Montana State University

I Haven’t Showered in 8 Days.

mrbobcat — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 01:44:50 +0000

This season and the last have definitely put it all in perspective. I am on the road to recovery for my second compartment syndrome surgery in back to back seasons. It has been a long and frustrating couple of weeks but I have had a lot of help and support through it all. It is not necessarily the surgery that was so disappointing but more of letting go of the work that has been done leading up to it. You train so many hours for a short season and never get a shot at racing. But I think the best thing to do is take it one day at a time. Something we all can maybe be better at…. There are far bigger things in the world, and just getting the opportunity to sit back and think about life and where your puzzle piece fits is as important as placing it sometimes.

On another note, I am so grateful for my entire team. Each and every individual has in some way or another made this whole situation smoother than anticipated. I am looking forward to getting back on the trails with the team but for now I will just be taking the role of ultimate fan. This weekend I got out to watch the bobcats rage a team trial. Luke Bromley skied his way to the top spot for the men, and Ase Carlson continued her consistent season with a win for the women. All in all, the cats are fired up for New Mexico and ready to throw down some top results.

-Bernie Nelson

Here are some photos from the MSU invitational and other places…

Cheering freshman Kate Backstrum at Bohart

Ase Carlson races to a top ten finish at Bohart

Luke Bromley gives his best Bobcat Growl

Mackenzie Jones in Soldier Hollow

Papa Bobcat

For all the ladies...

Back to Bozeman

madman — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 21:09:52 +0000

The whole team is back in Bozeman preparing for our home race this weekend.The seven athletes that traveled to nationals are glad to be back skiing on the 25k of snow covered trails at Bohart Ranch. We had some great results at nationals including a win by Ryan Scott in the U23 skate sprint, a 6th place by Jessica Yeaton in the junior women’s 5k skate and a win in the U23 classic sprint by Ase Carlson.
This weekend we are hosting the first RMISA race of the season. On saturday the men will start it off with a 10k skate at 9 am followed by the women’s 5k at 11 am. Sunday’s races will begin at 9:30 am with the women’s 15k mass start classic and conclude with the men’s 20k classic at 11 am. The course is in great shape are we are looking forward to a great showing at our home race. Look for results and pictures of the race here this weekend.

-Pat Madden

Ryan Scott on his way to the U23 victory. Photo by Carl Smith.

Bobcats in Rumford Dub

madman — Tue, 11 Jan 2011 05:13:25 +0000

Check out the video of the MSU bobcats’ escapades at the 2011 Senior Nationals in Rumford, Maine

2011 Bobcats in Rumford Dub

Video by: Ben Westesen

Christmas Break in the Last Frontier

rkanady — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 06:54:19 +0000

The first weekend back for Christmas break had many of the Alaskan crew from the MSU Nordic team racing in the first two Besh cups, held in Chugiak and Anchorage. Many of the Bobcats had decent races and placed well against the other collegiate racers. It is highly recommended to never use your warm-up skis in a classic race. Especially when your race skis have been waxed very nicely, let’s just say I won’t be making that mistake again any time soon.

After Christmas while many were prepping themselves for Nationals, I headed 90 minutes North of Anchorage to Hatcher Pass with fellow collegiate skier Cole Talbot (UVM), his brother Silas (2011-2012 Dartmouth freshman), and friend Dakota to complete an Avalanche safety course. Hatacher Pass is the destination for many Nordic skiers in Alaska for early on-snow training. This was my first trip to Hatcher Pass in January. Mother Nature graced us with three days of nice weather and relatively warm temps. The first two days of the course focused on rescue techniques and snow stability. Our last day of the course focused on terrain, we got the opportunity to use our knowledge from the two previous days to pick a safe peak to hike up and ski down. During my avalanche course many of my fellow MSU teammates headed to Rumford Maine to Senior Nationals.

I spent a relaxing New Year’s at my cabin with my parents, fellow MSUer Heidi Rogers, and family friend Laura Gardner. We went on several nice long skis to welcome in the New Year.

~By: Rachelle Kanady

What’s up what’s up Ms. Tasty?

madman — Tue, 28 Dec 2010 01:22:11 +0000

Winter break seems to be flying by, but luckily here in Colorado the sun has been shining and the snow has been great. The Bobcats split up for break after acing their finals in school and headed home to California, Washington, Alaska, Wyoming, Austria, Idaho and Colorado.

Back in Boulder, Ryan and I have been training up at good ol’ Eldora and hooked up with Miles and Ian Havlick (Utah Ski Team) for some intervals the other day. Until today, Eldora has been surprisingly nice without the usual blowing winds.

Some of us will be heading off to Nationals later this week in Maine, for a hard week of racing before the collegiate season begins. We are continuing to build our large fan-base at home on campus, and are anticipating a fierce crowd at the opening NCAA race in Bozeman, Montana on Jan. 15th/16th.

