Since the last race at Spring Series, I have mostly been trying to chill out, catch up on school, and enjoy the spring and the epic amounts of snow here.

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I have gotten to explore a bunch of sweet new crust skiing spots, cruising up into the mountains, remote lakes, and around glaciers… its super fun to be able to rip along at groundspeeds that are above sprint pace for hours and hours!

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And the views aren’t bad:

photo - Erin Phillips

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And there are so many fun feature to ski on… like this iceberg that is frozen in the middle of a glacial mountain lake:

photo - Erin Phillips

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Last week, the Anchorage community put together a big parade to celebrate Kikkan’s awesome Crystal Globe accomplishment. It was a really fun event, and it was cool to see so many people turn out to celebrate and have fun.

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I threw together a short video of the parade and the jumping session that followed:

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The snow is so good for jumping right now… tons of it, deeper than you want, and your jump sets up in 5 minutes. We had a big crew out there, and it was sweet for the kids to feed off each other and push their limits, and have a blast doing it!

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I had some fun with flips:

photo - Rob Whitney

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And the Juniors and Devos were launching and cheering each other on:

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Working on my style:

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I ended up soaked, and pretty sore from crashing so much… but it was awesome!

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The alpine and backcountry skiing has been unreal… but tomorrow I fly out to rural bush Alaska to help out with the NANANordic program, which is doing some awesome stuff! I will be volunteering as a leader/mentor/ski-coach/fun-guy for a week, and it will certainly be an adventure. I look forward to sharing some of it with you.

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Thanks for reading!!

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We have just finished up the Spring Series week in Craftsbury. Luckily, it cooled off a lot from the first few days we were here, which proved to be the saving grace of this whole race series. We had somewhere around a 70 degree swing from some afternoons to some mornings.

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After the crazy melt, they ended up with just enough snow on the race loop, and it actually stayed pretty firm for most of the races.

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The classic sprint was the second race of the tour, and turned out well. It was really good for my confidence to finally put together three good heats. Unlike most of my other sprints this year, the qualifier was actually the roughest part. I just did not feel that good after only running for a warm up, and my arms felt totally strange during the hard double-pole sections. This was a good learning experience though, because now I know in the future, when a running warm up is the only option, that I absolutely have to find a way to warm up my upper body.

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Qualifying:

photo - Fasterskier

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It was really fun to be skiing well, and to get to use it to the maximum potential, without any crashes or abnormalities. For the most part, I was able to ski at the front of all my heats, and pull away over the big climb. Here, Erik Bjornsen (yellow hat) and I lead the A final:

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I almost got away, but Eric Packer skied a really good race and ran me down in the final 200m. However, I was really, really excited to finish 2nd and get my first Nationals podium for the year:

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Overall, the whole week had such a nice feel to it. The specifics of the event led to some fun ski racing, and the whole ski racing community hanging out together and supporting each other. The lack of snow meant that we were all running around together on a little patch of grass for pre-race warm-ups, weaving around through the wax tables and tents. This led to lots of high-fives and chest bumps with skiers from totally different parts of the country. Another highlight was all of the men competitors, after racing their own hill climb, staked out on the steepest parts of the mountain yelling for the women’s race as they snaked their way up the pitches.

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All in all, it was a good week, with intense racing and good times.

photo - Holly Brooks

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I did my first real 50k yesterday, which was an experience. It went ok, and it was strange to get so tired even though we weren’t going that hard. But it was perfect way to end the week, and the season, and its crazy to think that’s its all over…

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…for now… Im looking at a couple weeks of low-key activity, like backcountry skiing, crust cruising, and maybe even some road biking.  Before I know it, it will be time for real-time training.

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So, Spring Series… I think this year’s edition takes the meaning of that phrase to a whole new level. Most of the sking world in the US has migrated out the Craftsbury, Vermont for the big end-of-season showdown.

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The weather has been far from ideal. And by that, I mean that is has been just way, way too nice. It’s pretty ridiculous how warm it’s been, and the organizers here at Craftsbury have put in an unreal amount of work to pull off these races.

