Atay, Evan, Sarah, and Eric show their love after the races on Saturday
After a week of warm weather and rain across most of the east coast, we were thankful to arrive at Hanover, Home of Dartmouth College, and still find enough snow on the courses to hold the races. The snow was coarse and dirty, but it held up both days under stable conditions (20-25 degrees and bluebird skies!) and the tracks were rocket-fast. Friday’s classic race called for klister wax and VR45 – not so fun to apply or remove, but great for racing. Women raced a 5km loop and the men followed by racing two laps . Alice Nelson headed the ladies team with a 12th place finish, followed by Kirsten Johnson and Fiona Worcester in 22nd and 30th. The men’s team, sans Dimitri Luthi (who fell ill Thursday night), was still able to place their top three men before 18th place, scoring a 4th place for their team score. Eric Anderson, our top finisher, had a PR place of 11th, with Alex Taylor only 4 TENTHS of a second behind, in 12th place. Keith Kantack was our third to score points, coming in at 17th place.
Saturday’s mass-start skate race started from a narrow field and quickly funneled into the winding, hilly forest. There was, of course, carnage - falls, blocks, pile-ups and broken poles - but nothing that you wouldn’t expect when 70 racers toe the line all at once. Despite some frustration, the men fought hard through the pack and again placed all top three scorers in the top 25: Keith Kantack at 12th, Alex Taylor 20th, and Sam Kapala in 22nd. The women had a tougher day, but there were some notable races (Holly Whitney had a PR placing) and it was fun to watch Liz and Sarah storm down the finish track together.
Even those who had bad races, however, soon forgot all about them, as the carnie-crushes got underway. A tradition on the Carnival circuit, the Dartmouth Carnival is always a Valentine Extravaganza, as the athletes exchange hand-made cards, posters, notes, songs, poems, ballads, soliloquies, and many other forms of endearment with racers from other teams. The sun was out and the mood was just as high.
Liz and Sarah sprint toward the finish together at the end of the 15km skate.
Sam Kapala closes in on a Bates skier
Fiona Worcester double poles into the stadium at the end of the 5km classic
Glue, Glitter and Poetry: After a pasta dinner at the Nelson's house on Friday night, the team gets busy making their carnie-crush valentines cards for the following day
Sarah shows off the valentine she has made
The mens team recieves a Carnie-Crush poster from the Bates women's team.
The Harvard mens team presents our ladies with their own poster.
Coaches Smith and Fisher, happy with the weekend of racing, soak in the sunshine.
And: Fantastic Prospect Skiing
Again, we experience the amazing phenomena of Prospect Ski Trails. While everyone else on the East Coast is dealing with melt-down, dirty tracks, and klister conditions, we skiied our O.D. this Sunday on bomb-proof tracks carved into 8 inches of fresh powder.
exceptional tracks!
Eric Anderson shows that winning stride
Mens team takes pause to pose
The Ladies team, in keeping with tradition, sports Valentine t-shirts dedicated to a certain member of the men's team. THe men receive the customized t-shirt after the ski.
And: Ladies Waffle Night
Barb Kourajian had the ladies team over to the Fisher-Kourajian household for her specialty Norwegian waffles. Heart shaped and spiced with cardamom, these waffles brought back memories of touring in Norway and fueling up at trail-side bakeries. It was also a great time to exchange stories about the weekend: on valentines made, given, and received!
Barb Kourajian with a plate o' waffles!
The Ladies team, at the Kourajian-Fisher household, pose by Barb's Valentine Tree after polishing off two batches of heart-shaped waffles
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