Purple Cows Wear Spandex

Williams in 5th at UNH carnival in Jackson

2012-01-29T11:29:00.001-05:00

We traveled to Jackson, New Hampshire this weekend for the EISA races hosted by UNH. It was a treat to stay trailside at the historic Eagle Mountain House, along with many of the other league teams. A dump of wet snow Thursday night provided a much needed blanket for the sparsely covered trails at the Touring Center, but that heavy precipitation turned into sleet, ice pellets, and rain as the morning dawned and temperatures rose. So the morning of classic sprints held its share of frustrations for finding the right ski and kick combination as the track became alternating slow/wet/icy and the steep uphill track on the 1km course was mostly wiped out. Dimitri, Kalle, Phil, Kristin, Elena, and Jenna all made it into the quarterfinal rounds, with Erik, Vanya, and Holly just outside the qualification numbers. Phil then had an impressive sprint finish in his quarter to edge into second place and qualify for the semifinals. Though he didn't advance out of the tough semifinal, he ended the day in an impressive 11th place.
The next day was a much needed respite for weather, dawning clear, sunny, and unseasonably warm. The day's events were slated as Mass Start 15 and 20 k races. A mass start is always exciting, and the Jackson course with its bottle-neck uphill, "the wave" (including several rolls that a racer can catch air on) and tight S-turns (more challenging with mushy snow conditions!) proved its share of spills and thrills. Though our team experienced several crashes and broken poles we still came out of the day with several PR's and an overall team score of 5th! Elena led the women's team with an 11th place finish, Holly grabbing a carnival PR with 26th, while Hannah Hausman and Hannah Smith finished together in 32nd and 33rd. In the men's race Will sprinted to the finish to grab 8th place with Dimitri close behind in 11th and Phil finishing 28th. Overall a great weekend for the team! And congrats to women's alpine for scoring 2nd in the slalom!!
Results

Parents escape the rain

Phil gets the edge on a sprint finish to qualify for the semis

Jenna sprints off the start line in her quarter

The Luethi's bring chocolate from Switzerland to the food table!

Becca climbs first hill out of mass start

The Hannah's round the last corner to the finish line

Men's skis get ready for a rill

A sea of racers up the first hill in the men's mass start

Will leads men's finish with 8th place

Mitch in sprint finish

Dimitri, Kalle, Mitch, and Dick Nesbitt enjoy the post-race food table

Should Extra-Blue be a Dum Dum flavor?

2012-01-23T16:58:00.001-05:00

Patrick says: YES!

Knappster on top of Mountain Trail on Sunday

Kalle and Casey skiing Prospect on sunny Sunday


All-In.

And: HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BEN!

Bates Classic: Dimitri and Will lead mens team to 4th; Alpine Women take FIRST!!

2012-01-22T07:54:00.000-05:00

A perfect morning for a classic ski: cold, with lightly falling, airy snow: straight up, blue kick wax weather. When you put 100 racers into a mass start, 10 k race, you better believe there is going to be some gritty racing! The pace was tough from the get-go, and never let up, as racers fought for position around the double tracked, 3.3 k course. There were some spills and thrills - Ian, Hannah, and Patrick all got their taste of that action - but it was to be expected in such a fast-paced format. The men's race was just under and the women clocked just over 30 minutes.
The men started the day off in fine style: Dimitri and Will getting into good positions right off the start and skiing in the lead dozen for the entire race. The huge pack of front-running racers barely broke up until the finish stretch into the stadium, where Dimitri managed to sprint for 6th, just 3 seconds off the podium, and Will came in seven seconds after that, in 11th place. Vanya had a great race as well, sprinting in a large pack of skiers to take 24th place and rounding out our scoring squad to put the men in 4th place. Isaac also placed within the top 30, at 27th, and Phil and Ian came in at 37th and 38th.
In the women's race, Elena put in a solid showing with her first mass start EISA race by placing 29th, her teammates packing the scoreboard behind her with Kristin in 35th, Hannah Smith and Holly Whitney in 36th and 37th.
HUGE SHOUT OUT TO THE WOMEN"S ALPINE TEAM!! Headed by Geordie Lonza in SECOND place and Laurel Carter in 6th, Shannon Campbell in 14th, the women really rocked the cow and placed FIRST as a team in the Slalom. Sweet!!!

Results

Men's start

Isaac

Dimitri and Will in lead pack

Vanya

Finish of the Men's Race:

Start of the Women's Race:

Becca

Elena

First Carnival!! Bates Skate

2012-01-21T06:23:00.000-05:00

Our course preview on Thursday at Black Mountain in Rumford, Maine, was on the hardest, fastest tracks possible; those conditions changed drastically after 5 inches of fresh powder fell overnight! The trails at Black Mountain were instantly "winterized", a blanket of sharp, crystalline-ly slow snow covering the slick man-made base. The women's 5 k individual start skate races started promptly at 10am with our own Holly Whitney wearing Bib #1. As an "open" carnival (teams are able to enter as many skiers as they wish) the field was over 100 competitors deep. Our women proved they were a pretty tight-knit unit by stacking 5 within 10 places; Hannah Hausman led the team with a 27th place, Elena Luthi and Hannah Smith in 30 and 31, Christina Knapp and Holly Whitney in 35 and 36.
In the men's race, freshman Will Wicherski set the stage in his first college race by breaking into the coveted top ten! Junior Ian Nesbitt had his best college race to date by grabbing 20th place. As the third scorer Isaac Hoenig, in 29th place, ensured a 4th place team finish for the men.
Results

Morning tracks at Black Mountain

Looking at the stadium: A gusty day!!

Holly Whitney

Hannah Hausman

Sarah Abramson

Jenna Maddock

Dimitri Luthi

Vanya Rybkin

Ian Nesbitt

Mitch Prevot

Happy Birthday, BEN!

Mark Johnson ('11) wins races at North American Biathlon Championships in Jericho

2012-01-18T10:52:00.001-05:00

Mark (middle; Ice-Beard Man) competing in Jericho

I learned from '10 Alum Alice Nelson (who got to witness the races) that MoJo was at the North American Biathlon Championships in Jericho, VT this last weekend where he won both the sprint and the 15 k mass start. This has earned him a berth onto the 3-man team that will race at the European Championships in central Slovakia later this month!!
Mark has had a great season, so far. After graduating last year, he spent the summer training for biathlon in his hometown in Grand Rapids, Minnesota. Through several early season races he qualified for the IBU Cup team, but because of team funding shortages was not allowed to travel, so he is psyched to have a definite spot on this current team.
The Championships will be held in Brezno-Osrblie, Slovakia from January 27 til February 2nd.

GO MO-JO!!!!!!!!!

Mark Johnson zeros in his rifle (photo stolen off his now-discontinued blog)

Photos from Titcomb V. 1.0

2012-01-17T23:00:00.002-05:00

The Swiss

Kalle's game face

HW smith blocking out the competition

Erik checking to make sure everyone is present

Snow at Prospect!!

2012-01-17T11:15:00.000-05:00

A weekend snowfall hit Prospect while we were away, and we were quite thrilled to find the trails covered with snow. Hopefully the precip that is supposed to hit us today will turn over another couple inches!

Elena and Hannah on top of 2290

Also: I had to take mug shots this weekend for Sports Info, so I wanted to share one of my faves, which I will title: "Ode to the Mullet"

Kalle

Skate Races at Titcomb

2012-01-16T21:45:00.000-05:00

Our Sunday started like this, at 12:30 am :

Apparently a downed power line set off an electrical short in our hotel pool, and just after midnight the fire alarms started ringing. . .. 5 minutes later mobs of skiers were standing in their pajamas and coats out in the frigid night air.

The hotel didn’t burn down though, and 15 minutes after the started, the alarms stopped and we all trickled back to our rooms and got to bed. . .. thankfully the days’ races started late in the morning so that Patty-J could still get his beauty sleep.

Sunday was COLD. Sunny, but COLD. Temperatures in the single digits were not improved by frequent wind gusts, but at least the sky was blue and the sun was shining, giving the impression that the climate was much friendlier than it was.

The skate race course utilized part of the alpine hill, which sounded mild with a name of “Lower Bunny Slope”; skiing down it on alpine skis probably WAS mild, but skiing up it on multiple laps was a real leg-burner. After skiing up Bunny and back down to the stadium, racers took a lap on the classic sprint course and then went out and did the whole thing again. and again. and again. 6 times for women and 8 time for men (9.6 and 13.8k).

It was a great day for the Purple Cows, as both women and men put 6 finishers inside the top 40.

Junior Christina Knapp and freshman Hannah Smith led the way in the women's race with their 13^th and 14^th place finishes. Smith started one lap after Knapp and the two skied together for a better part of the race and finishing just 1.3 seconds apart. Elena Luethi placed 20^th and Kristin Halvorsen – racing her first skate race in two years – place 28^th. Holly Whitney and Sarah Abramson placed 39th and 40th.

In the men's race freshman Will Wicherski led the way, nabbing 23^rd, with Ian Nesbitt finishing just 6 seconds back in 25^th place. Rounding out the top 40 were Phil Tosteson in 33^rd, Vanya Rybkin in 35^th, Kalle Jahn in 38^th, and Isaac Hoenig in 39^th.

It was a great day for the Purple Cows!

Results

Knappster and Smith

Becca

Will

Ian

Isaac and Kalle

Casey

Ben

Sarah, Holly, Christina, and Betsy Ham (Holly's mom)

Coach Fisher and Hannah H counting laps for racers

DP Video

2012-01-14T20:34:00.004-05:00

Williams destroyed the double pole derby today in Farmington, like Aubrey said in the last post. 6 men and 4 women qualified in the top 30. I threw together some footage of the guys in the heats. Good signs for the season ahead.

