Bates Nordic Skiing

Cat Country: Big Cat NCAA's edition

2012-03-07T04:56:00.001-08:00

We have now been in beautiful Bozeman, Montana for five days and have seen three days of significant snow fall, with the rest being your picturesque 50 degree sunny day in Big Sky Country. It's gorgeous. The skiing has been amazing with all the fresh snow so we at least have perfect conditions to look forward to on the challenging course. We stayed at the Mogk's house for the first few days, which was a great way to settle in and we especially enjoyed playing with their dog, Bridger. On Saturday we moved into the Holiday Inn where we will spend the rest of the week. Joining us here are UNH and Williams, as well as a few alpine teams. Saturday we also did some intensity to see how going hard feels at altitude—it was a lot different but every day we seem to adjust better and better. Sunday we went for a nice easy classic off of the race course and it was some of the nicest skiing some of us have ever experienced, especially (those of us from Vermont) because it was 45 degrees and we were skiing on zeros or hardwax! On Monday some of us went for an easy ski while others lounged, and we all reconvened in the afternoon for some shopping on Main Street. Jordan (unsuccessfully) searched Bozeman high and low for cowboy boots, while Beth scored big on an oldschool one-piece Bogner ski suit. We finished the day with some Bates team bonding at Johnny Carino's for dinner with the Alpine crew. We are looking forward to some sweet racing tomorrow. For all of us it will be our NCAA Championship debut so we look forward to setting the tone for the week with some solid results in the skate race.

For live coverage of the weeks races follow this link:

http://www.ncaa.com/liveschedule

P.S. We will be posting pictures this afternoon.

TRIPLE TREAT: PART DEUX

2012-02-28T14:10:00.003-08:00

I met Evan Dion on my first day at Bates. He stood with me in our dorm in an awkward meet-n-greet circle. I didn’t know Evan was a skier, nor did I care that his favorite ice cream was chocolate chip cookie dough. At that time he was just one more person I met that day; but soon Evan was more than that, he became a teammate and a friend.

Evan comes from far west in Truckee California. Rocking the Cali bro tank, some might say he’s the stereotypical California dreamboat. But those who know him well will tell you that although he does have a strapping beach body he spends his time away from the ocean and on his skis till the snow melts. As the brother of senior teammate Kelsey Dion; Evan had a great name to live up to. However, he took his college experience in stride and has no doubt made a name for himself at Bates and on the team.

One could describe him as Renaissance man, because he’s so talented. First of all, he’s brilliant; you don’t even have to talk to him to know that, the curly Einstein like fro gives it away immediately. Evan’s DJ skills will be bobcat legend; he transforms commons from a place of eating to a place of dance, laughter and excitement. Although I was not present, it has been rumored that a group of students where sited dancing on chairs and tables they where so moved by his tracks. Evan rips through class 5 rapids on his kayak like nothing else and sets new standards; scootering around our dorm and campus and singing angelically for all to hear. The freshman girls refer to him as “h-evan” and describe him as “charming.” Guys will tell you his chill to pull ratio is off the charts. Even with skiing and work Evan still finds time to ride bicycles for two and volunteer for the police department, arresting roller skiers who fail to follow safety laws.

We are all so happy to have Evan as part of the team and are looking forward to a great four years with him.

TRIPLE TREAT: Part I

2011-12-11T09:24:00.000-08:00

This is the first of a three part series introducing the three newest additions to the men’s Nordic team: Connor Regan, Evan Dion and Nick Michaud.

Connor “Condor” Regan/ “Casual Condor”

When the sun rises over Mount David, and beams of light illuminate room 234 of 280 Hall, wakes a man. Rolling out of bed, Connor Regan completes his usual morning routine of 100 “casual” push-ups and squat thrusts. After gargling pure gasoline, the Condor slides a classy cashmere “cut-off” sweater over his burly build and heads out the door to begin his day.

Connor did not come of age like most kids. Hailing from Cumberland, Maine, nearly all hours of his days were spent in the forested region behind his home. Taking down trees, moving 400-pound rocks, and chasing rabbits and creatures alike, barefoot, became a part of Connor’s lifestyle. Separating himself from Lennie in “Of Mice and Men”, he always let the unharmed animals run free upon their capture.

No animal has ever outrun Connor. He proved this at the annual Rangeley training camp, as a pack of furious Bobcats chased him up Saddleback Mountain. Snatching the overall victory, Connor shook all his competitors’ hands displaying his “Trident-white” smile and never-before-seen level of sportsmanship. Due to Connor’s noble work ethic and innate ability to suffer copious amounts of pain, no animal ever will outrun him.

Connor is not just a titan in the world of athletics and manliness. Since his early days, he has been an academic all-star, a chivalrous companion for many lucky ladies, an outstanding family member, and a leader in the community. Some of Connor’s hobbies illustrate a more sensitive side: poetry, holding doors open for strangers, succeeding, helping elderly ladies carry groceries, and saving animals lives. Connor also has a musical gift. Teammates have described his voice as “a mixture between Fergie and Jesus,” having “the ability to make hairs stand on end,” and “wow”. A well-rounded and exceptional man, Connor’s desirable qualities are boundless.

In just a few weeks with Condor, Bates students and members of the Nordic team have been nothing short of impressed. His presence has been inspiring and uplifting. We are extremely excited to have Connor join the Bobcat squad.

Adapt and Overcome and You Will Surely See the Sights.

2011-11-22T14:20:00.000-08:00

Day two of our Thanksgiving Training Camp dawned bright and early with a 7am trip to Commons then a 7:30 departure to…oh wait. Where are we going? We were planning on going to Mount Washington, but too much snow and ice changed those plans so we headed to a road just outside of Bethel for a classic ski up to the mountain, Old Speck, for a hike. The ski was gorgeous; it started a little chilly, but was still beautiful especially because there were very few cars. As we climbed, there was some ice on the road and snow on the sides, which reminded us that winter is coming. After passing many signs for different parking lots and waterfalls and somewhere called “Moose Cave,” we got to final destination #1. After a quick lunch, complete with sandwiches, cookies, and brownies, we got ready to hike/ run Old Speck. We were unsure if there were hunters in the area, so we tried our best to not look like deer, and avoided wearing white hats and headbands. We went up the mountain and saw some beautiful views of various mountains. The rocks started to get slippery as we went up and about an hour in, the girls turned around, but the boys were still set on their summit bid. We all reunited back in the parking lot for some more food and the trip back to Bates. Our post dinner entertainment for the evening was watching an awesome snowboard movie The Art of Flight, which probably got everyone even more pumped up for some snow!

Who needs snow in Canada? I'd rather have a double session of kicking butt and taking names.

2011-11-22T05:43:00.000-08:00

Today turned out to be jam packed with strong racing turnouts, good mental attitudes and a serious amount of Bobcat pride. The team piled into the vans at a leisurely 8:00am this morning, headed to a skate rolle-rski sprint race against Bowdoin at Pineland Farms. The races ended up going really well, with Bates skiers stealing the top three places for both men and women. The sprints today gave everyone on the team a chance to realize how strong and competitive we’ve become in the last few months of training, as well as what things we can work on to get ready for the upcoming racing season. And as for those polar bears, I think they were reminded that a bobcat is a ferocious beast, and when you let it run free there’s no telling what it might accomplish.

After returning to campus and spending a good amount of time at lunch, luckily it was all-you –can-eat Commons day (again), it was time for a friendly game of football. In the first annual Turkey Bowl 2011, the girls stepped up their game and scored several early touchdowns. The boys ended up catching back up to us, but with a huge amount of spirit and strategic guidance from coach Dylan we held them of and the game may have ended with a tie (the results are controversial).

In the words of coaches Becky and Dylan, today the entire team showed a whole lot of heart. With times like these, who needs snow in Canada? This was an excellent start to Thanksgiving break.

T.T.F.N.

-Caroline

Go East, Young Bobcat

2011-11-10T17:58:00.000-08:00

This weekend the team took a brief trip “down east” (I still don’t know how that makes sense) to Acadia to get away from campus for a bit and get some solid training in. Friday evening we pulled into our digs - the “Winter Haven” - with the ever-generous Milliken family waiting for us at the door. Becky and Dylan passed out goodie bags of new gear, and everyone was looking good as they tried it on before bed...that probably wasn’t just the clothes though.

Saturday morning we went for a team jog along the beach (in matching new apparel, of course) and rolled into the national park to do a skate time trial up Cadillac Mountain. It was a mere fifteen minutes into our warm-up when the law showed up to shut down our endeavor, the white park ranger Suburban screeching to a halt with lights flashing, idling during the interrogation (shouldn’t they be a little more conscientious?):

“Are you with Bates College?”

“Umm...yeah.” [Panting from an L4 warmup piece, wearing 100% new, Bates-logoed clothing]

“You know you aren’t allowed to rollerskate [not what we were doing] in the park?”

“Umm...no?”

“Your van is parked on Cadillac, right? Go back there right now.”

“Umm...okay.”

After some deft legal maneuvering by Dylan and Becky, we escaped the authorities and made our way to another road for some hard - but probably less exciting - intensity.

The afternoon consisted of wood-stacking, lobster-eating (in the “traditional” way - boiled in seawater over a wood fire on the beach and cracked with a nice-sized rock), and the Acadia Bowl, which saw the men’s team taking on the girls, who were aided by Dylan, Tucker, Tess and one-hand-touch downs. Despite this formidable opposition, the boys pulled out a win as the sun set, turning the view of the harbor orange - it coulda been a TV show.

Tired warriors were treated to a spectacular dinner and a long-rehearsed rendition of Old Crow Medicine Show’s “Wagon Wheel,” with Jordan on the fiddle, Dylan on the guitar and pretty much everyone on vocals.

The next morning we rose early and went for a (totally legal) OD run, starting outside of the park and hitting summits on our way in. The girls headed up and over Sergeant Peak to Penobscot Ridge and down to Jordan Pond; the guys opted to take a slightly more roundabout route, with a casual six peaks bagged on the day, including the addition of Cadillac after reaching Jordan Pond. It was gorgeous: 50 degrees, sunny, and hardly windy at all. Oh - the views were alright too.

All in all, the weekend definitely didn’t suck. ENORMOUS thanks go to Peter, Linzee, Lucas and the whole Milliken family for their incredible generosity - we can’t wait to do it again!

2011-11-02T08:03:00.000-07:00

HALLOWINTER

The week following Rangeley we kept it rolling with another big one, replete with traditional Lost Valley Wednesday intervals and some long, cold threshold rollerski pieces Saturday at Pineland under some rather ominous clouds.

On Saturday night, as costumes were being donned about campus for the Halloween dance (the men's team all toga'd up as Greek Gods, naturally), we were blessed with a solid half-foot of snow. This meant that early Saturday morning, as the rest of campus slumbered from the night's festivities, we were up and on skis. Unfortunately there wasn't quite enough white stuff to make a trip to Pineland reasonable (but a bit too much to make it quick).

We had to "settle" for a game of skis-on speedball in lieu of our planned over-distance roll to Freeport for the 2nd Annual Fuller Family Ski'n'Shoot. Sunday is still OD day, though, so after 2.5 hours of fierce competition and no-pole skating on the baseball field, we caved to the smell of bacon wafting over from Commons - besides, Dylan had told us that it was all-you-can-eat day (Caroline was ecstatic).

Unofficial MVP honors for the match go to Connor "Condor" Regan for his very physical head-to-head play against co-MVP Sean "Get At Me Condor!" Woods.

Unfortunately, we were so caught up in good times and the competitive instinct to catch any photos, but don't worry - the blog won't remain boring and wordy for long. This weekend we head to Acadia - thank you Milliken Family! - for some relaxation...but mostly training, including a time trial up the Cadillac Mountain access road.

Stay Tuned.
-Filly

Another one in the Books! Rangeley 2011

2011-10-27T12:38:00.000-07:00

Believe you can and you will (quote contributed by resident inspirational speaker/BatesCollege senior Kelsey Dion). This was the theme of our five days in Rangeley, filled with epic mountain summits, gorgeous lake-side skis, uphill time trials,and PRs. Workouts were augmented by extracurricular events such as the fiercely competitive pie baking competition, where we all learned that love only gets you so far in life...I suppose the tacit understanding is hard-work gets you the rest of the way?

Of course the annual Rangeley Bowl met and, in the opinion of this commentator, exceeded expectations. The game started with Nickel Back-esque rendition of the National Anthem from first year Nick Michaud. As the light waned, the warriors battled through the white knuckle suspense of game that can only be described as coup-anti coup, with every touch-down matched with equally impressive skill; possession turning over only with points on the board. A late substitution put celebrity Broadhead in for coach Mogk. A controversial move combined with questionable time keeping placed team Milliken, Michaud, Burnham and Broadhead up as time elapsed.

Though we were on break, every day was and remains school day in Rangeley; those who weren't learning about the role of women in Nazi Germany were learning football strategy from Coach Mogk. (Expect a serious upset in the Acadia Bowl this year, folks.) Back on campus now, everyone's getting studious, getting swoll (translation: sore), and getting stoked for Sunday's ski
and shoot. Shout-out to Moogs, Ing, Natalus, Kir, Martin, and Fuller -- we missed
you guys last week. Don't worry though...Country Strong got us through.

Demsey Challenge: Not Just Good Looking, but Good People and Good Times

2011-10-18T13:12:00.000-07:00

For those of you familiar with the hit TV series Grey's anatomy, I'm sure you are aware of the dreamy presence of Dr. Derek Shepherd as played by Patrick Dempsey. His altruism, however, extends far beyond his role in prime-time television. As a native of Maine, Dempsey has found an avenue of philanthropy that has touched the hearts of countless thousands. see link

Unsurprisingly, admits the foray of many participants you will find a significant portion of the Bates Nordic Ski Team running and cycling in the name humanitarian advancement. Taking advantage of an event that financially supports medical progress with healthy lifestyle choices, the ski team stepped out of the rigor of undergraduate academia and intersected a passion for quality of life with their own personal athletic goals. It is yet another fantastic day to be a Bobcat.

GETTING AFTER IT!

2011-09-30T13:01:00.000-07:00

Testing week is here in a big way.

Yesterday the team put down a solid 3000m time trial: a Mr. Jay-Booty busted through the 10 minute barrier - Lucas and Sean weren't far off. Beth set a high bar for the girls, and old times got dropped like bad habits (i.e. lots o' PR's).

This morning the strength test went down promptly at 6:30am. There was lots of agony, and equally impressive numbers - as Martin Benes once said, "We're looking mad swole." The Bobcats are STRONG!

Getting out there, pushing each other, and hurting as a team: what it's all about.

The Grind

2011-09-23T07:21:00.000-07:00

At the request of Becky, I am getting this blog rolling again (I'm on the clock as her staff assistant, so I have the dubious privilege of getting paid to write this post).

It's been a good minute since I last posted, so I'll do my best to fly through the end-of-summer/start-of-school recap:

-Trained HARD in August in Truckee. Did some big weeks and had an equal amount of fun. Received a visit from the ever-lovely Sean Woods, and went on a 16-mile run on the Pacific Crest Trail which accidentally turned into a 20-mile run.

-Left Truckee with Lucas and drove across the country. Literally coast-to-coast. Spent a lot of time on my butt but saw a lot of hospitality (from Bates friends, Lucas' uncle, and the McClelland family) and a lot of windmills. Made it to Keene, NY in time to do a time trial with the Burke team. And I'm pleased to say that despite living in the same house and spending 4 days straight in a car together, Lucas and I are still friends. We're essentially finishing each others' sentences nowadays, which is a bit disconcerting (read: awesome).

-Got WFA certified (I'm confident sticking just about anyone with epinephrine now, just so you know). Led a pack of freshies into the woods of Mt. Adams on an AESOP trip - some who had never hiked before, or even slept outside. Enlightening to say the least, but a good time all around.

