First Eastern Cups

A small but fearless crew made the trip over to Craftsbury for the Eastern Cup openers last weekend:  James, Shelby, Alec, Emma, Riley, and Kaitlynn (who was already at home in Elmore).  At that point, Craftsbury had pretty much the only skiing in New England, with a 1.75k man-made loop, so things were pretty tight for an event with several hundred racers.  An unfortunate timing malfunction temporarily wiped out the results of Saturday's classic sprint qualifier, so the skiers ended up doing a second qualifying round in the afternoon instead of heats - this was a bummer, but at least everyone got two race starts out of the deal.  Sunday's 8.75/11.25k skate went as planned despite heavy crowding and falling snow that made things tough for the late starters.  Our skiers did well - solid performances punctuated by a few great races, most notably James's sprint and Kaitlynn's skate race.  Kaitlynn's skate was easily the best skate result I've ever seen from her - she finished among several strong EISA skiers, including some of last year's NCAA qualifiers.  Overall, an encouraging start to the season.  Now we'll look forward to a couple weeks of hard training and relaxation before getting back together after New Year's.

Results (scroll down)

Penny Rd Time Trial & Exams

We wrapped up fall semester practices with a classic time trial on Penny Rd to close out our intensity week - 4.5k of rolling climbs to the top of Gloucester Hill.  It was a messy day - temps in the 30s with intermittent cold rain.  The roads were covered with fresh sand - a pre-emptive strike against snow and ice that never materialized.  So, not the greatest conditions for fast skiing, but a good chance to practice racing in tough conditions.  The skiers did a nice job - no complaints, just focused warmup and a solid race effort.  Kaitlynn had arrived in town the day before, having just gotten off the plane from Svalbard - she crushed the time trial with an impressive performance under tough conditions.  She's clearly in great shape despite her somewhat unorthodox training situation in Svalbard (eg, skiing in a roadside ditch, training with a shotgun on her back, occasional week-long research cruises, not seeing the sun for 2 months, etc).  Kevin was the top man - even though he's done minimal rollerskiing this summer and fall, his fitness is outstanding after a season of XC racing.  I should also mention that Coach Mike posted a faster time than any of the athletes - he's at that nice point in his coaching career where experience and residual fitness allow him to compete with the athletes despite sporadic training.  I miss those days...  Overall, a solid workout despite the nasty, nasty conditions (the skiers were little icicles by the time they finished their cool down - luckily no one came down with pneumonia in the days following).

After a pleasant recovery run at Bradbury on Sunday, team training for 2012 was over.  Now the skiers are working their way through exams and trying to get as much rest as possible.  We'll get back together on January 2nd to start our final push before the carnival season starts - until then, hopefully everyone will have a couple restful weeks with some good training at home.  I'll post a few updates with race results from the Craftsbury Eastern Cups, US Nationals, and any other races that people can dig up.

Sandy Skiing and Broken Ratchets

We're into that special time of year when the roads are covered with sand after a fleeting mini snowstorm, but there's still no skiing.  So far we're muddling through.  Last week we took it easy to bounce back from the heavy load of camp - now we're going for one final intensity week before we wrap up organized practices for the semester.  We're doing different things for different people this week.  It's the time of year when we put a bit more focus on polishing the top end race gears with shorter, faster intervals; however, several of our skiers are feeling OK in the high end department and are looking to build more endurance in the form of long, sustained threshold intervals.  A few others are battling illness, injury, or fatigue, and are easing back into harder training.  One unexpected challenge that's cropped up is rollerski malfunction - it seems like half the team has had the ratchets stop working on their classic rollerskis.  Obviously ratchets wear out, but it's a bit uncanny to see it happening to so many people all at once.  My two guesses about the cause are road grit (although this was happening before the snowstorm and heavy sanding) and/or cold temps (the worst of the slippage took place on Saturday, when it was really cold).  Who knows - maybe a little of both, maybe just coincidence.  Anyway, we're passing around skis and making it work.  With any luck, we're right around the corner from snow skiing and a nice long vacation for our hard-working rollerskis.