Eastern Cup Sprints at Titcomb, Day 1

2012-01-14T20:06:00.000-05:00

Fortunately the groomers at Titcomb were hard at work last night, and they turned the ice sheet we encountered during yesterday's preview into more powdery and very skiable track. With a little wind, a lot of sunshine, and some fast double poling, we qualified 12 out of 16 skiers into the heats. The course was fairly flat and fast, and the men used their skate skis or no-wax classic and just double poled the entire course while the women went with minimal kick.
The first men's quarterfinal was stacked with Phil, Isaac, and Kalle all in the same heat. Kalle ended up moving into the semifinal, and then the Men's B Final, ending the day with an overall 11th place finish. Erik nearly made it to the semis after powering down the finish straight in his quarter round, but was taken by a toe. Dimitri, Vanya, and Casey also raced in the quarters, and Will made the junior heats.
Elena led the women in advancing to the heats, with Kristin, Holly, and Hannah Smith also qualifying for senior heats, Jenna qualifying for junior heats.
Elena and Kristin were in the same quarter and then both made it to the Women's B Final. Even with after tripping and falling in the first 30 meters of her semifinal, Jenna caught all the way up to the pack by the middle of her second lap and was able to catch third place for a by into the Junior A Finals, where she took 3rd place overall.
Results are yet to be posted. . ..
Tomorrow: 5 and 10 k skate (6 and 8 laps - yes, the coaches will be out there counting!) for the women and men, respectively, on a course that combines the sprint loop and a piece of the alpine hill. Wheeee!

Patrick takes to the air during qualification rounds

Jenna strides an uphill turn

Phil and Kalle in the quarters

Erik takes hard turn into the finish stretch .

Vanya and Dimitri in the quarters

Elena and Kristin sandwich Maria Stuber of the Green Team

Embracing Great American Traditions

2012-01-13T21:40:00.003-05:00

Start Your Engines. . . .

2012-01-13T21:04:00.000-05:00

Traveled to Farmington, Maine, today in prep for the first races of the season: an Eastern Cup weekend! Tomorrow are classic sprint races and Sunday holds a 5 and 10 k skate race. During our travels today we were lucky enough to be invited over to the house of Casey Jones for lunch - Emily Jones and Robin Hodgskin (Becca's mom) cooked up quite a feast of pasta and salad, fresh bread and homemade cookies! It was a much needed break from the 6 hour van ride, and nothing beats home-cooked good food.
With 5-8 inches of new snow forecasted for this area, we thought we'd be skiing on some soft wet snow when we drove here today to preview the course. Instead, the rain/sleet mix that fell produced a fast, icy cap to the 2-loop, 1.4km track of man-made snow, which sits at the base of an alpine hill.
The fun starts at 10 am with qualification rounds, and the finals take place from 2-3pm.

Elena, Hannah S, Vanya; dishing up food at the Jones' house

Good thing the Jones have a large dining room!

Coach Fisher explains the course layout to Kalle, Dimitri, Phil, Patrick

Jenna, Hannah; ready for adventure

What happens when Cordova, AK gets all the snow

2012-01-11T14:18:00.000-05:00

In our continuing quest to make zest, our team headed to Jiminy Peak very early this morning in order to get an interval session done before the lifts began running on the alpine hill (HUGE THANKS to Brian Fairbanks of Jiminy Peak for giving us this opportunity!!!!)
The bunny slope was perfectly manicured with fast man-made snow, and by completing 15 laps of 2 x 30 second intervals we put in a very tough and effective session of 30/30's.

No-pole drills during warm-up

Boys at Speed


Hannah S and Holly

In other news:
I just wanted to share the fact that today in the Lasell gym I spotted the tallest person I've ever seen. A freshman GIANT from the U of Presque Isle; yeah, he was a basketball player. I thought he might be 8 foot, but turns out he is ONLY 7'6".

A giant among men!

Happy Birthday, Kristin!!

2012-01-11T13:06:00.001-05:00

Last night Hannah H. and Holly had the ladies' team over to their house for dinner, Birthday cake, and team goals/poster making. Fun evening of good friends and food!

Knappster made a D-lish belated B-day cake for Kristin Halvorsen

Making Posters

Feast!

Make It Snow, Make it Snow, Make it Snow

2012-01-09T12:25:00.000-05:00

Jiminy Peak is kind enough to let nordic skiers train around the mountain in the early morning before the lifts open. This morning Will, Vanya and I took advantage of the opportunity in order to fit in some technique video. The snow makers were on full blast.

Will, Vanya: early morning at Jiminy

On the Tug Hill Plateau

2012-01-08T18:18:00.003-05:00

On Saturday, life handed us lemons, and we made lemonade...today, we made zest.

We left campus on Friday and headed to Boonville, NY (pronounces BOONEY- VILLE) to hopefully get some good skiing in. We got to the ski area Saturday and found that there was still a good amount of grass on the trails. We still skied for 2 hours in the morning and scoped out a course for Sunday’s time trial in the afternoon.

When we returned on Sunday morning ready to race, we discovered that the ski trails had turned to ice except for one trail. After an hour skiing on a 1.5K track, the team split to play a heated game of speed ball on skis (NO SHOES ALLOWED, BECCA!)

Needless to say, this weekend was an adventure--from our living arrangements at the Headwater Motor Inn, to the less than optimal ski conditions, and the ghostly dinner at the Gathering Place. No need to pucker up, this team knows how to turn even the most sour of situations into something sweet.

2012-01-07T20:59:00.000-05:00

Kristin captured this from front page of the sports section in the Rumford newspaper

Junior Classics at US Nationals; Will gets invite to World Juniors!

2012-01-07T11:03:00.000-05:00

Yesterday Will, Vanya, and Kristin competed in the third race at US Nationals in Rumford, ME, a junior 5/10 km classic. It was a great day all around; Will racing to 16th,Vanya grabbing a 22nd place, and Kristin in 51st. This race capped a huge series for Will, as his top performances qualified him as one of a handful of juniors selected to compete for the US team at World Juniors in Turkey this February. Congratulations, Will!!

This race was also a huge performance for Kristin Halvorsen, as it marked her re-entry into successful racing after a very long and uphill battle with compartment syndrome. It was just awesome to see her big smile upon completing the 5 km race! Competing with her club team, GMVS, Kristin will stay up in Rumford for the classic sprint races, while the boys and I are now back at home and trying to recover from the week.

We are waiting to hear from the rest of the team, who is having a weekend camp in the Tug Hill Plateau of New York. . . .

Will

Vanya poles through the stadium

Another Junior Podium at US Nationals

2012-01-05T20:06:00.000-05:00

Today was the 2nd race at US Nationals, in Rumford, Maine. Black Mountain managed to make enough snow to cover a 3.3 km loop, including the infamous "High School Hill". Today Will and Vanya completed 4 laps of the course for the 15 kilometer skate race at Nationals, in which 200 men took part. Will had another stand-out day, taking 35th overall and 3rd for Juniors, and Vanya was less than 8 seconds out of the top twenty for Juniors, in 83rd overall.
The last race that we will compete in is tomorrow's 10km classic race. The snow is holding up okay, though it gets pretty chewed up throughout the day and is very dirty. Tracks should be hard and fast though; today's 3.3km laps were only taking about 8 minutes each! There will be all kinds of fun klister combos tested tomorrow. :)

Vanya laps through the stadium

Will sprints past a competitor down the finish stretch

Will Podiums during Junior Sprints at US Nationals

2012-01-03T22:12:00.000-05:00

I am here in Rumford, Maine for the US Nationals Competition with two Williams freshmen: Vanya Rybkin and Will Wicherski. We are working with Vanya's high school club from Fairbanks, FXC, which is coached by Williams Ski Team Alum Pete Leonard! There is no snow here in Rumford, but the Chisholm Ski Club has been making snow like crazy and has done a great job with maintaining a 1.6 kilometer loop. The course is wide and because of the 0 degree temps last night the course was able to harden up in time for an immense amount of loop-skiing traffic in today's sprint races.
When we arrived two days ago the weather was a balmy 40 of 45 degrees and people were skiing in t-shirts. This morning, however, it was a 10 degree, wicked wind gust of a day.
Will took 56th overall and placed 10th for juniors in the morning's qualification rounds. Vanya was just a half second out of qualifying.
Will skiied smart and stayed out of trouble during his heats: he took first for his quarterfinal, and second in his semifinal. In the final he got boxed out on a mid-race climb and lost contact with the leader, but was able to use the long stretch coming off the last downhill to get himself at the top of the chase pack, finishing second to Austin Cobb.

Next race: Thursday, 15km skate!

Will races qualification round

GMVS coach (and racer!) Evan Dethier ('11)

Stratton Coach Liz Kantack ('10)

Will (far left) in semifinal round

Vanya's ski experiences a stabbing

Canada Camp's a Wrap, after Time Trial

2012-01-03T21:25:00.000-05:00

 I have no photos or stories of Canada Camp after Day 3, as I left on the fourth

morning for Nationals in Rumford, but I do have Time Trial results from Sunday.

Quebec 5/10k classic time trial   1/1/12     1" new snow at -2C     

Women

1.  ELENA            18:57
2.  HANNAH H     19:18
3.  HOLLY            19:30
4.  HANNAH S      19:34
5.  KRISTIN          19:41
6.  ANDREA         20:29
7.  JENNA            20:31
8.  BECCA            21:56
9.  SARAH            DNS


Men

                           LAP 1            LAP2              FINISH
1. DIMITRI           16:13            15;59             32:12
2. ISAAC              16:38            17:02             33:40
3. CASEY             16:54            16:50             33:44
4. ERIK                16:44            17:11             33:55
4. KALLE              17:02            16:53            33:55
6. IAN                  17:14            17:06            34:20
7. PATRICK          17:50            18:30            36:20
8. MITCH             18:05            18:31            36:36
9. BEN                 (13:52)           18:55           (32:47)  DSQ
10. PHIL                DNS

Erik and Dimitri do no-pole-partner drills

What Happens When We Aren't Skiing: Days 2-6

2012-01-01T18:14:00.003-05:00

The koala-chick takes first again. Northug crashes out Cologna. Access denied due to bandwidth usage. TDS 2012.

