Blueberry Crisp! MUHS Nordic hosts at BBH

It was a bit chilly this morning when the MUHS Nordic Varsity Girls stood out in the field at Blueberry Hill with skiers from CVU, Otter Valley and South Burlington.  Tony Clark had groomed immaculately, and continued to do so all through the day.  The CVU girls were dominant (and numerous!) but Dominique powered the girls, followed closely by Britta, skiing for North Branch.  The MUHS Varsity boys missed being one-two by the length of a ski pole, with Walker and Will coming in two-three to loud cheers.  Cheers, too, for Jake Whitcomb, the wax master extraordinaire, and his two able assistants, Mia Allen and Rick Klein.  As usual, coach Chas Lyons ran a smooth operation, with lots of help from parents and MUHS nordic groupies.  (You know who you are.)   Check out the FMN website to see pictures, or look at our Blueberry Hill album on Picassaweb.  (Where they are out of order, but able to be viewed in a larger format and as a slideshow.)

Women's Group Glides Over Perfect Tracks

A perfect morning on perfect snow.  What more is there to say?  We started on Battell and looped over to Holland and Frost, and indeed it was quite Robert Frostish in the woods.  Kudos to Allison Dickinson, not only for skiing minus a basket, but for using poles of different lengths. 

Paintballers Have A Blast

by Dominique Powers

It was a chilly Saturday evening when many Frost Mountaineers met at Mountain Top for the Fourth Annual Paintball Biathlon. Thankfully it was a skate race otherwise we might have been using Polar...or at least it felt like it. The high schoolers went off at around 5 o'clock, girls and then boys; all people older than high school set off at 6:30, fully under the lights. Though the paintball guns often froze, and even when you swore you were pointing it right at the target, the paintballs kept on getting lost in the bushes, it was well worth it. When looking back on the race I think that many people will remember it as very cold; as well as a great time.

Dominique is a ninth grader and competes on the MUHS Nordic Team, as well as forFrost Mountain Nordic.

Frost Mountain Nordic Women's Weekly Tour

It was a gorgeous blue wax day as the group climbed up Gilmore to Rte. 59 and onto a newly groomed Brown Gate Trail.  Barry King pointed out along the way porcupine tracks, moose barking and bear claw marks up a good sized beach tree.  We topped off our Thursday morning ski with a final descent down the Holland to the touring center. Good company, good snow and the beauty of the northern woods in January makes for the start of a very good day.  This is the first year for the women's group.  Come join us at Breadloaf waxed up and ready to go on Thursday mornings at 9:00 am.  All ages and abilities welcomed.  Pictured from left to right: Holly Ferguson, Linda Punderson, Alison Dickinson and Barry King.

First Time Trial of the Obama Era

Apparently many of the regular TT crew failed to heed our new president's call to work harder because they missed yesterday's time trial on perfect Breadloaf tracks.  Ted Hicks carried the day in the skate race, beating first-timer Fred Kniffin in a speedy time of under 16 minutes.  Bill McKibben finished first in th classic race, and also last, and indeed in every other position, all in a time of 17:58. 

Last Time Trial of the Bush Era

In bracingly cold conditions, on hard and fast tracks (thanks John, Jim and Tim), we contested the second time trial of the year on Wednesday afternoon.  Barney Hodges, returning to the course where he covered himself in college glory, covered himself in bloody gore when his nose sprang a leak at the crest of Battell.  Though he pulled up to staunch the flow, he stayed in sight of Ted Hicks at the front of the skate race in roughly 16 minutes.  Bill McKibben won a three-way classic contest with a 19:05 time.  Congrats to Morris Earle on his first time trial outing.

Next week the time trials move back to Tuesday--which means we'll be able to celebrate Barack Obama's inauguration.  Yes We Can!

--Bill McKibben

Moonlight Ski, Sauna and International Potluck

Even though the full moon was obscured by passing clouds, the night was bright as a jolly group skied around Hogback last night. One skier was surprised when the stump in front of her moved, But, it wasn’t a stump, it was a fellow skier who had taken a fall. We ended on a long downhill, which generated a lot of laughs and exhilaration. A warm fire, hot food and sauna at Blueberry Hill topped off the evening. A special thanks to Tony Clark for freshly groomed trails and for planning the event.