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It’s been hot. The snow was melting at an unbelievable rate, which will happen when its above 70 degrees out:

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Apparently the word “spring” means very different things over here. I went on a jog from our house, found a golf course, and practiced my putt:

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And the next day it looked like this:

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Needless to say, there is no snow anywhere. The race loop only exists because of the hundreds, probably thousands of hours of snow-making, distribution, and hard work that the Craftsbury center has put in this winter in anticipation of these events. So the race loop is good. Everything else is not.

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Warm ups are being done on the gravel road, in running shoes, or a bike if you’re really lucky. This is a little more normal if you’ve been racing in Europe at all, but it’s still a little strange to put skis on for the first time with 30 seconds to start.

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Sylvan showing how important it is to stay aero while warming up:

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The racing scene is perfect for this time of year. The competition is intense, but the attitude isn’t. Everyone is a little more laid back, and it’s really fun. In the prologue, Erik and Noah tied for the podium, so what do they do, they share the podium!!

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This is my first time spending more than a few days in Vermont, and it has actually been quite sweet. It’s good to experience that small town New England living:

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This includes the inn that we are staying at. Its large, and its got that farmhouse feel to it. The best part about it is the kitchen. Its huge and industrial, so I decided to make a matching pancake:

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The races have been going pretty well, and the conditions have been incredibly impressive considering the weather.

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Fasterskier has been doing some good articles about the races and the results, and you can check them out here.

WOMENS PROGLOGUE

MENS PROLOGUE

WOMENS 10K

MENS 10K

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Tomorrow is the classic sprint, which will be crazy. It has gotten cold now, and the trails are mostly just solid ice. Should be fun!!

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Thanks for reading!

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After Slovenia, we drove over to North-eastern Italy for OPA Cup Finals. We stayed in a small town known for its apples, cheese, and Tour de Ski stages. One town, two names; if your Italian, it’s called Toblach, and for the Germans, Dobbiaco.

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It was right in the heart of the Dolomites, and it was beautiful! Basically, a tiny little classic Italian town nestled down in between these towering rock monoliths:

photo - Lauren Fritz

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We checked out the town of Cortina, which is a legendary alpine area, and was the start of this year’s Tour de Ski queen stage; the epic 35k skate race started there and climbed up and over the pass and descended into Toblach. But it was a gorgeous town, and you can see why it’s one of the premiere European destinations:

photo - Lauren Fritz

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It was awesome to get a taste of Italian life:

photo - Lauren Fritz

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There is so much rich history there, and there were so many things that just seemed so quintessentially Italian:

photo - Lauren Fritz

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The local skiing situation was awesome. It was a world class venue with world class scenery. One of the cooler things was the stadium and lodge. They had a flat stadium area, and needed a hill to send the sprint course over; they also needed a lodge. So they put two and two together, and built a lodge in the shape of a homologated hill, designed to handle Pisten-Bully grooming and lots of skiers:

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And apparently, that lodge is a center for all kinds of activities, including rollerskiing. Apparently in Italy, rollerskis are as long as normal skis, including tips, with wheels on the bottom:

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They did an awesome job working with the low snow levels and hot temps. The racing was really good. It was a super high level of competition, with basically all the best non-World Cup athletes from central Europe. It was a mini-tour format, and it was a good little tune-up for Sprint Series.

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I got to do my first 3.3k prologue of the year, which went ok. I ended up 30 seconds behind the winner, an Olympic Gold medalist, so that was pretty exciting:

photo - Caitlin Gregg

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A nice sibling shot here, one Bjornsen cheering on another:

photo - Caitlin Gregg

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Holly Brooks, right off the World Cup, was having an awesome weekend and ended up winning the whole OPA Finals!! Here, she takes off in the final pursuit start stage, fending off Slovenian attacks and eventually making one crucial attack of her own:

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For her efforts, she won a massive block of local cheese, and since there was no way she could bring back statestide, our waiter was pretty psyched to get it:

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The wellness hotel that overlooked the ski stadium had an outdoor pool, which proved too tempting after training on a hot day:

photo - Lauren Fritz

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All in all, it was a great weekend of racing beneath the shadow of the “Three Needles”:

photo - Lauren Fritz

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One last night at the Movenpick in Munich, and we were all ready for the States. We lucked out on the free ice-cream bars that they had in the lobby, and may or may not have stuffed out pockets for the drive to the airport:

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If you ever want to hear a truly epic story, ask Noah about the time he showed up at the US Consulate in Munich 2 hrs before his flight to Boston took off, without a passport. Yeah, he made the flight:

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Now everyone is in Craftsbury for Spring Series. It is proving to be unlike any ski race series I have ever experienced. In many more ways than one. More on that soon, very soon.

