Happy Thanksgiving!!

Hopefully everyone is full and somewhat comatose at this point in the evening. We had a great feast professionally cooked by the Prevots today. Meanwhile, the kids had a team competition of Battleship, Twister, Pool, and Trivia today (won by Holly, half a point over the team of Jordan and Jenna.) Here are some photos from our ski yesterday and the feast tonight, enjoy!

Hollybear.

Ironwood: Keepin' on Keepin' on

There's not much new to report from here- still rollerskiing on good pavement with minimal traffic, clouds and cool but not the snow and freezing temps we would like to see. Today the crew worked pretty hard with a mock sprint race in the morning and a recovery interval session in the afternoon that pushed us into and beyond dusk. Here are some more pictures of training in Michigan, check back soon for pictures of us on snow (we hope!)

Pat's natural reaction when the camera is pointed at him

Mitch getting pumped to sprint

Matt's Nature Shot of the Day

Ironwood: Before the Snow..

The title of this post suggests that there will be a future entry after the snow arrives. While we are all hoping that it will come soon, we aren't holding our breath in the 45 degree weather over here in Ironwood Michigan. Despite the lack of white stuff on the ground, the normal mid-November doom and gloom attitude has not settled on the crew. The rollerskiing is actually really good over here and its if nothing else a change of scenery from the usual view as we roll up Mountain Road.

Those of us who have been recovering from illness are slowly getting back into the normal training regime, and while many of us have lost some valuable training hours in the past two weeks, the focus on the season looming in front of us has not been lost. The forecast is calling for probable snow on Wednesday and Thursday which could be a "wintery mix-ed" blessing at this point.... While we would be completely stoked for a big dump of snow and great skiing, it could potentially derail us to get an inch or two of slush that puts us out on the rollerski front too.

There are a few things one could be justified in complaining about here, but we aren't hearing any groans coming from the team, which is a testament to their focus and determination to
push through until snow finally arrives. In the meantime there are still technical issues that we can iron out just as easily on rollerskis, and the pool table in our house has been in constant use as well. We are keeping our fingers crossed for now...

Sun Valley In Photos..

Sorry it has taken this long to get some photos up from Sun Valley, at very least we can all reminisce about the good times, the lack of oxygen, the Sun..

The view from our house one of the first evenings

then a day later...

its snow!

2009 BMA Christmas Camp: Enroll Now!

Burke Mountain Academy is hosting its second annual Christmas training camp geared towards J4s, J3s, and J2s on the BMA Campus from December 18th through the 21st. This year we are proud to announce that U.S. Ski Team coach Matt Whitcomb and current U.S. Ski Team member Liz Stephen will be on hand to help coach the crew, along with BMA coach Matt Johnson. The camp will focus on fundamentals such as balance, technique, waxing basics, and having fun on snow! The camp will be an excellent opportunity for skiers with a range of abilities to get three days of hands on coaching as well as a chance to talk to a U.S. Ski Team coach and an athlete preparing for the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics! For more details on the camp please contact Matt Johnson or Pete Phillips at:
mjohnson@burkemtnacadmey.org
pphillips@burkemtnacadmey.org
802-626-1516 ext. 1012