Here's a team photo from our last day in Foret, courtesy of Shelby:

Camp Wrap-Up

We finished up camp on Sunday with a nice long early morning ski.  A little overnight snow made it look like winter finally - not enough to explore the logging roads, unfortunately, but enough to make for excellent skiing on the loop.  After a peaceful, moose-free drive home, we returned to reality and bare ground.  This was an excellent camp - although we spent five days and countless hours skiing on a 2k loop, the crew never seemed bored.  We accomplished a lot of solid training and good technique work, as well as our first time trial.  As importantly, the skiers got to spend a lot of quality time together and get to know each other better (for example, we all learned that Jackson can't tell the difference between tofu and yoga, and that the coaches are the best fooseball team).  Overall, five good days that should set us up well for the early season races that are coming up fast.

I should also give a quick recap of our last two camp dinners, since all Bowdoin Nordic fans place food right next to skiing in importance.  On Friday night, Babyen Isbjorn made a Thai chicken stir fry with tons of delicious vegetables (and high-class pressed tofu for the vegetarians), with carrot cake for dessert, without which no Bowdoin ski team camp would be complete.  Enano Loco closed out the competition with an impressive presentation:  enchiladas, spinach gorgonzola salad, and fake margaritas (with a nice touch of salt on the glass rims).  Dessert was KEY LIME PIE with homemade graham cracker crust - Jeff Bush would have been proud.  In short, we ate really well during this camp.  Picking a winner will be tough, and undoubtedly controversial.

One last note:  Shelby made a great camp video, which I was sadly unable to post.  We'll try to sort this out shortly.

Time Trial and Camp Photos

This morning we got up extra early for a 6/10k classic time trial with Colby, St. Lawrence, and a few skiers from the Southern Ontario Training Centre.  After some rain last night, wet snow was falling, making the waxing an interesting challenge.  The skiers were in charge of waxing their own skis (with some help from coaches), so this kept everyone hopping right up until start time.  Despite the chaos, everyone did a great job of staying calm and getting their skis taken care of.  The team looked solid in the time trial - people were moving well and working hard to hold technique together at race speed.  Overall, a very good effort, especially for Day 4 on snow.  Here are results:

Women 6k	Name	Time
1	O. Golovkina	17.25.8
2	M. Susla	17.26.1
3	S. Searles	17.32.0
4	S. Brockett	17.39.0
5	C. Cichowicz	17.44.0
6	K. Mulcahy	17.45.0
7	S. Aseltine	18.01.5
8	A. Hotopp	18.08.0
9	E. Donohoe	18.24.5
10	S. Lynn	18.32.4
11	M. Nitschke	18.44.0
12	T. Hamilton	18.46.5
13	C. Ball	19.02.6
14	M. Hitchcock	19.04.0
15	L. Nolan	19.10.0
16	K. Bourne	19.23.8
17	J. Hill	19.24.6
18	E. Spaeh	19.39.7
19	E. James	19.51.2
20	H. Marshall	19.55.0
21	N. Hefner	20.09.0
22	S. Frisbie	20.13.0
23	M. Swick	20.30.0
24	L. Knowlton	21.30.0
25	A. Mahoney	21.47.0

Men 10k	Name	Time
1	J. Barton	23.37.1
2	J. Dixon	24.27.0
3	W. Frielinghaus	24.49.0
4	J. Crimp	25.01.5
5	J. Supple	25.02.5
6	E. Lustgarten	25.06.0
7	P. Defrancis	25.12.4
8	C. Raynor	25.15.7
9	A. Meng	25.19.3
10	J. Tucker	25.19.8
11	J. Bloch	25.35.9
12	E. Odell	25.55.2
13	C. Wight	25.56.0
14	C. Burnham	25.59.6
15	R. Likely	26.09.6
16	C. Regan	26.10.5
17	B. Osorio	26.12.5
18	E. Martell	26.14.3
19	N. Murphy	26.17.4
20	H. Austin	26.37.6
21	A. Hart	26.45.4
22	K. Curry	27.08.5
23	M. Dier	27.12.2
24	J. Belk	27.21.3
25	J. Richmond	27.45.5
26	A. McGovern	28.59.7

