Ski Camp Summary

The MWHS Ski Team completed our first Christmas Ski Camp this past week.  A big thanks to all the families who helped make the trip a success and a special thanks to Jennifer, Susan and Jason for their planning and help during the camp. We departed from Desert Rd Wednesday morning in spring like temps and it was apparent that if winter was not coming to us than we would have to find winter.  In NE that means Mt Washington.  Even with spring like conditions on the drive to NH, I was confident we would find the winter conditions we were looking for.  As we prepared to leave the trail head in Pinkham Notch we began getting sketchy reports regarding water running down the hiking trail, not what we wanted to hear but we headed out to see for ourselves.  As we headed up the trail we soon noticed at least two Nordic Teams running down, so I figured it would be possible to make it to the shelter at the base of Tuckerman's Ravine.  At the shelter it was full on winter with wind and snow and cold, perfect!  After a short lunch we quickly descended and headed to one of the best Nordic Centers in the east, the Jackson Ski Touring Center. Unfortunately the prior night's rain cleaned out the skiing and we were faced with two options, ski around a field next to Jackson or head up to higher ground at the end of nearby Carter Notch Rd.  We decided to try the high ground and were pleased to see the Freeport Nordic Ski Team at the same site: things looked promising.  Sadly, the snow on the ground was very soft and not worth damaging skis so we cut this session short and headed to the rental house nearby.  It was clear we were a hungry group as the two large platters of lasagna disappeared in a hurry. Thursday we headed to Craftsbury Vt to find skiing at the local Nordic Center on man made snow.  The conditions were excellent and we had a great day of skiing. Returning to the house we all enjoyed excellent chili and corn bread, followed by a movie about skiing in Tuckerman's and games. Friday we traveled to Black Mt in Rumford to ski on more manmade snow on the same trails hosting this weeks US National Nordic Championships.  We had another great ski day, skiing with many racers prepping for the upcoming Nationals, good training for sure.  After skiing we enjoyed an end of camp dinner in Freeport.  All in all a great camp.  We traveled to interesting venues and did end up finding the skiing and winter we were aiming for. Looking ahead we will likely be back to running trails and some strength work until we can ski.  Pineland will be making snow when it gets cold, hopefully this week will provide the conditions necessary to do so.  Monday will be off, Tuesday and Thursday we should plan to run, be sure to dress appropriately as the temps will be dropping Tuesday.  I will talk to the team on Tuesday to see who is available on Wednesday and update status of the scheduled race once I hear if it is being rescheduled.  Please bring poles for running/bounding but we will not need roller skis due to the sand on the roads.  The next sure race is not a scheduled team event, however we should think about the Eastern Cup Race, 1-14-12, and 1-15-12 in Augusta.  These races are likely to go as scheduled however the site could change to Rumford if we do not get snow before hand.  Remember everything is subject to change due to variable weather and snow.

Thanks,

John