Canada Camp, Day 3

2011-12-31T06:03:00.000-05:00

Another gorgeously cold day at Mont Sainte Anne! We took advantage of fresh-groomed hard-track on the climb to Lac St Hilaire this morning during a 4x4 interval session. It was a lung-burning uphill but the firm tracks held easy kick. Despite the killer incline of Hilaire, perhaps the most painful part of the workout was the fast, cold downhill back to the start of each interval.
The afternoon held the sweetest ski we've seen yet - the temps warmed just slightly and the track was fantastic still. The dropping sun cast an orange hue on snow-crusted trees, and illuminated the great puffs of steam cast off by our bodies. Loops 22 and 21 were the choice of the afternoon: little traffic, skiable terrain, great views, and rollercoaster, belly-dropping downhills. This is why we love MSA!

Early a.m. on LSH: Casey

Mitch nears the top of the interval hill

Hannah H wins "Most Ridiculous Outfit in the Condo" for the second year in a row as she attempts to warm up after the cold morning session.

Afternoon at the Auberge: Andrea Fisher, Hannah S, Becca, Holly, Hannah

Skiing toward the setting sun on Loop 21

Frosty! Elena and Kristin

Holly works the no-pole in the last of the evening light.

Canada Camp, Day 2

2011-12-30T07:07:00.001-05:00

A cold clear dawn and beautiful corduroy greeted us on our second day in Mont St Anne. We started the morning with a technique session and ended with a distance ski . In the afternoon we switched to skate skis, and though the hard track was a bit squirrely underfoot we put in some more technique, video, and distance, ending the session under peach sherbet skies (a hue in direct contrast to the cool temps!)
The men's team - who had been not only busy cooking but hair-cutting - whipped up a fabulous dinner of szechuan chicken, garlic-mandarin rice, and steamed broccoli.
After video review there was just enough time for a movie before bed. :)

What a morning!

Yay for tracks!

no-pole drills

Casey's substitute for grip plugs

Sliding past the powerline

The boys team waits for dinner guests with a feast on the table

Canada Camp, Day 1

2011-12-28T20:45:00.001-05:00

A fabulous first day at camp! We awoke to nearly a foot of fresh snow, albeit wet (the precip was a schizophrenic mix of snow and rain), which made for pretty good cruising on our first day of training. Most of the team skated in the morning and classic skiied in the afternoon; the snow was fast, though a bit rutted in spots. We fit in a good 4 hours of skiing for our first day, and after an incredible dinner cooked up by the parents of Hannah Smith and Isaac Hoenig we are fueled up and ready to hit the trails again tomorrow: Peter Hoenig, Cathy Schen, Aime Smith, and Tom Smith procured a spread of chili, rice, cornbread, spinach salad, and gingerbread cake. What a feast!
Tomorrow: the temps are supposed to cool off considerably night, so the tracks should be great for another two training sessions.
In other news: the French-Canadian-acccordian-folk-pop-rap music on the radio is incredibly fantastic (says Aubrey) and the boys are entertaining themselves with new haircuts.
Oh, and Isaac made up a great new joke. Please ask him to share it with you. :)

Erik and Kalle showing off mad ski skills

Kristin cruisin' downhill

The boys' train takes Route 33

The fearless Map Woman at work planning an afternoon tour

Hannah, Sarah, Becca at a foggy intersection

Dimitri's Ice Cap

Phil's new 'hawk

Kalle's new mullet

Ian digs into chili

Smith sisters, Phil sit down to dinner

Dinner Table

Dinner Living Room

The Celebrated Chefs! Peter Hoenig and Cathy Schen, Tom and Aime Smith sit down with Coach Bud Fisher and wife Barbara Kourajian

What happens when we aren't skiing. Day 1.

2011-12-28T20:20:00.000-05:00

Canada Camp, Day 0

2011-12-27T21:19:00.000-05:00

We traveled to Quebec on dry roads today, making good time despite a slight pause at the border (did a freshman leave their passport at home?!!), and moved into our condos at the Chalets Montmorency around 5 pm. We then did a "quick" shopping trip at the local IGA for team dinner materials and breakfast and lunch for the next few days. It only the women 45 minutes to pack 500 dollars of food into two carts! The men spent an extra couple hundred for their own condo. Every year we get surprised at the IGA bonus gift (for every 75 bucks spend you get an item: two years ago it was juice, last year it was bags of lemons and limes which we had to incorporate with much ingenuity into all our meals, drinks, and desserts) and this year we got quarts of tomatoes!
Holly, Sarah, and Hannah Smith have been skiing awhile already and report good conditions. But there is a storm brewing outside right now, and we are preparing to ski on a good amount of new snow tomorrow!!

Kristin (with an impressive receipt), Andrea Fisher, Becca, Elena, Jenna

Williams on Break

2011-12-27T21:03:00.000-05:00

Liz Kantack (09), Dimitri Luthi (12), Keith Kantack (11), Evan Dethier (11), Dylan Dethier (14), and Elena Luthi (15) at dinner at Bob and Anne Kantack's house

Weekend of Skiing at Prospect (and shout out to Skida!)

2011-12-11T19:15:00.000-05:00

The team logged several beautiful days of skiing at Prospect. Not enough snow to groom, just 4-5 inches, but it was enough to actually ski.

Thanks to Skida for our new white and purple, Williams team headbands!! They are already being sported on a regular basis.

Kristin leads ladies up Chickadee

Elena, Becca, Hannah S, Sarah, Jenna, Kristin

Mens team racing the downhill

Ben styling his new headband

You Can't Judge A Gift By Its Wrapping

2011-12-10T15:26:00.002-05:00

Last night Bud and Barb invited the team over for the annual team Christmas Party and Yankee Gift Swap. Dressed in their finest, the team crowded into the Fisher-Kourajian household and enjoyed lasagna dinner, a "friendly" exchange of gifts, lots of laughs as the gifts were opened, and rice pudding for dessert.
The gifts remained unwrapped as everyone vied for the ones that looked most enticing. Popular this year were Becca's gift, wrapped with a handmade lacy snowflake bow, and Ben's gargantuan cardboard box that had a smaller bag on the side which Erik deemed "felt like sand".
Turns out it WAS sand. Vanya ended up getting the gift, and as we all puzzled over the plastic bag of sand, which Ben happily told us he got from facilities, Vanya unwrapped the mystery as he opened the larger box to reveal:plastic sand toys!!!!! Genious!
There were many other fabulous surprises and choice items of apparel, soft blankets, ridiculous toys, and candy. Oh, and a 10 lb log of summer sausage. All in all, quite a haul of fun.

Ian scopes the table of gifts

Vanya, Hannah S, Kristin, Hannah H serve up salad

Will is unwilling to let Hannah steal his gift

Phil's gift (from Patrick) gets him all decked out

Vanya: The gift that "felt like sand".

Elena receives (from Holly) a shirt with Coach Fisher's pic

Patrick: "Does this shirt make me look fat? "(from Casey)

Erik, Superhero or Supervillian?

Dessert! Christina serves up rice pudding with raspberry sauce.

At last! We've got the White Stuff.

2011-12-09T10:22:00.000-05:00

CrewSki Erg Championships

2011-12-08T12:56:00.001-05:00

Our annual late-fall date with the crew team happened this afternoon: 23 x 3 person teams, each team a mix of crew and ski athletes, combined men and women, competing to see how far they could row in 48 minutes. Each team member rows 4 x 4 minute intervals. The trick in the exchange zone is getting teammates to help row and strap down feet of their teammate so that the switch is as smooth as possible and there are no wasted pull-meters. It was raining hard outside and everyone was glad to be simulating a water sport without having to get wet! It was also a great way to get a set of really tough intervals in: when you have teammates leaning over your shoulder and screaming at you, with a monitor in your face that tells you the exact numbers, there is definitely no room for slacking!

Peter Wells (Men's crew coach) gives a demo on erg technique to Ian, Casey, Will and Ben

23 ergs, 70+ athletes, two large-screen tracking monitors: It's ON.

Sarah, Kristin, Becca

Vanya, Phil

As he pulls, Dimitri can see how many meters ahead or behind his boat is currently rowing in comparison to the other teams.

Issac

The trick to a smooth transition is to have one teammate keep pulling the erg while the next teammate gets on the erg, then the third teammate helps strap the feet into the holds. It is a trick that requires a little finesse!

(in video: Holly, Hannah, Jenna)

The gym gets louder as the last teammate finishes

BFF&E

2011-12-07T19:58:00.005-05:00

I had forgotten about this gem I took earlier in the fall...

A beautiful sight, totally unplanned too!

Sunday morning in Savoy

2011-12-04T19:40:00.001-05:00

On the River Road, Savoy

Wheeling up Whitcomb

2011-12-03T21:05:00.002-05:00

Coach Fisher, determined to find some terrain for the team to practice V1 technique on rollerskis, found this doozy of a road on which to hold some very tough skate intervals. So on this brisk Saturday morning we rolled out some 4 x 1 km intervals from the bottom of Florida, 2000 feet of elevation gain up a 5 kilometers pass, to the top of Whitcomb Summit.

