time for THAT gang of racers to head into town for pizza before the NENSA kickoff fundraiser event.
It was a very raw New England day, but it was super inspiring to see everyone getting after it. We were on our own part of the trail, but I find it hard to believe other teams had a more dedicated cheering gang out there!
The entrance sign for the brewery: the only shelter we could find
