We're BACK. The blog, the team and even the rain on this beautiful December evening. Honestly, though, the BMA Nordic team is in good spirits. We are now settled back home in East Burke after an extremely productive Fall training block on snow in Sun Valley and West Yellowstone and we're excited to race our first Eastern Cup this weekend. Bottom line is that we will take this slow beginning to winter in the East in stride. Yesterday we bounded on Pinkham road and today we linked up the ski trails and Kingdom single track for an awesome running adventure. Winter is the East is a crazy beast and we're not losing faith. I hope you will follow us this season as we continue to chase the snow and our goals. Thank you! (Photos below)
A reflection on Fall Camp: by Chris O'brien
Recently we finished our four week on snow camp in Sun Valley and West Yellowstone. We were fortunate in our camp to get 27 days on snow and excellent training everyday and often with other talented skiers from other clubs. When we first arrived in Sun Valley we set up in Ketchum and spent most of the first two weeks skiing every day on the Harriman trail linking the Lake Creek and Galena trail systems. The Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation let us join them in training many days and even let us join in their season opening team building activity, Save the Baby King. This race is a traditional race and challenge in Norway to celebrate a historic feat where a group of skiers saved the baby king by skiing him over the mountain passes to safety. During the Save the Baby King we were split into small mixed age and gender teams and sent on a race/scavenger hunt that required running, skiing, strength, teamwork, and creativity. Teams had to navigate along the trails, through unmarked areas to then complete team activities that were as challenging mentally as they were physically challenging all the while carrying the Baby. Oh, did I forget to mention that the baby was a 25lbs weight that couldn’t be let out of our sight?
After our first two weeks in Sun Valley we continued on to West Yellowstone Montana where we were able to ski on the perfectly kept trails. While in West, we were able to participate in the West Yellowstone Ski festival and had our first experiences racing in Super Tour races. While hard, the races were fun and a positive racing and learning experience for all. After the races in West we traveled back to Sun Valley for 2 more super tour races. We were graciously put up by host families in Sun Valley making our stay even more enjoyable than it was the first time we were there. Preparing for the races we were able to make good friends with the Sun Valley ski team. The final races of the trip were successful for all. This camp and training experience was an incredible opportunity but we look forward to getting back to sea level and preparing for our Eastern Cup season opener at Craftsbury
Fat biking day "off"
Thanksgiving dinner preparations
Harriman trail
Technique work
Bounding
Pre-race team speeds
A cold and snowy afternoon in West
SUN
SNOW
Pete (and Oskar) coaching
Chris
Danya
Orli
Orli
Teaming up with SVSEF is always fun
Thank you for reading. See you on the trails. Do your dance.
A reflection on Fall Camp: by Chris O'brien
Recently we finished our four week on snow camp in Sun Valley and West Yellowstone. We were fortunate in our camp to get 27 days on snow and excellent training everyday and often with other talented skiers from other clubs. When we first arrived in Sun Valley we set up in Ketchum and spent most of the first two weeks skiing every day on the Harriman trail linking the Lake Creek and Galena trail systems. The Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation let us join them in training many days and even let us join in their season opening team building activity, Save the Baby King. This race is a traditional race and challenge in Norway to celebrate a historic feat where a group of skiers saved the baby king by skiing him over the mountain passes to safety. During the Save the Baby King we were split into small mixed age and gender teams and sent on a race/scavenger hunt that required running, skiing, strength, teamwork, and creativity. Teams had to navigate along the trails, through unmarked areas to then complete team activities that were as challenging mentally as they were physically challenging all the while carrying the Baby. Oh, did I forget to mention that the baby was a 25lbs weight that couldn’t be let out of our sight?
After our first two weeks in Sun Valley we continued on to West Yellowstone Montana where we were able to ski on the perfectly kept trails. While in West, we were able to participate in the West Yellowstone Ski festival and had our first experiences racing in Super Tour races. While hard, the races were fun and a positive racing and learning experience for all. After the races in West we traveled back to Sun Valley for 2 more super tour races. We were graciously put up by host families in Sun Valley making our stay even more enjoyable than it was the first time we were there. Preparing for the races we were able to make good friends with the Sun Valley ski team. The final races of the trip were successful for all. This camp and training experience was an incredible opportunity but we look forward to getting back to sea level and preparing for our Eastern Cup season opener at Craftsbury
Fat biking day "off"
Thanksgiving dinner preparations
Harriman trail
Technique work
Bounding
Pre-race team speeds
A cold and snowy afternoon in West
SUN
SNOW
Pete (and Oskar) coaching
Chris
Danya
Orli
Orli
Teaming up with SVSEF is always fun
Thank you for reading. See you on the trails. Do your dance.
