Nonstop NorAm

My three-week race excursion started out in Canmore, Alberta. One week was to be spent getting back into the groove of skiing on snow before the first race, the Alberta Cup: a skate sprint on Saturday, and a classic distance on Sunday. From there we would shift ourselves West into the beautiful British Columbia to compete at two NorAm (North American) Cups; first in Sovereign Lake, and then in Rossland.

I left Whitehorse on November 26^th at 5am. A few Tim Horton’s sandwiches, a couple hours in YVR, a short flight to Calgary, and a long wait in YYC, I finally met up with the rest of the team whose flight was delayed. We did the “oh too familiar” drive from Calgary’s prairie in to the towering Rocky Mountains of Canmore. I rolled into Canmore around 8pm after spending 3 hours on an airplane, one and a half hours in a car, and eleven hours in an airport!

A week before the first race and I was feeling great. Unlike so may of my teammates, I had already been on snow for a couple weeks! I felt great in my intervals and was ready and eager to start racing. But 6 days rotting in a dry hotel might not have done me well. I got a cold a couple days before the race. Luckily the sneezing and sniffling subsided just in time.

The race was about 9 km. Three 3 km loops. It was an individual start meaning skiers start at separate times, in this case 30 seconds apart from one another. I was testing out some new calming breathing techniques given to me by my sport psychologist. While everyone was running around getting pumped up I stood there calm as can be, relaxed and focused. I burst out of the gate and found myself right behind Jesse Cockney who had just come around to finish his first lap. I tucked in behind him and found it surprisingly easy to stay with him. I thought of taking the lead early on but knowing the trails in Canmore, and knowing what they can do to a man, what they’ve done to me, I decided to take it slow. I could see I was gaining on Zach Holland who started 30 seconds in front of me. I finally managed to close the gap just as Cockney finished his race. With one lap to go the Canmore trails were starting to punish me. Zach managed to stay right behind me on the last hill and we finished together. Losing some time on the last lap I finished 18 seconds behind my teammate Raphael but still over 30 seconds up on 3^rd place finisher Zach Holland. I was thrilled with my second place finish, especially considering I was just getting over a cold.

The next day we drove from mountains back to prairie. We flew to Kelowna, a short flight from Calgary and to make things even easier, we were not burdened with our ski bags. I had almost forgot what it was like to walk around an airport without a 60lb bag of skis. They were driven to Sovereign Lake courtesy of Nakkertok ski club.

We drove the winding road from the warm Okanogan Valley, up the mountain to Silver Star. This would be our home for the next week. It’s always a pleasure to stay in Silver Star. There are hot tubs, leather couches and flat-screens in almost every place. And it’s a nice change from Canmore to see some natural snow! The skiing was great despite lower than usual snowfall.

The first race of the weekend was the classic sprint. In a sprint you can race up to four times. First there is a qualifier in which skiers race individually around the course. Their time is clocked and the top 30 skiers are placed into heats of 6 people, based on their times. The top two racers in a quarter-final move on to a semi-final and the top 3 racers in the semi-final move on to the final.

I was feeling completely healthy again and was just hoping I could pull off another good race like I did in Canmore.  I had had one of my few good races here last year on the same course so I was looking to repeat. I was worried that my qualifier was not going well because my grip wax was slipping on the hills. I just came up with my arms and hammered down on my poles, hard as I could. I was surprised to see I had already made up a lot of time on the skier ahead of me. When I came to the finish I had closed the 15-second gap of the skier ahead of me. Once again I finished second junior, right behind my teammate Raphael. We had a considerable lead on the third qualified junior: 8 seconds. Things were looking good. I cruised through both my quarter and semi-final finishing in first place both heats. In the final I knew my main competition was Raphael. We both double poled so hard out of the start that 100 meters into the race it was just the 2 of us alone. I looked back on a corner thinking there must have been a crash behind us. In the end I could not overtake Raphael and I settled for another second place.