Interval #1 : skiing along the Deerfield River

Interval #2: starting up Whitcomb Hill

Interval #3: Becca, Sarah, Jenna

Interval #4: Nearing the summit

Dimitri and Vanya: capturing Whitcomb Summit

Dimitri and Will think they are hot enough to start fires.

Time to test those Mass-Start Skills

2011-12-01T15:57:00.002-05:00

Need a break from that problem set? Just Click on the "Rennen-Starten!"

Postcard from Taiwan: Kirsten Johnson

2011-11-29T14:01:00.000-05:00

'11 Alum Kirsten Johnson is currently studying Chinese in Taiwan. Though she is having fun in Taiwan, she also writes that she didn't know how much New England grew on her until she left. . .

Excerpt from Kirsten's letter:
"Taiwan is still hot. Rained today, but last week was 80 degrees F. I was looking at photos of you all getting an early October ski in (!!!) and had the most strange feeling of disconnect. It's like I'm waiting around for a New England fall to hit here, with apples and pumpkins and cider donuts . . . but apparently the leaves never change here. Yikes!"

She sends hugs to the team!

Where's your beard

2011-11-27T19:37:00.010-05:00

Four relatively good-looking Ephs headed to my extended family's condo in Bretton Woods this week to discover what having a beard is like in the real world, and did a little training on the side. A majority of us had beards and were anxious to find out how they would fare outside of the Purple Bubble. Our conclusive findings were that we are extremely good looking, beards are awesome, and we can only feel sorry for Vanya that he did not participate in the having of a Novembeard. Where's your beard, mate?

The skiing was quite good considering...I've not skied for all of Thanksgiving break except for once in high school, and never with grooming. Bretton Woods' nordic center had already groomed by the time we got there Wednesday afternoon, and for the most part we were able to train like we do in Quebec, with double distance sessions every day. The best part: Dimits, Will, and I discovered that beards are an excellent facial accessory to keep warm in the winter. Thursday and Friday were split half skate and half classic, despite the temperature getting fairly warm on Friday and preventing further skiing at the Bretton Woods nordic center.

Friday afternoon we decided to climb Mt. Rosebrook via the Bretton Woods alpine area. A couple double black diamonds and more than a few patrons' sideways glances later, we arrived at the summit, where we surveyed our victory and checked out the USGS station at the top. Skiing down brought back some great memories of my brief days as an alpine skier, although unfortunately we couldn't really rip down the mountain because Vanya broke a ski and had to one-ski it down most of the way (worth lots of g.n.a.r. points).

Saturday we made the trip down to Jackson, where we found ourselves skiing in surprisingly nice classic tracks for most of the day. Our Saturday doublesession wasn't really a doublesession...we just skied in the morning, scratched our beards and ate my mom's homemade pesto pizza at lunch for about 25 minutes, and then immediately headed out for more. We even managed some surprisingly pleasant shirtless Rossa Special klister skiing in the afternoon as conditions got sloppy...perhaps a very early start to spring skiing in New England.

On a serious note, a great many thanks this break go out to my aunt and uncle—Heidi Janes and John Deveau—for providing lodging and food (including a turkey dinner that was to die for), to my parents for providing luggage management, more food, and canine entertainment, and a special thanks to my grandmother Judy Janes for cooking her unbelievable lasagna dish on Wednesday night, which we really could not stop eating. (that's an understatement, we never stopped eating)

Thank you so much John and Heidi!

Photo opportunities were more plentiful than I could keep up with, but we managed to capture some candid moments, like Dimits's Thinker with Beard and Vanya's Russian Sublime (both by Wicherski), Shirtless Hanoverian Man, Scandinavian Man With Beard, The Pensive Beards, and Bearded Fall (Spring) Skiing Bros (See below).

Russian Sublime (by Wicherski)

The Pensive Beards

Shirtless Hanoverian Man

Bearded Fall (Spring) Skiing Bros

Thinker with Beard (by Wicherski)

Scandinavian Man with Beard

While it's not awesome switching back to dryland training, this little taste of winter kept us hungry for more, and put Canada in our sights. Next stop, Mont-Sainte-Anne, QC, CAN.

Happy Birthday, Hannah Hausman!!!

2011-11-27T18:41:00.000-05:00

This photo could represent Hannah at any age, I think :)

Alums out West! The cow suit races on.

2011-11-27T18:24:00.000-05:00

Mark Johnson and Evan Dethier were in West for the first Super Tours of the season. Mojo, who is training for the biathlon season, showed his current fitness by placing 21st in the skate race. Evan, who is teaching and coaching at GMVS this year, says "I'm not as fit and strong as Mark but I had a fun time racing around on an exciting course at altitude."

Mark Johnson. Rockin'.

Evan Dethier. Hasn't lost that nice stride!

Bretton Woods (Ac)cords

2011-11-24T14:11:00.001-05:00

I don't apologize for bad jokes. The Prius made it through the storm in good time, and we arrived in Bretton Woods yesterday to find that our plans to rollerski and hike had been completely foiled. We've got a few photos so far but stay tuned for more as I'm not too keen on typing on my phone.

Happy Birthday, Casey Jones!

2011-11-23T07:22:00.000-05:00

Twenty + One

Giving thanks for new roads in new places with new friends

2011-11-20T17:19:00.001-05:00

Today Maria Stuber and Bryan Cook joined us for an O.D. ski on a loop they had recommended to our team. Rolling hills, farmlands, and lots of great pavement.
We wish there was snow on the ground, but if we have to train on dry land then this is the way to go!

Rolling through the hills

Skiing through farmland

Maria Stuber and Hannah S. say "HI" to the llamas on water break

Finishing up the ski on a downhill cruise

CORWIN impresses class and professor with unusual transportation to field trip

2011-11-17T14:11:00.000-05:00

As printed on the Cover Page of "Fifth Volume of Essays for American Landscape History and Contemporary Landscape Architecture", written and taught by Professor Sheafe Satterthwaite

Maybe more notorious, in any course annals yet to be written, CORWIN becoming the first Sheafe student to cycle long-distance in order to attend a field session, and it happening to be the all-day Forced March, 4 November 2011. (Maybe the ride was to make up for missing a Nordic Ski practice?) Picture an assemblage of ten students with their teacher facing the Rensselaer County Historical Society curator (and Smithie), Stacey Pomeroy Draper, and she alone from the stoop facing, as it were, the street (or students), while the class itself was standing on the sidewalk, facing also (and learning from?) the marble facade of Richard and Betsy Hart's 1820s manse at 57 Second Street, Troy - and into our midst between paralleled parked cars arrives Ben, in cycling garb but stashed away in a backpack with Forced March attire too, and he accomplishing the thirty-six (or more?) miles from campus to downtown Troy in two hours or so. (He estimated his speed at 17-18 miles an hour, replete with two summits to cross, namely Petersburg Pass and Grafton Mountain, and a snow squall to endure, as well as a change of bikes, since going up Bee Hill Road before 8 o'clock on his mountain bike, he decided a road bike would be better, and hence returned to campus.)* Maybe uniquely in the history of the Marble House, Ben's bike immediately stowed away in the front hall, as a temporary (but uninterpreted) exhibit!

*After the next class session, 7 November, MIKELL informed S.S. that he thought no one else in the 201 class, with many athletes could accomplish what CORWIN did: "Getting up Petersburg Pass, you know, is really hard in itself. Would runners ABSOLO and SMITH demur?

Ben Corwin: Man of Many Talents

2011 Ski Erg World Championship Relays

2011-11-17T07:41:00.001-05:00

Since school was cancelled the day we were going to participate in the SkiErg World Sprints, we decided (on Hannah Hausman's fabulous suggestion) to hold SkiErg Relays instead. Four teams of five athletes, each completing 1000 meters on the Ski Erg and then running across the gym, up the staircase, around the indoor track, and back down the stairs and across the gym to tag off to their next teammate. Teams A and B competed head to head, followed by Teams C and D. The race between C and D was tight, coming down to a sprint finish between Dimitri and Vanya, Dimitri just edging Vanya by a half foot. Team A was the overall winner of the Relaysl: Casey, Jenna, Ian, Elena, Kalle, and Sarah, who beat their competition by a solid 45 second margin. Elena and Kristen had the fastest women's times, Elena just missing a sub-4, and Kristen clocking 4:05. Phil had the fastest men's score, with 3:19.0, closely followed by Erik and Dimitri, just two tenths apart, at 3:20.7 and 3:20.9 respectively.
What everyone remembered, just one minute into their pull: this test is TOUGH. It is hard to stay upright after finishing the 1000 meters alone, as every muscle in the body is spent. So to make the body then run, scrambling up and down stairs, was a feat that put most of the team to their knees.

Hannah H and Jenna

Aftermath of Ian and Erik's race

Elena: after missing a score in the 3's by one second. . .

Kalle and Mitch

Phil uses a bike to stay upright

Coach Fisher cheers Will and Ben on

Will sprints across the gym to the tag zone

Hannah and Kristen

Holly and Knappster: spent

Final Carnage: Dimitri

2011 Ski Erg World Championship Relays

Gold: Team A: 24:20

Casey Jones: 3:29.4

Jenna Maddock 4:32.3

Ian Nesbitt 3:32.2

Elena Luthi 4:00.4

Kalle Jahn 3:31.7

Sarah Abramson 4:12.0

Silver: Team D: 25:05

Patrick Joslin 3:44.0

Christina Knapp 4:12.4

Ben Corwin 3:43.6

Hannah Smith 4:13

Dimitri Luthi 3:20.07

Bronze: Team C: 25:06

Phil Tosteson 3:19.0

Holly Whitney 4:16.2

Will Wicherski 3:35.9

Kristen Halvorsen 4:05.0

Vanya Rybkin 3:44.5

Team B: 25:10

Isaac Hoenig 3:25.6

Hannah Hausman 4:09.4

Erik Anderson 3:20.9

Becca Bell 4:38.4

Mitch Prevot 4:21.4

TODAY: Drive For 25

2011-11-15T21:24:00.000-05:00

http://ccgeneralfund.causevox.com/

Postcard from Sarah Tory

2011-11-15T11:31:00.001-05:00

'11 Alum Sarah Tory is in Switzerland, following the footsteps of '10 Alum Alice Nelson in teaching at a high school program in the mountains of Zermatt. Here is her recent postcard.