-Started school...but more importantly GOT THE BAND BACK TOGETHER. It's so exciting to finally be training as a team again - I was starting to get sick of all the Williams/Bowdoin/Midd shenanigans in Truckee this summer. We've got a good pack of freshmen as well, who are definitely keeping things interesting.

It's back to the grind nowadays, with essays on essays to write, testing creeping up (strength test is Monday), and the start of the official training season right around the corner. From what is being said this blog should be more regular from here on out, so keep yo eyes wide open for more (hopefully more invigorating) stuff in the next few weeks.

Jah Blessings,

-Filly (Alex)

Training in the big MT

2011-08-23T09:49:00.000-07:00

Hello family, so this blog post will not be as epic as last summers (simply unbeatable) but now that martin is no longer patrolling the e-waves perhaps there will be a reincarnation???bwahhahahah Training in Bozeman went great, still great,training with BSF not so unbearably hot until this week, Gretch and Dan have found there ways here as well and sometimes train with me but mostly are mysterious waifs. Jealous of the snow in Truckee and can't wait to see you guys!!! Here's a picture of the marathon i did on the Rocky Mountain Ridge, the Ridge Run (7,000 ft ascent and 10,000 decent), i had to replace the bottoms of my feet, cuz i wanna look just as cool as you guys, love you all and miss you!! TWO WEEKS UNTIL REUNITION!!

ps.. WHO DID THAT LAST POST!??? who are you and where is islesbro? i know he is of the male persuasion since who else would be excited about showering with other people

call me the ISLESBRO

2011-08-05T20:50:00.000-07:00

Ladies and Gentleman it is with great pleasure that I step back into all of your lives, with my first blog post ever on the Bates nordic blog. (I'm actually super excited). I can't wait to see all of you again come fall and get off this rock in the middle of ocean. Instead of writing up a long boring blog post about how serine and beautiful this place is, I made a little teaser video to post here on the blog. I plan to use the real footage (the good stuff) in a longer video coming up this fall. So without further ado, my summer 2011 teaser.
p.s -
i miss the shower squad

June Lake Camp 2011: A Haiku Recap

2011-07-27T13:56:00.000-07:00

Filly and Caitlin

Coaching youngsters near Mammoth

Gnarliness ensues

Coach Ben and Kara

Shared wisdom as the bear shares

with the hungry wolf

Scait and I did our

best too, but the altitude

made it a challenge

Made the peak of Mt.

Morgan; fourteen thousand feet

means the view's O.K.

Ascended with a

watermelon, heavy but

oh so delicious

Yahtzee.

-Filly

2011-07-24T16:44:00.000-07:00

We have had a great past week in Truckee! Lucas, Alex, Noah, Caitlan and myself started the week off with a beautiful and fun 75 mile ride around Lake Tahoe. The middle part of the week was filled with regular ski training type activities. The week ended with a wild and willy hike up Mt. Lola. The hike was filled with lots of snow and on the decent we were able to practice our glaceding (and it was my birthday hike so it was pretty yayay!) As usual it has been sunny with no clouds and nice temperatures all week, it is practically a dream living out here. We our off to our BBQ tonight at Donner lake, i am bringing corn to grill-yum summer!

General Holla'ins from California

2011-06-22T13:15:00.000-07:00

Summer recap up to this point:
-Left Maine (duh).

-Came home briefly before going to San Diego for my grandparents' 50th anniversary, which was awesome. Additionally, got the worst sunburn I've had in as long as I can remember - punishment for leaving sunny CA to go to school in New England, I suppose.

Toasting by the Pacific

-Returned to Truckee just in time for the glorious arrival of "CAP'N" LUCAS MILLIKEN AND NOAH BRAUTIGAM (of Middlebury skiing fame), who are living in my crib this summer. Having a Midd kid around means that we are playing lots of pickup B-ball, and Lukie and I are totally getting our skillz on point and soon (key word) will be unstoppable.

-SKIED. ON SNOW. Since we got here, Auburn Ski Club has been grooming every weekend. We're talking full coverage, clean snow, and cold nights making for bulletproof tracks in the morning yielding to soft corn later in the day. It's like glacier camp...but there's no glacier, just stupid doo doo dumb amounts of snow. Lucas described it just right in his post: perfect. Myself, Lucas and Bowdoin skier Spencer Eusden even got out to a sweet backcountry spot in my neighborhood the other week and earned some turns; so sweet.

Lucas did a casual double backflip off the cornice in the background, no biggie.

Truckee Sucks.

Home Sweet Home: Auburn Ski Club

-Besides being on snow, we've done some extreme dryland stuff: rollerskiing, running, biking, and training with the junior teams.

Captain Beth, DOINGIT (photo shamelessly stolen from Mark Nadell's MacBeth Graphics)

With summer starting for real yesterday (happy solstice everybody!), things are just getting rolling, and the Bates contingent here - myself, Lucas, Beth, Gretchen and Andrea - will do our best to keep everyone updated from the deep west. Shoutouts to Bill Clark for grooming, everyone who is housing a skier, and ASC and Sugar Bowl Academy coaches Ben Grasseschi and Jeff Schloss, respectively...not to mention the legendary Coach Martin Benes. INTOIT.

Truckee: Where Winter goes for the Summer

2011-06-12T20:55:00.000-07:00

Beth, Gretchen and I have all been in Truckee, CA for at least a week now. Andrea is coming out soon. We are all spending the summer in Truckee and training with Martin as part of Auburn Ski Club. This morning we skied ON SNOW. Yesterday we skied on snow! The weather here also happens to be just about perfect. Every day it has been sunny and warm, and every night it gets cold enough to make the snow firm again.
We also have a great crew to train with. Noah Brautigam and I are living at Alex Hamilton's house, Spencer Eusden is staying at Alex's friend's house, Kelsey is here when she is not rafting, Caitlin Curran is living with Beth and Casey and Phil from Williams are here as well. All in All it is lining up to be a great summer.

Quick NCAA Recap and What Lies Ahead

2011-03-16T09:44:00.000-07:00

The NCAA Crew

We had a good week last week in Stowe, VT for the NCAA Championships. Really good, in fact. Though the trip over was rainy, we got several feet of fresh snow through the week and some great results from our girls. On Wednesday, the girls competed in the 5 km skate race, held up at Trapps. Both Natalie and Kirsten skied well and finished in 32nd and 33rd. The conditions were great, with the crew out at Trapp's doing a tremendous job with the snow they got. The tracks were fast and firm, and with the sun out, it was a great day for spectating.
On Friday, we turned our attention to the 15 km classic race. Rain was falling steadily from early that morning on through the races. We dialed in a good klister combo for the girls and went out to watch the race. Both Kir and Nat skied great races, mixing it up in a good pack for most of the race. Things broke apart early on, and they skied smart, putting themselves in good spots. Nat was 24th and Kir was 28th on the day. Two great races.
For the week as a whole, we had some really strong skiing from our Alpine side, and ended up 11th as a team. It was the best finish we've had since 1998, a pretty big accomplishment.
It seems like were always moving forward though, and its on to some more racing for our skiers. A small crew will head over to Craftsbury this weekend for the Spring Tour. It looks like a fun event, and it will be a good opportunity to keep the racing going. Also, a few racers will head up to Sugarloaf for the marathon events out there. Its been a good season, and its good that we're keeping it going.
Some pics from the freestyle day at NCAAs:

End of Carnival Season...

2011-03-01T06:44:00.000-08:00

Well, the last couple of weeks have gone by pretty fast. We had the Middlebury Carnival and then Bates Carnival, doubling as Eastern Regionals, to close out our "regular season". In between the two it was nice to have our February break, seemingly perfect timing going into the final races.
We've had some great results over the past two weekends, and the team really left everything out there this season. Out at Middlebury, we had some tough luck on the women's side, with Nat being sick, and Kir breaking her binding/ski during Friday's skate race. That said, Beth had a great race, ending up in 12th on the day. The guys had a tough day on Friday, but rebounded well and skied to a season-best 5th place finish on Saturday during the sprint relay. It was fun to watch the guys be in the mix all the way through, and it was a good confidence boost moving forward.
After the races, everyone went their separate ways for break, reconvening at Rumford last Wednesday to preview the courses for Eastern Regionals. We headed up for good on Friday, during some heavy snow, to Rumford, and to the Bethel Inn. Saturday were the 5/10 km skate races. The women started things off strongly, as they've done all season. Kir lead the way with a 7th place finish, her 3rd top-10 of the season. Beth was next in 14th, followed closely by Megan in 15th. Nat, coming of her sickness, came in 20th, and Gretch was 31st. Andrea, who has been sick all week, skied a tough race to finish 40th. The team ended up in 4th on the day.
On the men's side Jordan had his best distance race of the season and a 15th place finish to show for it. Lucas and Alex rounded out the scorers in 39th and 42nd place. Sean had a solid race as well, coming in at 45th.
Sunday, the men kicked things off with the 20 km mass start classic. Conditions were a little slow, and the tracks disappeared pretty quickly in several spots. Every guy skied a tough race on Sunday, with Jordan leading the way again. Jordan finished in 32nd, Pete was close behind in 36th, a season-best placing for him. Sean was our third guy in 44th, Lucas right behind him in 45th. The women went off at noon. Nat put herself in it from the start skiing with the lead group, as she's done all season. Kir, Beth, and Megan all were in the mix of the top-20. Nat had a one of her strongest outings of the year, and ended up in 8th place. Kir wasn't far behind in 12th. Megan and Beth came across in 21st and 24th, respectively. The team scores were good enough for 3rd-place on the day. Beth skied a tough race, needing a top-14 to qualify for NCAAs, and ending up one spot out. That part was, and is, tough, but she still had her strongest season to date. This is definitely deepest the women's field has been for some time, and our team has been part of that every single day. Kirsten and Nat both qualified for the Championships next week, and it will be great to see how they stack up against the rest of the country.
There is still some racing to be done for a lot of people on the team, with Alex headed out to Junior Nationals this week in Minneapolis, representing Far West. Some people will be doing the Ski to the Clouds this weekend, and probably a crew will head over to Craftsbury for the Spring Tour in a few weeks. We have plenty of snow left for training, and some more racing on the calendar.
Thanks to everyone who helped out this past weekend: parents, families, friends, team members, alums, etc. Our home carnival went smoothly, and it was group effort. It was nice to host the final weekend of eastern racing. Stay tuned over the next couple of weeks for updates from NCAAs, JNs, and more...

Dartmouth Carnival

2011-02-14T09:30:00.000-08:00

The Bates Nordic crew had a solid weekend out at Dartmouth's Oak Hill in Hanover, NH. On Friday, the men kicked things off with the 10 km skate. The snow and trail conditions were some of the best they've ever been, and cold temps on Thursday night ensured for good skiing on Friday morning. Jordan put together another strong race, despite some pole trouble, and ended up in 27th place. Lucas and A-Ham were the next two finishers, with Sean close behind. On Saturday, the men lined up for the 20 km mass start classic race. It featured two trips up the switchbacks, and two trips down through the s-turns. Jordan and Lucas once again lead the way in 34th and 35th, respectively. Alex was the next finisher, and final scorer for the Bobcats on the day.
On the women's side, it was another very strong weekend. On Friday, Kirsten lead the way with a breakthrough race, finishing 4th. Natalie finished in 10th, and Megan was close behind in 13th, a career-best skate result. The three scores were good enough for 3rd on the day, the women's first podium trip this season. On Saturday, the women had the 15 km mass start classic. Nat got off to a great start and lead the race on her home course for the first 6 km. It was fun to watch her set the pace for the women's field. She had another good race coming across the line in 8th place. Megan was next in 20th, followed by Kir in 23rd. Andrea had a breakthrough day, and her first trip to the top-25, finishing in 24th.
There are only two carnivals left now, Middlebury this coming weekend, followed by Eastern Regionals, hosted by Bates. Hopefully we can everyone healthy and ready for these final two weeks. Things seem to be coming together for everyone right now though, and we have our break coming up next week.
This past weekend, a huge thank you to the Taylor's for hosting the team and serving us dinner on Thursday night. Also to the Ruppertsberger's for feeding us on Friday night. And of course, a big thank you to all the parents and families who brought food to our athletes on both days.

Weekend in Stowe

2011-02-07T13:13:00.000-08:00

This past weekend we had three races up at the Stowe nordic center. On Thursday, we drove over to Stowe with the Carnival crew. We were able to ski the course on Thursday evening before settling in at the Town & Country.
On Friday morning, the girls kicked things off with the 15 km mass start classic. All the girls put themselves in it early and skied to strong finishes. Nat lead the way with a 10th place finish. Kir came next in 15th, followed by Beth in 23rd. Megan skied well ending up in 26th. The scorers skied well enough for a 4th place finish on the day.
The men went off next, in the 20 km mass start classic. They skied well, with Jordan posting a season-best 23rd. Lucas continued his return with a solid 42nd, followed by Pete and Sean in 46th and 47th, respectively.
On Saturday, we were joined by the Eastern Cup crew for the 5/10 km skate races. For the college racers, the girls had yet another strong day, putting four skiers in the top-20. Kir, Nat, Beth, and Megan all had good races finishing 11th, 12th, 14th, and 17th. It was good to see all of them ski so strongly, and we are definitely excited about what they can do over the final few weeks of the season. The guys also skied well, with Jordan improving on his previous season-best (from Friday) with a 21st place finish. Lucas and Sean were our next two scorers. Sean was skiing a great race, but had some bad luck with breaking a pole. After the races on Saturday, the carnival crew headed back to Bates, and did their OD down at Pineland yesterday.
A small crew stayed on at the Kuzio's in Vermont and jumped in the race on Sunday. Kelsey and Caroline skied in the 10 km classic race, and had good races. Danny had a strong race in the 15 km classic. Many thanks to the Kuzio's for hosting the team (again) and also to Cory and the UNH crew for letting us share their waxing space on Sunday.
Overall it was a really solid weekend for the Bobcats, and it just made us more excited about the last three weeks of the Carnival season. The team is skiing well right now, and things are starting to come together on all fronts. Thanks again to all the friends and families who came out to cheer on and feed the team!! We've got the Dartmouth Carnival coming up this weekend as well as a crew heading up to Bethel to ski the Flying Moose Classic. Stay tuned!

Chummy Broomhall Cup

2011-01-31T08:30:00.000-08:00

Natalie out in front early

This past week we've had great skiing at both Lost Valley and Pineland. We were able to get a few good sessions in at each, including some fun downhill practice at Lost Valley. Yesterday, we headed up to Rumford for the annual Chummy Broomhall Cup, the Maine State Collegiate Championships. This year's events were two 10 km mass start classic races. The women went off first at 11 AM. Natalie took the lead from the start and never relinquished it, bringing home the individual State crown. Kirsten had yet another strong race and came in 2nd. Andrea had a great race and ended up sixth, with Megan also in the top ten with an 8th place. As a team, the girls came in first by ten points.
The men's race went off at noon, with the same format. The guys didn't have their strongest outing, with Jordan leading the way with a 10th place finish. Jimmy was close behind in 11th, and Pete rounded out the scoring in 14th. Alex also snuck into the top-15.
Here are some pics from the day....

Megan and Andrea

Caroline in a pack

Sam

1st...

2nd

Start of the men's race

Filly

Lucas is back to racing

Chummy...

Thanks to all our supporters who came out to cheer and provide food for our athletes!!

