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.

End of an Era

Most Bowdoin Athletics fans have already heard that Athletic Director Jeff Ward is stepping down.  I'm pretty sad about this.  In my 5 years at Bowdoin, Jeff has done a great job of supporting the team and giving us the resources we needed to be successful.  The program has come a long way during his tenure, and we'll miss him.  Thanks Jeff, and good luck in the future!

Nordic Alumni Blog

Newly minted Bowdoin grad Chris Sanville has wasted no time in transitioning to alumni status - he's started a Bowdoin Nordic Alumni blog, with the goal of building community among alumni.  I'm pretty excited about this - anything that strengthens the Bowdoin Nordic community strengthens our team.  Check it out!