Gutentag! Greetings from Switzerland. I wanted to say hi to the team and tell you all how much I miss Williams skiing - even though life in Zermatt is pretty sweet. It's basically Mountain Paradise (I really don't understand how Dimitri ever left :) ). I went mountain biking last weekend and saw two rollerskiers on a beautiful paved bike path so I got all nostalgic for fall rollerskis in Pownal and thought of you all getting geared up for winter. Good luck and I can't wait to visit - Sarah

Williams Today: Pause, Think, Share, Listen. Take Part in Positive Change.

2011-11-14T13:12:00.000-05:00

I wanna know one thing
What's love? Who are we?
Are we all brothers and sisters?
Our blood is the same color

We people gotta stop all the hate and the shame that we're bringin'
We're all the same, we all feel pain
some of us don't even know what we remain
This is the life, the life that we're livin'
With a little respect, we should all be givin'

- R.A.R., I Wanna Know

Happy Birthday, Ian!

2011-11-12T09:39:00.000-05:00

Ian Nesbitt: Happy Birthday!

'11 Alums Evan Dethier and Alice Nelson came to practice yesterday to cheer the team through specific strength.

Happy Birthday, Maddy Wendt!!

2011-11-11T08:50:00.000-05:00

11' Alum Maddy Wendt, here for homecoming weekend, went on the sunrise hike with me this morning on her birthday. It was quite foggy on top of Pine Cobble, but it looks to clear into a gorgeous day. If you see Maddy walking around campus today, wish her the best!!

Me and Maddy

SHOUT OUT TO ALUMS!

2011-11-10T09:50:00.001-05:00

This Homecoming Sunday we hope you will meet our current team for a 2 hour trail run! We will meet at a very reasonable 10am at Mission Park. If you have questions email me at asmith2@williams.edu. Looking forward to seeing you!

Bounding Through the Terrain Garden

2011-11-10T07:19:00.000-05:00

The "Terrain Garden": a rough-thatched figure-eight loop on both sides of a place called Sheep Hill, which is 2 miles from campus. We never know what kind of fun we are going to encounter there: will it be muddy? thorny? not recently mowed? All three?! What we do know is that we will get one of our hardest bounding workouts: 30 minutes of non-stop bounding fun - each hill is just less than 1 minute long, a short resting jog down before hitting the next hill, and by the end of 30 minutes you don't have an ounce of juice left in your body. Lovin' It.

Will, Phil, Ian, Kalle bound one hill while the women are seen bounding the other part of Figure-8 in the background

The women's team bounds up Sheep Hill

Knappster and Hannah S

Vanya: Nah, its not blood - just muck of an unidentified source. . .

Saturday O.D. through NY farmland

2011-11-06T11:34:00.000-05:00

The team starts their OD on a gorgeous Saturday morning

Holly

Will

Men's team cruises through farmland and hills

TdB, Stage4: Final Hill Climb Pursuit; Holly and Ian win stage, Elena and Isaac win Tour

2011-11-04T21:42:00.000-04:00

It was an exciting afternoon at the final stage of the Tour de Berkshires: a pursuit-style hill climb up Petersburg Pass; finishing right on the New York border. Today saw two new victors emerge: Holly Whitney and Ian Nesbitt, who both had resounding wins.

Holly gapping the women's skate field by 53 seconds. Hannah Smith and Elena Luthi followed her for the second and third place finishes. For Holly, the win put her on the podium for 3rd place in the overall Tour. Elena Luthi kept her overall lead to become the Tour champion, and Hannah Smith finished close behind in 2nd place.

In the men's skate race, Ian put over a minute on his closest competitor, Kalle Jahn. Vanya Rybkin placed third in the skate, which also netted him third place in the overall Tour. Isaac Hoenig earned the overall Tour title, with champion-of-the-classic-stages, Erik Anderson, taking second overall.

Ian

Holly

Cool down run on top of Petersburg Pass

Women's Skate podium: Hannah S (3), Holly (1), Elena (2)

Men's Skate podium: Vanya (3), Ian (1), Kalle (2)

TdB Podium: Holly (3), Elena (1), Hannah (2)

Men's TdB Podium: Vanya (3), Isaac (1), Erik (2)

On Three:

Women’s Skate Hill Climb Results

1. Holly Whitney 28:52

2. Hannah Smith 29:45

3. Elena Luthi 30:45

4. Hannah Hausman 31:26

5. Christina Knapp 32:39

6. Becca Bell 33:06

7. Kristen Halvorsen (classic)

Men’s Skate Hill Climb Results

1. Ian Nesbitt 25:22

2. Kalle Jahn 25:37

3. Vanya Rybkin 25:54

4. Dimitri Luthi 26:36

5. Will Wicherski 26:52

6. Phil Tosteson 27:13

7. Isaac Hoenig 27:20

8. Casey Jones 28:23

9. Erik Anderson 28:27

10. Patrick Joslin 29:34

Men’s Overall TdB Results:

1. Isaac Hoenig 1:04:33

2. Erik Anderson1:04:45

3. Vanya Rybin 1:05:06

4. Kalle Jahn 1:05:48

5. Will Wicherski 1:06:10

6. Ian Nesbitt 1:06:11

7. Phil Tosteson 1:06:33

8. Casey Jones 1:07:33

9. Patrick Joslin 1:10:31

Women’s Overall TdB Results

1. Elena Luthi 1:03:20

2. Hannah Smith 1:03:45

3. Holly Whitney 1:05:02

4. Christina Knapp 1:05:36

5. Hannah Hausman 1:07:43

6. Becca Bell 1:09:28

7. Kristin Halvorsen

TdB Stage 3: Erik and Elena take Classic Sprint victories

2011-11-04T10:50:00.004-04:00

Another sunny day melted the last traces of weekend snow from the hills, and Stage Three of the Tour de Berkshires was ON. Erik Anderson took a three second victory over Casey Jones to retain the yellow leader jersey, while Elena Luthi smoked the women's race by 10 seconds to take the leader bib from Christina Knapp.
Today's final stage, a skate hill climb up Petersburg Pass, will be an exciting finish to the Tour. The start will be run pursuit-style, the difference in overall time determining when the racers split from the starting gate. The tour leaders will start first and have a great challenge holding off the hungry competitors behind them; first to the top wins the overall Tour!!

Current TdB Leaders: Erik and Elena

Men's Podium: Casey (2nd), Erik (1st), Dimitri (3rd)

Women's Podium: Christina (3rd), Elena (1st), Hannah (2nd)

Women’s Classic Sprint:
1. Elena Luthi: 2:43
2. Hannah Smith 2:53
3. Christina Knapp 2:574.
4. Holly Whitney 3:03
5. Hannah Hausman 3:08
6. Becca Bell 3:09
7. (tie)Sarah Abramson 3:13 and Kristen Halvorsen 3:13

Men’s Classic Sprint:
1. Erik Anderson 3:03
2. Casey Jones 3:06
3. Dimitri Luthi 3:07
4. (tie) Will Wicherski 3:09 and Phil Tosteson 3:09
6. Isaac Hoenig 3:12
7. Vanya Rybkin 3:16
8. Ian Nesbitt 3:18
9. Kalle Jahn 3:19
10. Patrick Joslin 3:20
11. Ben Corwin 3:44

Women’s Overall Standings Through Stage 3
1. Elena Luthi 32:35
3. Christina Knapp 32:57
2. Hannah Smith 34:00
4. Holly Whitney 36:10
5. Hannah Hausman 36:17
6. Becca Bell 36:22
7. Sarah Abramson 36:43
8. Kristen Halvorsen 38:30

Men’s Overall Standings through stage 3:
1. Erik Anderson 36:18
2. Isaac Hoenig 37:13
3. Casey Jones 39:10
4. Vanya Rybkin 39:12
5. Will Wicherski 39:18
6. Phil Tosteson 39:20
7. Kalle Jahn 40:11
8. Ian Nesbitt 40:49
9. Patrick Joslin 40:57
10. Ben Corwin 44:43

Tour de Berkshires: Stage 2: Route 43 Classic Race

2011-11-02T18:18:00.003-04:00

Another clear day with little wind for our distance, individual start, classic rollerski race along Route 43. The race follows the farm road and then turns up a steep hill to finish near the alpine ski area, Jiminy Peak. The results below reflect yesterday's race and the second number is the overall combined time (with subtracted time bonuses). The top two in each women's and men's races yesterday became the top two overall in the Tour. Elena, Casey, and Will were not able to race yesterday and made up the race today, as it was a "rest day", and their times have asterisks to show they were not included in the podium awards. Tomorrow the Tour will continue with classic sprints. The new Yellow Jersey leaders will be Erik and Christina!