Colby Carnival

2011-01-25T15:19:00.000-08:00

Apologies for this post being a little past due. This past weekend we had a solid couple of days up at the new Bond Brook Trails up in Augusta. It was nice to be able to stay on campus for this Carnival, especially after the long travel to Lake Placid the weekend before. The trails are designed by John Morton, and were fun to ski, though we ended up skiing on a shorter loop due to the "half-pipe" on course.
The races on Friday ended up being changed to 10 km individual start for both men and women. Weather conditions were a little rough, with heavy snow falling all day. The men kicked things off with Jordan and Alex once again leading the way, finishing in 33rd and 42nd, respectively. Pete was our next scorer, ending up in 50th. By the time the women went, the tracks were a little hard to see, but they battled through. Nat led the way with a 6th-place finish, her second top-ten of the season. Kir and Beth were our next two scorers, coming across in 20th and 22nd. The three scores were good enough for 4th.
On Saturday, we had our first relays of the season. The women kicked things off in the morning, with Kir skiing a phenomenal scramble leg, tagging off in 2nd place. Beth skied great and kept the pace keeping the women in 4th. Megan anchored the team, bringing the women home in 4th on the day. The men's team was comprised of three first-years, and they were pretty fired up to ski in their first college relays. Jordan scrambled (another great effort) and tagged off in 3rd, leading a train of about 6 skiers. Filly skied a great second leg, hanging tough with a couple of UVM skiers. Pete anchored, and brought the men home in 8th place, their best finish of the season.
The next couple of weeks we'll be on campus, as there is no Carnival this weekend. Sunday is the Chummy Broomhall Cup, which serves as the Maine State Championships. Colby has won the last couple of years, so our aim is to win it back. It should be a good day: two mass start 10 km classic races at Rumford. Hope to see a lot of support up there!
As always, thanks to all the parents and families who came from near and far to support and feed our racers this past weekend!!

SLU Carnival

2011-01-17T06:08:00.000-08:00

This past weekend the team made the trek out to Lake Placid for the college opener, the St. Lawrence Carnival. This year, the event was combined with a SuperTour event, meaning that much of the competition from US Nationals stayed east, and joined in the racing on Friday and Saturday.
Friday's race was held at the Olympic Jumping Complex, and consisted of several laps (5 for men, 3 for women) around a 2 km loop. The guys raced first, with the Freshman foursome of Jordan, Alex, Sean, and Pete all getting their first Carnival starts. It was a tight race, with Jordan leading the way in 42nd, followed by Alex and Sean as the next two scorers. Jimmy, Nate, and Danny also put together solid races. The women skied strongly as well. Nat lead the way with a 7th place showing. Again, it was a close race, the times were within seconds of each other. Megan and Beth were the next two Bobcats in 34th and 37th respectively.
On Saturday, we headed over to the Biathlon side of the cross country trails for the 10 and 15 km skate races. The women raced first, and had a really impressive showing. Kir and Beth finished 6th and 7th, respectively. Gretchen was next in 17th, and Megan had another strong race, finishing in 21st. Ingrid skied to a 36th place, while Sam and Andrea both skied well in the SuperTour race. All around an impressive showing for the women's side. For the men, Jordan once again led the way, finishing in 40th. Alex and Sean were once again the next two skiers, and Pete was just behind them. It was a solid first weekend of collegiate racing, and the team enjoyed a beautiful day of skiing yesterday at Pineland. This coming weekend is the Colby Carnival, with a 15/20 km mass start classic race, and a skate relay.
Many thanks to the McClelland family for hosting the women's team, and to Pete Phillips for letting the men stay at his house. The McClellands were also kind enough to provide dinner for the team both nights we were in Lake Placid. Also, thank you to all the families who brought food to feed our hungry racers (and coaches).
Lastly, a congrats to former Bobcat Haley Johnson, for getting back onto the Biathlon World Cup this past week, and for some strong showings at the IBU cup before that. Check her blog out at http://comeskiwithme.blogspot.com/

US Nationals Recap

2011-01-09T10:35:00.000-08:00

After a week of little snow, thin coverage, and a lot of laps, US Nationals came to a close yesterday in Rumford. The organizers and volunteers up there did a tremendous job of pulling off the races, including the men's and women's 30/20 km skate races on Thursday. The courses held up well, and the Bates Nordic crew threw down some impressive results. We started off the week strong last Sunday with some good classic sprinting.
The first distance race was postponed a day until Wednesday to allow for more time to work on the courses. We had 14 people race in the Classic distance, a 10 km for women, and a 15 km for men. The Bobcats skied well on the 2.72 km loop, with Nat leading the way for the women. She was followed closely by Megan, Beth, and Kir. On the men's side, Jordan was the first finisher, followed by Alex and Jimmy.
On Thursday, we had people skiing in all the races. The format for the long races was changed to individual start due to the short loop, and narrow trails. Jimmy skied a great 30 km skate race, a total of 11 laps on the course. He was our only guy in the long race, and skied to a solid finish. In the women's 20 km, Kirsten led the way with a 23rd place finish, and Beth and Megan ended up in 33rd and 34th, respectively. It was great to see all three of them so high up in the results. The day of racing wrapped up with Alex, Pete, Nate, Danny, and Sam competing in the junior races.
On Saturday, we had the skate sprint. A small crew raced, with Gretchen and Jordan making the top-30, and Kir qualifying for the U23 heats. Gretchen qualified 21st, and ended up in a heat with the eventual champion Jessie Diggins, and 2010 Olympian/USST member Liz Stephen. She skied a great heat, ending up fourth. Her finish was enough to bump her up to 17th in the final results.

Gretch following Diggins out of the stadium.

Kir skied through her heats well, ultimately taking 3rd in the U23 B-Final, putting her in 9th.

On the men's side, Jordan qualified 29th, ending up in a tough heat. He skied a smart heat, coming back into the stadium tied for 1st with Leif Zimmerman. He ended up getting beat to the line by both Leif and Dakota Blackhorse von Jess, but his third place finish was good enough to move him up to 15th on the day.

Jordan in his quarterfinal.

We're taking it easy for a couple of days, and will be back to our normal routine on Tuesday. The college season kicks-off next weekend with a joint SuperTour and St. Lawrence Carnival event in Lake Placid. It was exciting to see the team mix it up with the best skiers in the country last week. The team is entering the season in a perfect spot, and poised to have some great results over the next few weeks. Stay tuned!

US Nationals Day #1

2011-01-04T18:09:00.000-08:00

10 Bobcats got the season going on Sunday at the classic sprint at US Nationals, hosted in Rumford. All around great races for people. Next race is tomorrow, 10 km and 15 km classic races. The snow is a little thin, but they've done a great job getting the course ready. Check out the pics from Day 1, all courtesy of Steve Fuller.

Eastern Cup Weekend

2010-12-22T09:06:00.000-08:00

This past weekend a small crew headed over to Vermont for the opening weekend of Eastern Cup racing. We left Friday evening after the last exams, and headed out to Craftsbury and to the Brodhead's house for the night. Nate, Peter, Jim, and Andrea were all ready to race in the Skate Sprint on Saturday. The sprint was held on a 1.3 km loop at the Craftsbury Outdoor Center, and the volunteers over there did a tremendous job putting the race together. All four Bobcats skied solid qualifying races. The field was very strong, and no one was able to make it into the rounds, with Andrea finishing just outside the top-30 in 34th.
After the races, we headed down to the Kuzio's in Moretown, to hang out for the evening before Sunday's race in Jericho. The crew watched the inspirational movie "Top Gun" before a wonderful lasagna dinner.
On Sunday morning we headed over to Jericho and were joined by Nat, Beth, Kirsten, and Danny for the Classic mass start race. Again, the conditions were good and the tracks held up well throughout the day, even for the 1:45 pm men's start. The girls all skied solidly, with Kirsten having an impressive day skiing out from the back of the field. The men all put together good starts as well, skiing consistent laps. Everyone who raced got good starts in.
We're on break for a bit now, everyone has headed home. We'll reconvene back at Bates in about 10 days, just in time to get together for the crew racing at Nationals in Rumford. We have a good group racing, and the rest of the team will have the opportunity to forerun the races up there.
Happy Holidays!

Fall 2010

2010-12-12T06:06:00.000-08:00

Some highlights of fall training, set to some fresh tracks...

Meet the Bobcats: Danny Kuzio

2010-12-08T08:32:00.000-08:00

The series is back with sophomore Danny Kuzio...

Where are you from originally?
Moretown, VT

What are you majoring in?
English and Environmental Studies

What is the best thing about being a Bobcat?
The Community atmosphere

Classic or Skate?
Classic

Favorite meal in Commons?
Eggplant with honey and sesame seeds

What's your favorite place to ski?
Silver Star, BC

What did you do this past summer?
I worked at a 1% for the Planet, a non-profit organization near where I live that creates an alliance of businesses committing to preserving the environment.

What's your favorite movie?
A River Runs Through It

When did you first start skiing?
I started skiing when I was in kindergarten in my local Bill Koch League.

If you could travel anywhere, where would it be?
If I could go anywhere it would be New Zealand.

Fotos from Canada

2010-12-07T08:05:00.000-08:00

All photos courtesy of Nate Fuller '13.

Snow and Turkeys

2010-11-28T14:38:00.000-08:00

We had a great camp this past week, skiing up at Foret Montmorency in Quebec. Last Sunday, we drove up to Stoneham after hearing that the skiing was decent at Montmorency. The trip up went smoothly, and we had a few moose sightings. On Monday morning, we got onto snow for the first times of the season with a double skate session. The skiing was much better than expected, and it was good to get out. Over six days, we got 9 skiing sessions in and one run/strength workout on Tuesday afternoon.
On Wednesday, we put in our first intensity workout on snow. We accomplished a ton technically. We had a great classic OD on Thanksgiving day, with everyone chipping in the evening to cook a great Turkey dinner, complete with all the fixings. On Saturday, we closed out a great week with most people competing in the US CAN Cup Classic sprints. Everyone got in a great hard effort, and it was impressive how everyone skied after putting in so many hours through the week. It was nice to get the race season underway as well.
Next year, we'll try to keep track of exactly how much Nutella and Duo spread we go through, but this year's total was nothing short of impressive. Overall, it was one of the best weeks of training this fall, and that's saying quite a lot. We're back to dryland for a little bit now, but with some skiing in the forecast. Fingers are crossed for getting some snow close by soon. Hopefully we can get some pics from the week up soon. Stay Tuned!

Acadia Weekend

2010-11-09T08:10:00.000-08:00

The couple of weeks since Rangeley Camp have been great for the Bates Nordic team. We've put in some solid weeks of training in, and some great individual workouts. Two weekends ago, we headed over to North Haven for the annual Lobster Roll rollerski race. This past weekend we headed up to Northeast Harbor and Acadia for a mini-camp.
We left campus on Friday evening and made the drive up. The team woke up well-rested on Saturday morning, and we headed into the park to get some threshold work done. The team was able to ski the entirety of the Park Loop road (and a little extra for the guys). Everyone looked strong out there, and it was good to see some positive technique changes.
Saturday afternoon, we had a team wood-stacking session (Two cords in 45 minutes—pretty impressive!) followed by the Acadia Bowl (Men vs Women in Football). In the evening, everyone enjoyed a tasty lobster dinner.
On Sunday, we headed back into the park for an OD hike/run. The ladies hit three summits, ending at Jordan Pond, and the men hit four, ending atop Cadillac Mountain.

Rangeley Wrap

2010-10-25T06:25:00.000-07:00

Sunrise in Rangeley

We got back from Rangeley yesterday, where we held our annual Fall Break camp. It was a great five days of training. We drove up last Tuesday night, after dinner on campus. A huge thanks to Connor and his family for letting the guys use their camp.
On Wednesday morning, we got things going with some lactate testing on the Saddleback access road. Everyone got some good info from the session, as well as a good rollerski in. In the afternoon, we ran the Uphill course, and then onto the trails for a bit.
Thursday had two tests on schedule. In the morning, we did the Uphill on Saddleback, and then in the afternoon, the double pole test. They were two great intensity sessions, and we followed up the double pole with some specific strength.
The 10 km classic rollerski time trial was on Friday morning. We took some video during it, and were able to do one-on-one video review with everyone before heading out for some classic technique work in the afternoon. Even after three intensity sessions in a row, everyone's energy remained high.

The Finish of the Classic time trial, snow on Saddleback in the background

Saturday morning, we headed over to Stratton, ME for a OD hike/run into the Bigelows. We had great weather, and we were rewarded with some spectacular views of the region.

Along the way

Summiting Cranberry Peak

The Crew on top of Cranberry

In the afternoon, the guys stacked a cord of wood, and then played a hotly contested Rangeley Bowl. Everyone got together for the Apple Pie making contest and some grilled chicken and burgers in the evening.

Rangeley Bowl action...

On Sunday, we capped of the training with a ski around the lake. It was another solid effort by everyone, and they were treated to a Sunday brunch cooked by Becky and Martin down at the Flynn camp.

Rangeley Camp

2010-10-22T11:17:00.000-07:00

As we (Becky and Martin) sit here in the Rangeley Public Library, we realize what a great camp this has already been.
Yesterday saw great efforts in the Uphill run and Double-Pole test (800 meters). For the run, the podium for men was Sean, Jordan, and Captain Lucas. For women, it was Captains Nat and Megan, and then Beth. In the double pole, Jordan and Megan took top honors. Alex and Lucas rounded out for the men, and Beth and Nat for the women. After the test, everyone got some specific strength in on rollerskis. The highly valued sweatsuit awards were handed out after dinner last night to the male and female winners of both tests.
This morning, we saw the first snow flurries of the season as we headed up to the Saddleback access road for our 10 km classic rollerski time trial. Great efforts all around, especially as it was the third hard effort in as many workouts. Jordan and Megan once again posted the winning times. The trees on the mountain were dusted with a nice layer of the white stuff...
This afternoon, we'll head out to work on some technique stuff we saw in video from the time trial this morning. Should be another good session. Looking forward to a nice OD hike/run tomorrow. The Rangeley Bowl will be played tomorrow afternoon on The Field of Dreams.
As always, stay posted for more soon, and until then, check us out on Twitter @Bates_Nordic.

Fall Break is (Almost) Here

2010-10-19T06:16:00.000-07:00

Its a busy couple of days here on the Bates campus, with midterm exams in full swing. The weekend was really productive. On Saturday, we drove out to do some threshold intervals in New Gloucester. Everyone got in the workout they needed, and then we headed back to campus for a weight room session. All around, a great morning.
On Sunday, we rolled out of the Alumni Gym parking lot just after 9 am, and skied all the way to the Fuller's house. A lunch of homemade lasagna and garlic bread was waiting for us there. After lunch we headed into Freeport for Trap Shooting at the LL Bean center. It was a long, but fun day of activity.
Check out some pictures (courtesy of Steve Fuller) from the day at: http://www.flyingpointroad.com/Photos/Skiing/Freeport-Rollerski-Trap-Shoot/
Now, we're looking ahead to putting in a great five days of training up in Rangeley. Its nice to have this Fall Break, and it will be a good opportunity for everyone to spend some quality time together. Looking forward to it, and we'll try and get some updates from up there.

Meet the Bobcats: Lucas Milliken

2010-10-14T07:34:00.000-07:00

Next in the series, Lucas Milliken, our Sophomore men's captain...

Where are you from originally and where did you go to high school?
North Yarmouth, Maine my first two years of high school at Waynflete and my second two were at Burke Mountain Academy

What do you plan on majoring in?
Anthropology

What's the best thing about being a Bobcat?
Commons

What is the coolest place you've visited?
Home

Any predictions for the Rangeley Bowl?
Massive aggression, carnage, domination and bragging rights/glory

Classic or Skate?
20k skate

What did you do this past summer?
Lived at Pete Phillips' house, worked at the Mountaineer Garage Sale and trained with Dix and Champagne in Keene, NY

Favorite commons meal?
Toll House Pie

If you could have any super power, what would it be?
Master chef cooking skills

When and where did you start skiing?
I started skiing with strap-on skis in my backyard at age two. Sam Tarling brought me to my first race in third grade. I got third... out of three behind Sam and Chase Marston. After the race I asked Chase if I could trade ribbons with him because red was my favorite color. He said No.

Hoofing It

2010-10-13T15:51:00.000-07:00

We went over to Lost Valley for the first time this fall for some moosehoofing intervals. It was a great afternoon, and we got a really solid workout in. Nice to see everyone getting after it today.

Fall Colors at LV...

Nat leading the women...

Lucas and Sean leading the guys

First Days of Testing...

2010-10-08T08:35:00.000-07:00

Over the last couple of days, and fitness tests, we've seen some exciting stuff. On Wednesday, we did the 3000 meter run in a solid downpour, with standing water on the track. Yesterday, we had people coming in through the day to do the 5 km (or 5000 m) SkiErg test. Everyone is well ahead of where they were last year. In addition, the folks who were abroad last fall, along with our first-years, have come in highly motivated. Its nice to get going with our official practices.
We've also done some technique work through our rollerskis this week. It has been an extremely productive first few days. We'll do our strength test tomorrow morning to finish up the baseline testing. Its also Parent/Families weekend here on campus, so we'll be having a little barbecue in the tailgate area during the Bates-Williams athletics contests.
Stay tuned, and follow us on the Twitter: Bates_Nordic.

And so it begins...

2010-10-03T07:34:00.000-07:00

This coming week we are starting official practice. Thanks to our captains (Megan, Natalie, and Lucas), who have done a tremendous job overseeing daily practices to this point.
We are doing some of our traditional testing this week, starting with a 3000-meter run on Wednesday afternoon. We will follow that up on Thursday with our 5 km SkiErg test, and the strength test on Saturday morning. You can get updates through the week here on the blog, and even more frequent updates on our team by following @Bates_Nordic on Twitter (oh yeah).
Next weekend is also Parent/Family Weekend here on campus. We will be having a ski team (Alpine and Nordic) tailgate on Saturday for all the sporting events going on, as well as the opening of the newly renovated Garcelon Field. Just look for the Bates Skiing tent in the tailgate area. Also, parents and family members will be welcome at our Sunday OD at Pineland farms.

Meet the Bobcats: Natalie Ruppertsberger

2010-09-26T06:09:00.000-07:00

In this episode of Meet the Bobcats, we talk to our Senior women's co-captain, Natalie Ruppertsberger. On to the questions...

Where are you from originally?
Plainfield, NH

What are you majoring in?
Biology

What did you do this past summer?
Worked on:
1) My tan
2) My thesis research

The coolest place you've visited?
Being in Sweden in the summer is awesome, the sun hardly sets and its never too hot or humid.

What's the best thing about being a Bobcat?
All-you-can-eat, every day, in Commons

What's your favorite movie?
"Catch me if you can" or "My cousin Vinny." It's a tie, they're both great movies.

What would your dream job be?
Firefighter, I love dalmatians.

What's your favorite place to ski?
My high school club team took a trip to Norway in March. It was sunny all the time, there was tons of snow, and they fed us blueberry soup.

What is your favorite Commons meal?
Thursday lunch: Pad thai, tomato soup, grilled cheese. Although I get a little overwhelmed by the number of delicious options.

When and where did you first start skiing?
I used to have my dog pull me around the yard on skis, pretending I was in the Iditarod. Actually, I still do that when no one is looking...

Thanks Nat!

Meet the Bobcats: Megan McClelland

2010-09-16T07:36:00.000-07:00

First up in our exciting new Meet the Bobcats series is our Senior women's co-captain Megan McClelland.

Bates Nordic: Where are you from originally?
Megan McMclelland: Keene Valley, NY

BN: What is your major?
MM: Psychology

BN: Favorite ski team memory so far?
MM: I'm going to have to go with performing "Shirt Off" with Young Ivey as a Carni Crush for the Dartmouth boys Sophomore year.

BN: Classic or Skate?
MM: Classic

BN: If you could visit any place, where would it be?
MM: I've been dying to take a road trip across the Southern USA.

BN: What is your favorite place to ski?
MM: Avalanche Pass, Lake Placid, NY.

BN: What is the sweetest trick you've thrown down at Lost Valley?
MM: I'm a seated rail grinder for the most part, but have done anything from skiing backwards by the base lodge to lifting one ski up on my way down one of the black diamond hills.

BN: What is your favorite meal at commons?
MM: Butternut squash casserole and sesame vegan nuggets, although they rarely occur at the same time.

BN: When and Where did you first start skiing?
MM: Probably sometime between age 2 and 3 at Whiteface mountain.

BN: If you could have any superpower, what would it be?
MM: Definitely the ability to fly.

BN: Thanks Megan!

You can check out Megan's freestyle skills in the movie "Goggles On", featured in this blog's archives under March 2009.

Better Late than Never... Summer Camp O TEN

2010-08-09T11:16:00.000-07:00

I would first like to apologize to the women who attended the camp because I did not take any blog quality pictures of any of you. Due to this unfortunate fact, the Summer Stud O Ten competition will only feature men.

The very informal training camp was a big success. THANK YOU MCCLELLANDS for hosting us!!!!!!!!

We started the camp with an OD rollerski to Dogwood Bakery's Friday Pizza Night, which by the way has the best pizza in the upper east side (of NY state).

The next day we did speeds and spenst at the Keene Community Center. In the afternoon we did killer intervals on Jackson Rd.

Sunday was OD day, which happened to coincide with the Lake Placid Ironman. If you cannot tell from the pictures above, Fuller and Chill are Ironmen, or at least that is what one of the spectators told them as they biked along with the racers.

On Monday morning Kir led us through a strength circuit and then we played medball tennis... For the grand finally, with only three men left standing we did the Monday Night Mini-Tri in Lake Placid. Chill was the Bates winner, and an honorable mention goes out to the White Wizard for racing the bike leg on a mountain bike.

Training Camp Interview

2010-08-03T16:52:00.000-07:00

The Silence Is Over. The Blog Lives On.

2010-07-12T07:05:00.000-07:00

Summer has been going very well up here in Keene, New York. Megan and I have been killing the workouts, taking money from tourists and going on sweet adventures. We have a stellar—mostly female—crew here. Megan’s sister Janey and Caitlin Curran are here from the Groovy UV and Sophie McClelland from Middlebury is here as well. Our summer training group is officially named Dix and Champagne. My first week here, we hiked up Dix Mountain. Megan and Janey led us up one of the rockslides and then could not find the trail again, so we bushwhacked up the rest of the mountain. Champagne is a swimming hole up the road from my house. Scotty McClelland is our unofficial coach.

Dix is the biggest mountain in the back. And this is champagne at its finest.

June 16^th was a monumental day here. In the Great Adirondack Trail Run, an 11 mile race through the mountains, Megan regained her title as the fastest McClelland on the EISA circuit. She dominated her sister by a gaping four minutes and thirty seconds. Megan is Back.

On the hottest day of the heat wave, Emilie Drinkwater, a friend of the McClellands took us rock climbing on Lake Champlain. The cliffs dropped from a railroad bed straight into the water. Epic.

The Climbing photos are from Emilie Drinkwater at Couldsplitter Guides.

End of the Season Thank You

2010-04-20T12:46:00.000-07:00

Things are pretty quiet on campus these days, with almost everybody currently on April Break. We had our end of the season banquet a few weeks back and it was good to see everybody together again, for a little bit. The annual Lloyd Lux award was handed to our two captains this year, Abby and Harry. Thanks to the whole team for a great season though, and we're already looking forward to next fall.
Becky and I just wanted to thank all the parents as well for all their support and hospitality over the the course of this past season(s).
First off, a huge thanks to the Pooles for what was (I believe) their 7th straight season of providing food and cheering every carnival weekend and plenty of other times as well. Even when they weren't able to make it in person, a batch of Liz's chocolate chip cookies somehow found there way out there.
Also, thanks to the Samuelsons for another great year. Thanks for lots of food and of course, housing us at Sugarloaf. Likewise thanks to the Knowles' for their place at Sugarloaf, and always bringing food, even if some of it did end up with the St. Lawrence team.
A thank you to Kirsten's parents and family for hosting the team at the Jackson Crit back in January. The McClellands for hosting the women during the St. Lawrence carnival, and having the whole team over for dinner. The Smeltzers and Kuzios also hosted team dinners, during the UVM and Dartmouth carnivals, respectively.
The Fullers had us over for lunch back in the Fall and provided great support through the year. Thanks to Steve Fuller for taking great pictures throughout the season and helping out with waxing up at the Rumford Eastern Cups.
Thanks to all the families who gave their support during carnival weekends in food and cheering. The aforementioned families, but also to the Brodhead, Taylor, Ruppertsberger, Hill, Tuttle, Kreisman, Forrest, and Leonard families. Also, great to see the Ruppertsbergers out in Steamboat! It was great to have all of your support this season. It is one of the many reasons that Bates Skiing is among the best programs. Thank you all!

Back from NCAAs

2010-03-16T14:26:00.000-07:00

Mid-morning in Steamboat.
Well, the final week of the college racing season is over. We got back from our week in Steamboat Springs on Sunday night. It was a great week all around. Wonderful weather, perfect tracks, plenty of snow, etc. Nat had an awesome attitude all week. The two went race days went smoothly, with Nat posting 18th in the classic, and 32nd in the skate. The Mass Start Skate was a tough day, but Nat skied a strong race and posted a solid result in 32nd. On Friday night, it was great to watch 'Piner Ben Manter post a 10th place finish in the night slalom for an All-American finish. Also, a huge thanks to Abby for being out there cheering on her teammates and providing the coaches with a seemingly endless supply of coffee.

The (Rodeo) Stadium on race morning.
Meanwhile, back in Maine, we had Lucas and Kelsey competing up at Junior Olympics. Both had great results up in Presque Isle competing in their final years as Juniors. Lucas finished 8th in the classic sprints, 9th in classic distance, and an 11th in the skate distance. Also, his relay team earned the 4th spot for OJ men. Kelsey ended up 24th in both classic races, and 26th in the skate distance race. She also posted the 9th fastest scramble leg time for OJ women. Congrats to both of them on great JO results.
A final shout-out to Kirsten for winning the Ski to the Clouds race up Mt. Washington.

Kir ripping it up. (Great Glen Photo)

Steamboat Springs and NCAAs

2010-03-12T20:59:00.000-08:00

Just a quick update from the past several days in Steamboat Springs, CO. We got here last Saturday, after a long day of travel from Maine. The skiing has been great out here! There's plenty of snow, and a few storms this week brought in a few more inches. One of the storms happened to coincide with the classic race. The waxing was a little tricky, but we got Nat on some skis that had solid kick and were pretty fast on the downs. Natalie skied a great race. Really smart, relaxed, and technically strong. The result was an 18th place finish. Top-20 had been her goal going into that race. Mission accomplished. Tomorrow we move to the 15 km skate race. Should be a good one...

Goggles On

2010-03-08T15:07:00.000-08:00

Another great day of training at Lost Valley...

Midd Carnival

2010-03-04T06:49:00.000-08:00

Last weekend marked the final Carnival of the year, also serving as the Eastern Regional Championships. Due to some unpredictable weather last week, the racing was postponed to Saturday and Sunday. On Friday morning we headed over to Middlebury, stopping to ski at Rikert before settling in.
On Friday night, we had our banquet, and everyone was looking pretty classy due to the "business casual" dress code. The Academic All-Americans were announced, with a strong crew from Bates Nordic represented. Nat, Abby, Cooper, Smeltzer, Corey, and Lucas all garnered the honors.
Saturday saw the 10/5 km Classic races. The weather conditions were all over the place, and most of our team ended up going on zeroes. They weren' t awesome, but they were the most consistent and predictable. Ultimately, it was a very good day. Beth posted a career-best finish with 9th place on the day, which was awesome to see. Nat continued her strong season with 13th. Kir rounded out the scoring in 23rd. Behind those three, the women skied to a 4th place finish on the day. On the men's side, Senior Cooper lead the way with 17th, besting his 20th place from last weekend's classic race. Captain Harry had a solid race to end up in 27th, and Lucas was our third scorer in 35th.

The Start of the Women's Race (Lincoln Benedict Photo)
On Sunday, the weather was warm and the early tracks were fast. The 15 km Women's race started things off. Nat and Beth once again lead the way, finishing in 13th and 14th. Captain Abby had a strong finish to her collegiate career with 24th, fighting the entire race. Gretch and Megan rounded out the team, in 29th and 38th. For the men's team, Lucas lead the way. He picked up spots through the entire race, and finished a career-best 14th place. Cooper wasn't far behind in 16th. Harry had a solid outing, ending up in 33rd. Danny and Corey ended up in 53rd and 55th. It was a solid end to the Carnival season this year. Congrats to our team for a great season. Nat will be heading out to Steamboat to represent Bates at NCAA Championships, hosted by Colorado-Boulder. She is joined by two men from the Alpine Team in forming the Bates contingent.
This weekend was the last collegiate racing action for Abby, Harry, Cooper, and Smeltzer. They have all given so much to this program over the last four years, and they will certainly be missed when they graduate in May. A special thanks to Captains Abby and Harry for all their hard work this year.

Training at Lost Valley

2010-02-24T04:56:00.000-08:00

Williams Carnival and Cheri Walsh

2010-02-22T06:41:00.000-08:00

Lucas at Williams (Lincoln Benedict photo)
After our week-long February break, the team headed down to Prospect Mountain near Bennington, VT for the Williams Carnival. There was plenty of fresh snow and temps in the mid-20s to remind us what winter really feels like. The weekend was a 10/5 km classic on Friday, and a 10/5 km skate on Saturday.
The day was highlighted by Harry's season-best 14th place finish. Cooper had a very solid race and ended up in 20th. Danny Kuzio continued his strong second half of the season with a 32nd. Lucas was only 5 seconds behind in 34th. Behind those finishes, the Men ended up 6th on the day.
On the Women's side, Natalie once again led the day, finishing in 12th. Abby and Gretchen both had strong classic finishes, ending up in 21st and 24th, respectively. Kirsten and Beth weren't far off finishing up the day in 30th and 31st.
For Saturday's Skate race, the Women got the team off to a blazing start. Three women posted career-best freestyle results. Nat was in 7th, Kir in 10th, and Beth in 13th. It wasn't surprising to see those results, that's where the girls have been skiing towards over the last couple of weeks, but it was really exciting to see it all come together on the same day. Abby and Meg also had strong races, finishing in 34th and 35th, only 30 seconds out of the top-15 as well. As a team, the Women ended up 3rd on the day. It was their 3rd podium finish in as many weeks.
The Men had some solid performances, with Lucas leading the team tied for 28th place. Cooper was second for the team again, in 40th. Harry rounded out the scorers in 47th. The times for both races were extremely tight, and 5 seconds meant a difference of several spots. Overall, it was a solid Carnival weekend, and the team is fired up for Middlebury Carnival/Eastern Championships this coming weekend.
On Sunday, a smaller group headed over to Holderness School for the final race of the Eastern Cup season. Sophie, Kelsey, and Sam all raced for the women, posting solid times on the blazing fast course. Corey, Jim, Dan, and Isaac raced on the men's side, skiing well through the mud, slush, and ice that made up the course. The conditions were fast, the times close, and Corey just missed out on Junior Nationals for New England.

Dartmouth Carnival Recap

2010-02-14T10:52:00.000-08:00

Corey in the relay (Lincoln Benedict photo)

We just got back yesterday afternoon from the Dartmouth Carnival, held up at the Trapp Family Lodge in Stowe, VT. The team had a strong weekend, with the Women finishing 3rd on Friday and 4th on Saturday.
Nat lead for a big chunk of the race, pulling the top women's group through the middle of the race. She had a great finish as well, ending up 5th. It was the second top-5 of her season, and the third of her career. Abby also skied a great race and ended up 17th. Gretch and Beth skied around her most of the race and finished close behind in 21st and 22nd. Kir and Kelsey also skied strong races for the Bobcats.
For the Men, Lucas and Coop skied pretty much the entire race together. Their combined efforts and energy paid off, as they ended up 22nd and 23rd. Danny Kuzio skied an awesome race and ended up 29th, cracking into the top-30 for the first time in his young Carnival career. Corey also skied well, finishing 38th. Harry lost a ski early on and didn't have his best day, Jim had a solid outing to round out the other Carnival skiers.
On Saturday, it was on to the 3x5 km skate relay. The men skied a strong race, with the team of Harry, Coop, and Lucas scoring. The team of Danny, Corey, and Jim skied a strong race as well, and weren't far off.
For the women, Nat, Beth, and Abby skied to a 4th place team finish. Gretch, Kir, and Kelsey made up the second team, and ended up 12th overall.
After the races, it was Carni Crush time. Always entertaining, and the quartet of Lucas, Danny, Corey, and Jim did a great rendition of "You've Lost That Loving Feeling"

Don't let the look fool you, Abby means business (Lincoln Benedict photo)

Showing some love (Lincoln Benedict photo)

Righteous Brothers? (Lincoln Benedict photo)

Dartmouth Carnival and Olympics

2010-02-12T13:25:00.000-08:00

Day 1 of the Dartmouth Carnival is in the books. I won't write much right now, but it was a good day to be a Bobcat. Standout performances on both sides. Another podium finish for the Women's team. We're heading to the Kuzio's for dinner tonight. Looking forward to it.
Tonight, the Olympics are kicking off with the Opening Ceremonies. Bates Nordic alum Haley Johnson will be competing in the Biathlon. She was the only pre-qualifier for the U.S. Women's team. Tomorrow the Biathlon events kick-off with the Women's 7.5 km Sprint Event.
You can follow Haley on her Olympic journey at: http://comeskiwithme.blogspot.com/
Best of luck at the Olympics Haley and to the Bobcats tomorrow!

UVM Carnival and Eastern Cups

2010-02-09T05:37:00.000-08:00

Natalie on her way to 5th (Lincoln Benedict photo)
This past weekend the entire team headed out to Stowe, VT for the combined weekend of Carnival and Eastern Cup racing. The conditions were awesome for the weekend and the classic skiing was beautiful extra blue conditions. The racing kicked off on Saturday with a 5 km classic for women and 10 km for the men. In the Carnival race, Natalie skied to an impressive 5th place finish. Gretchen had a strong 25th place, followed closely by Captain Abby in 28th. Those three lead the Women's team to a 4th place finish in the classic race.
On the Men's side, Lucas had what was probably his best classic finish, ending up 21st. Captain Harry was close behind in 24th, a season-best for him. Corey also had a strong race, coming in 42nd.
On Sunday, both the men and women competed in 10 km skate races. Again the women kicked things off, with Natalie claiming 9th place. Beth showed she is finally getting healthy, with a 17th place finish. Gretchen was right behind in 19th. Abby and Kirsten also finished in the top-30, with 24th and 26th, respectively. The women ended up 3rd on the day, behind only Dartmouth and UVM.
For the men, Lucas once again lead the way with his EuroMullet and a 33rd place finish. Harry and Cooper rounded out the scoring in 44th and 48th.
It was great having Connor helping us out this weekend, as well as former assistant Jordi St. John. The extra help made for quick work of 22+ pairs of skis. It was also cool to run into alumni Andy Hardy and Abbie Harris, both '04. Hardy jumped into the race on Saturday, and looked good doing it. Abbie was up on Sunday with one of the skiers she now coaches.
We're heading back out to Stowe and Trapp Family Lodge this weekend for the Dartmouth Carnival as Oak Hill is a little bare.

Jordi warming his feet between waxing sessions (Lincoln Benedict photo)

Where the magic happens (Lincoln Benedict photo)

Chummy Broomhall Cup

2010-02-02T06:34:00.000-08:00

This past Sunday, we headed up to Rumford to compete in the Maine State Collegiate Championships and the Chummy Broomhall Cup. Also in attendance were Colby, Bowdoin, UMPI, Maine-Orono, Maine-Fort Kent, and Maine-Farmington. The men and women both competed in 10 km mass start skate races.
The women went out first, with Bates having a strong showing. Nat finished 2nd, followed closely by Beth in 3rd. Sophie came in 6th, followed by Captain Abby (8th) and Kirsten (9th). Gretchen finished just outside the top-ten, barely missing out on All-State honors. Meg, Kelsey, and Ingrid all finished in the top-20 for the Bobcats as well. In the team scoring, the women narrowly took the lead for Bates.

Early on for the women. (Thanks to Connor Cushman '09 for snapping some pictures)

At noon, the men took off. In the men's race some Maine Winter Sports Center athletes mixed it up with the collegiate skiers. The Bobcats again skied strong, with Captain Harry leading the way with a 3rd place finish. Lucas was close behind in 4th, and Corey rounded out the top-10. Cooper, Dan B, Nate, and Jimmy all finished in the top-20 as well. Ultimately, Colby edged Bates for the overall team title, and the Bobcats had to settle for 2nd. It was a great team effort from everybody, and there were some standout individual efforts. Thanks again to all the parents who brought food and cheering! Now its time for all of us to gear up for the UVM Carnival/Eastern Cup weekend in Stowe, VT!

Lucas leading out the men's field (Steve Fuller Photo)

A belated Happy Birthday sing-a-long for Chummy lead by Coach (Steve Fuller Photo)

St. Mike's Recap

2010-01-25T08:25:00.000-08:00

This past weekend we headed out to the trails at Sleepy Hollow for the St. Michael's Carnival. On Friday, there was the individual start 10/15 km skate for women and men. On the women's side, Nat finished 17th, with Abby and Kir close behind in 20th and 21st, respectively. The men didn't have their best day, with Lucas pacing the team in 31st. Harry and Jimbo also scored for us.
The classic sprint relays on Saturday saw improvements on both sides. The men ended up 8th for scoring, with the team of Harry, Lucas, and Cooper leading the way. Harry's splits were some of the faster ones on the day. The women's team ended up 7th, with Nat, Gretch and Abby all posting fast splits. Both the men and women were just edged out by Colby in the relays, something we will turn around this upcoming weekend for the Chummy Broomhall Cup. On Sunday, both teams will compete in a 10 km skate at Rumford for the Maine State Collegiate Championships.

Nat leading out of the start in the relay.
(Lincoln Benedict '09 Photo)

SLU Carnival and Rumford Eastern Cups

2010-01-17T12:50:00.000-08:00

We kicked off the Carnival season this weekend out in Lake Placid as St. Lawrence hosted the first races at Mt. Van Hoevenberg. On Friday we had the 5/10 km classic race on the former Olympic trails. The conditions were pretty tough out there, with changing weather and some hairy turns on the descent. The women got the Bobcats off to a good start this season with Nat finishing in 8th, Gretchen was 19th, and Abby 20th. The women ended up in 3rd on the day, just two points behind Middlebury for 2nd. On the men's side, Harry and Coop were 26th and 27th, respectively. Lucas, Dan, Danny, and Jim within 25 seconds of each other.
On Saturday, the mass start racing got underway with 15/20 km skate on the biathlon trails. The men went first, racing four laps around the 5 km loop. The men skied well, improving on their finish from Friday. Cooper was leading the race as they came through after 10 km, ultimately ending up in 10th on the day. Lucas skied up into 16th, and Harry finished in 26th again.
On the women's side, Nat had her best skate result, finishing in 9th. Abby was 24th, and Kirsten 27th, to round out the scorers. Everybody had a great day, and all are looking forward to improving their results as the season goes on.
It was a solid first Carnival, especially with a lot of people racing in their first collegiate races.

Lucas leading a train...

The men's start.

Back in Maine, Corey, Nate, and Isaac raced in the Rumford Eastern Cups. The classic sprint on Saturday saw some more tricky waxing conditions and Nate and Corey both advancing to the heats. On Sunday, the three guys skied in the mass start 15 km skate. The men's field got off to a blistering start led by US ski team's Kris Freeman. They skied solid races through less than ideal conditions, and all posted strong finishes.
Also, a HUGE THANKS this weekend to all the parents/families who helped us out! The McClelland Family for putting up most of the women's team, and also for hosting the whole team at dinner Friday night. Thanks to all the parents who provided lunch for the team on Friday and Saturday: Pooles, Knowles', Samuelsons, Tuttles, and everybody else. Also, thanks to Fullers, especially Steve for helping out with waxing for the Eastern Cups!

Happy New Year from Alaska!

2010-01-02T21:43:00.000-08:00

Well, Gretchen, Sam, and myself (Coach Benes) have made it through the first day of racing here at U.S. Nationals in Anchorage, AK. The races are actually happening this year, which is great. The morning temps here were about 1-3 Farenheit on our way out to Kincaid Park. The trails are in good shape considering that the snow base is only a couple of inches. I tested some skis yesterday and this morning, and the waxing was pretty straightforward. About what you would expect for these conditions. The girls both skied well today, with Gretchen narrowly missing the Junior heats this afternoon. It was an extremely tight field for both the men and women today, and most of the heats were decided in the last 3oo meters or so. Tomorrow is another training day for the girls and another testing day for me. Monday is a 10 km skate race, and it looks to be warming up over the next couple of days. It could be a downright tropical 20 on Monday!

Great Glen Sprints

2009-12-16T07:22:00.000-08:00

A few days ago we drove up to Great Glen for some skiing and many athletes competed in the Great Glen Sprint Races. It was cold up there, and the wind chill made us realize that Winter is finally here. The sprints got going at noon and, with no preliminary rounds, got right into the heats. Everybody raced well, with Lucas, Abby, Beth, and Sophie all advancing to the finals. Catherine narrowly missed the final, racing against Sophie in the semis. In the men's final, Lucas was able to hold off some hard-charging junior skiers from Burke and Gould to take the victory. On the women's side, the Bobcats went 1-2-3. Abby took the win ahead of Beth, and Sophie was able to battle back from a early fall to take third. It was great for people to get a race start. Even though we hadn't been on snow that much leading up to the race, everyone's technique is really coming together. This weekend, a small group will be heading up to race at the Eastern Cup openers in Presque Isle.

Nate, early on.

Chill in the heats.

Abby on her way to victory. (Great Glen photo)

Lucas skiing to 1st. (Great Glen photo)

Women's and Men's podium. (Great Glen Photo)

Snow and Skiing!

2009-12-06T12:44:00.000-08:00

After yesterday's time trial against Bowdoin, we woke up this morning to a blanket of fresh snow. We headed down to Twinbrook in Cumberland and got on snow for a couple of hours. The conditions weren't ideal (they rarely are at this time of year), but once we had skied in a loop it was pretty good skiing.
Overall it was a great weekend of training here. Yesterday's rollerski time trial with Bowdoin was a great hard effort, followed by a productive weight room session. The course was a little over 10 km out on Ridge Road in Bowdoinham. It was a great spot with nice terrain and little traffic. Thanks to Coach Alsobrook for inviting us out there! Harry and Dayna had the fastest times for the men and women, respectively. As we move towards the race season it was a good opportunity to go head-to-head against some different people in a new environment.

Skiing Alums

2009-12-01T06:26:00.000-08:00

This past week the domestic racing season got underway out in West Yellowstone with a classic sprint as well as classic and skate distance races. Bates was well represented with Dave Chamberlain '98 and Sylvan Ellefson '09 both posting solid results through the week. In the point-to-point classic sprint race, Sylvan and Dave finished 8th and 21st, respectively. In the skate race, Sylvan was 12th and Dave 53rd, while in the classic Dave was 19th and Sylvan 36th. Justin Easter '03 was also out in West, as the head coach for the Summit County (Colorado) Nordic Team. The SuperTour season continues this weekend with races in Bozeman, MT. You can follow Sylvan and Dave through this race season on their respective blogs:

Dave at http://blogs.fasterskier.com/davidchamberlain/

Sylvan at http://www.powerbar.com/user/sylvanellefson.aspx
Also, check out his YouTube account with some great video of Team HomeGrown out of Vail at http://www.youtube.com/user/sylvanellefson

Justin Freeman '98 is another Bates Alum who will be represented on the circuit this year. He also has a blog at FasterSkier, http://blogs.fasterskier.com/justinfreeman/

Also, Lauren Jacobs '07 will be racing for the newly formed Craftsbury Green Racing Project

Meanwhile, Haley Johnson will be representing the US in biathlon at World Cups this season and most likely at the Vancouver games in 2010. She is currently in Sweden and keeps a blog as well, http://comeskiwithme.blogspot.com/

Elsewhere, Reid Lutter '93 still acts as the executive director of NCCSEF, runs his company Podiumwear, and coaches the Minnesota Valley Ski Club.

There are plenty of Bates Skiing alums involved in the coaching world. Steve Monsulick '07 is the assistant at New Hampshire. Scott Jerome '93 and Matt Dunlap '08 act as the head and assistant coaches at Alaska-Fairbanks. Nancy Fiddler (nee Ingersoll) '79, former Olympian, and current coach for Mammoth Lakes, CA and the Far West division. Tim Whiton '09 is the assistant over at Bowdoin. Also, Andrew Gardner '00 is the Head Coach over at Middlebury. Its great to see so many former Bobcats still involved in the nordic skiing world.

Check out the links, and stay posted for more!

Thanksgiving Camp

2009-11-27T10:26:00.000-08:00

In the end, we stayed on campus for our Thanksgiving camp and got some great training in. We had the Amazing Race on Saturday, a beautiful OD on Sunday, and great rollerski sessions Monday through Wednesday. Ingrid also rejoined us after her semester in N. Zed. The weather held for us, though its starting to get pretty chilly out here. Everybody seemed ultimately glad with our decision not to go to Canada to try and get on the approximately 400 meters of snow that is there. Staying local not only allowed us to get some quality workouts in, but it also lessened our Carbon footprint. And now for some pictures...

The start of Amazing-ness

Waiting for the tag

Never have jigsaw puzzles been so stressful...even for the self-proclaimed "puzzle-king"

Start of the OD

Hiking up Old Speck

OD shoes

Keys?

A Quick Update...

2009-11-17T05:17:00.000-08:00

We just got done with a pretty good sized volume week last week. The next few days are relatively easy before we head into a 5-day pre-Thanksgiving camp. The plans are still a little unsure, as the only real snow seems to be out West. The training has been going great here though, and wherever we end up, that will continue.
As the U.S. racing looks set to start up in West Yellowstone, check out Sylvan's blog, through the PowerBar website:
http://www.powerbar.com/user/sylvanellefson.aspx
He'll be keeping it updated through the winter with posts, schedules, and photos. Sylvan has been training hard back in his hometown of Vail, Colorado. We got the chance to see some of the gains he has made fitness-wise over our October camp in Rangeley.
Until next time!

Sunday Roll

2009-11-08T17:19:00.000-08:00

Not a bad backdrop for a workout.

Today we did an overdistance classic roll from the edge of Lewiston out to the Fuller house in Freeport. It was a beautiful day for the workout, with clear skies, and awesome temperatures. At the end of the 30+ miles of rollerskiing, the Fullers were gracious enough to provide us with a great lunch as well as some unwinding in the hot tub and on the Wii. It was a fun end to another solid week of training.

