Remember, you can find the latest info on Masters training (technique, location, quick summary) at the Masters Training Doc! Even despite the cold we had some great sessions last week. Here is a clip of the Black Group working on a little hop skating technique.
Coming up this week we have a bit more cold weather, but we’re prepared (and acclimated) at this point. Of note, a few of the trails across the road leading to the alpine hill (did you know there was an alpine hill at the Range?) are groomed, and can be accessed by taking a left near the bottom of Pit loop. These trails are all natural snow and there are a few sticks here and there, but otherwise great conditions. Remember that these trails do not have lights, so headlamps are needed if you are venturing after dark.
With abundant snow for the first time this year, our recent Junior training block was better than ever. Without a key race during the past week, it was a great time to get in some additional volume and focused workouts before we’re hit with 4 big weekends in a row (Lake Placid, Craftsbury, Craftsbury, Dublin). The amount of skiing everyone put in, from long cooldowns after high school races to morning sessions in the bright sunlight, and even subzero skis under the lights, shows some serious dedication and a love for the sport. People just want to ski! We’ve never had a group this excited to just be on snow training, and in a recurring theme my statement after a 3 hour ski at Trapps on Sunday was simple…”you are all really good at skiing” and sometimes that’s all there is to it.
The week ended with two great days in a row. On Saturday some of the group got in a mass start high school race at Hard’Ack, while another group braved a -10 start temp (that thankfully warmed to the low teens quickly) at Craftsbury. The Craftsbury group got in a really solid workout prepating for classic sprint racing which we’ll see at the next Eastern Cup. It’s a format that’s quite tricky as you need to nail the balance of going fast but also not skiing frantically in the classic technique.
Everybody did a solid warmup and then one lap of the Craftsbury sprint course in reverse direction (up the Moss climb, because it’s great for classic) with a finish that resembled the Lake Placid course for the coming race. This first round was one racers every 15 seconds, just like a sprint qualifier. We then took a break of 25 minutes for people to do a mini-cooldown and mini-warmup to simulate what happens on a larger scale on sprint day. Next up was 3 rounds of head-to-head racing, where everyone went off mass-start style. While it was more people than a typical sprint heat of 6, it was ideal to get everyone racing in a group. Between heats tactics, wax, pacing, and mentality were discussed, and so trying different approached yielded a lot of good learning.
Here are some video clips…these show the qualifier, the first heat, the second heat, and a bit of the VERY end of the final heat!
But we weren’t done with big ski days for the weekend, as the next day at Trapps saw practically everyone in the ski world out to play. Our Juniors had a huge contingent out for a long tour, where the goal was 3 hours of skiing. The final piece of volume training before everything gets cut back in these busy race weeks.
We couldn’t ask for a better day, and clearly many MNC Masters (and the UVM team) were thinking the same thing. We skied up to the cabin and down to the Stowe Nordic trails including super fun narrow winding trails in addition to wide groomers. After a quick swap to skate skis most ended with 3 hours and over 20 miles/30 kilometers total.
The sun was bright and the trees were snowy, so I thought for this one instead of a fast-paced action edit it would be better to put some nice clips together in slow motion, and create the kind of video you’d want to play on a loop in the background of your living room…or something to watch when it’s 95 and humid out in July and you are dreaming of winter!
The MNC Skiathlon is on Sunday, February 13th this year! Join us for the big race that WE host every year, with races for all ages and abilities!
The BKL races are a main highlight, but with Zak Cup and Club Cup points up for grabs the Popular/Citizen races should certainly be a draw for adults. There is even a “what the heck” race for first-time racers and low-key fun competition!
If you are interested in volunteering, please contact organizer Christine Massey (Christine.Massey@uvm.edu) to help out.
Registration can be found at the link below on SkiReg:
Note the following updates to the U16 Championships and Eastern HS Team Championships in March. These updates come from trip leaders Anna Schultz and Kirsten Berggren.
Curious about what these trips are? Here are some links from NENSA:
Both U16s and EHSC will be happening on a shortened schedule (afternoon race Saturday; two races Sunday), with the idea that folks can travel Saturday morning, spend one night near the venue, and head home on Sunday—so that means U16s will be 3/12 – 3/13 and EHSC will be 3/19 – 3/20;
State teams should operate as they see fit given numerous concerns posed by the pandemic.
Having polled Vermont coaches last week, the Vermont team leaders will be running both trips as follows:
There will NOT be a team bus to either event as there has been in years past. Families will be responsible for travel.
There will NOT be team lodging at either event as there has been in years past. Families will be responsible for lodging. But both trips have a “base hotel” where team leaders have blocked off rooms. Families are welcome to lodge at these hotels if they want opportunities to see teammates and coaches, but are also encouraged to seek out whatever sort of lodging makes sense for their particular situation (whether that’s an AirBnB, a different hotel, staying with friends, etc.). Also please note that neither hotel is large enough to accommodate the full team + families. See below for lodging details for each trip.
VT team leaders are working to find solutions for kids whose families cannot travel to the event with them. Families who anticipate being unable to travel with their skier can/should contact the team leaders at any time, even if it’s prospective (after all, the qualifier hasn’t even happened!). Note: a number of rooms at the base hotel for each trip will be held until after qualification events in an attempt to accommodate all competitors.
You are encouraged to book refundable lodging if possible, given the constantly changing nature of things.
Room types: 2 x queen (11 blocked @ approx $159/night + tax); single king (4 blocked @ ~$129). As of right now there are still 4 king jacuzzi available (@ ~$199) that I did not block off. I also reserved several rooms at this hotel for coaches/wax techs. I blocked rooms only for Saturday night but most are available Friday night too if you want to get there earlier.
To reserve room blocked off at this hotel: call the Lodge at Jackson Village at 603-383-0999 and say you are part of Anna Schulz’s group.
Lodging options right in Jackson, while convenient, tend to be pricier and sell out quickly. North Conway and Attitash are both a 10-15 minute drive from the venue and have many additional lodging options at various price points, though some have a minimum 2-night stay. Gorham is a bit farther (~25 min drive to the north) but also has many additional options.
Our busy and eventful trip to US Nationals in Utah was not without a fun and adventure…thanks to a lot of video footage (mostly captured by the athletes) here is a vlog recap of the wild west journey:
