Britta, Alia and Will at the Eastern Cup

On Sunday, December 19, Britta Clark, Alia Johnson and Will Earle raced in the TD Bank Eastern Cup as a warm-up for their first high school race on Tuesday.  Tim Reynolds, a former Frost Mountain Nordic coach and Middlebury College alum won the race in a close finish.  Britta and Will are Co-Captains of this year's MUHS team and Alia races for Mt. Abe. See Nensa article below. 

Britta Clark's (left) final cork.

Britta Clark striding out.

Alia Johnson shows how to work the terrain.

Will Earle on course.

TD Bank Eastern Cup Day 2: Reynolds and Caldwell Repeat

This post first appear on Nensa.net

Jericho, VT – The Ethan Allen Firing Range hosted today’s TD Bank Eastern Cup.  The original host, the Craftsbury Outdoor Center, had enough snow to pull of yesterday’s freestyle sprint on their own trails, but felt that moving to Jericho for the longer mass start classic races would provide the best possible racing conditions for the athletes.  They were right.  With temperatures in the mid-twenties, easy waxing, and a beautiful race course, smiles were everywhere at today’s events.

The biggest smiles might have been from Tim Reynolds (Craftsbury Green Racing Project) and Sophie Caldwell (Dartmouth College) who completed sweeps of the weekend’s racing.  Each won both today’s 12K classic and yesterday 1.3K freestyle sprint.

Tim Reynolds (Craftsbury Green Racing Project) takes the big victory over teammate Patrick O'Brien.  Photo by FlyingPointRoad.com


The day began with the J2s, athletes aged fifteen and younger.  In the boys race it was the experience of Hamish McEwan (CSU) and Tyler Foulkes (Stratton Mountain School) edging out Ben Hegman (Mansfield Nordic) who enters his first year in the age group.   The sprint to the finish between Halvorsen and Brams was perhaps the most intense of the day. The girls were next and once again, it was the 2nd year J2s Heidi Halvorsen (GMVS) and Cate Brams (CSU) taking first and second with 1st year J2 Brooke Mooney (Stratton) taking third.  The sprint to the finish between Halvorsen and Brams was perhaps the most intense of the day.

Collegiate standouts Sophie Caldwell (Dartmouth) and Caitlin Patterson (UVM) dueled at the front of the women’s race. In the end, it was Caldwell  gliding to a 2.6 second victory.   About 20 seconds later, Heather Mooney (Stratton) crossed the line to take the top junior spot and third on the podium.

Women's Podium. Sophie Caldwell (1st), Caitlin Patterson (2nd).
Missing: Heather Mooney. Photo by FlyingPointRoad.com

Men's Podium L to R: O'brien (2nd), Reynolds (1st) and Horst (3rd). Photo by FlyingPointRoad.com.

The men’s race stayed in a pack until Reynolds, his teammate Patrick O’brien, and UVM’s Scott Patterson broke away on the third of four laps.   While the break was not huge, it was enough to decide the podium.  Reynolds stretched across the line 1.6 seconds ahead of O’brien with Patterson another 4.5 seconds behind. In grabbing third, 2010 World Junior Championship standout Patterson also grabbed top junior honors.

The first weekend of TD Bank Eastern Cup racing concluded and will be remembered for excellent conditions despite general lack of snowfall so far this winter.  It will also be remembered for attracting very strong fields on both the men’s and women’s side.  Momentum from this event will help carry New England athletes to success at the upcoming US Nationals January 2-8 in Rumford, Maine and the next Eastern Cup on January 30th at Weston Ski Track, just outside of Boston.

TD Bank Eastern Cup events are sanctioned by the International Skiing Federation (FIS), the United States Ski and Snowboard Association (USSA) and NENSA; it is widely recognized as the premiere regionally skiing circuit in the United States, attracting strength of fields second only to the Super Tour in this country.

See NENSA.net for full details, and after the event, check back for results, photos, and more.  For immediate updates during the events, follow the athletes and coaches directly at www.twitter.com/nensa/athletes

Frost Mountain Bill Koch League Starts The Season

 

Caroline Damon (above) said, "My spirits are buoyed as I look over the field and see so many children out skiing and enjoying the snow."

