Out East

Right from the get-go I've been feeling pretty tip top this year. Summer training, fall time trials, there was never time I've felt so good to be a skier. I think I did get a bit excited right at the start of the season however. My races in December weren't quite matching up to my november time trials. First distance race of the year: 15km Classic, I killed myself. I really pushed myself too hard and I blew up. A month later I think I'm finally recovered. 

Over Christmas break I played it safe. I didn't go out to all of those Christmas parties, I didn't play a lot of hockey or interval workouts in -30. Even so, I did manage to get sick. Only for a week though and I was healthy just in time for trials in T Bay.

Being sick just prior, I didn't have a whole lot of time to prepare but I was pretty confident none the less. I didn't have to have stellar races to qualify… and I didn't. I had three decent races, unfortunately for me a lot of other guys seemed to pull the race of their life that weekend. So here's how it went…

The first race was a 30km Pursuit. In a pursuit race you change equipment (poles and skis) half way through the race; starting in classic and finishing in skate. These are always fun because we usually only get to do one or two of these a year if we're lucky. It was a mass start and the pace was slow of the start. It was more of a ski 15km and then do a 15km skate race. A big group of skiers came into the exchange at the same time. All of a sudden the race started in the skate portion and I got dropped pretty hard. Not a bad race but far from what it could have been.

Sprint day was similar. I qualified seventh (first U23). I made it through the quarterfinal and had the option of using David's skis for the semi. They were lightening fast but when I came to the big hill half way through the race course I was slipping all over the place. I finished the day in second U23. If I'd won i'd be going to Czech. So close…

                                      My quarterfinal        photo by John Sims

I still had a chance. All I had to do was have a good race in the 15km skate. I had an good race, but it turns out some other guys had great races and I ended up just short. They took five junior skiers to Czech and four U23. If they took 5 of both I'd probably be going. Everyone going is a year or two older than me though so I have a couple more years. My teammate Colin Abbott pulled off some really good races last weekend and made the team so I'm happy for him. 

I'd sort of expected, even planned on being in Czech Republic this coming week but instead I'll be racing some Super Tours in Minnesota. I'm actually really excited because I haven't done many of these and you can often get better points here than racing overseas. 

The weather is dismal and skiing is hard to come by but I have no doubt the races will go on. After a good rest during Christmas I think it just took a weekend of racing to get me back in shape and I'm expecting to see some Yukon Elite squad on the podium in the Tour de Twin cities in Minneapolis.

Canmore Norams

December first marked the start of the race calendar this year but I was heading out a week early. Changes in environment, particularly altitude can take a while to adjust to. I hopped on Air North, bags tipping the scales at just overweight enough not to get charged. I arrived in Calgary with my four teammates and some thirty or forty skis between us. Renting a car when you’re under twenty-five isn’t simple. It usually involves a hefty under age fee. Other times it involves cool Dave sweet-talking the rental agent. Just like we smoothed things over with that friendly lady at the Air North counter. After the rental van was stuffed with five dudes, five ski bags, five duffel bags, and four hundred dollars of Costco groceries, we hit the road to Canmore, Alberta.

The trails in Canmore were designed for the 88 Olympics and are extremely hard. The races last weekend (Dec. 1, 2) were also used to qualify athletes for the Canadian World Cups this December.

The first race was a skate sprint. A short course and fast conditions made for fast times. The race ended up being just over two and a half minutes. I had an OK qualifier and finished as fifteenth open man. My quarterfinal was very close. Everyone finished the two and a half minute race within one second. I finished fifth. I was a little disappointed because with everyone finishing so close, it could have been anyone’s race. Because a few athletes decided not to take their spot in the World Cup I actually got offered a spot in Quebec. This was a nice surprise but I decided that spending two grand to fly to Quebec to do a three-minute race and get my ass kicked is not worth it. I’ll focus on World U23s.

start of my quarterfinal

finish of my quarterfinal

Sunday was the 15km Classic. I almost always do well in this discipline, but this time the Canmore hills got the best of me. I started out at a good pace, maybe a little too good. But in order to glide up the hills and not run you’ve got to go pretty hard. I was getting sixth place splits and caught the guy who started thirty seconds ahead of me. I lasted to about kilometer twelve of the fifteen-kilometer race. Then I hit the wall and I hit it hard. All of a sudden I couldn’t kick my skis, my muscles were chalked full of lactic acid, and I was gasping for air. I knew if I could just hang on for another couple minutes I would have a start on the World Cup. I flopped down on the finish line and had to be dragged into the first aid room. My throbbing headache finally went away and after sipping on apple juice I could finally stand up. I don’t think I’ve ever been that out of it after a race.