Also, here are a few photos of camp so far, courtesy of Shelby:

Thanksgiving Camp 2012 So Far

Day 3 of Thanksgiving Camp is winding down - so far, so good.  There's no natural snow at all here, so we've been skiing on a steadily growing mandmade loop - about 1.5 on Wednesday, 1.75 yesterday, and an even 2k today.  It's a nice little loop with some good climbs and good coverage.  It's been warm, but the nights have been cold enough to keep the loop in good shape, with great classic skiing in the mornings.  Although it would be nice to have more trails to explore, the big benefit to the loop is that it's great for technique work - Mike and I are seeing the athletes constantly, so we can pull people aside for some quick work and then have them rejoin the rest of the crew a few minutes later.  I'm pretty pleased with the technique improvements we're seeing so far - I feel like everyone has made some good progress.  Most people have been skiing 3-4 hours a day so far, so everyone's starting to feel a bit worn, but there's still plenty of energy and enthusiasm to get us through these next 2 days.  Classic time trial tomorrow, so that should be fun.

As always, we've had some good meals.  Pierre Tueurs Froid got us started with chili on Wednesday, supplemented with a tasty spinach salad and an incredibly delicious brownie/peanut butter/cookie concoction (avec whipped cream) - they've set the bar high.  The whole team also pulled off a great Thanksgiving dinner last night.  I was a bit skeptical when I discovered yesterday afternoon that the turkey hadn't been fully thawed, but Tess and Tyler made a heroic effort to get a perfectly cooked bird on the table - with an array of fantastic side dishes, everyone had a great meal.  Another fine Thanksgiving for our team - we truly have a lot to be thankful for.

No pictures yet - I should be able to get some posted in the next couple days.

Speed & Intensity

Somehow, we've already arrived at Thanksgiving Camp - that was quick.  The last 2 weeks have been pretty busy, with some good, focused training - speed last week and intensity the week prior.  The intensity week was probably the heaviest training load we've had this fall - 3 VO2max workouts and 2 thresholds in 5 days.  The speed work was a bit less taxing, but still very focused - 2 of our usual sprint/agility workouts on rollerskis, timed 200m striding intervals on Doughty Rd, an erg workout supplemented with lots of jumps, and a spenst-type workout with a series of short bounding intervals.  We finished the week with a re-test of our bike path time trial.  Shelby and Tyler once again came out on top.  The team as a whole put up mixed times - some gains, some losses, some flat.  Part of this was probably due to colder temps and slower rollerskis, but I'm also reminded that this is about the time of year when people start wearing down after a hard semester of schoolwork and training.  Overall, I'm pretty happy with how the team's looking - as long as we keep an eye on everyone, monitor the energy levels, and back off when necessary, we should be in a good place by the time we head into Winter Break.  For now, though, we're only thinking about getting on snow.  First ski tomorrow!

Lobster Roll 2012

We ended our easy week in style with a trip to North Haven for the 6th Annual Lobster Roll.  Once again, we got lucky with the weather - nothing but sunshine, and fairly mild temps for November.  Decent showing by our team - Shelby and Steph rocked it, finishing 4th and 7th, respectively, and most people improved their times from previous years.  A few of our skiers are definitely showing signs of tiredness after several weeks of hard training combined with school - we'll be keeping an eye on people as we get into our final push to the end of the semester.  Overall, though, a very good day, capped off by a gorgeous sunset over the ocean on the ferry ride home.  Thanks to Andy Shepard and Maine Winter Sports Center for putting this event together once again!