The Frost Mountain Bill Koch League had their first on-snow Saturday morning session up at Breadloaf.  Just under one hundred kids and their families were out gliding over the fields.

Silas, who is a Bill Kocher, and his dad, Woody (right), had already been out doing their stuff.  When asked how the skiing was today, Silas said "Good," as he shuffled his skis back and forth.  He couldn't wait to end the conversation and get back to skiing.
"We could use a little more snow," said Woody, "but I am so glad to be outside and it is so beautiful."

Frost Mountain Nordic Bill Koch League is hosting the 2011 TD North Bill Koch League Festival the end of February.  Forest animals will comprise this year's theme to the festival.

Skiing By the Woods on A Snowy Day

The  2011 TD Bank Bill Koch Festival will be held at Rikert Ski Touring Center (click here for map of area) on Middlebury College's Bread Loaf Campus in Ripton, VT on February 26^th and 27^th.   The Breadloaf area was the summer home of Robert Frost and is the year round home to many forest animals, both of which will comprise the theme for this year's festival.  Start thinking about your costume for this year's opening parade!  Raccoons, squirrels, mice, deer, moose, bobcat, bear, fox and even skunk are all invited!  Kids, ages 5-13, will be participating in the festival which includes two days of competitive and non-competitive events.   We are proud to be the host site in 2011!  http://www.bklfestival2011.org/

For more information email Bruce Ingersoll (bruce@keewaydin.org) or Christiana Hodges (christiana.hodges@gmail.com)

Gliding Under A December Moon

When the sun sets at 4:30 p.m. in December, skiers may be seen gliding by as the mountains turn a dusty mauve and the moon rises over Breadloaf.

Dry-land training

First posted in Middlebury Magazine.
by Robert Keren | Photography by Robert Keren 

You have probably seen them roll by. Dressed in tights, helmets, and orange safety vests, there they go again. It’s the Middlebury College cross-country ski team on roller skis.

Often in groups of 10 or 12, the men and women skiers take to the paved roads around the College for demanding workouts starting in September and continuing until, well, until there’s enough snow on the ground for actual skiing.

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Roller-skiing workouts start at the Peterson Athletic Center (above), loop around the country roads surrounding the College, and return about two hours later.

Like a short ski on two wheels, roller skis have been used for Nordic dry-land training for decades. And because the action is almost identical to cross-country skiing on snow, Middlebury athletes on roller skis develop balance, rhythm, muscle strength, and cardio-vascular capacity in the weeks and months leading up to the skiing season. They can also refine their techniques since there are two types of roller skis: one with wider wheels for classic skiing and another with narrower wheels for the newer style known as “skate” skiing.

“Roller skis offer us the best training we can do without snow,” says Andrew Gardner, coach of the Middlebury cross-country ski team. “It’s roughly the equivalent of working out on a stationary bicycle in the off season for competitive cycling.”

“But,” Gardner cautions, “you can’t roller ski every day. If you did, you’d just end up tired when it comes time to race. So we develop workout plans in four-week cycles in order to combine roller skiing with weight training and running.”

Sometimes the skiers roller-ski with poles and sometimes they train without them. Sometimes they run on the roads and sometimes they “bound” (i.e., run) up hills. Some days they rest and others they push hard. Each athlete’s exercise program is charted out weeks in advance on a white board in Gardner’s office. And the number next to each skier’s name on the board—575, 625, etc.—is the target number of training hours expected of each athlete per year.

“Like in any endurance sport, it’s all about how efficiently you are getting oxygen to your muscles,” he explains. “And of course the goal for us is to peak at our races.” Two critical factors for Nordic skiers are “VO2 max,” or the highest rate of oxygen consumption attainable during maximal exercise, and lactate threshold, or the point at which lactate starts to accumulate in the blood stream. Gardner and assistant coach Patty Ross monitor both variables, and create individual workouts, for all 19 members of their team.