The next day was 15km classic race. It was a hard course, lots of climb and little opportunity to rest on downhills. My skies were slippery in warm-up so I got the coaches to add more wax. It made them slower but with a course like this, a guy needs to be able to stride up those hills slipping as little as possible. I focused on skiing with good technique. I was getting splits during the race and on the last lap I heard I was 12 second ahead of Raphael. I was hurting on the last couple kilometers but I fought hard right to the end. I finished thinking I had finally won. When the results were posted I ended up 13 seconds behind Raphael. Another great race for me but I was getting a little tired of winning silver medals. Once again Raphael and I destroyed the field finishing 40 seconds up from the third place finisher Zach Holland.

We celebrated another great race weekend by playing a big hockey game on the pond in Silver Star. The next morning we packed the Yukon XL s and started the long journey to Rossland listening to the girls Billboard’s top ten music play list the whole way. We stayed in another luxurious house in Rossland. Aidan and I had the loft. The loft is great apart from being hottest and noisiest part of the house.

Last weekend there was 2 classic races; this weekend it was 2 skate races. When I was home in the Yukon It was between minus 20 and 40 every day. For this reason I hadn’t skate skied near as much as I had classic skied in the past month. On top of this, I have never qualified for a skate sprint. I didn’t really know what to expect. I qualified seventh open and over 11 seconds up from the next junior, a huge margin for a sprint. It couldn’t have gone better for me. I comfortably won all my heats. Maybe next time I will race in the open category along with Raphael.

The last race: a 15km mass start. It is always fun to race mass starts. It often involves race tactics and strategy whereas individual starts are usually “who can suffer the most”. The trails in Rossland are narrow. With over 70 skiers on the start line it was bound to be mayhem. There was some talk about changing the race to an individual start for just that reason. I’m glad it stayed a mass start. I was seeded 28 so I was started a few rows back. I had a surprisingly clean start and kept all my skis and poles intact. Before long I was part of a long train of skiers spread out along the trail single or double file. The problem is when your single file, one person gets “gapped” while cresting a hill and then all of a sudden there’s a breakaway up ahead. You always have to be alert and ready to make a move to close the gap when needed. I guess I was zoned-out and all of a sudden found myself a couple meters back from the pack. I jumped in with fellow Yukoner John Parry and we tried to close the gap. We skied together for a lap, not losing but not gaining time on the pack. I decided to drop back to be absorbed by the group behind me so I had energy to sprint at the end. Skiing is similar to cycling in the way skiing with a group is much easier than skiing on your own. The pleasure of a mass start race is knowing exactly where you place during your race. I was the first junior for most of the race with Raphael not far behind. With one Kilometer to go I was passed by David Palmer who was having the race of his life. I was able to stick with him on the down-hill and draft him in to the finish where I won the sprint to the line.

What an end to the early season. I am happy to be home now for the Holidays and taking some much needed rest before the World Junior Trials in Whistler this January.

Merry Christmas 

Wildlife Skiing

Dave and I spotted several grouse, a coyote, and two marten on todays ski. Here is a video of the little marten, frolicking in the snow.

my favourite part is 35 seconds in when he wags his tale against the tree

a ski for the books

Minus 30. I asked Colin, "Col, are we idiots?" who skis at minus 30? Colin and I, obviously. This wasn't one of those piddly little skis to Harvey's Hut and back either. In fact, Colin and I agreed it was one of the top ten "epic skis" we've done. This time however, it was pleasant, unlike some of those other epic, but miserable skis.

We started out skiing with Dave and John along. Not far into the ski we spotted a grouse. It exploded upwards and landed in a tree, not 15 yards away. Colin took advantage of the opportunity.

A grouse (field dressed, wings attached) fits perfectly into the upper portion or your drink belt. We carried on down the trail to where we saw our second grouse. It was on a cut-bank. The grouse like cut-banks because it provides them with easy access to the fine gravel they need to digest their food. Coming down a hill with speed i saw the grouse up ahead. I made a spur of the moment decision to try to decapitate it with my pole. Close enough! the grouse was left flopping around in the snow and I made quick work of it. Col and I were now 2 for 2 with the grouse. I still cannot believe it. It could very well be the first grouse killed by a Swix CT1... only in Yukon! Too bad i didn't get it on camera.