Hopefully some pictures will surface soon - for now, here are results:

Final Position	Bib Number	Last Name	First Name	Group	Total Elapsed Time
1	82	Supple	Jared	Men	36:42.0
2	87	Goessling	Raleigh	Men	36:58.6
3	86	Barton	Jake	Men	37:17.0
4	85	Danger Buetow	Jordan	Men	37:30.0
5	69	Belk	Jonah	Men	37:58.4
6	76	Bard	Joey	Men	38:10.0
7	79	Fosnaes	Eirik	Men	38:30.5
8	78	Woods	Sean	Men	38:47.4
9	75	Hamilton	Alex	Men	39:01.0
10	81	Michaud	Nick	Men	39:53.1
11	67	Nesbitt	Andrew	Men	39:59.0
12	77	Tucker	Jeff	Men	40:09.3
13	83	Milliken	Lucas	Men	40:34.7
14	63	Dermody	Daniel	Men	40:37.0
15	71	Harrer	Corky	Men	40:45.6
16	84	Dixon	John	Men	40:48.4
17	25	Howe	Katrina	Women	41:17.4
18	66	Cowan	Pete	Men	41:21.2
19	61	Bloch	Jackson	Men	41:24.1
20	59	Burke	Ethan	Men	41:25.9
21	60	Regan	Cam	Men	41:39.1
22	55	Murphy	Nick	Men	41:44.9
23	80	Burnham	Chris	Men	42:01.9
24	62	Regan	Connor	Men	42:19.3
25	74	DeAngelis	Tyler	Men	42:37.4
26	65	Crimp	James	Men	42:37.9
27	72	Fereshetian	Justin	Men	42:44.7
28	64	Wight	Calvin	Men	43:22.4
29	56	Richmond	Jordan	Men	43:44.3
30	31	Grossman	Hallie	Women	43:46.9
31	24	Pope	Margaret	Women	43:57.2
32	70	Austin	Henry	Men	44:48.2
33	51	Deluca	Marcello	Men	45:49.0
34	73	Defrancis	Paco	Men	45:51.6
35	30	Aseltine	Shelby	Women	46:19.9
36	19	Donohoe	Emma	Women	47:11.5
37	21	Clark	Britta	Women	47:29.9
38	27	Lynn	Stephanie	Women	47:33.5
39	29	Golovkina	Olga	Women	47:34.5
40	13	Hill	Jenna	Women	47:38.2
41	58	Kuzio	Dan	Men	47:45.7
42	26	Susla	Molly	Women	47:53.0
43	57	Kane	Sam	Men	48:08.8
44	5	Fitzgerald	Kaitlin	Women	48:17.6
45	68	Turner	Lauren	Men	48:23.2
46	10	Bourne	Kim	Women	48:28.7
47	22	Brockett	Sarah	Women	48:42.1
48	28	Sellegren	Gretchen	Women	49:22.4
49	20	Spaeh	Eva	Women	49:25.0
50	1	James	Sadie	Women	49:35.8
51	23	Tuttle	Catherine	Women	49:58.0
52	52	Cushman	Ashton	Men	50:36.8
53	18	Ryerson	Sally	Women	50:46.4
54	15	Daniels	Caroline	Women	51:12.9
55	16	Hotopp	Alice	Women	51:33.7
56	7	Sudkamp-walker	Helen	Women	52:11.7
57	17	Marshall	Hannah	Women	52:45.4
58	12	Wright	Grace	Women	52:49.5
59	8	Saucy	Hilary	Women	53:39.3
60	11	Knowlton	Lucy	Women	54:14.1
61	3	Algeo	Lucy	Women	54:27.1
62	14	Frisbie	Sierra	Women	56:47.4
63	6	Mahoney	Abigail	Women	1:01:15.0
64	2	Lindsey	Molly	Women	1:01:34.4
65	54	McPherson	Grant	Men	1:13:46.7
66	9	Dufresne-dixon	Marie	Women	1:30:11.3
67	4	Ranucci	Emily	Women	1:31:26.3