But exercise physiology aside, it’s clear that roller skiing has helped Middlebury’s skiers excel at the highest level against NCAA Division 1 schools like Colorado, Utah, UVM and Dartmouth. The team has a long and storied history. Most recently, Garrott Kuzzy ’06 and Simeon Hamilton ’09 represented the United States at the 2010 Winter Olympics and, according to Gardner, almost every returning member of this year’s squad has had a top-10 finish in a major college race.

Chewing the Wax

The Mountaineer in downtown Middlebury filled up last night, with Frosties young and old who gathered for a wax clinic with Panther ski coach Andrew Gardner and an all-star lineup that included high school coach Anders Meyer, Frost Mountain coach Cam McKuglar, and that great Olympian Patty Ross. Everyone was rosy-cheeked from a day of skiing in frigid temperatures (the word on the street: Sleepy Hollow is tracked out; Steam Mill Road is nifty), and so we ate Powerbars and watched as Andrew explained the mysteries of glide-waxing and then of generating kick. Many thanks to Steve and the Mountaineer crew--and remember that they've got all your waxing needs covered (including the LF6 and LF7 that Andrew said were the cornerstone of a glidewax kit, and the Swix extra blue and 65 that should cover most of your kickwaxing conditions!

November 2010 Video Review

Well November has now come to a close and I have to congratulate everyone that came out for the Nov. training sessions. Nov is the toughest month of the year, training wise, it is when we have the longest hours, and the most intensity, and everyone made it through admirably! It was awesome to see how quickly you athletes took to the drills and immediately began incorporating them into your skiing. As a coach one of the most enjoyable aspects of the job is watching athletes improving, taking advice and adding it to their technique repertoire, this November the air was tangibly thick with PROGRESS! ... and a little sweat, but thats normal...

Here is a video that I made up that delves a bit into our last couple sessions, and breaks down each individuals technique and offers suggestions.  Now you will see some repetition in my comments, and it may sound like I'm harping a bit on only a couple of issues, but those issues are key and the basis for all techniques. Body position, and leg drive. Our first workout we ran a Spenst (fancy Norwegian way of saying "jumping up a hill") session, and the very first thing we did after our jogging workout was work on body position. I made the analogy of a 'gun-slinger', who as he pulls out his guns his hips move forward and his legs bend forward at the ankles.  I also made the analogy of a string connected to your belly button that is pulling you forward, you want to be bent at your ankles, hips forwad, upper body at the same angle as your ankles, and your shoulders slightly hunched in a neanderthal-esque fashion.  Leg drive is also an integral part of a good skier's technique.  During our Spenst workout we did a drill where we skipped (like on a playground) explosively, trying to go for height. How did we get extra height? By driving our legs and knees forward. While bounding try to emulate that leg drive and try to drive your back leg forward like you would do on snow. It is easy on a bounding workout to fall into a running technique, try to resist the urge, and drive your leg like you're classic skiing.

One of the driving (pun intended) factors of good body position is your hands. I've said to be 'whippy' with your arms and literally throw them up and forward to help bring your weight forward.  This is especially evident during double poling and v2 alternate. When we were doing two-leg jumps for distance we were throwing our arms to give us extra momentum, while skiing we do this also. Here is an example of what I'm talking about:

See how the skier's arms are up, the hips are forward over the ankles and he is airborne, this is what an agressive arm swing can do. This is definitely one side of the intensity spectrum though, you can get a similar body position to a lesser degree (which makes much more sense during a longer race, the above position would only be able to be sustained for a sprint race or final push) by lessening the intensity of the arm swing and leg pop.

More posts coming soon, stay tuned and keep working hard!

Cam

Middlebury Named Host School For 2013 NCAA Skiing Championships

July 1, 2010 

Press Release:  Middlebury College has been named the host school for the 2013 NCAA Skiing Championships. The Panthers are one of just two ski programs in the country that own and manage its own skiing facilities. Alpine events will take place at the Snow Bowl, while the Rikert Ski Touring Center will host the nordic races.