On the way

Smeltzer leading the way

Cap'n Crunch

For more pics check out Flying Point Road Photography:
http://www.flyingpointroad.com/Photos/Skiing/Summer-Training-2009/8816003_3ebrB#707153793_nbhqs

Gnarnia

2009-11-03T08:50:00.000-08:00

Some more pictures from Rangeley Camp, courtesy of Dayna.

3rd Annual Rangeley Bowl. The Alumni/Upperclassmen emerged victorious.

"Extremery" at Saddleback.

Scenic.

Rock On.

Pie contest.

Pies Galore.

Eyes on the Pies

2009-11-02T13:04:00.000-08:00

Yesterday the team competed at the Eyes on the Pies rollerski race down at Pineland Farms in New Gloucester. It was a beautiful Fall day down there and the course was entirely on private roads and around the Pineland campus. Bowdoin and Colby also took part in the events. Our men (and Gretchen) did the 10 km and the women did the 5 km, followed by a 5 km run against the other collegiate skiers. Everybody skied and ran really well and put out great efforts. Some of our skiers are not healthy enough to race right now, but everybody came out to workout and support their teammates. Connor '09 and Tim '09 both were able to jump in the race as well, going 1-2 in the Masters 10 km.

The Women's 5 km, about to start...

Jimbo and Danny K. finishing strong...

Nat leading out the women's field...

10 km racers getting going...

Dayna in the pack...

Chill and his game-face.

Rangeley Camp

2009-10-26T15:35:00.000-07:00

We got back yesterday afternoon from our Fall camp in Rangeley. There was a lot of rollerskiing, some running, and the annual Rangeley Bowl football game and apple pie contest. Sylvan set a new course record on the uphill run at Saddleback, and Natalie won in her first attempt at it. Danny Kuzio was the first man on the team with a great effort. We also did the uphill double-pole test, and a classic rollerski time trial up the Saddleback road. Some initial pics...

Sylvan...

Natalie, crushing it...

Chill and Connor...

Sophie...

Danny K...

Connor and Sylvan, '09.

October Camp

2009-10-21T10:32:00.000-07:00

We're up in Rangeley right now, for our annual Fall Break Training Camp. We got up here last night and got in a classic roll this morning. It should be a great five days up here. Alumni Sylvan Ellefson and Connor Cushman are both up here with us, Sylvan coming out from Colorado for the camp. More to come later...

Threshold Intervals last Saturday.

Remember the Name...

2009-10-10T12:37:00.000-07:00

This is ten percent luck, twenty percent skill
Fifteen percent concentrated power of will
Five percent pleasure, fifty percent pain
And a hundred percent reason to remember the name...

Today we finished up our first round of testing as well as the first intensity block of the season together. We had 5k and 10k skate time trials today. Kudos to Nat and Lucas posting the fastest times for the women and men. Also, great work by Isaac, who had to duel a semi truck at the turnaround. Everybody did a great job pushing through the barriers this week. The whole team showed they're ready to put in the hours this Fall needed to prepare themselves for the race season. Tomorrow we're headed off-campus to do a fun OD run/hike. It should be a fun way to end the tough week.
Here are a few pictures from today's skate rollerski time trial...

Cooper...fired up might be an understatement...

C-Hill...

Roethlisberger...

Danny...

Sam and Dayna...

Double-Pole Test

2009-10-08T15:20:00.000-07:00

Also known as Super Terrific Double Pole Time! Today we did the 5000 meter double-pole test on our two SkiErg machines. Because we have two machines everybody was spaced out through the day. Corey kicked things off this morning, and posted a solid time, and ended up as the third guy. Captain Harry led the way for the men with a strong showing in 18:34, and Dayna posted the fastest time for the women with 23:46.

Corey getting it done early.

Smeltzer and Lucas.

Sophie and Natalie.

Dayna and Beth.

Beck cheering on the ladies.

Isaac and Nate.

It was another good testing day for everybody. We haven't spent a lot of time on these machines as a team, so I'm confident that next time we do this test, we should see improvement for everybody.

Who has your back?

Another Day, Another Test...

2009-10-07T18:03:00.000-07:00

It was a cold, rainy Fall day in Lewiston for our 3000 meter time trial. Pouring rain for most of the afternoon left a good amount of water around campus. However, the storm let up just enough for us to head over to the track and bust out the 3000. Everyone had a great effort and put up some solid baseline times for the rest of fall training. Nate Winebaum was on hand to snap some photos as Martin and Becky recorded times.

2009-10-06T16:25:00.000-07:00

The strength testing went well today. Some impressive results. Lucas Milliken scored an awesome 330 (3 x Pull Ups+Sit Ups+Push Ups+Box Jump+Dips). And on the women's side Natalie Ruppertsberger scored a rockin' 274.
Here are the numbers:
Lucas 330
Isaac 284
Harry 276
Nat 274
Ben 244
Brandon 241 (no box jump)
Sophie 233
Corey 232
Nate 229
Jimmy 206
Dayna 206
Danny K 186
Beth 186
Sam 183
Kelsey 171
Gretchen 170
Catherine 148
Dan B 139

Testing Week

2009-10-06T06:46:00.000-07:00

This is the first week of official practice. We will be doing testing this week with everyone who is around. Today will be the Strength test, tomorrow is the 3000 meter run, Thursday is a 5000 meter double-pole test on the SkiErg, and Saturday is a skate rollerski time trial on the Boathouse Loop.
Stay Tuned for pictures and results!

A Quick Glance at the Team

2009-09-23T06:36:00.000-07:00

As we are just under two weeks away from the official start of the season, its time to take a quick look at the team for the upcoming race season.

On the women’s side, only Nicole Ritchie graduated last spring, and has been pursuing a professional rowing career. Captain Abby Samuelson will lead the women’s team into the winter, once she finishes up her final cross-country running season. Abby spent the summer living and training in Portland while interning for Nike marketing. After racing last season injured, Abby will be looking forward to staying healthy this winter and having a strong race season. Natalie Ruppertsberger is the only junior currently on campus and is excited to build off of her first NCAA Championships appearance as well as last season’s top-three finish at Middlebury Carnival. Kirstin Gill, Megan McClelland, and Ingrid Knowles are all currently studying abroad in France, Portugal, and New Zealand, respectively. They will all rejoin the team when they return, ready to challenge for travel team spots.

There is also a strong sophomore contingent gearing up for the season. Beth Taylor, Dayna Stimson, and Sophie Leonard are all back on campus looking to build on strong first-year performances. In addition, Kelsey Dion has been rowing with the crew team at Bates, recently winning a women’s time trial.

First-year Catherine Tuttle will also be making the switch over from rowing to skiing later this Fall. Tuttle is joined by Samantha Forrest and Gretchen Sellegren, both of whom hail from Bozeman, MT and Dragan's BSF program. Gretchen is coming off a strong year in which she was a two-time medalist at Junior Nationals in Truckee, CA. Samantha was also a member of the Intermountain Junior National team.

For the guys, five men graduated last spring, including Sam Evans-Brown and Sylvan Ellefson, both NCAA qualifiers. In addition, Connor Cushman, Tim Whiton, and Dylan Mogk are all onto the next chapters of their lives. You can follow Sylvan and Dylan on Twitter, while Sam keeps a blog of his proletarian adventures. Connor is working for the Maine Winter Sports Center and living in Portland, while Tim will continue to be a presence on the Carnival circuit, as he recently accepted the assistant coaching position at Bowdoin.

The men will be lead this year by captain Harold Poole and his fellow senior Ben Smeltzer. Harold will be looking to build off the first top-ten Carnival finish of his career at last years Regional Championships. Smeltzer will be another strong skier this season, even while working on a yearlong Physics thesis. The two seniors are joined by a strong youth contingent.

Lucas Milliken leads an incoming class of six. Lucas was a Junior National team qualifier last season and posted strong results after a solid season of racing Eastern Cups, while skiing for Burke Mountain Academy. He is joined by Danny Kuzio, Corey Hill, Dan Brodhead, Isaac Kreisman, and Nate Fuller. All six of the first-year men are New England natives. In addition, sophomore Jimmy Burnham of Carlisle, MA will be joining the team.

There will be lots more to come in the upcoming weeks, so stay tuned!

NCAA Day One

2009-03-13T12:50:00.000-07:00

NCAA's is off with a Bang. We've had 3 races so far, the Classic race on the Nordic side, and GS and Slalom on the Alpine side. I'll put the alpine results up here, because they aren't up on the alpine blog yet.

Women's GS:
Liz: 18th
Micaela: 31st

Women's Classic:
Natalie: 22nd

Men's Classic:
Sylvan: 21st
Sam: 36th

Women's Slalom:
Liz: 11th
Micaela: 18th

There are some standout results in there. Liz and Micaela, of course both had awesome races, especially in Slalom... but you can read about that in the Alpine Blog when they write about it. On the Nordic side, Natalie's 22nd is an awesome start. Like Sylvan told her after the race, that was the place that he got in the classic race his first time to NCAA's back in Steamboat springs.

Sylvan and I weren't particularly please with our races. For me, I took the race out way to fast. At 3.5k I was given a split that I was 6 seconds up on Lex Treinen, who ended up in 16th. However, by the second lap it was obvious that I was blowing up. If you had listened closely to my legs you could probably could have heard the mass cellular explosion that was going on inside of them between 7 and 8k.

But on the bright side, we look really good in bibs that match our race suits.

Tomorrow is the Mass start skate, and the team is getting really excited for the final race. A 20k skate really needs trails like Rumford's to go well, and with less than 40 competitors there will be space to move around, which is nice.

That's about all from Rumford. Get out there and watch the races on Saturday!!

-Sam EB

Dartmouth and Middlebury VIDEO

2009-02-24T11:34:00.000-08:00

EPIC WEEKEND AT MIDDLEBURY

2009-02-22T06:19:00.000-08:00

This past weekend the team headed 5 hours west to Middlebury, Vermont to race at Breadloaf. Tapping on wood as we went, we knew that we typically ski well at the Middlebury Carnival. However, we didn't know that the women's team would be making a little history. Natalie Ruppertsberger clearly held nothing back in her 10k classic placing 3rd behind US SKi Team member Rosie Brennan and only 7 seconds behind recently returned World Junior competitor, Sophie Caldwell. No less impressive were finishes from Caitlin Curran and Abby Samuelson who were 13th and 14th respectively. Despite wax/ski issues with Beth, she still had yet another top-20 finish. Both Megan and Kirsten are still getting healthy, but skiing faster with each race. The women placed 2nd as a team which is the best ANY womens team has ever placed for nordic skiing at Bates. Congrats to the girls.

The guys also had an impressive weekend. The men put 4 in the top-25. Sylvan finished 6th after battling for a top-10 position after the top of the hill. Sam E.B. ended up 13th and only 14 seconds out of the top-10. Tim and Harry both skied to a 24th and 25th place respectively. Connor and Dylan described their races as good, but not where they wanted to be.

Overall our nordic team was 3rd overall behind Division I schools, Dartmotuh and UVM. We were the first Division III school in front of host college Middlebury, Williams, Bowdoin, Colby, and St. Lawrence.

We have a short distance to travel for our final carnival for the season. Our regional championships at Sugarloaf, Maine. We wil have a 10k classic and a 20k mass start skate.

Make sure to take a look at Lincoln Benedict's picture and video from the races this season so far. He is from Bates and has been getting great reviews from the entire eastern ski circuit.

Also here is our most recent team picture for all those who haven't seen their child's face in awhile.

UNH and UVM

2009-02-09T21:09:00.000-08:00

We just got done with two tough, yet successful weekends at Jackson, NH (UNH carnival) and Stowe, VT (UVM carnival/US Super Tour).

UNH (Day 1): We started off well in the classic sprint on Friday qualifying 3 men into the rounds (Connor, Sam, and Sylvan) and 4 women (Abby, Nicole, Natalie, and Caitlin). Unfortunately none of the girls made it out of the quarterfinals and the first quarterfinal for the men consisted of the three male Bobcats that qualified with only two to move on. Sam and Sylvan continued through after Connor fell back due to some questionable moves by a UVM skier. Again Sam and Sylvan were in the same semi-final heat. With a desire to get both into the A-Final, Sam ended up getting taken out after setting up perfectly for his final move for total domination in the ensuing 100m to the finish. Sylvan moved on to place 6th in the A-final while Sam was 2nd in the B-Final for a 8th place showing.

UNH (Day 2): Another beautiful day in the Mt. Washington area. Not a cloud to be found in the sky with 20-30 degree temperatures. The Lady Bobcats were led with an impressive finish from Sophie Leonard in 11th place. Open skier Beth Taylor was 15th while Abby Samuelson and Caitlin Curran rounded out the top-30 in 28th and 29th respectively. The men had a 3rd place showing on Saturday in the 10k freestyle race right behind Dartmouth and UVM. Sylvan had his first win of the season while Sam Evans-Brown was 15th. Our 3rd scorer came in 43rd.

***We were happy with the weekend considering the many illnesses that hit the team. Harry, Kirsten, Megan, and Nathan all got hit but are back at it now***

UVM (Day 1): With almost 500 races in total this weekend it was sure to be a long day. The women went off first for their 5k freestyle race. It was a beautiful day and a new homoglated course (I don't know what it means...try googling it) provided for some fast times. Beth Taylor was the first Bates skier followed closely by Kirsten Gill in 15th, Sophie 18th, and Natalie 19th. The men had their best showing of the year in second place right behind Dartmouth. Sylvan placed 2nd, Sam was 8th, and Tim Whiton in our last scoring spot in 28th.

UVM (Day 2): What a day...it went from raining when we woke up to a wintery mix down at the hotel to 30 miles per hour winds when the boys showed up for the girls race with snow blowing everywhere. Little would anyone know that 2 hours from then it would be sunny and calm in the 20 degree range. Difficult day for many people. Not traditionally where many of the skiers on the team place, but there were some very impressive results nonetheless. Natalie Ruppertberger had a her best collegiate finish in 8th place. Beth Tayler was in the mix again placing in the teens (although her place is unknown due to her "open skier" status). Sophie and Megan placed 29th and 30th. The men ended up toughing it out in the 15k with Sylvan in 4th and Connor Cushman in 31st. While the results may not be what we wanted or needed, it was still an impressive day. All of the skiers had do dig deep today and see hwat they were made of.

This past weekend was Nicole Ritchie's last with the Bates Ski Team. She will be missed every weekend but she is on to bigger and better things. We wish her luck with her rowing endeavors and hope that we'll be able to say we know "that girl" on the US Olympic boat.

Also a HUGE THANK YOU to all the parents, especially the Evans-Brown's, that came to the race and cheered and most importantly fed us so much food after the races. You are all so great and are part of the reason that this team is so close. Thank you for everything.

We'll let you know how Dartmouth goes. GO BOBCATS!!!

Bates Carnival

2009-01-26T09:51:00.000-08:00

Hey y'all-
Here is some footage of the women's race from our home carnival this weekend. We had some personal bests from some. All of the freshman PR'ed (haha...ok not that funny). The men's team was 3rd on Saturday right behind UNH and Dartmouth. Women also had some solid results. Check out the results page on www.eisaskiing.org for full results. See you in New Hampshire.

Bates Carnival

2009-01-26T09:46:00.000-08:00

The Bates Carnival was this weekend, and the Nordic team got off to a good start. We posted a lot of personal bests, and put in some very solid racing. The men are showing up as a threat much earlier on in the season this year, posting a 4th and a 3rd place for the team results, which is an improvement from last year's 5th and 6th place finishes. The women's results appear at first glance to be about the same as last years' (two 6th places, compared to a 5th and a 6th last year), but a closer look shows that the girls had generally much more impressive results than last year. The top girls, Natalis Ruppertsberger and Kirsten Gill for each respective day, placed higher than last year's top finishers. Our scorers were 9, 17, 22 and 13, 19, 20 for the two respective races (up from 17, 18, 20 and 20, 21, 23 last year), and the average place for the carnival team was 25th (up from 26th). So why are they only in sixth? The reason was that this year's field was much tighter, without as much dominance by a few schools: on Friday, there were six schools represented by the top ten women, and four in the top five on Saturday. The weekend's results make it pretty clear that both our men's and women's teams are stepping it up.