I ended up losing nearly a minute in those last couple kilometers and went from sixth to thirteenth, missing out on a world cup spot by fifteen seconds. I know I’m faster than how I raced that day but I was feeling great for most of the race and I even when I was “hitting the wall” I gave it all I had so I’m happy. I’m also happy for my teammate David Greer who will be representing our team in the Canmore World Cup.

This past week I’ve been enjoying perfect skiing conditions in Silver Star. The next races won’t qualify me for a world cup but I’ll be racing against the guys that are qualified and this time I’ll be sure to avoid hitting the wall.

Rabbiting

The first races are only a week away and it feels like I should be half way through the season. I guess we have been skiing for 5 weeks… still I'm feeling fresh and can't wait to start racing. Most of the big hours and hard strength workouts are already over and now its the easy part.

On Yukon Elite Squad we really help each other out and bring as much to the training as possible because our strength is in our team. We don't have a coach at every interval session so its upon ourselves to encourage each other to push harder. It feels like a real team rather than a bunch of dudes skiing under the same name. I have 3 sisters but no brothers, so these guys kind of fill in the gaps.

Team spirit is at an all time high right now. Could be to do with our new custom race suits or it could be that we're all stoked that we made it through the training season and now we get to prove ourselves. I'm not sure if any photos got leaked of our new suit but for now I'll keep it a surprise. Here's JP looking sharp in our new warm ups, courtesy of Swix. You'll be happy to know he no longer has that moustache.

photo by David Greer

I'll be flying down to Calgary on Sunday to have a week to acclimatize before the first races. But don't expect to see me lounging around the Rocky Mountain Ski Lodge anymore. I'll be shooting pool or maybe having a hot tub in the Yukon Elite Squad mansion. Ok, it actually belongs to Colin's uncle but its ours for the week! I sure hope Canmore isn't 7 degrees on Tuesday as forecasted. I was going to complain a little bit of having to race on man made snow but for now i'll just pretend I'm one of those Quebecers thats all giddy to just put on their skis for the first time this year. 

There is lots to be done before leaving to Canmore but Colin and I managed to squeak in a day of what i like to call "rabbiting". We set out some snares to catch a few snowshoe hare and exceeded our expectations.

photo by Malkolm Boothroyd

Ten snowshoe hare in one day! Just think what we could do if we weren't skiing all the time. We kept all the meat and plan to make rabbit sausage. Once I learn how to tan the rabbit hides we will be making, hats, mittens, or perhaps a quilt. I've also heard the First Nation cut it into strips and weave it to make clothing. Fur of a snowshoe hare is softer than the softest kitten imaginable and i can't wait to find creative ways to use it. 

Time trial tomorrow and then off to Canmore Sunday morning! First races are on December first and second. Look for a Knute Johnsgaard publication in upcoming issues of Whats Up Yukon!

ON SNOW!

Skiing is underway in Yukon. Take a look at the ski chalet and you wouldn’t believe it, but drive 15 minutes up the Descent trail (Mt McIntyre) and you’re in the North Pole. Temperatures hover around minus 15 degrees Celsius with close to a foot of cold dry snow.

October 11^th was the day this year. 2 days before Canmore laid out their seventy thousand dollar sheet of ice. Kidding! Not about the 2 days before, but I’m sure the groomers do a good job… on their 1.8 km loop. To be fair I did hear they have some real snow now. But there must be some reason this guy drove all the way up to the Yukon.

Enough about Canmore… did you hear Yukon is the 4^th best place to visit in the ENTIRE WORLD? According to Lonely Planet anyway. Maybe Its because I was born here; I mean everyone loves their hometown. I do believe it’s something more than that. 14 sq km of wilderness per person and a 2-1 ratio of moose to human, what more could you ask for? Saying that it seems impossible that I would be unable to find a bull moose this year. I’ll have to go looking for bison now. Or ask @davidgreer99 to share some of his. There’s no recovery drink like a moose steak.

Training wise, we’re still meeting at least seven times a week, in the gym trying to build those explosive sprinting muscles, and on the trails working our heart and lungs. Its great to be home, but I’m getting antsy to start hopping from hotel to hotel. Or motel to couch, all the same. 

Heres a little video of John doing his warm up routine in the gym. Don't let his size fool you. 

September in Yukon

September in Yukon: people have to get up an extra five minutes earlier to scrape off their car windshield. Come October they’ll be shoving a piece of cardboard in front of the radiator. I would be too... if I had a car. Instead I’m wearing a buff under my Rudy helmet.

The days are getting shorter. If you sleep in you can practically miss one. Everything gets jammed into that small window of daylight. I find myself eating dinner an hour after lunch and being ready for bed until I see its only 8pm.