"We're pretty thrilled to show our coaching colleagues and fellow programs our best efforts at hosting a National Championship," said Stever Bartlett, head alpine coach. "It's been over 10 years since we've hosted and it's an important role to play on the national stage of skiing."
Over the last five years, over two million dollars have gone into improvements in trail safety and to replace the well-loved Worth Mountain Chair lift, a necessary expense for the aging equipment.
"Since Middlebury last played host to the collegiate skiing championships, skiing has evolved, courses have changed and with this selection, we can show that our program and facilities have kept pace," added Andrew Gardner, head nordic coach.

Further preparations for the championships will begin this summer with improvements to the nordic trails. A new nordic groomer has been approved for purchase for the 2010- 2011 ski season, an acquisition that comes as a groundswell of Nordic Skiing participation that has welled up in Addison County. Gardner noted, "The Frost Mountain club has a number of great programs from the youngest kids to master athletes. They've built a great culture of skiing in the county over the last few years and I know that the effect of having the country's best skiers on the same trails as the local Bill Koch league will spill over in enthusiasm and love for skiing,"

This will mark the fifth time the school has hosted the event, previously hosting in '61, '73, '88 and '01.

Training Periods for Cross-Country Skiers

This post first appeared in Ski Post. 

Transition or Recovery Phase (Spring)
Recover from the physical, mental and emotional stresses of training and racing. Complete rest is fine, but active rest is better.
Preparation: Begin building into your modes of training.

Base (Summer)
Base training is so called because it is the base upon which later phases of training are built.

Endurance:
Aerobic endurance is the number one component of cross-country ski racing, and it is the component of ski racing which takes the most time to develop. It is the primary aim of the base training period. Example: 2hour rollerski or run split between level 1 and 2 or a 3hourr bike on hilly terrain split between level 1 and 2. Please note: about 80% of all training is endurance training. The rest is strength, intervals and races, etc.

Strength:
General: Power and strength-endurance are built on max strength. General strength develops overall tendon and muscle strength necessary to support latter forms of training. General strength is the focus through the spring and summer. Example: after building up to weight training for 5-6 weeks, include some ski specific high weight and low rep work.
Specific: Specific strength becomes more a focus later in the summer and into the fall once a solid base of general strength has been established. Example: Endurance session using only double pole over gradual terrain.

Intensity:
Most intensity should be below the lactate threshold early in the summer. Anaerobic training such as speed is good, but hard aerobic and anaerobic intervals should be kept to a minimum early on. Example: 2x10 minutes at 5 bpm below LT with 2 minutes rest between intervals. Start with 1-2 sessions a week.

Technique and speed:
Speed training during the base period should not be done at a hard intensity (short bouts of speed with full recovery are recommended) and should be oriented toward using correct movements at race speeds - not at moving at an unrealistic pace. Example: Incorporate 10 20second bursts of speed into your endurance training.

 Pre-Competition (FALL)
Training becomes quite specific to the motions and intensity of ski racing. Aerobic endurance is still the primary focus, but the means to develop it have become more specific and more intense.

Endurance:
Training volume levels off or even decreases slightly to allow for the increase in intensity. Most of the training volume is aerobic endurance training - low intensity training of medium to long duration. Example: Rollerski or run almost exclusively in level 1.

Strength:
General: General strength takes a back seat to specific strength. Max strength is the general strength focus in this period (for only 4 weeks). Strength endurance is the primary concern of a skier, but power and max strength cannot be neglected. Example: circuit using body weight exercises and more ski specific motions. Include some fairly ski specific max-strength exercises as well.

Specific:
Rollerski specific strength sessions are the primary forms of strength training and should be predominantly endurance based. Skiers should also incorporate plyometric, explosive jumping exercises into their strength routine during the pre-competition phase. Example: 10x 200meters single pole, 10x200meters double pole. Distance double pole session over all terrain.

Intensity:
During the Pre-comp phase, duration and intensity of "intensity" training should reach levels similar to competition. High intensity (Vo2, above threshold) intervals are used. This type of training must be built up to, to be effective. Example: (LT) 2min, 3min, 5min with equal recovery, times 3 at LT. At the end of each interval you should feel like you could have kept going. At the end of the workout, you should feel like you could have done more. (VO2) 5x5min with half recovery at 95% of max. (target heart-rate will not be meet until the second interval). Each interval should take you the same distance.