Last of the Fall

It's been a beautiful fall here in Brunswick - mild temps, not much rain, and surprisingly long-lasting colors.  Last week we made the most of it with some high-volume training - we spent a lot of quality time outside doing a series of long workouts with some specific strength and threshold mixed in.  We finished the weekend with an OD rollerski/run - here are the women post-workout on the Pineland trails (photo courtesy of Shelby):

I'm really happy with how everything has gone so far - the skiers have done a great job of executing the workouts and staying focused, and I think the overall fitness is very good at this point.  Now we're taking a big rest week before we head into the "early darkness" phase of the season.  Time trials, lots of intensity, and Thanksgiving Camp are right around the corner, but for now we're taking it easy.

2012 Phil Soule Phlail

On Sunday we hosted the 7th Annual Phil Soule 5k Phlail, our annual Homecoming race in honor of the legendary Bowdoin coach Phil Soule.  After a rainy week, we were lucky to get a beautiful sunny day for the race.  We had a great turnout, with 131 finishers - a good mix of alumni, students, and community members.  Our numbers were no doubt boosted by the Dri-Fit t-shirts that we gave to the racers, courtesy of a generous anonymous donor.  Eric Sofen '07 of Seattle won the men's race, with Morgan Lake-Adams of Portland winning the women's event.  Michael Costello '04 of New York City was the top alumni lineman.  Overall, a great day and a very successful event.  Thanks to all who participated!

Results and Photo Gallery

Pineland Sprint

After coming back from Acadia, we jumped right into an intensity week, with three VO2max workouts in a 4 day span:  classic intervals up Gloucester Hill, double pole intervals on Highland, and bounding intervals at Bradbury.  We finished the week with a skate sprint time trial with Colby (and one Bates skier) at Pineland.  We used the same format as we did for our sprint TT with Bates last year - prelim, then heats with the skiers matched up against others of similar speed (ie, 1-4, 5-8, 9-12).  In the ensuing 3 heats, the top skier moved up and the bottom skier dropped down, which gave everyone something to race for.  Despite coming off of several days of hard training, our skiers gave a good account of themselves.  Shelby won the prelim by a wide margin and dominated all 3 of her heats, and Tyler quickly worked his way up to the top heat and stayed there, finishing 3rd in the final round.  Overall, I was pleasantly surprised - we're looking much sharper than usual at this time of year.  So far, so good!

Here are results for the prelim:

Nick	Michaud	Bates	2:54
John	Dixon	Colby	3:02
Henry	Austin	Bowdoin	3:05
Tyler	DeAngelis	Bowdoin	3:08
Chris	Burnham	Colby	3:08
Jake	Barton	Colby	3:11
Jordan	Richmond	Bowdoin	3:11
Jared	Supple	Colby	3:13
James	Crimp	Bowdoin	3:14
Calvin	Wight	Colby	3:20
Jackson	Bloch	Bowdoin	3:22
Jonah	Belk	Colby	3:32
Shelby	Aseltine	Bowdoin	3:30
Sarah	Brockett	Colby	3:40
Jenna	Hill	Colby	3:42
Emma	Donohoe	Colby	3:44
Hannah	Marshall	Bowdoin	3:48
Olia	Golovkina	Colby	3:49
Kim	Bourne	Colby	3:49
Stephanie	Lynn	Bowdoin	3:51
Tess	Hamilton	Bowdoin	3:52
Molly	Susla	Colby	3:57
Sierra	Frisbie	Bowdoin	4:01
Alice	Hotopp	Colby	4:11
Abigail	Mahoney	Bowdoin	4:52

Acadia 2012

 Last weekend was Fall Camp in Acadia.  For the third time in the past 4 years, we headed up to Trenton to stay at the Askins family camp.  Our first stop was Bald Mountain in Dedham, where we did a tough bounding workout - 30 seconds bounding up alternating with 30 seconds of an easy walk/jog down.  After a joyous reunion with Maren (just back from New Zealand), we did an easy recovery run around Witch Hole Pond in the park and then enjoyed a fantastic pasta dinner prepared by Joanna and Greg.

