Upcoming Race Info

Reminder - We have a race on Wednesday, January 2 at 3:30 at Pineland.  Exact details to follow, but the team should expect to be at Pineland around 2:30 that day.

Also, some team members have expressed interest in participating in the Telstar Relays this coming Saturday, January 5.  This race takes place at Telstar High School in Bethel at 11:00.  Final counts for who's interested and available will be settled after the Wednesday race, so please come to that race prepared to let John know if you want to race at Telstar.

Wax info will be posted tomorrow (January 1).

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Christmas Camp News....

Saturday....The team jumped out of bed this morning to go on an early morning run and then they enjoyed pancakes (and yogurt, and fruit, and eggs, and...). We made the trip to the outdoor center where they skied for about 2 hours, most of the time thinking about how much longer they had to wait to eat (according to Graham). Here they are resting up for the afternoon...

Sunday...Last night Ben, Fiona, and Graham spent quite a bit of time shoveling off the back deck. It was snowing as they were working, fortunately, so there will be more fun for the others tonight. I think everyone would have to admit that the kids hardly "jumped" out of bed this morning. Someone, who shall remain nameless, slithered to breakfast in his sleeping bag...After trying to keep the smoke alarm from waking the neighbors (bacon) and going for a brisk run, the team ate breakfast and packed up for the ODC again. They are all out right now, along with Sandy Pearson, and this afternoon we'll be going over to the Maine Huts and Trails trails for some variety. Tonight John has an after-dinner ski planned on the backcountry trails in the neighborhood. Update: Here is a picture from lunch time

Monday...We'll be leaving around 1:30 from the ODC to arrive back to Desert Rd. by 4 pm. If we are running early or late by more than 30 min. we'll give someone a call to start a phone tree. Check back here later, maybe tomorrow, for some great pictures of the kids pushing out the van and Susan's car. Both vehicles got stuck last night on a road that had been clear hours before, but had become almost totally drifted over with snow with high winds sweeping across an airfield. You might also see pictures here of the moonlight ski the kids took last night, but they won't begin to describe the scene. It was magical! Expect tired kids - 2 skis per day for the first two days and then three yesterday, on top of running in the AM. Today no one ran, but they did shovel and roof rake! See you soon...

Christmas Camp 2012 Last minutes notes...

• Please check the packing list carefully, especially the bedding requirements.

• Please bring a daypack in the van filled with your lunch and anything else you will need for skiing for the day separate from all of your other gear. You should probably also wear your ski clothes to make things easier upon arrival.

The van will go directly to Sugarloaf so you all can ski before lunch. Our Subaru will have some duffles, sleeping bags, pillows, etc. This car will NOT be going directly to Sugarloaf and if your lunch, ski pass money, etc. are in it, you will be missing them for some hours. (Jennifer's stopping at the house to get instructions from the owner.) 

• Also, anyone who can bring a check or cash for $23 per child to reimburse us for the camp food and $19.50 per child to reimburse for gas please do. This will be the total cost for the camp, other than trail passes of course, which skiers are paying for on their own. If there is anything left over we'll reimburse directly, or put the money towards team supplies, as people wish. If you are moved to put an extra couple of dollars towards a small gift for the Cashell family, feel free. (If you give us cash and want to put $ towards the gift, please make sure you let us know.)

Thank you and see you in the morning!!

10:20 AM Thursday update... DEPARTURE Friday 8am  - RETURN Monday afternoon (as long as we don't get snowed in!)

Please check the packing list - IT IS DIFFERENT FROM LAST YEAR.

A Christmas Camp Message from John...

I hope all enjoyed Xmas and are ready for a fun and productive ski camp. The camp marks the end of our dryland period and the start of actual "snow" skiing,no more roller skiing!

To get prepped please have your classic and skate skis waxed and ready to go. We will try to put more work on CL skiing if we have good tracks and we should based on the current conditions at the Outdoor Center and more snow on the way. For wax: glide for 25-30F should work, for CL skiing also have a base kick wax of Swix extra blue or equal. Having this done will save time and permit skiing right away.

For added items to bring if possible: Goggles, a real help if skiing in windy and or falling snow; water bottle and holder; glove liners; extra gloves and hat; headlamp, if we have a chance it could be fun to do a night ski on back country trails. 

I am hoping to ski each day in the morning and again in the afternoon. We will keep the pace easy for the most part with a mix of short speed sessions. If we have time it would be fun to have a low key Time Trial to get ready for the first race on 1-2-13 at the end of camp. I would also suggest at least some "retro" entertainment for quiet time. BOOKS are still used for enjoyable reading - how about a challenge to all to at least do some reading and share what they like or dislike about their book! 

Here is a sample 24hr plan and each day may vary a bit:

wake up 7 - 7:30, 

dress for 20 min run for those w/o duty, 

breakfast and cleanup till 9 - 9:30

travel to ODC ,Ski am 10:30 - 12:30

lunch and rest till 2:30 *if we chose to stay at the ODC for lunch

PM ski till 4pm

change and prep for dinner till 5:30 - 6:00

dinner and cleanup till 7:00 - 7:30

free time,till 10pm

quite time till 11 - then lights out. Remember you should be aiming for good recovery of at least 8 hours and better 9 hours of sleep for best performance. This will make a difference. 