Technique and Speed:
 All training is technique oriented. Speed training is a great way to train the anaerobic system, but also to learn to ski relaxed and with smooth technique at a challenging pace. Example: 10to20x20seconds incorporated into an endurance session

The stylized photo above is attributed to Janice Siblia in her Nensa post More Pictures from the Eastern Reg Camp, June 29th, 2010. _____________________________________

What is Spenst?

What is Spenst training? Spenst training is a well-worn mode of training that is practiced in some form or another by world-class skiers the world over.  Spenst is a Norwegian word that means either explosiveness or literally "Boing!"

Spenst training involves ski specific plyometric exercises that develop power, explosiveness, balance and strength. If you are looking to gain that extra snap in your technique, learn to accelerate over the tops of hills, around corners, sprint to the finish, improve balance and strength, or just impress your friends at parties, then spenst training is for you.

Ski technique has always demanded a quick, dynamic kick, for both skating and classic, and spenst training is a great way to develop it. Often it is the skiers who seem to be skiing with the least effort that have the most dynamic kick. Their secret is a dynamic push and then relaxation of the pushing muscles. Spenst is a great addition to training and it yields noticeable results with a fairly small time investment of 10 to 15 minutes a week.

Goal: develop power and balance.
Means: several short repetitions of the following exercises with full rest. Gaining maximum distance with each jump - going as far as possible in the shortest number of jumps. Generally one takes between 10 and 20 jumps in a row (10-20 seconds of work) followed by a good recovery (about 2 minutes should suffice).

Type of spenst exercises:
One-legged hop: This is a spenst training staple. As the name suggests you will be hopping on one leg - up a hill. Start with a tame grade and build toward a steeper hill. Take 10-15 jumps on one leg moving continuously up the hill (don't stop between jumps, but keep your momentum going); walk slowly back down the hill and take the same number of jumps on the other leg. Repeat 2 to 3 (or more as you build up to it) times.

Stationary Skate hop: Simply jump sideways back and fourth as if skating from leg to leg aiming for max distance with each leap. Make sure you have your balance on each leg before you leap again. You can use your arms as if you were skating. You shouldn't move forward, but should leap directly sideways off the whole foot, side to side, in the same place.
Take 10-15 leaps per leg, rest, repeat.
 
Bunny hop: Return to the hill where you did the one legged hops. This time hop with both legs at once. Unlike the one-legged jumps, hesitate slightly between jumps so that energy must be regenerated with each jump. This is a killer, and can cause soreness as well as loud guffaws, snarks, snorts and general hilarity among spectators.
 
Organization of workout: Warm up very, very well. Stretch thoroughly and begin slowly to make sure you are warm enough. The goal is not to work out your aerobic system, so take your time and recover well between each set of jumps so that you can make maximal efforts with each jump and each set of jumps.

Placement of workout in the week: It is best to place spenst training after a bit of rest because for it to have maximal effect you should be fresh enough to perform the work maximally.

Example: Midway through an easy distance run or after warming up (the Jr. team I trained with in Sweden for a year did spenst as part of an interval workout) stop at a nice grassy hill. Stretch out some; perform a few easy one-legged jumps, side jumps and bunny hops (bunny hops can make your whole body sore if you're not careful). When you are ready, take 15 one-legged jumps up the hill. Walk slowly down the hill and then take 15 jumps on the other leg. If it is your first outing take not more than 2 times up the hill per leg. The idea is to try to get further up the hill with the same number of jumps each time. Do the skate jumps, and bunny hops and be creative with jumps of your own creation. Just remember it isn't spenst if it isn't explosive - more isn't better. If you are too tired to jump far, or if you feel any twinge of pain or pull, stop (start slowly to avoid injury!) Warm down well. The whole spenst routine can take as little as 10 minutes and so on a day when time is limited spenst is a great workout option.