The next day was our big run/hike over several peaks - Gorham, Champlain, Dorr, Cadillac, and Pemetic, with some adding on both Bubbles at the end.

 The mountains of Acadia are small - Cadillac is just over 1500 feet - but they're rugged, with lots of roots, rocks, and steep slopes.

We also enjoyed some stellar views - nothing better than an October hike overlooking the ocean.

We wrapped up the day with a mini golf game featuring 5 holes-in-one (4 by Tyler and 1 by Hannah Marshall) and another delicious dinner cooked by our hosts.  Thus fortified, the team was able to rally for another long workout on Monday - a run on the Around the Mountain loop.  This is a roughly 11-mile loop on the Acadia carriage road, with some very long, steady climbs.  Not content with this level of challenge, the team added on some extra distance - the boys intentionally, the girls by accident.  Nonetheless, everyone finished the workout looking fresh, putting a nice cap on the weekend.  Overall, a great camp - three long days of quality training with lots of positive energy.  Thanks so much to the Askins family for making it possible once again!

 Descent from Dorr Mountain.

 Happy hands on Gorham Mountain.

 Girls at the peak of Pemetic(?)

This little pond between Gorham and Champlain was one of the most gorgeous spots of the trip.

The boys and Steph hiked east-west, while the girls and Mike hiked west-east.  We ran into each other on the side of Dorr Mountain for this charming photo op.

A mysterious group of hikers atop an unknown peak.

Bike Path TT & More Fitness Testing

More fitness testing this week - we did a low box jump test and a 200m sprint on the ergs.  Tyler and Steph were tops in the jump test, with James just ahead of Jordan in the erg sprint and Emma and Steph tied.  It was good to get a clearer picture of people's strengths and weaknesses - we'll make some small adjustments to individual training plans to try to address any problem areas.

We also did our bike path time trial - a 4.2k skate, and deceptively hard - the path is very gently rolling, so you're working pretty much the whole time.  Shelby absolutely crushed it, while Tyler was the top man.

We'll do a specific strength workout this afternoon, and then we're off to Acadia for fall camp!

Morse Mountain 2012

At last, we're underway.  We started out with fitness testing on Saturday - after a one-year hiatus, the Morse Mountain time trial is back (at least until I find something better).  Very solid effort all around - at first glance, it looks like the team as a whole is fairly fit, despite a number of injury/illness issues plaguing our women's team.  Times were a bit tighter than usual - everyone reasonably close, with no one off the back - which was encouraging.  Congratulations to James for breaking Chris Sanville's 4-year-old team record!  Good start to the season, completed with a dip in the balmy Atlantic for the bolder members of our group.


RESULTS

Women
Tess	7:20
Shelby	7:40
Emma	7:54
Lucy	8:00
Abigail	8:02
Steph	8:03
HannahM.	8:17
Eva	8:17
Men
James	5:34
Henry	6:05
Jackson	6:20
Jordan	6:26
Tyler	6:32

Alec in Cape Town

Here's an update on Alec's semester in Cape Town:

 

Long overdue report on life and adventures from the past few months.  For those of you who don't know, I've been studying in Cape Town, South Africa, since early July and it has been amazing.  Aside from taking courses at the University of Cape Town, I've been doing a lot of adventuring and hiking.  The hiking here is insanely great.  My dorm is right at the bottom of Devil's Peak, which makes hiking in the NH White Mountains seem tame despite being a bit smaller.  Trails involve shuffling around massive boulders while inches from 100+ foot cliffs in wind with 30 mph gusts.  There are also literally hundreds of trails that go farther than you can go in a day, so I keep trying new ones and have yet to be disappointed.  Sure beats that hundred and fiftieth run through the Brunswick Commons.  Other fun activities the last few weeks have included shark cage diving with great whites, bungee jumping off the highest bridge bungee in the world, visiting beaches, a mountain biking wine and brandy tasting tour with my dad (visited for a week in August), and exploring the city.

