UNH CARNIVAL

On Thursday morning we departed the Purple Valley for Jackson, NH, the site of the UNH Carnival. We stayed on snow all week prior to our departure, but had to drive to Mohawk Regional High School to find decent snow conditions. The large snow banks and perfect trail conditions were a welcome site as we pulled into the Eagle Mountain House for our 4 day stay.

Perfect Trail Conditions!

The Men touring "The Wave"

 Everyone waxed up classic skis and toured "The Wave" 5k loop, which we raced on for both races. Thursday evening we had a wonderful dinner courtesy of Peter and Emily Benson (Hannah's parents) at their beautiful home just up the road from the Eagle Mountain House.

A custom cake Purple and Gold on the inside!
Happy 21st Birthday Ben!

Enjoying the time at the Benson Residence

 Friday's races were the 5/10K individual start classic races. It was quite cold, but the lack of wind made for good racing conditions. The men hit the course first. Kalle led the way with his first top 20 result in 20th place. Kalle was followed by Jordan in 21st and Vanya in 26th to round out the top three. Here are the results:

http://www.barttiming.com/eisa/Results14/unh2014-4.pdf

Kalle - 20
Jordan - 21
Vanya - 26
Will - 29
Isaac - 31
Hans - 50
Luke - 53
Josh - 60
Ben - 69

The women followed in the 5K. Hannah Cole finished in 18th, Hannah Benson in 23rd and Olivia in 29th to round out the top three. Here are the results:

http://www.barttiming.com/eisa/Results14/unh2014-3.pdf

Hannah Cole - 18
Hannah Benson - 23
Olivia - 29
Laura - 33
Eliza - 41
Elena - 43
Jenna - 52
Tsaina - 53

After a great day of racing the team enjoyed another INCREDIBLE food table spread put together by the most amazing team parents on circuit. Thank you parents!! The team then settled into their rooms for the afternoon and we had a nice buffet dinner. One of the great things about staying at the Eagle Mountain House is that you rarely need to load up in the vans!

Saturday's races were the 15/20K mass start races. My pictures from the weekend are very limited due to the notable absence of Peter Hoenig (our star photographer). He was home with Eli who is recovering from the stomach flu. I did, however take some video and here are a few screenshots from the race:

Will in the 20K on the first climb

Olivia in the 15k on the first climb

Hans in the finishing stretch of the 20K

Luke getting ready for the pack sprint
(he dusted the Dartmouth guy:)!)

In the men's race Will led the way in 12th place followed by Vanya in 20th and Kalle in 27th place.

Here are the results:

http://www.barttiming.com/eisa/Results14/unh2014-8.pdf

Will - 12

Vanya - 20

Kalle - 27

Isaac - 28

Jordan - 33

Luke - 35

Josh - 55

Hans - 61

Ben - 81

After a quick break the women hit the course for the 15K. 

Hannah Cole led the way for the women despite a couple of crashes and a broken pole in 15th place. Hannah Benson and Elena rounded out our top 3 in 19th and 32nd place.

Here are the results:

http://www.barttiming.com/eisa/Results14/unh2014-7.pdf

Hannah Cole - 15

Hannah Benson - 19

Elena - 32

Olivia - 34

Tsaina - 54

Laura - 65

Eliza - 66

Jenna - 78

Overall it was an excellent weekend of racing with fitness gains for all, some personal bests for several folks on the team and some great time spent together as a team. We were able to extend the ski weekend thanks to the Benson family offering up there house (s), which allowed us to get in a nice distance ski on Sunday.

Tsaina, Elena and Heidi (Class of 2018) enjoying
a children's movie while we wait for our table

Enjoying the Ellis River/Hall Trail loop on Sunday!

The team skied an approx. 28K scenic loop on Sunday morning before departing for Williamstown. The trail was awesome with some beautiful grooming, some powder touring and a ripping downhill that left us all grinning from ear to ear!!
Next weekend is the UVM Carnival/Eastern Cup on Saturday and Sunday in Stowe, VT. Keep an eye on the blog for results early next week!