If running and jumping is not in your repertoire, power can also be built on a bike with 15 to 20 second sprints up a very steep hill. Do some sprints seated and some standing, some in a tough gear and some spinning in an easy gear to work all the muscles. Explosiveness of this kind is more difficult to build on rollerskis, but like on the bike, sprints of 15-20 seconds on a steep hill are effective.
 
reprint from 2001 SkiPost

Secret Trails of Ripton

by Andy McIntosh

A beautiful ski was had by everyone last Sunday on the secret trails of Ripton. Conditions were really nice (melting corn snow, but not too soft) to the point we could ski just about anywhere! We followed a similar route to last year's tour with some scenic variations around the top of Chandler Hill. With clear skies, we got views of Frost Mt., Cobb Hill, Mt. Abe, Breadloaf Mt., Worth Mt., the tip top of Romance Mt., and Mt. Moosalamoo, totaling 360 degrees throughout the tour! We explored the the hardwood forests and back beaver meadows of Chandler Hill, skied through the spruce and fir tunnel to Wagon Wheel Rd., skated down the icy surface of Wagon Wheel, schussed down and across Bucky's Bridge and on to the Big Pine, slinked across the twin bridges of Sparks Brook, up and over Peddler Bridge Rd., waltzed across Cooks Brook bridge and back home.

Skiers included Lynn Luginbuhl, Barb and Mayumi Otsuka, Patrick Keating, and myself. More would have joined us if not for the Breadloaf Citizen's Race occurring the same day.

If you didn't make it this year, there will always be next year, late February or early March.

Still finding plenty of snow to ski on in Ripton.

Frosties at Nordic Relay for Life - Luminaria Champions

Frost Mountain Nordic rocks Nordic Relay for Life - March 6, 2010

No white paper bags for us! Willem Jewett and Mike Hussey brought some Frost Mountain creativity to the Luminaria display at Nordic Relay For Life.

South facing slopes were a touch hard but once we got out back on the haul road conditions were fabulous. The haul road downhill is always fun. Under the stars adds considerably to the experience. Great food and company as well.

Thanks to all who traveled with us in spirit.

First-ever Nordic Adaptive Race in Vermont Held at Bread Loaf

For the first time in history, a nordic adaptive race was held in Vermont, at Bread Loaf this weekend, kicking off two days of Middlebury Winter Carnival skiing. Thanks to the efforts of Sabra Davison, the FMN coach, and Patty Ross, the Middlebury College assistant nordic ski coach, as well as Patrick Standen from the Northeast Disabled Athletics Association and Cathy Thompson from Northeast Passage at UNH, six racers from New Hampshire and Vermont sped through a 3K course on sit-skis, powering up the first hill on Battell, charging across the Picnic Loop, and sliding down the final pitch on Battell before climbing back into the stadium field and doing the whole thing all over again. (The course had to be altered at the last minute due to wet conditions in the field.) First across the finish was Brian Genovese (pictured) for the men, and Alicia Dana for the women. Here are the final results, adjusted for disability level:

Genovese, Brian LW-12 14:19

Standen, Patrick LW-11 16:41

Dana, Alicia LW-10.5 17:18

Shepard, Marlon LW-10 20:10

Zielfeld, Arika LW-11 23:15

Nelson, Rick LW-10 29:12

The sit-ski race grew out of FMN member Sophie McKibben's efforts this past summer to start, with Sabra Davison, an adaptive program for Frost Mountain. FMN now has its own sit-ski, which is offered free of charge to any disabled athlete who would like to learn nordic skiing. In addition, NDAA holds sit-ski clinics throughout the winter.

Thanks to the Bread Loaf groomers, to Fischer, to the Middlebury Ski Team, and to all the volunteers on the course. Let's make this an annual event! More pictures here.

Craft's Speedsuit Will Give Sweden Olympic Medals

This post first appeared in this form in Faster Skier.

Last week Craft presented the speedsuit that has been under development for the past year in collaboration with the Swedish national team for the Vancouver Olympics. According to experts, the new suit could actually make a big difference. To read more....

