One of the things we discussed as a group in Utah was the concept of knowing where you’re going, including seeing both the destination and the route to take there.
In the western desert, most all destinations are just visible to you right from where you currently are…especially if you are even slightly perched on a bit of elevation. Take a look at a view of Heber City from a small height. You can see where virtually every road goes, and if you wanted to get from one side of the city to another it would be easy to navigate.
Even the mountains off in the distance are not hard to find, see, or navigate to from the anywhere in town. Just point your feet/bike/car and off you go. But what about where we’re from? How about a similar view of Jericho, Vermont?
Ok, if you’re a local you recognize that this was probably taken somewhere off Raceway Road, a bit removed from Rt 15 and looking east toward Mt Mansfield. But if you were actually standing on the ground, you couldn’t see any of those roads, and you could probably make out Mansfield now and again through a clearing in the trees if you were lucky. That’s all despite the mountains and landscape here being about the same distances and vantages as Heber City, UT. 
As skiers, we’re constantly finding ourselves atop mountains of some sort or another. We hike Mt Timpanogos in blazing sun and dry dusty air on Monday at training camp, and six days later I found myself on top of Mt Mansfield in a cloud of mist and fog.
The path to the top of each mountain is very different, as are the various landscapes and summit scenes. It’s important to remember that just because we can’t see the top, it doesn’t mean we won’t get there! It’s also important to recognize the very different ways one can take to get somewhere…it’s fun to hike up a nicely-switchbacked trail visualize the very first humans to make the trip who had to navigate all of the rivers, bushes, rockfalls, snowfields, and more without a single trail to guide them yet. Training and ski racing can definitely feel like that at times, too.
I’m really proud of our Rocky Mountain Camp training group this year. We had 10 athletes, but not everyone was from MNC. Representatives from EMXC, Gould, Caldwell Sport, and Park City (ok, Brooke is an alum so not fully removed from MNC!) all came together to kick some butt at elevation. There were different perspectives, approaches, and backgounds. This felt great as our club has definitely gotten into some patterns and routines that feel like “THE way forward” despite the fact that, as referenced, there are many ways forward and we can all benefit from connecting with those around us.
By the end of the camp, we had shared a lot of experiences. During a toast of San Pellegrinos atop Guardsman Pass I asked if anyone had anything they’d like to proclaim to the group. Leigh said “thanks for having the non-MNC folks” to which I replied “it’s ok to all be MNC at times like this”
With a lot of great rollerskiing, running, hiking, and biking behind us, it’s off to school and a new season. But we’ll know a handful of competitors and friends more than we used to, and we also will be a bit closer ourselves!
Comments are closed.