Bend Skiing!

The US Ski Team coaches set a goal of 100 hours on snow for this summer training season and after just one of our four camps, we are well on the way to achieving that goal!  While rollerskiing uses similar muscles, the technique, balance, and speed on snow are slightly different so the extra time spent actually skiing will hopefully give our team the edge come the race season.  Thanks to a big winter of snowfall in the Cascade Mountains, we were able to once again start the training year with a camp in Bend, Oregon.  There was plenty of snow and probably close to 20kilometers of trails open and we saw a big variety in conditions from frozen corduroy to new falling snow to deep, soft, slush.  This camp had a big volume focus with several hours of skiing each morning at Mt. Bachelor and then afternoons spent mountain biking, running, and hitting the gym in town.  We trained over four hours most days with some days hitting five to six hours!

Summer skiing at it's best! Skating on the Mt. Bachelor trails with Broken Top Mountain behind me (Bryan Fish photo)

Classic drills with Sophie (Bryan Fish photo)

Herringboning speeds-not something that you can practice on rollerskis (Bryan Fish photo)

Mid winter conditions (Flying Point Photo)

And then mid-summer conditions (Liz Arky photo)

Instant technique feedback- Here I am looking at an iPad with Matt to review video and then make changes (Flying Point photo)

Getting faster! (Flying Point photo)

Not every session involved drills, skills, or technique work and the best part of the volume camp was having the opportunity to just go out and ski, and sometimes off piste  We took advantage of some perfect snow conditions one day to cruise across the crust, through higher alpine meadows and up into the bowl on Broken Top mountain.  The almost four hour adventure was an absolute blast with great views!

Heading across the meadows towards Broken Top

Sadie leading the charge!

Heading towards the bowl up in the clouds (Bryan Fish photo)

Almost there!  The guys impressively climbed all the way to the top and then skied down on their skinny skis!

Looking back down towards Mt. Bachelor

Halfway through the camp, we took a break from the ski trails to join elite track and field athletes and alpine skiers also training in Bend for a Fast and Female event.  Bend has a couple great junior programs and it was fun to meet so many enthusiastic young athletes!

Fast and Female ambassadors sharing stories, inspirations, and fears (Flying Point photo)

Going retro!  Thanks to F&F participant and fast Bend junior skier Annie for bringing an awesome polaroid camera to the event to save some memories!

And while I love the opportunity to ski in May, my secret favorite part of Bend camp is probably the mountain biking!  The trails are fast and flowy which is nice break from all the rocks and roots in the East.  My aunt Laurie and uncle Bruce live in Bend so I spent a few extra days with them before and after the training camp and had a blast exploring some other trails and sights in the area.  

Mountain biking on the Peterson Ridge Trail with views of the Sisters mountains

McKenzie River trail ride (Bruce Lakin photo)

Big trees (Bruce Lakin photo) 

Blue pools!

I'm home in Craftsbury now for some Vermont summer training with the GRP.  The heat and humidity was a shock at first but I'm getting my sweat on and loving every moment!  Thanks for reading!