The Groomer is Here!

Our new groomer arrived today! 

The scene at Prospect (10/30/08):

Steve poses with the new Piston Bully Paana:

"Skiing" Into Snow!

A "word of the day" message from Alice describes the team's mood yesterday as we rollerskied headfirst into a snowstorm and finished the workout feeling tired, but completely exhilarated:

Estivate - (the opposite of hibernate), because that is what I do. "With the onset
of autumn, I am looking forward to awakening from my summer torpor. The colder
the day, the happier and more energized I am."

This comes from the BBC's list of 50 favorite words. I think it describes the mood
of our team rather well.



The planned workout called for 3 x 10 minute threshold intervals up the steep slope on the back side of Petersburg Pass. It was raining pretty hard, but was that going to make the nordic cows stay indoors? No way!
As we drove up the pass to the starting point on the other side, the rain quickly turned to slush-mix . . . it was going to be a difficult interval session for sure! We found out just how difficult once we actually started the intervals. The first 10 minutes was done in the cold rain, which turned to slush during the second interval and all-out, stick-to-the-pavement snow on the third! True Grit powered the Ephs to hammer out that last interval by pushing rollerskis through 1-2 inches of slush and snow on the road! As Coach Bud Fisher remarked, "This was the first time we have ever had a snow plow pass us on a rollerski workout!

This video shows the reality: Gabby hammers out an interval as the snow starts to stick, with Liz driving and Maddy commentating on the situation:




Hannah cools down by running down the trail at the top of Petersburg Pass, as the snow accumulates.

Alice and Kirsten celebrate first snow and the completion of a demanding rollerski!

Carving Pumpkins!!

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Fiona and Amy concentrate on laying out their Eph Nordic design on their globe o' orange
Alice supervises Sam Kapala as he scoops


Emily enjoys Barb Kourajians homemade Pumpkin Pie

WOW! Just try to guess who's pumpkin is whos!

Talking about a hot stove doesn't boil the water.

Kirsten leads the women's ski team into a world of pain.

Atay and Erik bust up the steepest hill at the end of an interval session in the apple orchards


The Team poses at the end of a tough 4x4 interval workout atop Sheep Hill.

Saturday, October 17 ended the last of 6 intervals the team completed last week. Running, rollerskiing, and bounding, the ski team definitely did more than talk about heating things up - every day they brought their determination and passion to streets and paths and MADE THINGS BOIL with the force of their intensity!!

Official Training is Underway!

Coach Fisher explains the skate rollerski workout up Petersburg Pass

Its been a busy start! Official training with Coaches Bud Fisher and Aubrey Smith started October 7th, the ski team showed its physical prowress to the rest of the school on Mountain Day by coming in First and Second Place in the Team Adventure Races, PR's were shattered in the Medals Test, and midterm exams have begun!


Team "Enjoy It Destroy It" took first place by only 5 seconds over the second place team in the Adventure Race on Mountain Day. The race consisted of scavenger hunts, biking, running, swimming, and climbing.From L to R: Dave Hansen, Robbie Cuthbert, Sarah Torey, Katie White

The team is currently in the middle of their third intensity block: 6 interval sessions in 6 days. A couple athletes are out of commission due to sickness, but the rest of the team is forging on and digging into numerous 4x4's and 30:30's with zeal!

The Ladies ski team starts their first interval up Petersburg Pass.


The Autumn colors have made the daily runs and rollerskis awe-inspiring.Keith Kantack soaks in the view at the top of Petersburg Pass after a hard session of 4x4 rollerski intervals.

(P.S. new pictures posted on the Picasa Web Album, link at top right of this page)

3,000 Meters and Runnin'!

The temps turned chilly yesterday afternoon, but the nordies burned up the track to clock their times in a 3,000 meter (200 meters shy of 2 miles) test. Many had done the same test earlier in the summer or last year, so the test was not a race against their fellow teammates, but rather, a race against their previous fitness.
The Skiing Ephs looked fit, and fast as the snow flurries that promise to fall!

3000m Run Results October 2, 2008

Dimitri 9:14
Alex 9:38
Evan 9:50
Keith 9:51
Robby 10:20
Erik 10:27
Sam 10:33
Dave 10:57
Caleb 11:09


Katie 11:14
Sarah 11:17
Alice 11:25
Liz 11:30
Holly 12:21
Fiona 12:29
Gabby 12:50
Amy 12:51
Maddy 13:05
Hannah 13:11