Soon after, Col and I parted ways with Dave and John. For some reason they didn't want to ski the accent trail at -30... wimps. Here is a picture of colin climbing Mt Mac.

Half way up and theres already quite the view

We finally made it to the Fraser Loop. 

And just so you see how much snow is up there....

and then Colin started to show off

...and regretted showing off

too bad all I had with me was my dinky little phone camera!

At this point i was beginning to "bonk". The only thing keeping me going was the windchill. On the Descent we were flying down the mountain at 50km an hour. Add that to the -30 air temperature and you have a windchill of minus 50! I told Colin, "Col, we are idiots."

When we finally reached the Gravel Pits we found our selves on freshly groomed trails once again (Thanks Rudy Sudrich). Tired, cold and hungry, Colin and I hammered back to the chalet from the Gravel Pits in only 27 minutes to finish off our 3 hour trek. Here we are at the finish.

We jumped straight into the sauna afterwards and enjoyed a meal of spruce grouse late in the afternoon.

The rest of my day was spent chopping wood with fellow wood-chopper Fabian Brook. 2 cords in 2 hours. not bad for a couple of light weight cross-country skiers.

Fishing Video (July 2011)

The Early Season

With the race season just around the corner, athletes are finally switching from wheeling to gliding: pavement to snow. Roller skiing may look like a lot of fun to the curious onlooker, and at times, it can be. But when I’ve roller skied countless hours over the same cracked, weather-beaten pavement, I can’t help but try and loose myself in anything other than roller skiing. I imagine myself back in the Yukon, silently striding along the 80km of groomed trails, through the thick spruce forest. Then suddenly I hear a loud rumbling noise as a dump truck puffs a cloud of diesel in my face and I’m hit with the strong draft which scoops last nights rain off the pavement and blasts it in my face along with the trail of sand the truck spews out as it plows down the road. I’m back. There’s no escaping from Quebec’s November fury: rain, sleet. She’ll even kick up a hurricane-like wind that’ll knock your socks off.

Lucky for me, I have a one-way ticket to Yukon on November 9^th… turns out there is a way to escape Quebec’s November fury. The Yukon is my home, and home is a very special place for an athlete because they’re so seldom there. For me, it’s a place where I can forget about my training load and drain the “stress valve”. I visit the old ski club and I ski for fun, not to become a faster skier, but to become a better athlete. Because a good athlete has fun doing what he does best.

On November 26^th, I’m off to Canmore to start off the race season. It’s almost a relief to finally begin racing after all the hard work in the summer. Usually the team (CNEPH) travels straight to Sovereign Lakes to get a little extra on-snow training in before the first North American Cup. The change was made to Canmore for a few reasons. One: because Canmore is at a lower altitude, which makes for easier training, and two: to race some Alberta Cups. The Alberta Cup races are not FIS races, meaning skiers don’t receive any beneficial “points” for international events. I guess you could call them practice races. For my teammates staying in Quebec, this will likely be the first time on snow since our glacier camp in Austria.

From Canmore, we’ll travel straight to Sovereign Lakes to race the first of the North American Cup series. In my opinion, Sovereign Lakes is one of the only places in Canada that can compete with the trails at the Whitehorse Cross-Country Ski Club. Because of its elevation there is guaranteed early snow, and lots of it. This is why it’s chosen as the site for one of the first races of the year. Although only a twenty-minute drive from Vernon, Sovereign Lakes is a completely different world than its neighbouring city. The Drive takes you from a warm, shrub-desert environment, into a winter wonderland. This year, we’ll stay at Silver Star instead of down in Vernon. Sovereign Lakes is one of my favorite places to ski. There are two races, a sprint and a distance race. The courses here are hard; lots of hills. Not to mention we’re racing at 1600m above sea level. Skiing here is almost like being on a rollercoaster.