Source: langd.se

Translated by Tim Reynolds

Born and raised in Vermont, Tim Reynolds is psyched to be operating out of the Northeast Kingdom of his home state as part of the Craftsbury Green Racing Project. He spent his undergraduate years at Middlebury, where he was an EISA carnival winner and three-time NCAA qualifier and All-East pick. Tim captained the Panthers his senior year, and is looking forward to winters with more skiing and less studying. A convicted Europhile, look for Tim to do all he can to earn races in Europe this season. At Craftsbury he’s working on local food sourcing.

Record Turnout at the BKL Race at Breadloaf

From Bruce Ingersoll

We had a fantastic BKL race at Rikert Touring Center at the Breadloaf Campus of Middlebury College on January 25th. Almost 80 skiers for the day double our last year's turnout. The snow was excellent for a classic race. Teams from Mansfield Nordic, Woodstock and Ford Sayre joined the Frost Mountain Nordic team for a great day.

Craftsbury Marathon

left: The Cold Start. Photo by Jim Rodrigues/NENSA.

An intrepid group of Frosties ventured forth in the sub zero weather for the Craftsbury Marathon. The tour was postponed due to the rain earlier in the week, but the 25K and 50K races went off as scheduled. Frost Mountain Nordic had strong showings in the 25K with both Mia Allen and Andrew Gardner winning their age groups in the Masters National Championships. Andrew was also second overall. Yay Frosties!

Bill Hegman had the unfortunate or perhaps comic experience of stepping on a packet of energy gel left on the trail. The chocolate goo affixed itself to his green klister and stopped him dead in his tracks, which sent him tumbling head over heels. Bill picked himself up, scraped the mess off and skied on to place a respectable 12th in his age division.

New friends were made in the course of the day and sometimes in unusual ways. Dia Jenks introduced herself after the race to a woman she did not know wearing a red Frost Mountain hat.

"You have got to be kidding," the woman exclaimed as she whipped off her hat to show the name Dia Jenks magic markered in the inside. "My husband picked this up in the lost and found at Trapp's." A new acquaintance and a hat returned...

From Nensa:
Craftsbury, VT -- It was cold for the start of this morning's TD Bank Craftsbury Marathon. Most athletes covered their faces, wore mittens instead of gloves, and added an extra layer under their spandex racing suits. The lead pack of men included 2006 Olympian Justin Freeman, home-club athlete Jeurgen Uhl who is a recent graduate of UVM where he was an NCAA all-American, and another home-clubber Crafsbury Green Racing Project standout Tim Reynolds (a Middlebury alum and forever a Frostie, finished 2nd overall! Go Tim Go!). The lack of wind and absolutely perfect tracks made everyone quickly forget the -4F temperatures as the gun sounded to start the race.

Read more »

Frosties at U.S. Masters National Championships

On Thursday, January 28th, the first race of U.S. Masters National Championships was held at the Craftsbury Outdoor Center in Craftsbury Common, Vermont.
Read More »

Photo on left of our Frostie, Mia Allen, flying down the trail.

Two Midd Alums Named to 2010 Olympic Nordic Team

Andrew Gardner, Head Coach of the Middlebury College Nordic Team, writes:

We're pretty proud that Middlebury College has 2 alums on the Olympic team, Garrott Kuzzy and 09 graduate Simi Hamilton!!!

http://fasterskier.com/2010/01/one-more-spot-for-us-hamilton-joins-2010-olympic-team/

Paintball Biathlon 2010

by Sophie Hodges, a Bill Koch League participant.

Today a lot of people from Frost Mountain went to the Paintball Biathlon at Mountain Top, Vermont. It was a freezing cold day, and unfortunately, I was only wearing one pair of socks. It was a skate race, and super duper fast. You would start out with a small loop and come into the shooting range, shoot five targets about the size of dinner plates, and ski off down the hill. At the bottom of the hill, you would either finish, or go off for another loop. Camille and Malia go first, and they both have really good races, really, I'm not just saying that to be nice. Sam, Nick, Tom, Rowan, Oliver, Harlow and Morgan all had good races too. I didn't get to see a lot of them, it was too cold to stay outside for a really long time. But some how, my dad, Barney Hodges stayed outside the entire day, and has told me personally that he did not get cold once the entire time. The way the race worked was you would start in 15 second intervals and race against the clock. Then you would go up a hill and ski down a flat into the range. They had eight stations and would tell you to go to one of them. You would have to take a bunch of deep breaths after skiing hard up the hill, but luckily Mike Hussey and Barney Hodges had taught us how to do it right the day before. Then you line up the top of the gun to the bottom of the target and pull the trigger. Do that five more times, then put on your poles and V-2 off down the hill. At the bottom, you either head right under the blow up finish line or go off for another lap around the course. It was a really fun race!

