Exploring the Natural Habitat of Bensonus Hannahi

Last week, Sonya and I got to visit our teammate and former captain Hannah Benson (graduated in 2017) in the little French town where she is currently living, La Chapelle en Vercors. It is about an hour outside of Grenoble on top of one of the huge plateaus that are the lead-ups to the Alps and the town is basically the Jackson, NH of France.

Benson! In France!

Benson's town (spot the Mission-esque building where Hannah lives and teaches)

Hannah led us on some pretty cool (literally and figuratively) hikes in the mountains around her town.

A little New England weather greeted us at the top of this ridge

Sonya and I made our way up to a snowy access road (with our baguette, of course)

Two happy girls and their bread

Hannah led us on what we jokingly termed the Chapelle's equivalent of Pine Cobble but when we looked at the stats of the run on my watch, they were actually shockingly similar:

Stats and elevation profile of Pine Cobble

Stats and elevation profile of the run in the Chapelle

Then we went down to spend a couple of nights in Grenoble, the gateway city to the Alps.

Best picnic spot ever!

Hannah and a nice block of cheese

After a wonderful week with the one and only Benson, Sonya and I headed to spend a few days in Paris before coming back to the US of A.

Sonya and our other main companion of the trip, the sausage, riding the train to Paris 

Preview of our time in Paris: Sonya and I immerse ourselves in a culture of high fashion

Big thanks to Benson for being our host and tour guide for the week and for choosing a cool place to live!

Quebec World Cups

Last year for spring break we got the amazing chance to spend a week together skiing as a team in Norway.  Although we might not have made it across the pond this spring, we were lucky enough to still be skiing in a beautiful place with great company.

Looking back on an incredible week in Sjusjøen

After wrapping up midterms on the 15th, Henry, Jack, Woody, Emil and myself piled into a car and headed up to Lake Placid to race the 50k Lake Placid Loppet and get in some skiing in the High Peaks of the Adirondacks. 

The spring break crew

Avalanche Pass surprised us West Coast kids with some actual mountain scenery

After a successful Loppet and a couple good days of skiing, we loaded up the Mcgrew-mobile to make the trip up to Quebec City for World Cup finals. Before the races started on Friday we managed to get in a few more distance skis at Monte Sainte Anne and Forêt Montmorency. For the races we were joined by Braden Becker and a couple of alum from the class of 2017.  Highlights included watching Klaebo dominate the sprints, seeing Harvey get second in front of his home crowd in the last race of his career, and Woody managing to snag the broken pole that cost Bolshunov an overall world cup title.

How much can we fit in one subaru?

Checking out the World Cup course on our first night in Quebec City

Hour 1 of 3 on our ski at Forêt Montmorency, north of Quebec City and deep in the Canadian Shield

Highlight of the trip for Woody was tracking down Bolshunov to get a signature on the broken pole

It sure has been pretty unreal getting to meet the fastest skiers in the world and watching them race just a couple blocks away from our Airbnb. More to come once we get back to campus and have a chance to gather some more pictures and write everything up.

Some favorite skis of the year

Hi ski friends,

As we make our way to various homes, travel destinations or ski races this spring break, it's time for some reminiscing about the many Prospect miracles of the season.  This was truly an incredible snow year at Prospect, and I think I must have heard the words, "Best Ski of the Year" like 500 times. Here are some of the days I was able to document: 

1. Nothing like mountain trail on a blue sky fresh powder day. 

2. This day started out as a sunny one, but in the middle of our interval workout it turned into a crazy snowstorm! 

Best stoke faces                                                        Some cute caterpillar eyebrows 

3.            Lucy + Carmen = Larmen Balexander                     Girl's Day Out 

4: A new trail sign that makes me very happy (Steve's daughter is named Karmen!) 

5: Ingrid and Marika on the best classic day of the year             No one fell in the lake this time!

Wishing everyone love, rest, and good times this spring break :)

<3 Carmen 

The Skiing Continues!

Spring Break has started, but the local nordic ski scene has been busy and vibrant. Right after NCAAs, Cricket Creek Farm held a spur of the moment citizen's race. Caitlyn and Rachel's first 5Ks! The kids chose "Maggie's Round" cheese for their prizes. Good call! The skiing at Prospect continues to be amazing and there were about 85 people at the moonlight ski on Saturday night. What a blast! Check out the video below to see the kids dancing to Dave Newell singing "Pisten Bully" to wrap up the night.

The team is scattered around the globe for the next two weeks. A handful raced the Lake Placid Loppet on Saturday and are headed to the World Cup races in Quebec City. Happy Spring Break to everyone!

Too good not to post
not a video, but a good screenshot of
Seniors Evan Carr and Nick Gardner
"cooling down" at the top of
Petersburg Pass with a high
kick contest

Cricket Creek Farm
Citizen's Race 3/9/19

Loving the Moonlight Ski

More of the moonlight ski crew

Videos below of Rogie-Bear loving the tracks at Prospect and the band at the Moonlight Ski. The kids loved the dancing and the music.

2019 NCAAs

Well, it's hard to believe that another EISA season has come to a close and that it's the eve of the first race at the 2019 NCAA Championships. I have so many great memories from this season watching the team train, race and travel together. I have a good 6 months of photos on my phone I need to share in the near future, but thought I'd give a quick start tonight as Isaac and Braden gear up for the 10K skate at 10AM tomorrow in Stowe, VT. For those wanting to watch the livestream you can find it here:
https://www.ncaa.com/event/skiing/nc/2019/03/06/nc-skiing--freestyle

Sometimes getting all the skis down the hallway
takes many hands

Valentines Day Dinner
with the team! It looks like everyone is doing
homework! (Actually, the team took the time to write
short notes showing their appreciation for one another.
What a great and supportive team!

Paul and Mary Becker's car. Putting
on the food table is no joke!
Thank you Beckers! 

Isaac FE's Swag from an EC U20 Win!

The TWINS at 8 months

Evan laughing hysterically after showing
his loving affection to a teammate 

The Jordan Hotel Blizzard

Post Regionals nap!

Seniors Evan Carr, Braden Becker, Sonya Jampel
and Nick Gardner on a celebratory
end of season cake

Evan Carr - Post Collegiate Racing
Dietary breakdown

Cara displaying her predictions
for the race!

Senior Braden Becker operating as head
chef this week in Stowe. So far, I'm impressed!

Courtesy of Jamie Gardner I'm heading to
Mars 

View from the waxing truck at 7:30 this morning

2019 NCAA Banquet
Ready to ROCK THE COW!