Thanksgiving Camp 2024 was a trip down memory lane. The first-ever Bowdoin Nordic Thanksgiving Camp took place in 2008, a momentous time in our nation's history. Barack Obama had just been elected president, finance bros had just crashed the world economy, and the Detroit Lions were stumbling toward an 0-16 season. Against this backdrop, our team ventured up to Stoneham, Quebec, in search of early season snow at Foret Montmorency. We found plenty, and Thanksgiving Camp instantly became a fall semester fixture. Over the years, this camp has evolved - we moved from Stoneham to the Foret campus in 2013, missed camp altogether due to the pandemic in 2020, and switched to a mix of Lake Placid and Craftsbury in 2021. This year, we went finally went back to our roots and based our camp out of Stoneham (the Foret campus no longer offers lodging to skiers). This was a bit of a gamble - Foret no longer saves or makes snow, so we were relying entirely on the weather to come through with some well-timed storms. At first, it looked like we were out of luck - there was almost nothing on the ground when we arrived on Saturday afternoon, and we settled for a hike/run up the Stoneham alpine trails. Fortunately, we got a tip from Laval University coach Godefroy Bilodeau about a road up in Jacques Cartier National Park that might have just enough coverage to ski, and the next day we were off to explore Lac L'Epaule. The classic skiing was surprisingly good, and a light snow came down throughout the day to freshen things up as we went. Lac L'Epaule was our go-to place for the next couple days, with a little easy running to supplement our rock skiing. On Monday afternoon, Leslie took a group of skiers into Quebec City for a sightseeing run around Old Quebec - a really nice change of pace and a great chance to explore a truly special city. After three days of Lac L'Epaule (capped off by a lovely cruise out to Lac Nordet on sweet singletrack trails), we finally got a proper storm - once the snow started, it just didn't stop. This plus the casual approach to plowing the access road to our lodging made the driving somewhat challenging, but we kept it cautious and enjoyed the snowfall. By Wednesday morning, we were skiing on groomed trails at Foret - from there, the skiing just kept getting better and better, with occasional dustings keeping things fresh. Thursday through Saturday were some of the best conditions any of us had skied in a while - certainly better than anything the East had to offer last year. On Saturday we teamed up with several other college teams for a classic time trial - Laval, St. Mike's, Colby, and SLU were all represented. Our crew gave a good account - as always, we were focused on process, but it was still fun to test our wings and go up against some other teams. We headed home that same afternoon, tired but happy. Many thanks for Godefroy for helpful training advice to get us through the first half of the week, and for excellent grooming to get us through the second!
No Bowdoin Nordic camp wrap up would be complete without a rundown of our meals. By popular demand, we brought back the cooking competition, and the skiers rose to the occasion with several great dinners: burritos, curry, peanut noodles, chili, and the fabled smash burgers. Voting is ongoing as we speak - stay tuned for the announcement of the winning meal. We also had an exceptional Thanksgiving dinner. Every year I'm surprised and impressed by how well the skiers do with preparing this meal - it seems like every year they get a little better. It's always pure chaos, and it always takes a long time to get everything on the table, but it was worth the wait - so, so good this year. I couldn't begin to decide whether I liked the stuffing, mashed potatoes, mushroom gravy, or homemade rolls best. Outstanding.
Overall, this was a really successful camp. We were prepared for the worst, and fortunately we got something much better than we'd expected. Great skiing, great food, and quality team time - not much more we could have asked for. Every year is a different story, but after this camp I have a feeling that the team won't let us go anywhere else next year. For now, we're looking ahead to great skiing at Quarry Road and the Opener this weekend!