Saturday's mass start was absolute madness. The seeding by school, and the fact that it was a skate race made it a certainty that there would be some crashes. These factors were compounded by a very short, uphill double-pole section, that didn't cause the field to spread out even slightly. There was a ton of broken equipment, the most notable being Glen Randall's broken ski, that left him in dead last place by a lot after only the first hundred meters. Here are some photos from the weekend (sorry girls, I only have guys pictures). Everyone is getting fired up for next weekend at Jackson!

Jackson Criterium

2009-01-19T11:14:00.000-08:00

The whole team did not come to the Jackson Criterium, but it was a fun event. The women and men in both races did a 1.6K loop for 20 minutes and then 3 laps after the 20 minute bell was rung. Here is some footage of those who raced. Beautiful eastern day and a bomber day for the Bobcats!!!

I'm Ready for Spring Break???

2009-01-06T20:27:00.000-08:00

No...temperature wise, YES, but Jamaica is in the back of my head. I have come to realize that not being able to race because of weather is frustrating. You have to go through all the pre-race stuff day after day not knowing when there is going to be an actual race. Eating good meals, your superstitious pre-race habits, packing like you are going out for a 20 day ice trek, and then traveling to the venue so your adrenaline can build while the butterflies in your stomache continue fluttering. However, I have come to terms with the weather, its a good test of character.

"Don't knock the weather. If it didn't change once and awhile, nine out of tem people couldn't start a conversation."

I'm excited to come back and be with my friends, my team. And RACE!!! Camp has started for the rest of the team and can't wait to get back and join them. It sounds like tomorrow will not get above -10 F, but I am 89% sure they will send it and run a qualifyer and that is it. Then they will base all of the teams off of a 3.5 minute sprint and a cold freestyle race.

See you soon. And thanks for all the support.

-Sylv G.E.

The Alaska Vacation

2009-01-04T18:06:00.000-08:00

I feel like I'm in a glass case of emotion. We are racing, wait no we aren't, oh wait we are just going to delay it two hours, ok we'll be back then, ok we're back, your delaying it another 30 minutes, so we are or aren't doing heats today, we're not, so a two day sprint then, wait no just move it to tomorrow so 310 skiers can go through the same thing 2 days in a row.

Yeah, skiers are trying to put their game faces on but immediately having to take them off because of the cold temperatures. I feel bad for many of the TD's and volunteers who are getting jerked around more then the skiers.

Turns out there is a huge change of plans: 10k skate tomorrow (differrent from the 15k planned) on the classic course, sprint on Tuesday (weather permitting), and 10k classic on Wednesday (same as before). If it is too cold races will be cancelled completely and I think this year's Scando, Junior World, U23, and World Champs teams will be based off of points and US Ski Team Coaches discretion. Fun Fun...

-S

AK pictures

2009-01-04T13:23:00.000-08:00

I'll remind that all these pictures were taken at 12:30 right after lunch...not 7:30 in the A.M.

The Alaska Remix to "New England Winters"

2009-01-01T10:19:00.000-08:00

At the time of this blog post, it is -12 degrees where I am staying in Anchorage. Today I skied at my new stomping grounds at Kincaid Park in what were easily some of the worst, coldest conditions that I have ever skied in: frozen fingers and toes, CH6 acting as a kickwax, a sprint course that is a 1.6k course, and huge gobs of frozen tears. To think that just over a week ago in Vail I was skiing on mulitgrade/violet, and had bomber kick and glide. I remember thinking as I was driving home through the SEVEN FEET OF SNOW VAIL GOT after Mother Earth cried champagne powder, "well, we should be set for a little while and AK will be a doozy."

What a difference a week can make. So what happened? Conditions were still spectacular at Vail on Tuesday! But then came the frigid temperatures on Wednesday, and cold again for Thursday and Friday, and then more cold temperatures, and negative teens over the weekend. Any Nordic skier reading this blog will commiserate with me here. The temperatures we had today are the kind that make you feel sick to your stomach when you walk outside on a December day. It was -32 degrees in norhern Siberia, which ties the previous record low for this date, and believe me when I say that it wasn't much warmer in my sleeping bag last night. The temperatures that I had last week evaporated faster than you could say "snafus."

I suppose I should be pulling my hair out right now... but I'm not. Why? It's December in Alaska, and one doesn't have to look far into the past to realize this is just a cold place. Chance of a slower snow for New Year's Eve? I hope not. Chance of a BIG snowstorm on Friday? Better than this damn cold. Give it another week, and I bet we'll be skiing on VR40 again in perfect tracks. All we have to do is train hard, keep the fire burning, and all will be well.

Keep on keepin' on, and pray for snow and warm(er) tempertaures than here!

New England Winters

2008-12-28T16:54:00.000-08:00

At the time of this blog post, it is 47 degrees at my house in Gilmanton. Today I raced at my old stomping grounds at Gunstock in what were easily some of the worst conditions that I have ever skied in: puddles, rocks, many loops of a 1.6k course, and huge gobs of klister. To think that just over a week ago I was skiing on VR40, and had bomber kick and glide. I remember thinking as I was driving home through the snow from the Trapp Family Lodge after the Eastern Cup opener, "well, we should be set for a little while."

What a difference a week can make. So what happened? Conditions were still spectacular at Gunstock on Tuesday! But then came the rain on Wednesday, and cold again for Thursday and Friday, and then more rain, and heat over the weekend. Any Nordic skier reading this blog will commiserate with me here. The temperatures we had today are the kind that make you feel sick to your stomach when you walk outside on a December day. It was 65 in New York City, which ties the previous record high for this date, and believe me when I say that it wasn't much colder in New Hampshire. The two feet or so of snow that we had last week evaporated faster than you could say "thaw."

I suppose I should be pulling my hair out right now... but I'm not. Why? It's December in New England, and one doesn't have to look far into the forecast to find reason to hope. Chance of a little snowstorm for New Year's Eve? Chance of a BIG snowstorm on Friday? Give it another week, and I bet we'll be skiing on VR40 again in perfect tracks. All we have to do is train hard, keep the fire burning, and all will be well.

Keep on keepin' on, and pray for snow!

-Sam EB

A Week of Studying

2008-12-12T02:23:00.000-08:00

Skiers are also students. For some, this becomes more of a reality at the end of the semester when constant e-mail checking, Facebooking, and humorous YouTube videos are replaced with back-to-back sociology and psychology statistic finals, along with 20 page labs and research papers. Yes, it is finals week again. While work is at the forefront of our minds for the time being, there is of course that place that exists in every skier's head that is reserved for thoughts of snow.

Sugarloaf camp is coming soon and we can't wait to get there. After a week of work and upredictable weather, that never lets us know ahead of time if we can snow ski or rollerski, we are ready to be done and focus on a good ski camp with the crew.

We will have updates from the 'Loaf' throughout the week. Keep in touch.

-BN

Great Glen Sprints

2008-12-09T12:14:00.000-08:00

Bates Nordic headed to Great Glen this weekend, which was the closest Nordic area to Lewiston with any snow. Skiing on the Great Glen trails is always kind of a treat for me. They are an old stomping ground of mine, from back when I raced in windpants and a t-shirt, so there's the nostalgia factor. Also, the trails are pretty nice for such a small nordic center: very nicely maintained in the summer, and well groomed, despite the fact that they don't have a Piston Bully. The trails this weekend were hardpacked, coarse snow. The granulated stuff that you expect in New England after one of these rain/snow type storms. Conditions weren't at all bad though, and the skating was fast and fun.

The actual race is another matter entirely. The conditions better than last year, when the race trail deteriorated throughout the day and we were pretty much skiing that beautiful Granite State bedrock by nightfall. However, the race organizers seem to be dead set on making the results of the race as arbitrary as possible. First, the course is very short -- 400meters long -- and two laps of it are still less than a kilometer. This is exacerbated by the fact that for one round of heats they shorten the race to one lap. Second, it is so narrow that there are very few places where passing is at all possible. Finally, they don't do a qualifier, but instead just put everyone randomly into heats. The first and second place skiers from the each of the first round heats advance to the third round, while third and fourth place skiers move to the second round. This sounds fair, right? If you get first or second you get a by! Not quite true, because the first place skier from each heat in BOTH the third round AND the second round advance to the fourth round, meaning that those who do badly in the first round have an easier path to get to the fourth round. This silliness is compounded by the fact that the second and third round heats are shortened to one lap to save time. The course is so narrow and so short that, in the words of coach, "the first guy to get to that first corner is the winner." The Great Glen Sprints is a contest of 25 meters.

But, it was fun; especially for me since I did terribly the first round, and as such made it all the way to the final (while many better sprinters than I were eliminated in the "lightning round" of the third round heats). Also Kirsten Gill had a great race, getting second overall and winning a sweet ski suit. Mostly this race just gets the engine revving for the real thing that starts up in a week or two. Everyone is excited, and the weather is starting to look favorable for some significant snow for New England! This week is finals and then the team is off to Sugarloaf for winter camp.

See you out there!

-Sam eb

Catchin' Up with Chambo

2008-11-27T15:21:00.000-08:00

Recently, I got the chance to catch up with Bates College Alumni David Chamberlain (a.k.a. Chambo) over the holiday break. With a gnarly travel schedule this winter, he has some serious goals that would land this Native Mainer among the top in the US while making a dent in the international scene as well. If words don't show his potential, here are some numbers that might help:

-2001, 2003, and 2005 U.S. World Championship Team member
-2004 and 2006 Overall SuperTour Champion
-2 time NCAA All-American

Here's what the young alum had to say:

Sylvan Ellefson: How has the summer and fall training been going?

David Chamberlain: The summer and fall have been really good for training. I packed in quite a bit of volume training through the summer months, and as the fall has progressed I have focused more on quality intensity sessions. We had a good group of skiers around in the County over the summer which made for focused training. I was able to travel to Vancouver in September to check out the Olympic trails and train with the US team boys out there. That was a great camp, and coupled with the Lake Placid camp in October gave me the chance to knock heads with some fast guys. That is always important for me in the fall.

SE: How is it balancing a family and skiing?

DC: It is really easy when your wife is also a competitive skier. BethAnn is a biathlete so our schedules are similar. We don't always get the chance to see each other much through the winter months, so we pack in as many dates as we can through the summer and fall!

SE: How do you feel going to college while still skiing has helped you in the grand scheme of things?

DC: The obvious answer is that it is nice to have a college degree. Aside from that I would say that personally I felt I was able to progress as a skier and get a lot out of my college experience. Students at the small liberal arts colleges in the east have many advantages, campus housing, food, a challenging race circuit. As long as certain priorites are looked after, like training and rest, the choice to pursue college and skiing can be a really good one, even for those looking to compete seriously after graduation.

SE: What are your goals for the upcoming year?

DC: My big goal is to score some World Cup points. Making the World Championship team is also a goal and winning the overall SuperTour title again.

SE: If you were a tree, what kind would you be?

DC: I really do love the look and feel of a gnarly old pine tree.

Thanks Chambo for catching up with the ol' alma mater. Good luck on the trails.

The Best Laid Plans...

2008-11-27T07:13:00.000-08:00

So this week was Thanksgiving break, and the plan was to be in Canada at Montmorency. Unfortunately, as Friday morning rolled around it had become clear that mother nature had no intention of cooperating and giving us some snow. However, we had a Plan B: a Rangeley Camp Redux. We know Rangeley, and we like Rangeley and it seemed the logical choice for a dryland camp. It has hills, and good rollerskiing, and even had some snow in the forecast!

Isn't there some expression, though, about what happens to the best laid plans?

So, after our Canada plan was foiled by the lack of snow, our Rangeley plan was foiled by the presence of it. We got to Rangeley and there was about a quarter of an inch of snow everywhere. That was not enough to ski, but exactly enough to make the roads too treacherous for rollerskiing. We scrambled for a plan C.

Saturday we did an OD run in the snow, followed by level 4 moosehoofing intervals on Sunday. By Sunday afternoon the roads had melted enough to make rollerskiing possible, and so we did some classic video-work. However, with mixed precipitation and possibly a whole-lot more running on the horizon, we had to make a decision. Half the team decided to bail, and headed back to Lewiston, where the rollerskiing was still good, and the other half remained at Rangeley, hoping for enough snow to ski on the golf course.

Turns out that both decisions were good ones. The guys who headed back got in some good workouts on rollerskis, where mostly rain fell from the sky. The girls who stayed got to ski on the golf course, as in Rangeley they got a fair amount of snow, followed by heavy rain. Enough snow remained for them to do intervals on Wednesday, when the guys did a 10k skate timetrial on skis. Everyone then headed home to share Thanksgiving with our families, and continue what will be one of the biggest weeks of training that we do all year. When we get back there will only be one more week of classes, and we are all very excited to be done!

The moral of this story? Mother nature is fickle, but training is good pretty much where-ever you decide to do it. Both teams are looking strong, and getting excited to compete. See you out there!

-Sam EB

Swollen Arms, Shaking Legs, and Blurred Vision

2008-11-10T10:50:00.000-08:00

My non-skiing friends think I'm crazy. They don't understand what we do, why we do it, or why it is fun. I cannot blame them, because for someone that does not cross-country ski, why would running until you want to throw up along with doing push-ups, pull-ups, dips, sit-ups, and box-jumps until you can't do anymore be fun? What about waking up the next day to ski for three hours? I can't speak for everyone when I give my opinion on why it's fun, and I don't argue that I am completely sane, because I'm not. The insanity of our sport and our character is what makes it fun. Spending a majority of my time with twenty-five of the hardest working, fittest athletes on campus is what makes it fun. Knowing that on any given day, someone on our team can wake up feeling great and have the race of his or her life makes it fun. It's more than the toughness of the sport, the talent level of our team, and the work ethic instilled in us by our coaches. For me, when I look around the gym at the end of a long, brutal morning of testing, and see someone on the pull-up bar with the other twenty-four athletes and three coaches screaming in support, I realize why this is fun.

We completed our annual fall testing on Saturday morning. While some may not be happy with a result here or there, I think we can on the whole, look back on the day and smile in knowing that we busted our asses for two hours in an effort to separate ourselves from our competition. There were impressive 3000 times on both the men's and women's side with both Sylvan and Beth setting impressive PR (personal record) of 9:25 and 11:09 respectively. It was incredible to see people push themselves beyond what they thought was possible in the strength testing. It was satisfying to see the look on someones face after he or she destroyed their previous personal best, but wanting more. Beyond this, it was the team chemistry that was displayed when people finished the 3000 on the verge of throwing up and found it in themselves to raise their voices in support of their team members crossing the finish line behind them. When someone was getting tired on the pull-up or dip bar, everyone got louder and pushed their teammate to four or five more dips until they collapsed off the bar. I can't explain this feeling to my non-skiing friends as they would have to participate in the insanity to truly understand it.

This team is talented and fit, but I think we gain an advantage with the team chemistry that has been built throughout the fall. This is why I don't mind my non-skiing friends calling me crazy. This is why waking up on Sunday to ski for three hours with sore arms, shoulders, and armpits didn't phase us. And this in turn becomes my answer to my friends' simple question of, "why?"

-Harry

Racing on Rollerskis

2008-11-07T10:41:00.000-08:00

Hey y'all-

We just finished racing in two separate dryland races. We had the Second Annual Lobster Roll out on North Haven Island on October 25th. This is always a Bates favorite. We leave Bates at 7:30 in the morning and do not return until 6:30 that night for a thirty minute ski race... and we think this is awesome??? Heck yes we do!!! It is a long day for such a short race but trips like this is what makes a ski team. Starting to race 2 months before actual ski season begins will make us strong when it gets to real race time.