A couple weeks and we’ll be back on snow I hope. There’s a new ski trail cut from the Fish Lake road to the Frazer loop on Mt Mac. Having helped cut that trail myself, It will be that much more satisfying to ski. The trails close to the chalet have decent skiing from early November. Fish Lake however, only fifteen minutes away, has snow 2-3 weeks earlier because of its higher altitude. We’re looking forward to showing off our new trail and early snow to CVTC who will be coming up for a training camp in early November.

For now we’re still pounding out intervals on pavement. The more you make it hurt the better it feels to stop. A feeling I’m starting to get addicted too.

Outside of skiing, I just got back from an awesome (although unsuccessful) moose hunt with Colin and Fabian. I still hope to find a moose yet as my freezer has a lot more rhubarb in it than it does meat right now. 

Canoeing, fishing, and just being out in the wilderness is very relaxing. Not physically, because portaging your canoe around rapids and countless beaver dams is no walk in the park; but mentally, because you’re not thinking about everything else you should be doing like finding sponsors and filling out your training log. Doing more outside of skiing, makes me all that more motivated during training, so I seem to be able to push myself harder. 

Glacier to Glacier

The Denver

The Denver Glacier had a lot of miles put on it this past July. We’d wake up from our damp wall tent, take two steps out the door and snap on the zeros. For five days we skied through a mix of foggy, snowing, and bluebird conditions. Typical Glacier weather I guess: never knowing what to expect. Training was phenomenal. 

Higher intensity training and speed work was difficult because our baskets punched though the snow’s crust, especially later in the afternoon. There are no trails on the glacier and we had a loop specially groomed only the day before we arrived (making punchy conditions inevitable). I could only imagine what it would be like to have a pisten bully up there. Still the skiing was amazing; the last day especially. Not a cloud in the sky and a smooth crust to explore the whole glacier.

 It was hard to stop skiing that day, but we had to make the hike down to Skagway and drive home. Only a three hour hike and two hour drive later, I was back in Whitehorse for a much needed shower. First glacier camp in the bag.

                                                             The whole glacier crew

Now we’re In Anchorage about to hop up on the Eagle Glacier. I don’t know where the rest of July went. A lot of it was spent fishing. Caught my biggest lake trout ever. A little over 15 pounds. 

Hit’n the Training Camps

Summer has not moved north yet. July 3^rd with daytime high of 14 degrees, I reminisce about the weather at nationals this past March. But cold weather hasn’t stopped us from putting in big hours on training camps.

Our first Yukon Elite Squad camp took place right here in Whitehorse. Believe it or not, it felt good to get some hours in on roller skis after spending so much time on snow this spring. I forgot how nice the roller skiing could be in Whitehorse. A paved footpath following the Yukon River goes the length of the town and we are able to complete a loop, an hour or so long. We’ve also been enjoying the odd “urban roller ski” and if the weather permits, cooling off in the lake after intervals. RIGHT after intervals…

We pulled off a lot of quality workouts including a couple long road bike rides to prepare ourselves for the Kluane International Bike Relay the following weekend. The Yukon Elite Squad smashed the field in the 4-person category.

Having an at-home camp seems very beneficial to me. That is as long as you can stay focused and remember its still a training camp. Why waste energy and money on travel when there is the making for a great training camp at home?

Our latest camp was a hiking camp in Atlin, BC with the Yukon Ski Team. A 3-hour drive down a dusty road brings you to the beautiful town of Atlin. Population: 400. The town is located on Atlin Lake, which is home to the highest fresh water island in the world (Theresa Island). Staying in tents, like every other Yukon Ski Team camp, we cooked bison roast over an open fire and made atlatls on our off-time. We did 3 hikes, one a day, along some beautiful mountain ridges. On the last day we did a  30 minute running race up a steep-ass mountain.

Navigating the ridge through the fog

boot skiing like a pro

up-hill running technique: using arms to drive legs up the mountain

(Photos by David Greer)

Getting back to at-home training camps and how silly it is to create unnecessary travel/fatigue… we could fly to Austria to ski on a glacier but there is literally a glacier 130km from my house. That is why this Friday we will leave to here, the Denver Glacier.

These shabby wall tents will be our home for 5 days. “Sleeping on glacier, no good.” You say? Well the best thing about this glacier is it’s at 1400m. The same elevation as Canmore! The Denver Glacier is a short but treacherous hike from Skagway, Alaska. There are dogsled tours offered on the Denver Glacier all summer long but as far as we know, nobody has ever skied on this glacier. So for the time being we will call it an experimental camp. If it works out, we could be back here several times a year.

Total cost for Glacier camp: about 300 bucks!

Stay tuned to here about the Denver Glacier camp in the following weeks!