Kristen warms up along a snow-lined Route 43

Erik rockin' it

Isaac finishes in the setting sun on top of Whitman's Rd


Sarah and Christina cool down on top of Whitman's Rd

Men's Podium: Vanya (3rd), Erik (1st), and Isaac (2nd)

Women's podium: Hannah S (2nd), Christina (1st) and Becca (3rd)

Women: Today time Overall Time and place

1. Christina Knapp 26:50/ 30:05 (1)
*2. Elena Luthi: 27:29/30:07 (2)

3. Hannah Smith 28:33/ 31:17 (3)

4. Becca Bell 29:57/ 33:13 (6)

5. Hannah Hausman 30:08/ 33:09 (5)

6. Holly Whitney 30:17/33:07 (4)

7. Sarah Abramson 30:39/ 33:30 (7)

8. Kristen Halvorsen 32:03/ 35:17 (8)

Men:

1. Erik Anderson 30:00 / 33:30 (1)

2. Isaac Hoenig   30:45 / 34:01 (2)
*3. Wil Wicherski    32:56/ 36:12 (4)
*4. Casey Jones     33:00/ 36:14 (tie: 5)

5. Vanya Rybkin 33:13/ 35:56 (3)

6. Phil Tosteson 33:24/ 36:14 (tie:5)

7. Kalle Jahn33:53/36:52 (6)

8. Patrick Joslin 34:15/ 37:37 (8)

9. Ian Nesbitt 34:25/ 37:31 (7)

10. Ben Corwin 37:25/ 40:59 (9)

I NEED TWENTY-FIVE

2011-11-02T06:19:00.001-04:00

Hi. This request comes from Aubrey. I have signed up as an ambassador for nordic skiing in this country, as part of the National Nordic Foundation's "Drive for 25". I need twenty five people to email me today ---- asmith2@williams.edu ------ and tell me that they, too, care about the future development of nordic skiing in this country. I don't know about you, but I have been totally psyched with the success of US skiing in the past couple years, and I would love to see the continuation and elevation of this success. I know this can't happen without some sort of pipeline which promotes junior development, and that is why I wanted to be part of this drive. If you are proud of this sport in our country and want to help see it grow, please email me your name in agreement to donate 25 dollars to the NNF on November 15th. If the NNF gets 4000 people to donate 25 dollars they will be able to continue to feed the US nordic pipeline by funding junior development.

More details from the NNF page:

What: 4000 American cross country ski enthusiasts backing their nation’s developing skiers on a single day.
When: November 15^th, 2011
Why: The budget shortfalls of USST are making it impossible for our younger developing athletes to afford the racing opportunities they require to compete among the best. This summer the USST has faced two rounds of budget cuts and another is looming. This challenge offers the cross country community a chance to pull together and keep the momentum building.
Who: You. NNF, the National Nordic Foundation is stepping up to fill these budget short falls. The NNF depends on you.
Details:
A letter from Matt Whitcomb and Pete Vordenberg:
On November 15^th we are going to engage 4,000 members of the U.S. ski community to support our top developing athletes from the J1 to World Cup level. We would like to ask you to be involved in this effort. All of you already donate your time, money and energy to this sport. And that is why we need your help. You are already invested in the success of your athletes and the success of U.S. skiing.
The National Nordic Foundation’s “Drive for 25” on November 15^th is a fundraiser based on as many $25 donations possible in a single day.

Tour de Berkshires, Stage 1: Skate Sprint

2011-11-01T10:52:00.000-04:00

There was a little snow left on the grass but the road was clear, so Stage One of the Tour de Berkshires went off without a hitch on a beautifully un-gloomy Halloween Day: skate rollerski sprints from the bottom to the top of one of our well-used interval hills, Bulkley Street (the women's start was slightly closer, allowing for similar finish times). The podium winners will take home time bonuses: 15 seconds for first, 10 s for second, and 5 s for third. Today: TdB Stage #2: five and eight km classic rollerski races on Route 43.

Men's Podium: Kalle (3rd), Vanya (1st), and Phil (2nd)

Women's Podium: Sarah (3rd), Elena (1st), and Hannah S (2nd)

Men:

1. Vanya Rybkin 2:58

2. Phil Tosteson 3:00

3. Kalle Jahn 3:04

4. Ian Nesbitt 3:06

5. Casey Jones 3:14

6. (tie) Isaac Hoenig and Will Wicherski 3:16

8. Patrick Joslin 3:22

9. Erik Anderson 3:30

10. Ben Corwin 3:34

Women:

1. Elena Luthi 2:53

2. Hannah Smith 2:54

3. Sarah Abramson 2:56

4. Hannah Hausman 3:01

5. Kristen Halvorsen 3:14

6. Christina Knapp 3:15

7. Becca Bell 3:16

Happy Halloween!!!!!! From Williams Nordic

2011-10-31T11:48:00.001-04:00

What a great day yesterday! After a gorgeous morning ski at prospect and a sunny brunch, we gathered again in hthe evening at the Fisher/Kourajian household for pumpkin carving and pumpkin pie!! There was some real artistry demonstrated, as you can tell by the pumpkin pics!
(BTW: I have updated the picasa photo albums through today)

Starting on their pumpkins: Isaac, Vanya, Casey, Hannah

Dimitri keeps dress shirt clean while gutting the pumpkin

Sarah and Jenna

Kristin and Will

Patrick dissects

Hannah H and Phil/Casey and Hannah S

Becca and Elena/Will,Kristin, Mitch

Patrick and Kalle/Ian

Jenna and Sarah carve a likeness of ME!! (I'm a Killer-B, by the way)

Ben impresses everyone with a freehand, full-pumpkin design

top of Ben's/
Dimitri and Erik's Wu and Kalashnikov-smiling lantern

Isaac enjoys some of Barb's pumpkin pie

Happy Halloween!!!!!!

First Ski!!

2011-10-30T21:39:00.000-04:00

Some of the hills in the area reported 2 feet of snowfall last night. Prospect didn't get quite that much, but the skiing was still pretty sweet! Steve (owner of Prospect) even set some diagonal track for the last hour of our ski. There were a few wet spots, but no rock skis needed! What a Halloween TREAT!

Dimitri and Patrick in a drag race

Kristin plows through ungroomed track

Becca

Womens train

Ian and Will

2011-10-30T14:09:00.002-04:00

First Snow!!

2011-10-28T11:53:00.001-04:00

Snow! It began to sleet, then snow just as we left for practice Thursday afternoon, so we scrapped our planned rollerski intervals up Greylock and did a bounding workout instead. It was refreshingly chilly, and exciting to feel snow so early!

Even the flowers are caught by surprise!

Becca, Hannah Hausman

The men's team practices pack tactics

Women's team: almost to the top of the hill

Women's team at the top, in the apple orchards: Kristen, Hannah S, Hannah H, Sarah, Christina, Becca, Holly, Jenna

Friday morning dawns on top of Pine Cobble, above Williamstown

Just another day in the life of a nordie

2011-10-26T07:51:00.000-04:00

How lucky are we to be nordic skiers? Even in our off-season we get to be outdoors, in the elements, breathing fresh air. . . . and at this time of year, we are especially lucky, as the colored hills and fresh-biting air complement each other to invigorate even the most studiously tired athlete. . . .

A sunny day with fall bite in the air

No time to stop and smell the roses

Phil: Skiing toward the sunlit hills

Pownal in Peak Foliage and. . . . Guess Who?!

2011-10-20T10:42:00.000-04:00

Two photos from a double pole workout in Pownal on Tuesday. One of our fave loops, as the scenery is fabulous around the farms and lakes.
And. . . I am in Park City for a week, attending a coaching symposium. I am staying with the mother of one of our seniors, and just happened to "run into" some choice photos. . . . Not hard to guess who it is!!!

Beautiful Backdrop in Pownal

Kristin and Hannah Smith roll past a farm

Now: GUESS WHO!!!!!!!!!!!! One of our Super Seniors. . . . :)

Appropriate Headdress

Posing here on the medal stand with Elizabeth Guiney - Nice braces!!

2011 Rollerski Race up Greylock

2011-10-17T10:27:00.001-04:00

A great day for a race up the highest peak in Mass: sunny and 60, with a cool wind to provide some natural air conditioning. About 50 people lined up to race the 8 miles to the top of the mountain, most on skate rollerskis, some on classic rollers, and one man on rollerblades. The race was won by a Holderness skier, Fabian Stocek, while the top women's winner was Maria Stuber, who is racing this year for the Craftsbury Green Racing Project. We were even joined by '11 alum Robby Cuthbert, who was returning to the race to avenge last year's non-finish due to back injury. Thanks very much to Steve Blazejewski and Berkshire Outfitters (our local ski retailer in North Adams) for putting on a smooth-running race and handing out tons of rad gear during the post-race raffle!!
Team Results Below. More photos up on web album.

Race morning outside the visitor center

Lining up at the start

Elena and Holly lead the women out of the start

Isaac and Dimitri lead a pack of men during the race

Erik

Knapster

Ian crosses the finish at the top

Hannah strides across the finish

Overall winners Maria Stuber and Fabian Stocek


Everyone who won schwag: THANK YOU BERKSHIRE OUTFITTERS!!

Men:

Top 2 overall:

1.Fabian Stocek 48:21

2. Brett Bedard 49:37

Williams Results:

1. Vanya Rybkin 49:53

2. Ian Nesbitt 50:18

3. Kalle Jahn 50:44

4. Isaac Hoenig 51:47

5. Dimitri Luthi 52:46

6. Phil Tosteson 53:24

7. Will Wicherski 54:18

8. Mitch Prevot 55:25

9. Erik Anderson 55:37

10. Ben Corwin 56:34

11. Patrick Joslin (Cl) 57:06

Women:

Winner: Maria Stuber: 55:20

Williams Results:

1. Christina Knapp (Cl) 60:40

2. Elena Luthi 61:38

3. Holly Whitney 62:47

4. Hannah Smith 64:58

5. Hannah Hausman (Cl) 70:30

6. Becca Bell 76:42

7. Jenna Maddock 82:32

Rolling for strength

2011-10-16T07:25:00.001-04:00

Bulkley Street is a good four minute hill right next to campus where we don't have to drive to perform 4x4 intervals and specific strength reps on rollerskis. On Friday, braving spontaneous rainstorms that pummeled with amazing flood force, we rolled over to Bulkley for some specific strength intervals. We were lucky to hit the perfect hour and a half window of sunshine, as it was driving rain just before we went outside, cleared to spotty blue skies for our workout, then began to pour as soon as the cool-down was almost finished. A great workout; 30 hill reps of arm work is enough to shock those specific muscles into getting stronger!