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Thanks for reading!!

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Having never been to Slovenia before, I had the wrong mental image of what it would be like… I had it in the Romania and Transylvania category, and I was kind of expecting it to be dark and creepy.

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Not at all. It was very Italian feeling, and had some really nice parts. We stayed up at Rogla, which is basically a big skiing and resort complex on top of a big hill (mountain, if you’re from the East), home to the Petra Majdic Ski Center, alpine hills, and some other attractions. We were living in what they call “bungalovi”, or little condos, and had views decent views:

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The alpine skiing was really quite tame, and the area seemed to cater to kids and family skiing. I have never seen so many t-bars in my life. Erik reaching for one on an evening run:

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Rogla is a annual World Cup stop, and the venue is pretty sweet. It was a little strange though, to have the post-race athlete recovery area in a construction-zone inside one of the new buildings:

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Down in the lowlands, there was some incredibly beautiful scenery. We drove through a lot of quaint little villages, a mix of old and new buildings, and agriculture and industry. There was some really beautiful countryside:

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Erik got all excited when we stopped at this one gas station, because he thought maybe he could buy some new rap CDs:

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We also got to check out this awesome castle, built high up on these sheer cliffs that  tower above a beautiful lake. IT was an incredibly warm day, and we had fun exploring the ancient fort and all of its walls and perches:

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While the lake down below seemed really inviting, considering the heat:

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We are now in northern Italy, getting ready for this weekend’s OPA Cup Finals. It’s going to be a three day mini-tour, and the competition will probably be the stiffest yet. However, the US has a large crew of pretty fast skiers here, so everyone is excited to throw down and see how we can do!

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Thanks for reading!

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We spent last week in Switzerland, training and racing a weekend of Swiss Cups.

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To get there, we drove through some parts of industrial Germany:

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And once we arrived, it was obvious why the area is renowned for its skiing. Groomed trails, both alpine and cross country, wind around and over all kinds of mountains and valleys. We did some pretty sweet exploring, skiing up over passes and onto alpine meadows:

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And there were plenty of old barns laden with snow:

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It was a pretty nice set up. We were in a little locally owned hotel that sat basically right on the ski trails. After so many winter months, it was nice to have the sun shining in your windows every day:

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And the view from our deck wasn’t too bad either:

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With the longtime owners of our hotel being the only ones working there, we got to hear a lot about Swiss traditions and learn a lot about the area. They were extremely nice, and gave us a little more authentic experience than usual. This included traditional live accordion music blaring during dinner, and a full-on fondue meal:

Gotta love B-Gregg's exquisite form!

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The race trails were fine, albeit interesting. There were an absurd amount of questionable road crossings in the course, and they dint really seem to care. Apparently, they have special “Warning: Volvo with really old-school skis on the roof!!!” signs, which I guess are enough to warn you:

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What was really cool to see were all the kids involved with the races. Shortly after we crossed the line, they started running the junior races, with many races happening at once and kids just hammering around all over the place. They were into it, enough that even the little tykes had chip timing:

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It was a cool atmosphere, especially because of the range of abilities that were all hanging out and watching each other race. We (the older, elite skiers) were racing against many of the Swiss national team, including World Cup podium-er Remo Fischer, and the hoards of kids were psyched to watch and cheer and then get autographs afterwards:

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For the waxing side of things, we were set up in a barn. Basically, the whole race venue was just in the middle of a big pasture, and everything in sight was for the support of large animals. I was advised not to fill my water belt from here:

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Small sign, marking a local thoroughfare:

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Jetliners ripping over the Alps, ferrying innumerable people from origin to destination… unaware of what is going on beneath them.