We’ll hopefully check in later next week with some sweet pics and video from Maine.

-Drew Scott

Movember!

Tearin' it up at Eldora

Sprint race at Vail NRL (photo credit: Drew Geer)

Bobcats 1 CU 0

Andrew Kastning and Calisa Schouweiler-Kastning styling their new sweaters

MSU nordic goes downhill

rkanady — Mon, 13 Dec 2010 03:09:30 +0000

Last weekend at our annual Bobcat Christmas Pole we were fortunate enough to have some of our alpine team join us in the race. In return for us getting to watch them make complete and total fools of themselves we agreed to do some gate chasing with them later in the season. Being a little insecure of our alpine abilities and not wanting to get laughed at too hard by our other half, we decided to do a little Nordic gate chasing of our own in preparation for the big showdown.

Here are some photos of our downhill practice at Bohart Ranch.

VO2 Max Testing and West Yellowstone Classic

ak47 — Sat, 11 Dec 2010 02:54:56 +0000

The following link heads to a video that was shot on location in the MSU Human Performance Laboratory run by Dr. Dan Heil. This state of the art facility is a great way to safely test the limits of Bobcat skiers! But is there a limit?

VO2 Max Testing/Classic Racing in West Yellowstone

BOBCAT XMAS POLE

bluecrush — Wed, 01 Dec 2010 02:46:48 +0000

63 raffle presents,

27 MSU Nordic teamers,

1 Mama Bobcat

1 Papa Bobcat,

and SANTA.

Nothing says Christmas like our annual BOBCAT CHRISTMAS POLE fundraiser held at Bohart Ranch (Dec. 4th!!!)

Conditions are Sharp, and the Stakes are high (glory rights for a year and their name on the basket ball trophy)

STAY TUNED FOR PICTURES of Crash finishes, Holiday outfits, and some very happy kids!!!!

Registration: 9-10am, Race: 1km, 3km (freestyle) 10:30am, 5km, 10km Skate 11am. $10, under 18, $15 over 18

Bobcats Nation: End of Summer Hibernation

Matthew Voisin — Fri, 26 Nov 2010 18:13:13 +0000

The Bobcats arrived to West Yellowstone on Saturday afternoon after a long and grueling eighty-mile drive to see that West Yellowstone had already transformed into a winter oasis. The snow was pounding for the first few days and was only interrupted by freezing conditions on Wednesday, with temps dropping down to -24F with windchill! The skiing has been solid and provided the team with an opportunity to get in needed hours working on technique and preparing for the first races of the season. A few of the Cats battled it out in the Sprint Showdown, but most of the skiers are preparing to throw-down for both distance races on Friday and Saturday.

It had been a long two weeks of intense training leading up to the West Yellowstone camp. Lots of rollerski and running intervals, timetrials, bounding workouts, relays, double-pole power tests on a modified rowing machine, as well as VO2 Max testing on a brand new rollerski treadmill in the MSU Movement Science/Human Performance Lab. This is pretty exciting because MSU now has the largest physiology lab treadmill in the Pacific Northwest. The ski team is lucky to have such easy access to this resource as well as the knowledge that the physiology staff provides. Doing the testing in the Lab provided skiers with an opportunity to push their limits in a controlled environment, while receiving immediate feedback upon finishing. Encouragement from an eager on-looking cheering crowd helped the testing skiers push it to the max on the treadmill. It was crazy watching skiers fly off the back of the treadmill from pure exhaustion at the end of their tests.

The Bobcats look forward to providing some informative posts, random musings, and attention-grabbing insight into on the ski world at large this season. Stay tuned for some

Get ready to hear the thunderous “RAWR” from the pussy cats…!

By: Ryan Scott

POST Number One: Welcome

bluecrush — Thu, 18 Nov 2010 04:07:56 +0000

Once upon a time, there was a team whose carhartt jackets were made for ranch hands, whose vans broke down in a small city in Colorado on Ash Wednesday when the only repair shop was closed, whose team consisted of 5 women and hopefully 5 men, and whose idea of an after race snack was raw spinach. This very team has expanded to thirty at large and more men than we can legally keep. We have truly transformed into a competitive and intertwined bunch of nordies who have a hunger for speed and an unmatchable modesty. Here are some photos that show our world:)

This years MSU SKI TEAM.

mmmmm, spinach

KUN FU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hello Bunny

Mackenzie, Kaelin, Korie, Casey, Mellie, colorado sun!

Jumping is part of training right??

Taste the glory--Homestake 09

15 hours in a van, Sleep Happens

...And the Sleep paid off......

We may be in college, but racing is our passion....

By: Mellie Park ~