Viking Night Race

by Sophie Hodges, a Bill Koch League participant

Last night a bunch Frost Mountain Bill Kochers went down to Southern Vermont's Viking Ski touring Center. There we had a very fun kind of race, a night race.

The experience was very interesting. Some had been the year before, others were newbies. The race-course was lit with lanterns, which made it look a little bit like Narnia. It was really exciting to go whooshing through the woods in the darkness trying to catch the person ahead of you.

It was a classic race, and pretty warm, so we used klister. Our coaches, Bruce Ingersoll and Barney Hodges did a very great job finding the right stuff to put on our skis. I don't think anyone from Frost Mountain was complaining about how their skis were too slippery or too sticky.

Our first racer was Malia Hodges. She was the youngest of the group and had to race first. Next was Sam Hodges. He tells me he had great wax, very nearly beat his friend, and chewed his gum throughout the entire race. Then Rowan Warren and Nick Wilkerson raced. They did very well, and had a great time, I believe. The next racers were myself, Sophie Hodges, and Amelia Ingersoll. I know from personal experience that we had a fabulous time. Finally Oliver Clark raced his race, the last one, and did a great job as well.

Afterwards, we were all starving. It was already 9:00 at night, much to the adults disappointment, and we still hadn't had dinner. So, it was decided that we were going to have sandwiches on the drive back. Altogether, the race was a complete success!

How Do I Wax for a Marathon

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How Do I Wax For a Marathon?

I've been waxing successfully for shorter distance classic skiing for many years but when skiing marathons the kick wax doesn't last. What can I do to better prepare my kick wax to last longer? Note that given my slow speed I'm on the trail for several hours and thus have to expect that temperatures will climb significantly during the day, so the softer wax I need later in the marathon would be a hindrance to glide early in the day. I've seen recommendations for ironing on multiple layers of wax, but doesn't scraping off the excess after ironing on each layer negate the effort of builiding up layers? And if you are building up layers in the kick zone, doesn't that detract from glide?

Please help me understand how to improve my waxing for marathons!

Thank you!

Hello,

There are a few things that can certainly be done to help you improve the overall durability of your wax for a long race. You hit on one when you mentioned ironing in a base layer. Swix VG35 Base Binder is a great wax to get on the ski with the help of an iron the night before. The VG35 wax has a range that is wide, and if you get down to that layer you will still have something that will kick. However, the primary responsibility of this wax is to hold the wax you put over it on your ski base.

Often times a layer of Swix Blue Extra is your next best layer. Blue Extra has a unique characteristic in that it will physically harden when the temperature gets cold, and soften as it gets warm - a wax with a brain, if you will. This helps a great deal as you begin to experience temperatures rising over the course of a long race, and it is not a wax that we've seen have too much icing happening when you are near it's large range.

Here's the trouble with your question: it is nearly impossible to cover a super soft (warm) wax with a cold wax. It can be attempted, but the nature of your warmer waxes will often result in a combining of your colder layer and your warmer one. This will almost always result in slower skis in colder temperatures. We would have to suggest that if you know the temperature is going to warm up during the course of a race, you're happy with the line of waxes you have chosen for your early-race layers, and you're willing to sacrifice a few minutes to get them back you bring a warmer wax and cork along for the race. Re-waxing happens even at the elite level if the course conditions change, and it can often be the person who stopped to put a new layer down that comes out on top.

Finally, if you have doubts that your skis are stiff enough to keep your wax pocket off the snow, you should have them flexed. We see many skiers skiing on skis that are simply too soft for them. During a shorter race you might be able to get away with this, but in longer races a properly flexed ski is going to be the ticket to success!