After These two races, the team rushes to Rossland to compete at the second of the North American Cup Series. For these races I really don’t know what to expect because I’ve never been to Rossland. The team went last year but I had decided to return home for some extra rest. Not this year! I’m excited to see how it’ll go.

Then its time to come home for Christmas! It won’t be quite as long as most people’s holiday but still a good break. It’s one of those rare times that my whole family will be together again. Something I used to take for granted. For those who don’t know I have three sisters: Annie, the youngest, and two older sisters, Solvey and Aurora. I might be a bit late to help with the tree this year. I hope it’s a bit warmer for Christmas this year. I don’t mind the cold but intervals at -40 don’t work very well.

New years! I mean: “oh new years”… For the past I don’t know how many years, new years has been spent on an airplane or in a van. World Junior/U23 Trials are always one of the biggest events of the year. Especially this year because its my last year as a junior and my last and best chance of qualifying for the World Junior Championships in Turkey. I’m pretty confident that if all goes well I will be going there. Then again, I was also confident last year. I’ll try not to dwell on this too long. I’ll just pretend it’s a time trial. Too much pressure can get to a man.

Because the rest of my season (where I’m going and what I’ll do) all depends on these races, I can’t really plan ahead any further. I believe its better to live in the present than future anyway so I’ll just stop at that.

More updates to come as the race season unfolds!

Eating on a budget

todays catch: a practical solution to rising food prices. great on the grill, oven, or open fire. fur can be used to make small garments like hats or mittens

The Dachstein

The Dachstein Glacier was pretty bare this year. A lot of rocks, a lot of dirt, a lot of ice. However the camp went fairly smooth.

I guess you could say we were lucky to have nice sunny weather for the entire 2 weeks we were there (though that didn't help with the snow factor). I was hoping to be able to test a few pairs of new skis on warm snow before the race season but i guess that will not happen now. I brought 8 pairs of skis all the way across the Atlantic and only used 2. luckily those were just training skis because they got beaten up pretty bad.

A nice thing about being on the Dachstein is you can always count on running into different skiers from all over the world: teams from Finland, Norway, Japan, Russia. Most of the time i keep to myself when i'm skiing but its great to watch some of the great skiers such as Matti Heikkinen stride along beside you.

Glacier camps are not one of the harder camps we do, they are more to work on technique. Roller skiing is about as close as it gets but still far from the real thing. Every day on the glacier is spent skiing in "zone 1". Nice and easy but still fast enough to ski with good technique. Its tricky to do in icy conditions but, when i get into a good rhythm i feel like i could ski for days. The coaches took lots of video on the glacier and afterwards we'd analyse that video so that the next day i'd know what i'd have to improve. In the afternoon we'd do a shorter workout in roller ski or run.

Training camps can sometimes be stressful, but one thing that is definately a relief, atleast at the Dachstein, is that all of your meals are cooked for us. Its nice to wake up to a big bowl of oatmeal and come down hungry from skiing all morning on the glacier and have a hot lunch waiting for you. We stayed in a hotel which is really more like a bed & breakfast if you ask me. Very small, traditional and privately owned. The beds we slept in were very small, the blankets were very thick, and the pillows very big. I like big beds because i like to roll around. i like thin blankets because i sleep very hot. And I like small pillows because they take up less room on the bed. I didn't have the best sleeps.. and resting heart rate was always high. This being my second time on the camp i can say that thats pretty normal though.

Last year I returned from that camp pretty exhausted. Learning from my mistake, this year I skied  a few less hours, but had a much better intensity workout and with a couple rest days I'll be ready for the time trial this weekend. 

We got  a lot of "ok" skiing in in the past couple weeks but now its great to be back in MSA for a good rest. Really excited to return home in November as well.

training camp video!

roller ski track in Austria

Don't get your hopes up, the videos crap but it should at least be entertaining. music credit -David Greer

sling shot

finally threw together this slingshot video

Austria's Dachstein Glacier

gondola

overlooking Schladming 

double poling Austria's switch-backs

leading the Czech skiers

klister skiing with the boys