 

I just got back a few hours ago from our week long spring break during which I did a road trip with 6 friends from the program that I'm on.  We stayed at backpacking hostels and the like while driving up what's called the Wild Coast--- the eastern coastline of South Africa.  We did a short safari in a large national park/elephant reserve, went hiking, tried to learn to surf, and culminated by spending 4 days at an eco-friendly backpacker lodge in a remote village called Bulungula.  This place literally was only accessible by walking or ATV's until 2010, and now is an incredible destination in by far the coolest place I've ever been.  It's partnered with the village community and so 40% of it's profits go to help the surrounding community.  Honestly I don't even really know how to describe it right now--I'm still feeling shocked back into civilization right now being back in the city-- it was so totally different from how I've been used to living, and I can't express how incredible it was.

 

Anyway, I'm back now and will try to be in better touch with people through facebook etc.  I hope orientation and the start of classes went well for everyone.  Don't work to hard at school and have a blast training while you still can before Nathan starts throwing erg tests and intervals at you.

Hei Hei frå Svalbard!

More Svalbard details and video from Riley:

Here is Kaitlynn and my first blog post from Norway/ever. We have now been in Longyearbyen for a little over a month and we are having a really awesome time. We both live in neighboring barracks, formerly housing for Norwegian miners.

It's a 3k walk to UNIS (school) every morning, the northernmost university in the world.  UNIS is the only school in the world that gives out rifles to their students and live rounds for shooting polar bears. While we’re on about record breaking, I challenge anyone to try and swim outside further north than 79º. Classes have been going well and we just got off a weeklong cruise with our respective departments. Every time I (Riley) go running it feels like I’m on a boat. My professor is also a real B.A. (beautiful animal). She and I (rock) bouldered underneath our kitchen table, an activity I am going to bring to our ski team.

Kaitlynn and Maeve (Colby skier/enemy) are teaching everyone how to knit and I am teaching people how to make bread and ski. This past weekend was particularly exciting. Yesterday all three of us competed in a Quadrathalon, which consists of a 5k kayak, 13k mountain bike, 5 rounds of shooting at 40m and a 6k run! Kaitlynn won for the women and I was second. Going into the shooting range I was first but unfortunately my years of getting rid of squirrels on the farm had not prepared me for the big guns and I missed one shot. Kaitlynn missed one too, but not as badly. The guy who beat me was a master Norwegian skier from the mainland who had some game, which makes me feel better. Maeve’s kayak kept turning to the right so she canoed the first part of the race.

Today, we followed Nathan’s training plan and did a 2.25 hr over distance ski w/ specific strength…ON A GLACIER! It took us 50 minutes to hike from the cheese block (Kaitlynn’s barrack) to get the glacier. We brought our German friend Tobias as well, featured in the film.

So far no polar bear sightings yet except for the dead stuffed ones in Longyearbyen, but we have seen whales, polar fox and lots of very fat Svalbard reindeer.

Svalbard!

Kaitlynn and Riley are studying in Svalbard this semester.  Kaitlynn has been able to do some exploring - here are a few photos:

It turns out that there's a glacier conveniently located within hiking distance of campus - I guess Svalbard isn't such a bad study abroad destination.  Look closely at the ski photo above - that's a rifle on her back.  Not a tidy little biathlon rifle, either - it's for shooting polar bears.  Ah, irony.

Maren and Justyna

Q:  How many Bowdoin skiers have shared a podium with an Olympic gold medalist and world champion?

A:  At least one.  This is Maren next to Justyna Kowalczyk after the 42k Merino Muster in New Zealand.  Maren technically finished 4th, but due to a timing mixup she ended up on the podium for the awards ceremony, which is all that really matters, because now we have this great photo, and photos are forever.