The Lobster Roll was a great first opportunity to check our fitness levels and challenge other Maine Schools (Colby, Bowdoin, and Presque Isle) in a preview of the Maine State Championships, also known as the Chummy Broomhall Cup. We traveled on a ferry to the venue and after a 30-45 minute warm-up, all the skiers were out on course. Ingrid Knowles was the top collegiate skier in the women's race and had the best result of the day. There were many impressive performances from the team and clearly there are also areas that we can work on to get better. One thing that is constantly made clear after these races is the importance of SKI SPEEDS. While some liken bringing training skis to a race to bringing "a little league team to the world series," truth of the matter is that the difference between fast and slow skis is like skiing on klister in powder versus taking the wheels off of Lance Armstrong's bike and putting them on some roller skis: the difference in speed is enormous. This is why our we must only look at success in the race in terms of previous year's times. That is how we can gauge how we are doing individually. A quick lunch, ferry ride back to the mainland, and we were back to Bates.

Results can be found at:

http://www.nensa.net/news/news_more.php?id=2862

The next weekend was the infamous Bowdoin Duelathon, not to be confused with a Duathalon. Somehow former head ski coach Marty Hall coined the phrase "duelathon" when creating the race many years back. It is a mix of a run and then a classic rollerski. This race is also another favorite. The race started in a mass start formation in the soccer field which quickly funneled into a narrow 2.5 foot wide gateway. The race continued over a 4 - 4.5 kilometer course. After the run it was a struggle of the most coordinated to see who could take off their running shoes and get on all of their ski equipment the fastest. I wished this year that someone had a video camera because I know trying to watch me buckle my helmet with freezing, fatigued hands would have been priceless. Not to mention some others (names will not be included) who ripped through ski boots in attempt to put them on causing them a transition time that ended up being 1/5 of the overall ski times.

Again we had a great day. Fast and slow skis included, Bates men were 1st, 3rd, 4th, 6th, 9th, 15th, 16th, 17th, and 23rd. Bates Women ended up in 3rd, 4th, 5th, 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th, and 16th.

Results can be found at:

http://www.nensa.net/sched&result/2009/duelathon_2008.pdf

Back to work. We are in a recovery week right now so less hours means more time to eat, sleep, and for most of us catch up on school work. We are going into another big week next week and are looking forward to keep pushing ourselves so that our efforts now will show up when it counts.

Thanksgiving Camp in the next two weeks. WOOP WOOP.

Cheers

Rangeley Camp

2008-11-04T10:56:00.000-08:00

Hey y'all-

Here is a quick update as to what we have been up to since practice officially began on the 6th of October.

RANGELEY CAMP

We left for Rangeley, Maine on the 15th of October ready for another grueling 5-day intensity/volume camp. The boys team were housed at Camp Cushman and the girls at Camp Flynn right down the road (thanks to both families for letting us use your camps as our headquarters).

*Wednesday*...We went immediately into lactate testing making sure that everyone is training at their proper levels. For those that don't know much about lactate testing, it looks at lactate threshold which is the exercise intensity at which lactic acid starts to accumulate in the blood stream. This happens when it is produced faster than it can be removed. This point is sometimes referred to as the anaerobic threshold, or the onset of blood lactate accumulation. When exercising below the LT intensity any lactate produced by the muscles is removed by the body without it building up. The lactate threshold is a useful measure for deciding exercise intensity for training and racing in nordic skiing.

*Thursday*...Again another tough day. We had our third annual Saddleback Hill Climb. Tim Whiton set a new course record 14 minutes 48 seconds. The girls record is still held by Megan McCllelland 17 minutes 57 seconds in 2007. The afternoon was again no walk in the park with an uphill double-pole test. Men and women went on equal speed skis up an incline lasting at the fastest 2 minutes and 41 seconds.

*Friday*...Our easiest day of the camp, we had a distance ski (1.5-2 hours) in the morning and then a run on the Saddlback Ski Trails in the afternoon (1 hour).

*Saturday*...A very eventful day. We had a 10k classic time trial in the morning. It took us over some rolling terrain and then at about the 6k mark climbed to the lodge at Saddlback. A great time trail for everyone. Hard to compare results from past years because there was a slight course change. The afternoon was exciting as the 2nd Annual Rangeley Bowl was played amongst the men's team. Team Woop Woop made up of Sylvan, Sam, Tim, Dylan, and Liam took on Team Booyah made up of Harry, Connor, Ben, Nathan, and Jimbo. It was a tight game with Woop Woop taking a lead at the beginning but Booyah coming back strong and going ahead at the end. A last minute hurry-up touchdown put the game into overtime. Woop Woop came out in the end, but a close game to say the least. The girls team at this time was most generous enough to let the meatheads play their game while they went out to buy ingredients for that nights APPLE PIE CONTEST. The winners of the pie contest was Ingrid, Harry, Dayna, and Liam.

*Sunday*...Our last day at camp we went on an Over Distance run/hike to the top of Saddleback Mountain and then down. It was much nicer and exciting experience than the year before. A great camp overall.

US SKi Team in Lake Placid

2008-10-04T19:38:00.000-07:00

Hey y'all-

Hope everyone is doing well back at school. I thought I would use this opportunity to get this blog rolling again for all those people who are interested in what we are doing as part of the Bates Nordic team (which this summer consisted of mostly Sam, Harry, and I with some other posts here and there). However there has been some interest from my family and I'm sure everybody else's families would love to see what their kiddies are doing with nordic skiing.

So anyway, as most know, I am here in Lake Placid training with the US Ski Team, CXC, and Sun Valley. I will keep it short but here is kinda what we have been doing:

Friday: short run with the US Ski Team...got a chance to talk with Andy Newell for a good half and hour about World Cup stuff, Jordi St. John, wanting to spend more time in Rangeley, and keeping it real in the nord skiing world.

Saturday: VO2 max double-pole intervals (3 x 4 minutes (equal recovery) then a 10 minute break, then another set of 3 x 4 intervals). I ended being able to hold onto the front guys for first two intervals of each set but the last one would kick my @$$. This was about 2 hours. In the afternoon we did strength led by Whitcomb which is no easy task when he talks about how much more other good skiers are doing than us right at that moment. This was about 1 hour then we played a huge game of soccer for about 1.5 hours after that.

Sunday: (not yet arrived) We are double poling for 1.5 hours and then running for another 1.5 and then nhave the afternoon off in which I will be sleeping and attempting to study for my Oceanography test.

Monday: THE BIG DAY...time trial up the Whiteface toll road to the top of Whiteface Mountain, the 4th highest mountain in the Adirondacks.

What I learned from this camp: US Ski Team members are monster double polers and skiers in general, Bird and Newell can put time on people whenever they want, whenever they put it into their brains that they want to go faster. They are also a lot stronger. They are also this way because of their schedules. They sleep, train, eat, take ice baths/spin, nap, eat, train, eat, rest (watch baseball), and then sleep, making money the whole time. It has been really good training as well and also being able to talk to people like Freeman, Newell, Cook, Whitcomb, Igor (SAm's old coach...who you still cant understand what he is saying).

I put some pictures of the camp in. See you soon. THE SEASON STARTS ON TUESDAY!!! SHAKE AND BAKE!!!

Ushuaia Sweet Ushuaia

2008-08-12T16:18:00.000-07:00

Hola Chicos y Chicas,
So I thought it was time for a blog post from the end of the world. It´s pretty hard for me to even begin to talk about the way things are here, but let´s just say that skiing in Ushuaia is different.
For one, the ski community is pretty small. The races I´ve done so far have had about 40 people -- counting men, women, juniors, seniors, masters -- total. Also, everyone races on equipment that´s anywhere from 15-20 years old. There are a few with new stuff, but very few. I tend tot stick out like a sore thumb. There´s one other American here, and we recognized each other as Americans instantly when we saw each other. So that´s cool.
Grooming appears to be a secondary concern here. There was a night sprint that took place (supposedly) at 6pm... but the grooming took place at 6:10, which brings me to another point: very few people, things, or events occurr when you expect them to. The first race I did here, I arrived 20 minutes after the start was scheduled, and I was one of the early arrivals, and there have been a couple times where the carpool I take to the ski trail in the valle de tierra mayor arrived 45 to an hour late and once I missed it because they came 20 minutes early.
However, there is a crapload of snow. We´re talking (about) 4 feet of snow. It´s snowed pretty much non-stop since I got here. And there is skiing within walking distance of the house I´m staying in, on a pretty hilly, fun course. The only problem is that the pisten bully they have is from the 70s, and breaks pretty frequently. However, a half-hour away is a 7k loop that gets groomed once a day by a brand-new machine, which is swell, except totally flat.
People, in the typical latin american style, are all incredibly nice, and most are very excited about my willingness to eat a lot of whatever they put in front of me. This food typically consists of beef, chicken, beef, lamb, beef, and the occasional vegetable. I´m getting plenty of protien... but not much of anything else.

In a little less than a week is the Marchablanca, which is the one big skiing event here. It´s a 21k race, in the valle (meaning, mostly flat with one or two climbs), that the whole town comes out for many dressed eccentrically. It has been won for years by one Martín Bianchi, who skiied in the Torino Olympics for Argentina. He´s an awesome guy who I´ve had dinner with a couple times and skied with a whole lot.
So, who knows. There´s about a thousand more things that I could write, but I guess I´ll cut it off. Things are good, I miss you all, and I´ll put up some pictures of the Marcha when that happens.
Ciao, nos vemos.
-seb

The McClellands Go to Alaska

2008-08-10T08:28:00.000-07:00

11 McClellands (my family, uncle's family, and uncle from Wyoming) made the daring journey into grizzly infested Alaska this July. Our trip started in Hatcher Pass (2 hours outside of Anchorage) in cabins where we did some hiking in the beautiful Talkeetna Mountains. It took a few days to get used to sunlight 20 hours a day, but we were able to get our beauty sleep using Buffs as light blockers.
Our second destination was McCarthy, population 20 and 60 miles away from a paved road (I later found out that Molly M. coincidentally has a cabin in McCarthy). Here we did some more hiking (Ing would've love this trip), the first day up into an old snowy abandoned copper mine called Jumbo, the second along an enormous glacier. Instead of

carrying bear spray or guns for protection we
sang as loud as we could while traveling through grizzly country (the von trapps don't hold a candle).
One of just three sunny days our whole trip was spent on our drive from McCarthy to Valdez,
a small town on Prince William Sound. We rented kayaks and paddled the 40 miles into a cabin about half the size of a leanto that my dad and uncle built 30 years ago. From there we
hiked, kayaked, slept in tents, played cards and fished. Our fishing excitement reached its max when cousin Sophie thought she had caught a huge silver salmon, we all watched as she reeled in an enormous piece of seaweed and some jellyfish tentacles.

Wildlife sightings included 2 black bears, lots of otters, seals, jumping fish, 1,000,000 jellyfish, sea lions, local Alaskans and dolphins.
On our kayak back to Valdez, we watched a 1,000 lb. sea lion snag a couple of excited fishermen's enormous silver salmon (they weren't too happy). Another sea lion encounter occurred when cousin Matty kayaked over one and it popped up just a few feet away snorting and spitting water, needless to say we all paddled as fast as we could in the opposite direction.

Unfortunately I missed meeting up with Molly on our last day in Anchorage but all in all it was an amazing trip.
see y'all soon
-moogs

For Sam...

2008-07-30T09:59:00.000-07:00

hey everyone. no rollerski links this time for me. sorry. just wanted to update. life is fun in maine. sort of. ive been working 40-50hrs a week between my two jobs since i got back from cali. which was chill. check out facebook for pics of my adventures if you want. and if youre not friends with me dont be shy. i cant bite you over facebook. im not that skilled with comps.
anyway. for my internship we just finished up a petition drive. that was wildly unsuccessful. we got less than half of the needed signatures. but it was fun to run around the state accosting people on the streets to get their signature. now im doing research on religion in maine, how immigrants feel in maine, and setting up a blog and writing entries. which by the way check out my first post at mclublog.blogspot.com. so ya its been funish. good experience.
my second job is being bitch at the running store and working at road races for them and trying to be friendly. and getting paid shit. but better than smeltzer. other than that im training, hanging out with a future roomie of mine whos at bates right now, and trying to get together with people to do stuff. which seems to be impossible and for which i am sorry about. one last development in my life. some of you may have seen on facebook but i have lost my car. the prius has found a new driver. so im dealing with that loss of transportation and am scouting out nice, cheap, young rides that dont involve much commitment and can be drove hard and discarded easily and without mess. so far i have been unsuccessful but would welcome any suggestions.
hope all is well.
boner
and to second sams comment on my rollerskiing post: who else would be sending you links like that and working on thesis during the summer???

Public Radio Debut

2008-07-21T13:14:00.000-07:00

Yo Yo Yo,

This week is radio week. We've got 3 feature shows airing Tuesday-Thursday. Each one will air once in the morning and once in the evening. The AM show is between 7:30-8:00 (somewhere in there... each segment is 10 minutes long or so) and the PM show is between 5:30-6:00. Also they'll be online at www.NHPR.org

So those shows are what I've been working on the last two months, with this guy Jon Greenberg. He voices the shows. They're about the Merrimack river, and environmental/development issues that are facing it. HOWEVER, if you listen to NHPR any time this week, there will be a different one minute segment airing each day called "river minutes." They are basically trivia that we couldn't find a good place for within the big features. One is about fishladders, one is about stormwater management, one's about Henry David Thoreau, etc. I wrote and voice those, which is wicked cool. Each one airs 6 times throughout the day, whenever they are doing New Hampshire News they air once.

SO, listen, you punks!
Either online at the website or at one of the stations below if you're in NH.
88.3, Nashua, WEVS
89.1, Concord, WEVO
90.3, Nashua, WEVO
90.7, Keene, WEVN
91.3, Littleton, WEVO
91.3, Hanover, WEVH
97.3, Plymouth
99.5, Jackson, WEVJ
103.9, Portsmouth
104.3, Dover, WEVO
105.9, Colebrook
107.1, Gorham, WEVC

I miiiiss yooooou.

-Sammy B

ps. I had to add my name after, because Jerry Lewis was confused about which Bates Nordic skier was working at New Hampshire Public Radio this summer. Oh, also, I go to Argentina a week from today. Woo. I also wanted to let you know that I like horses and long walks on the beach. I have a cat named Aunt Jemima and I like to comb her with my comb.

The Best Skier in the World

2008-07-05T21:45:00.000-07:00

After being nominated as the Best Skier in the World alongside tough competition such as Bjorn Dælie and Thomas Alsgård, I felt it would be a great opportunity to ask the star some questions about himself

BATES NORDIC: How do you feel being nominated as the best skier in the world alongside skiers like Bjorn Dælie and Thomas Alsgård?

NATHAN HARRY WINEBAUM: I feel honored on being nominated as the most accomplished skier of the cross country

SE: What do you attribute your success to?

NHW: I attribute my success to my god given abilities. Cross-country skiing just comes naturally to The Nathan Harry Winebaum.

SE: Would you like to thank anyone for being the best skier in the world?

NHW: I'd like to thank Jesus Shuttlesworth aka. Ray Allen for giving me the inspiration.

Thank you Nate for the opportunity for fellow readers to understand how one of The Greats does his thing. Provided below is a picture of Nathan Harry participating in one of his hobbies at the beach.

Some Fundy Pictures

2008-06-22T18:44:00.000-07:00

Yo here are some more photos from kayaking in Fundy.

The first and last are the same spot, at high tide and then at low tide. The middle one is one is just pretty.