Kalle,Kristin, Mitch, and Will perform "single stick" excersize

Like Andy Newell just said: "Friends first, competitors second". . . .Mitch, Phil, Casey

Plyo's With Andy Newell

2011-10-14T12:48:00.002-04:00

The Williams Outing Club brought Andy Newell to campus for an evening talk and slideshow, and Newell was gracious enough to arrive early and lead our team in an afternoon training session of spenst. Newell showed us warm-up drills of foot speed and plyos on the flat ground followed by uphill bounding drills. It was fun to learn some new footwork and hops from someone who can demonstrate real agility, speed, and vertical! The evening slide show was also extremely interesting, as Newell spoke about the history, achievement, and goals of the US Nordic team in their quest for Championship medals, and his own parallel journey toward the same means. Andy's bottom line: if you want to achieve something great, you have to take chances and believe in what you are doing. THANKS ANDY!

Newell demonstrates hops

Phil tries to execute a series of 360's


Newell demonstrates more warm-up

Newell demonstrates skate bounding

The team follows suit: Vanya, Erik, Dimitri

Happy Birthday, Mitch!!

2011-10-13T14:51:00.000-04:00

Mitch Prevot (Fr)

Bounding Intervals on Carpenter Road

2011-10-13T11:00:00.000-04:00

Just about peak foliage right now, and we fit our L3 bounding intervals in just before the rain started on a beautifully scenic and quiet local road right outside of town.

The whole team starts together; bounding past Mighty Food Farms

The women's team reaches a plateau between interval sections

The women's team at the top of the apple orchards: Jenna, Becca, Elena, Hannah, Christina, Hannah, Holly

The Double Greylock

2011-10-12T13:18:00.004-04:00

The Double-G: its not a snowboard jump or a freestyle twist. For Williams nordic it means skiing up the tallest mountain in Massachusetts twice. 17 miles of steep uphill, punctuated by sharp corners and scenic overlooks. We started by skating the Williamstown side to the very top, 7 miles, then drove back down to Lanesborough and classic rolled the other side all the way to the top again, this time a longer 10 mile route. A little under 2.5 hours of skiing, lots of sun and fall foliage. A fabulous day of training for the last day of reading period.

Purple asters line the roadside

Casey J in the Color

The boys team reaches the top for the first time. . .

Coach Fisher gives freshman Hannah Smith some tips on how to avoid road rash.

The women's team starts their second ascent: Summit: 8 miles

Will skis up the first of many steep hills on the Lanesborough side

Hannah H, Kristin, and Sarah in the color

One of the gorgeous viewpoints near the top

2011-10-10T22:23:00.000-04:00

Another hot day in the continuation of our Indian Summer. The leaves are just starting to change now and rollerskiing today in Savoy under blue skies and over smooth black top was a treat.

The women's team climbs a steep hill

Mitch and Ben, all smiles.

Defeat in Soccer Match, but Big Win in Weather for Mountain Day

2011-10-08T10:08:00.000-04:00

The men's team invited the women's JV soccer team to a duel on Thursday evening and the match was a good one. The game ended just as the sun set, the women's soccer team edging our men's nordic team with a final score of 2-1. Muddy Fun.

Men's Nordic vs Women's JV Soccer

Hiking onto Stony Ledge

Only part of the large crowd of students on top of Stony Ledge

The bells on campus began ringing at 6am on Friday morning, the official declaration of Mountain Day! And it was a stunning day. The day was perfectly bluebird, no wind, 70 degrees (I didn't get any great photos, so hopefully someone will post better ones). An estimated 4-500 students made it up to Stony Ledge, including most of our nordic team. A number of the team ran a 4 hour loop from Pine Cobble's AT trail around to the base and then summit of Greylock. Several other team members did a Schnell preview up Greylock to get to the top. Several more joined in on one of the shorter campus hikes to reach Stony Ledge. Cider, donuts, and acappella groups lasted several hours at the Ledge, ending with a rousing rendition by the whole crowd of the school's "The Mountains" song.

The Mountains

O, proudly rise the monarchs of our mountain land,
With their kingly forest robes, to the sky,
Where Alma Mater dwelleth with the chosen band,
And the peaceful river floweth gently by.

CHORUS
The mountains! the mountains! we greet them with a song,
Whose echoes rebounding their woodland heights along,
Shall mingle with anthems that winds and fountains sing.
'til hill and valley gaily, gaily ring.

Beneath their peaceful shadows may old Williams stand,
'til suns and mountains nevermore shall be,
The glory and the honor of our mountain land,
And the dwelling of the gallant and the free.

Weekend fun in Vermont

2011-10-07T16:21:00.017-04:00

Last weekend the Williams Ski team was lucky enough to stay at the Jones' Vermont house, tucked into the lovely green mountains of Stratton.

The weekend began with an evening hike up Bromley. After summiting and enjoying a beautiful sunset, we hopped on some alpine slides to carry us down the mountain. That night, we played Scatergories around a cozy wood fire where we all got a glimpse of Phil's stellar acting abilities.

Benji won a close race to the top

The team at the top of Bromley

Will and Benji are ready to go...

...while Casey and Elena are having some difficulties

Saturday morning we awoke to heavy rain. Luckily (depending of your perspective), it parted just in time for us to squeeze in a TT up Stratton Mountain. Everyone put in a hard effort, but was very happy to eat a scrumptious home-cooked lunch when we got home. We rounded out the day with a classic roll in the afternoon. In the evening, we a made a roaring bonfire. A nearby wedding provided us with a firework display and weirdly enough one of the wedding guests was Andy Newell. We all introduced ourselves and mingled with him for a while.

The fire!

Sunday morning we went on a classic roll and run combo OD around and up the backside of Stratton. It was a bit wet and cold, but we managed to stay happy athletes, part due to tasty apples we picked on the side of the trail.In the afternoon we packed up two very squeezed cars and headed back to campus. Much thanks to the Jones family for an amazing weekend!!!!!!!

Love, Hannah S. and Elena

Speed Intervals up Mt Greylock

2011-10-06T11:21:00.000-04:00

Yesterday the team completed classic rollerski speed intervals up the steep terrain of Massachusetts' highest mountain.The last of the morning's gloomy clouds cleared just in time for 4pm practice: sunshine and blue skies all the way up the Williamstown side of Greylock resulted in spectacular views of the valley below and a sparkle on the summit's memorial.

Starting intervals on the mild slope where the Appalachian Trail crosses the mountain

Hannah S. strides up a steep section

Elena and Erik, skiing easy for the day, glide past the Adams overlook

Phil follows Will, Vanya, and Ian toward the summit

Kalle does a cooldown jog at the top


The team on a rollerski-wheel hunt in the roadside foliage

First Official Day of Practice!!

2011-10-04T14:51:00.000-04:00

Our first "official" day of practice (ie with coaches and vans) is always the first Monday in October. In fitting form it was a perfectly sunny and warm day, and we had a fabulous skate roll on the Farm Road: a pastoral setting made even further quaint in the New England style with the setting sun shining across the tall silos, field crops, and cow herds. I regret not getting any photos of the ski, as I was skiing in the mix, but I did catch a couple of the freshman girls in their post-practice glory:

Becca Bell and Hannah Smith:

Adventures in Utah

2011-08-26T18:04:00.009-04:00

Waterfalls on a hike up Mt. Timpanogos

Earlier this summer, as I was slaving away ;) in Williamstown doing statistics, my mom moved to Park City, UT. Luckily, I got some time to visit her for part of July and August and was joined by Robby Cuthbert ('11). If it weren't for the start of school soon, I don't think I would have ever left. Not only is it constantly sunny and not humid there, the surrounding mountains make for some of the best training I've ever encountered. It seems like I did a different running trail every day, and still hadn't fully explored every trail the mountains had to offer. Not only are the trails endless, the views are spectacular. Here is the view from a run to the top of Deer Valley resort.

It is no wonder that this is where the USSA built the Center of Excellence, a brand new training facility for US ski and snowboard team members, including CO native, Noah Hoffman who now lives and trains in Park City. He was nice enough to give me a tour of the facility, which is closed to the public, and even let me jump on the trampoline into the foam pit. Another perk of being in Park City was getting to do some training with a UNH skier Elizabeth Guiney. It was especially great to have company during part of an intensity block. Notable workouts include bounding up Park City Mountain Resort,

Classic 30-30's up Little Cottonwood Canyon (road up to Alta/Snowbird ski areas from Salt Lake City),

and Skating 4x4's at Soldier Hollow.

While I was there I managed to have a lot of fun outside of training as well. Park City is home to the Utah Olympic Park where the ski jumping, bobsled, luge, and skeleton took place during the 2002 Olympics. During the summer, ski jumpers can still go off the K90 and K120 jumps in their ski gear on this sort of plastic material that gets watered down with sprinklers. The olympic park has two ziplines going over these jumps to experience how it feels to fly through the air on such large jumps. The aerialists also practice at the olympic park in the summer, skiing off jumps and doing aerials into a pool. Every saturday they put on a show for the public. Here's a picture of some aerialists about to start a synchronized jump.

Maybe the best part of the olympic park is that bobsled racers give rides to the public, driving them down the full bobsled track at 70 mph in a bobsled that has been outfitted with wheels for the summer. I took a trip to the Utah Olympic park with my brother and Robby to ride the zipline and bobsled.