Remember, our first race is on January 2nd!

WEATHER UPDATE......

Due to the amount of snow predicted over the route we'll take to Sugarloaf, we will NOT be leaving on Thursday morning.

We do hope to leave Thursday afternoon or early evening if at all possible.  If we don't leave Thursday afternoon, we plan to leave Friday morning at 8. (No matter the day or time, we will be departing from Desert Rd.)

We will keep a close eye on weather and decide on a departure day/time by around noon time tomorrow.

A last minute packing list addition...HEAD LAMP. There are lots of trails around the house and John thinks it will be fun to go out skiing at night.

One more thing...Please email me, Jennifer, to let me know whether you can stay over Sunday night and return home to Desert Rd. by 3 PM on Monday. Some kids will be staying anyway, and if the group as a whole can do that, it would mean the team would not lose a day on snow due to a snow storm!

CHRISTMAS CAMP 2012 PACKING LIST...

Plan to bring classic and skate skiing, hiking, and running gear.

LABEL ALL THE GEAR AND CLOTHES YOU DON'T WANT TO LOSE.

• Lunch for the first day

• Snacks for the four days that can be stashed in our water bottle belt. Bars are ideal. We'll have fruit.

• Sleeping bag, pillowcase and pillow, towel (not everyone will need a pillow, but we'll need some.)

• Workout clothes for 4 days for the activities listed above. Multiple pairs of socks. Layers.

• Hats, gloves, etc. - John stresses that you'll need WARM gloves

• Warm snow boots

• Apres-ski clothes for evenings + indoor shoes or slippers if you want something on your feet inside

• Sleepwear

• Toiletries

• Books, games, etc. - If you have a good group game, please bring it!

• Skis, poles, boots - packed as compactly as possible.
• Water-bottle holder with a water bottle - ideally the kind that you can wear around your waist that also has a pocket for a snack
• Basic wax equip - a cork,a few basic waxes, high temps expected to be 15-28F

• $60 for trail passes and $20 for dinner out on Sunday. We may stop for dinner on the way home on Sunday depending on how long we are able to ski for, how long it takes to drive, etc. We'll let parents know in the early afternoon morning what our ETA will be.

• Please... leave your bags of Christmas candy and electronics, other than ipods, at home. (There is no wifi at the house.)

***** Christmas Camp Menu Planning *****

(Check back for a packing list early next week.)

Please choose one of the available items below:

Burritos/Enchiladas for 15 - Neveu

Greens and veggies for 3 salads - Phillips/Roeber

Chicken or tuna salad for 20 - Tupper

Lasagna for 15 - Pierce
Chili for 15 - Gundersen

Bacon for 15 - Burgess

sliced turkey for 25 - Sonntag-Tindall

Cornbread for 15 plus 2 pounds of butter - Chace-Donahue

sliced cheddar or monterey jack cheese for 10 sandwiches - Burgess

5 dozen eggs - Chace-Donahue

4 dozen cookies plus 1 jar of natural p.b.- Sonntag-Tindall

5 packages of cream cheese - Chace-Donahue

Thursday- 

• bring your own lunch and snack

• Chili, salad, cornbread and butter, cookies

Friday -

• french toast and bacon, fruit and yogurt

• Chicken/tuna salad sandwiches, fruit, carrot sticks

• Burritos or Enchiladas, chips and salsa, salad, cookies

Saturday - 

• Pancakes and eggs, fruit and yogurt

• Turkey and cheese sandwiches, fruit, carrot sticks

• Lasagna, salad, bread and butter, cookies

Sunday - 

• Bagels, cream cheese, hard boiled eggs, fruit and yogurt

• Turkey/Chicken Salad sandwiches, carrot sticks, fruit

Anything on the menu and not on list list will be purchased by me and the cost will be

split after the camp.

Any questions - send me an email!

CHRISTMAS CAMP MAY HAVE SNOW WITHIN A 30 MIN DRIVE... for a change!

This what Sugarloaf's Outdoor Center is saying...

Finally, what we have all been waiting for!! Snow, snow & more snow!

We plan to start grooming this afternoon and evening. By tomorrow, we will be fully open for skiing and snowshoeing.
3-4 inches have already fallen already and our local forecast is calling for 2 more inches today, 1-3" for tonight, 3-5" for Tuesday and 3-5" for Tuesday night and into Wednesday!!
Just in time for the holidays!

***** CHRISTMAS CAMP *****

Dates: December 27 - December 30

Leave Desert Rd. Thursday Morning

Return to Desert Rd. Sunday Evening

LOCATION: Maine!

We will be staying at the Cashell Family Camp in New Portland. 

The camp is about 25 minutes from Sugarloaf, 50 minutes from Rangeley, and 75 minutes from Black Mountain. One of those places has got to have snow...and all have good courses to ski.

The house is plenty big enough for all of us, with a wood stove and a fireplace.

AND...the Cashell Family is donating the house!

So, the cost of the camp will be less than in previous years. 

We'll do something for the family as a special thank you while we are there. 

(The Cashells have twin boys in the 5th grade at MWS.)

Look for more information the weekend before Christmas. We will do food similarly to last year with families sending some cooked food and us purchasing some food to cook and then dividing up the cost afterwards.

Any questions, call Jennifer