Ski Racing in May: Ski to Sea 2009

Ski to Ski 2009- the most scenic venue that I have ever raced. This year it took a bit of work to make it to the 8km ski race that takes advantage of the heavy snowfall on Mt. Baker. At 10am on Saturday I finished my training ski at Mt. Bachelor, OR and before dinner I was previewing the course on Mt Baker, WA. Thanks to Jack Hart for the ride to the airport and Mom, Dad and Chad for picking me up in Bellingham. The 8km ski race is the first leg of the multi-sport race from the Volcano to Bellingham Bay. XC-Ski, Downhill Ski, Run, Road Bike, Canoe, Mountain Bike, Sea Kayak.

Previewing the Course: Chad, Mom, Brian, Dad

The race starts off with a blast from the avalanche gun

1.5km to go

Ski Leg Results Here. Times seem to be a bit off because I know that Jesse and Martin came in within a few meters.

I had good skis and a great race. The course is very challenging with a lot of climbing so I was happy to have fast skis. This was one of the first races I have been able to use my warm flex/base Salomon's and they climbed really well. I ran on a Nordic Ultratune 615b grind modified with some linear riling. The snow in western Washington is so wet that it is really nice to have fast skis. My mom had the same set up on her skis and had a great performance.

Dave Christopherson and Chad. Dave's 'Veterans' Team of old guys (Team Win or Die) did really well finishing an impressive top 10 in the overall classification

Chad and Mom Post Race

Cooling Down with Mt. Baker in the background

Chad Enjoying Nature's Playground. Martin Rosvall, Dave Christopherson, Chad and I had a great time cooling down.

Katy Barnes from the Bellingham Herald took some great photos (above). Check more of them out here.

Brian

Team ISLAGITT (It Sounded Like a Good Idea at the Time): Sergei-Downhill Ski, Eric-Kayak, Brian-Canoe Captain, Graham-Mtn Bike, Pat-run, Les-Canoe Engine, Greg-Road Bike, Brian-XC Ski

Bend On-Snow Camp

Bend, Oregon is the place to be right now. The weather is beautiful, the snow is plentiful and the training has been fantastic. I am taking advantage of the USST organizing grooming and training with the Methow Olympic Development (MOD) Team. This is one of the most valuable camps that I have been a part of and I am very thankful to be a guest of my hometown team. The last month has been a busy one and I regret that I have not posted and photos or updates of my adventures. More on that later. Today I enjoyed a fun crust ski with the Wenatchee girls.

Kristina and Laura scouting out a good route

The USST had a rest day today so the trails weren't groomed, but the crust was great.

Laura, Brian, and Kristina: We have been skiing in Bend together since we were J3s

I must admit that this was the first ski I have been on where we had to stop so that members of the party could gather moss so they could be 'Trolls' as we skied back to the car. The entire week has been very focused so it was fun to take the morning and enjoy skiing on the crust. It is hard to beat flying down a natural half pipe on a beautiful spring day.

Spring Cleaning

I really like snow. Obviously, as a skier I enjoy snow's slippery properties which allow me to glide around the woods. Beyond skiing I like that everything looks good covered in a fresh blanket of snow.

Spring has arrived and we have been doing our part at 'The Club' to keep our environment looking good." A ton of trash has accumulated on the playground, the Pow Wow grounds and the trails, so on Monday we took a trip to 'The Store' for a treat with a little trash pick-up on the way.

A Beautiful Spring Day in Hayward

Tamiqua, Trinity and Shanna were the top Trash Collectors

A Clean Forest is a Happy Forest

Can you Hula? Get outside and try it

Spring at 'The Club'

It is great to be back in Hayward, WI. I have spent the better parts of the last two months traveling, racing, training, and relaxing in Ontario, Alaska, and Hawaii. My first afternoon at the 'Club' we went on a hike. It felt really strange that the last time I was at the Club we skied on the same trails.

Training just once a day has been great, allowing me to be at 'The Club' everyday of the week. There were many times I wish I had my camera but didn't.

Double Decker Swinging

Shana, Bernice, Hilayna at the Spring Book Fair

Twister. The kids have way better flexibility that I do.

It's OK to yell on this Bus

Getting excited for the Run Series

Ready, Set, Go

A number of us chose to run the 2-mile. Congratulations: Trinity, Shaylena, Asile, Nimmer, Joey and the others

Tin Can Mountain

There is a great group of cross country skiers who stuck around after the week of racing in Fairbanks. 11 of us went out to enjoy a beautiful day on Turnagain Pass. Including fellow In The Arena Athlete Torin Koos, check out his blog for some excellent pictures. The last three days have been great skiing, but Tin Can has been the best.

Andre with Tin Can in the background

Can't wait to go down

I miss Alaska

Lars Checking Out the View

Andre

Watt Post Flight.
We are heading back to play in the trees/pillows on Saturday

Moguls

Night Skiing

Alaska is my favorite place to be in the spring. The snow is great, my fitness is near it's peak, my schedule is open to play, and it is light until 10:00pm. We have been trying to get out early to ski everyday but it takes a while to get equipment sorted out for everyone. Luckily we can still ski late in the day.

Waist deep POW

Torin and Lars Climbing out of a bowl in Artic Valley.

Low Grade but Awesome Snow

8:15pm and leaving the car to go ski Peak 3

Andre and the 2010 Black Diamond Justices

Recovery Time

Many skiers take some time off in April to relax and recover in preparation for the next season. This is a very important part of the training year. Professional cross country skiing requires year round training and a lot of focus. It is important to let your mind recover in preparation for another year of hard work. The best way for me to recover is play in the mountains. I am looking forward to a few weeks traveling and enjoying the activites that I don't get to do very often. Andre Watt and I are staying with Pat Stinson for a week of telemark skiing in the backcountry of Alaska.

Driving Pat's sweet VW van to catch the first tram Monday morning at Alyeska Resort. I usually prefer to ski in the back country, but a day of lift service on a foot of powder is a real treat. We skied from the first lift at 10:30 to the last lift at 5:30.

Andre Dropping into Christmas Chute

Andre was trying to teach me to fly (small dot in center)

It didn't work, but it was still awesome

Dropiing from powder pillow to pillow

Andre