(Maren's earlier NZ exploits are richly detailed here)

Graduation 2012

A bit late, but here are some photos from Graduation 2012 - once again, Greg Askins came through.
This was a happy day, but we're certainly sad to see this crew go.  These guys were my first recruiting class at Bowdoin - they've been fantastic since Day One, and they've helped bring our team a long way over the last four years.  They leave a big hole that will be hard to fill.  Congratulations and good luck, seniors - we'll miss you!

Presi Traverse 2012

Last weekend, a few of our skiers continued what has become an annual tradition:  hiking the Presidential Traverse.  Here's Steph's report on the hike and her recent road trip:

A good friend once told me that the best thing about being an adult is going on vacation.  This past week, I learned the truth of these words.  For most people summer break constitutes a period of relaxation between grueling semesters at Bowdoin, but for me it’s always been a time for manual labor.  For the past month and a half I’ve been in upstate New York working hard for the Adirondack Mountain Club’s professional trail crew, but even I need a break from acting the noble savage.  So I’ve spent the past five days embarking on my first “adult” vacation.  During the past week I’ve traveled across New England with Kaitlynn in tow; mostly we’ve been causing a commotion, but we also spent time hunting down various members of the Bowdoin ski team.

After leaving Lake Placid my first stop was the Miller residence nestled in the hills of northern Vermont; I had two goals: 1) deposit five weeks of paychecks in a TD Bank, and 2) kidnap Kaitlynn.  These objectives were quickly met.  Before leaving Vermont for greener pastures, Kaitlynn dragged me on a run up Elmore Ridge Road and fed me massive quantities of beet greens from Hannah’s garden.  All and all, I had a successful visit to one of my favorite places.

On Friday Kaitlynn and I followed the faint smell of freedom east to New Hampshire.  We met Riley, Shelby, and Emma at the Eusden’s summer house in Randolph.  The next day the five of us embarked on the third annual Bowdoin Nordic Presidential Traverse.  This was my first time hiking the twenty-plus mile traverse all in one day; I could barely sleep I was so excited.  Our hike began with an early morning charge up Mount Madison.  When Riley and I stopped to wait for the girls just below tree line; I realized that I had forgotten my lunch in the refrigerator miles below.  Luckily for the small and stalwart team, my sandwich calamity did not set the tone for the hours to come.

We had flawless weather (clear, warm, and windy) for the entire hike; as a seasoned New Hampshire wild flower, I can tell you that an entire day of good weather almost never the occurs in the Whites.  The five of us traveled at a steady pace; we bagged peak after peak, and stopped for lunch right below the summit of Mount Clay.  We bumped into a Nordic skier from Williams on the summit of Washington (she was working for the AMC on the Lake of Clouds Hut Crew) who generously handed out candy bars to the famished crew.  After Monroe and Eisenhower, the hike was basically all down hill; by dinnertime, we were off the mountain and on our way to Gorham to pick up an all American feast: pizza and potato chips.

On Sunday morning we parted ways: Shelby headed south to Gilford while Kaitlynn, Emma, Riley, and I traveled to various destinations in Maine.  Later that day, Kaitlynn and I met up with Grandma Clare Stansberry for a stormy swim in Sewall Pond.  That night, we crashed in Clare’s tent at the Woodruff farm in Brunswick.  Kaitlynn helped Clare to do evening chores while I bonded with a pregnant cow (I was on vacation after all).  On Monday, we drove to my house in beautiful Bow; en route, we met Erin for smoothies and caught up on her post-graduation exploits.

Tomorrow my first real vacation ends.  On the way back west, Kaitlynn and I will drive through Rutvegas in search of the notorious Hannah Wright.  In Charlotte, Kaitlynn and I will part ways for the next several months; we’ll be spending the fall semester on separate continents.  I hardly know Bowdoin without Kaitlynn, but I feel fortunate that the two of us were able to embark on one epic, final hoorah.   

On top of Madison - we're explorers.

On top of Jefferson - we're throwing the brown claw.

 On top of Adams - "The Wilderness must be explored!"

On top of Pierce - the final peak of the day.  Very tired with many sore feet.