If anyone is looking for a place to spend a summer between school years, I would highly recommend Park City. While I was sad to leave, I'm so excite to see y'all soon!!

Hannah H.

Moose's Tooth Marathon

2011-08-25T00:52:00.007-04:00

On Sunday I ran my first marathon, finishing with a time of 3:30. It was a great experience and helped to have many friendly faces cheering me on throughout. I ran about 8:02 pace the whole way and was able to pass three women in the last 10k. I came in 6th for women, 2nd for my age group, and qualified to run the Boston Marathon in the spring.

AK Mountains

2011-08-19T19:52:00.003-04:00

The best part of training in Anchorage is the access to mountains. I've been able to go hiking a few times and even worked in my first mountain race of the summer. I did the Alyeska Mountain Climb, which goes up the alpine ski area starting from the base to the top of the tram. It is only 2k, but gains 2000 feet so the whole way up is very steep. The mountain is beautiful though and the race is filled with lots of skiers, including the Alaskans on the Eastern circuit. Then later in the week I went for a rollerski up Hatcher Pass, the best early-season skiing near Anchorage. Now I am tapering off slightly in preparation for my first marathon on Sunday!

Alyeska

Arctic Valley

Hatcher Pass

The fort doesn't need holding down, these NRA members can hold it just fine.

2011-08-14T23:34:00.016-04:00

When Dorothea said those famous words in the 1939 movie that changed the world, I don't think she was talking as a college student both going to school and living in her hometown over the summer. Still, I've more than managed to entertain myself this summer despite the same-old same-old of Williamstown, the place I've lived for the past 21 years. I've gotten my hands into a very diverse collection of things this summer, from building bridges and hiking 10 miles a day while blazing trails and clearing nettles the size of my fingers; to seeing incredible musicians like Amos Lee, Earth Wind and Fire, James Taylor, M. Ward and Paul McCartney play live at shows and music festivals; to discovering new trail runs for the team to use in the fall and getting caught on exposed ridges in severe thunderstorms; all the way across the spectrum to developing my own fully functional weather website hosted from an old Apple computer and a new Oregon Scientific weatherstation located in my bedroom.
(Yes. You can now check the weather in Williamstown with just a click. I've embraced my nerdiness. I even have a webcam. All hail the king of the internet.)
Actually it's a little scary, since now all I have to do to become a Giant Dweeb is to move back in with my parents after college. Too real.

The completion of the Roaring Brook Bridge, a proud moment for an amateur carpenter.

This one time early in June I was on a run out on Stone Hill. I was feeling pretty good about myself, I probably had on some gaudy sleeveless tank top and felt like I was drawing plentiful stares from young campusgoing women, which probably gave me just enough confidence to make some questionable route decisions. I was almost all the way out to Scott Hill road when I decided it would be kind of fun to bushwhack east down the hill to get to rt. 43 quicker. So I blatantly ignored some "Posted" banners and some bright orange "Private Property" signs and made my way down through cornfields, thinly forested areas, and grassy clearings towards the road. It was in one such large innocent grassy clearing that I had an encounter with some locals. Let me explain. Halfway through the field I looked up from my blissful endorphin high to see an electric fence about a hundred-fifty yards off. Some cute sheep are grazing in the enclosure, and I look back down so as not to break my ankle in any holes. A couple seconds later I look up again to check on the sheep, and I think oh that's funny, I didn't notice any sheep outside the fence when I looked last. I looked back down again, but realized at that moment that maybe there hadn't been any sheep outside the pen when I first saw them. I looked back up and suddenly there are like 50 white woolly sheep bearing down on me at a pace I couldn't quite understand. In the heat of the moment I made probably one of the worst snap judgements in my lifetime, spotting a huge patch of thorn bushes and thinking to myself, "sheep don't like thorn bushes, right?" for reasons I can't even fathom, and jumping feet-first into the thickest part I could see. My adrenaline was high so I didn't really feel anything at first. A couple of dumbstruck seconds went by I looked back to see an entire flock of 50-or-so sheep just standing there looking at me in disbelief as if to say, "Well aren't you a dumbass." That was when the realization of how irrational I'd just been set in, and with that came the pain. I still have the scars to prove it.

It's been that kind of summer. Another weird bushwhacking experience happened today that actually reminded me a little of the stupid sheep encounter. I ran up the '98 trail to the AT and over to Pine Cobble, and I was going to come down the trail like a normal person, when inspiration struck me and I decided it would be awesome to run down a trail I'd hiked in a freshman year GEOS class looking at boulders that had been displaced by glaciers. Most of the way down was either animal path or bushwhacking, which was really fun. I got a little bit lost in thought, however, and when I thought I was going back towards the Pine Cobble Trail, I was actually headed nearly 90º east of where I wanted to go. I had an "uh-oh" realization when I encountered an ATV road, and I knew there were none of those on the Pine Cobble I knew. I knew exactly where I was when I hit a section of powerlines crossing from Williamstown into North Adams. I was probably two miles from my house, and I'd gone in a very wrong direction. I decided to continue downwards because I thought the road would be faster. A few minutes later I was standing in between two families' back yards who, given the equipment sitting there (two pickups per family, each equipped with loaded gun rack) and the stickers on their cars (Remington, NRA, and Guns America), I knew had the means to protect their property much more than I had the means to protect myself. I tried to make it into the woods between the two houses but encountered some type of...I don't even know what...there were lots of broken/mutilated life-sized baby dolls and other creepy shit along with knives, broken bottles, and shotgun shells. There I was, in the middle of Blackinton gun country, wearing a dorky looking fanny pack full of water, with no phone, imagining all the scenarios in which my trespassing ass would be shot at or turned into a life-sized baby doll, and I was just standing there. After a minute of standing and pondering the scene muttering "well this is creepy," I decided to just GTFO and make a break for the road. And I'm still in one piece. Beat that, Truckee.

I really look forward to when you guys come back in a couple weeks. I think this year is going to be incredibly exciting and I can't wait to watch it happen. Till then I'll be holding down the fort back here in Billsville. There's no place like home, right?

From 100 to 50

2011-08-10T12:25:00.003-04:00

I am back in Alaska now, leaving behind the hottest summer on record in the DC area to return to pleasant 50 degree andrainy Anchorage. I said goodbye to lasers, fresh strawberries and zucchini, and sightseeing in the national capitol and have been welcomed back with newly caught salmon, mountain runs, orienteering, early morning sculling, and a mudfight on the mudflats. Wildlife count for my first two days back includes 8 moose and 1 bear.

Glacier 3000 run

2011-08-07T11:17:00.004-04:00

Hey Team

It took a while, but my summer did include an exciting event at last. Yesterday my almost-eph sister Elena '15, my dad and I participated in the Glacier 3000 run. It was the 2nd participation for my dad and sister and the 3rd for me, in this run that is as excruciatingly difficult as its views are breathtaking. It starts in the high-society ski resort of Gstaad to finish 26km further and 2000m higher up at the 3000m high glacier of Les Diablerets. Supposedly it is the only run in the world that includes a section on a glacier. Normally there is a good snow cover up there and cross-country as well as freestyle skiers use it for summer and fall training. This year however, the glacier resembled more a giant puddle.

As last year Elena ran the first 18km rolling section to the base station of the gondola, before passing the relay to my dad who took care of the 8km ascent to the glacier. They shaved over 15 minutes off their time from the previous edition, and I took 10 minutes longer, so that my dad almost caught me. My dad had dusted-off his old cleated orienteering shoes which proved to be a great advantage. A few k's before the finish a glacial rain set in, not only sending many competitors into near hypothermia, but also turning the vertical dirt trail into a mud slide.

By the end the sun had come back to reward the finishers with great views on the Swiss/Italian Alps, foremost the majestic Matterhorn. In the end, a great distance workout, a lot of pain but a great course and an amazing panorama.

Happy faces before the race (before the pain...)

Elena

Dimitri

Previous flyer, with a good overview of the second section of the course.

View from the finish: the x-c trails with the Matterhorn backdrop.

The California Crew

2011-07-24T19:35:00.005-04:00

First of all, this is officially the first post I've ever made on the Williams blog- better late than never?

The California crew has had a fabulous last couple of weeks out here in Truckee- we've had a couple big volume weeks as well as an intensity week and of course the ever important recovery weeks. Between workouts, Casey has actually been working, I have been thinking about working, and I have no idea what Phil has been up to. Most of the time, we are hanging out on the docks on Donner Lake, working on our tans and going for a dip (now that my battle wound is healed, I am greatly enjoying every opportunity to swim). The three of us, along with a couple of friends, also hit up In N' Out Burger in Reno (best invention in the west) followed by Harry Potter and then we snuck into Horrible Bosses- totally worth the late night. I have also been religiously following the Tour de France and have no idea what to do with my day now that it is over...

Our latest adventure was this morning, when we hiked/ran up Mount Lola. About 45 minutes into the workout, we hit huge snow fields and preceded to slip and slide up the mountain. Just below the summit, we hit a huge, almost vertical, snow wall which could only be overcome by crawling on hands and knees, digging your fingers into the snow, praying you didn't slip. Andrea

(Bud's daughter) wasn't so fortunate and just below the top, slipped and pummeled all the way down, taking me out on the way (those Bates skiers have it in for me). However, once we reached the top (9143 feet), we were greeted by incredible views of the Sierra Nevadas. Phil and

Casey found a kite and kept themselves entertained for a good bit. On the way down, the snow fields offered plenty of opportunities to practice our glisading (sliding down on our feet) or sledding on our backsides, my preferred method. A wonderful morning hike to celebrate Andrea's birthday!!

I hope you all are enjoying the summer and looking forward to school and fall training!!

Pic 1: Casey flying his kite

Pic 2: The group enjoying the view

Pic 3: climbing up the snow wall