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We are now in Slovenia, prepping for this weekends OPA cups, which will be a much bigger show. Probably no barns. Probably no towering piles of cow manure to dodge. Probably way more World Cup veterans. Should be intense/fun!

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After Turkey, we stayed in Munich for one night before making the drive to the Gstaad valley in Swtzerland. This place is supposedly famous as one of the best alpine skiing destinations in the world , and it is obvious why… there are lifts everywhere, and you can ski from town to town, over thousands and thousands of acres (or, should I say, hectares).

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The village we are in is incredible, with tons of snow, sun, and the Alps jutting up on all sides. I will put up some more pictures and writing from the area in a day or two.

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But here are these for now. Erik and I have done some exploring on skis, and yesterday we found a sick run with a bunch of little jumps, which we played around on.

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Me:

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Erik:

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Me:

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Erik:

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Me:

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Erik:

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The races start tomorrow, distance skate and classic. Should be awesome! Ill put another post up soon!

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Thanks for reading!

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Skiing and racing in Erzurum was an incredible experience. Yes, the trails are pretty much groomed like everywhere else, they’re FIS homologated, there are hills, and there are even downhills!! Amazing, I know…

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But it was quite strange to be skiing along an 8ft barbed wire fence and through prickery desert plants:

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And have you ever seen a dead owl? On top of the mornings corduroy?

photo - Logan Hanneman

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The racing here was HARD. People were going to the ends of their physical strength for these results, and there was a lot of pain happening. The altitude, the dusty dry air, the searing 4-minute climbs, coupled together to inflict a lot of damage on people. We were all hacking constantly, and people couldn’t even hold a conversation for an hour or two after their race because of constant coughing. Logs seeking shelter after giving his all:

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Speaking of shelter, our hotel kept us out of the wicked desert winds that whipped across the tops of the mountains. This desolate, ice coated tower sat way up there looking over the whole valley:

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Inside our sauna-like mega hotel, we played a TON of ping pong. There was one road out, and it went straight down the mountain, so there weren’t many walking options. So instead we has table-tennis showdowns with the Norwegians, Swiss, and Aussies:

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It was easy for some people to get lazy and just stay confined to the hotel… but I made sure to get out a lot, and explore the town and interact with the locals. I wanted to see the real Turkish stuff.

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Like people doing their laundry on their apartment balconies:

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Or waiting in the cold for a bus:

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Or sweeping the streets. Check out this handmade broom, constructed from hearty local desert scrub-brush:

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Or the phantoms of buildings from years past, buildings that might have once bustled with commerce, now absorbed into the new growth:

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It was an incredible experience. Like nothing I have ever seen on a ski trip or ever. So many things that were unnatural and uncommon for me, and yet in a good way. They people were incredibly warm and friendly, despite living what most of us would consider to be a tough life.

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I think this picture sums it all quite well… this young boy and old man were working in this old carpet shop, crammed with dusty rugs and soot. There was no one in their shop, and they sat in the dusky silence on one of the countless back alleys, just waiting for someone to come by and have a look. As I walked passed, the boy lit up and waved his arms at me, motioning to me to take a picture of them. I did, happily, and gave him a wave and a smile back. He grinned from ear to ear, and watched me as I walked away down the cobblestone alley, away. I doubt we will ever see each other again. But he will probably remember me… and I him.

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Goodbye Turkey!

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Now we are in Switzerland, which is a lesson in contrasts from last week. More on that soon.

Thanks for reading!

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Having been here a week now, I can definitely say that Turkey is absolutely the most culturally rich ski destination that I have been, and might ever go to. Going ski racing in what they call Asia minor is not like going to Rumford, or Park City, or even Scandanavia…

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Its intense, its middle eastern, and it all seems so incredibly foreign.

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It is a culture of tea… everywhere you go, in every little shop, they ask you in and offer you tea; if they don’t have it hot and fresh, they will walk across the street and get some and bring it to you:

photo - Logan Hanneman

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The back roads and alleys are crammed full of tiny live-in shops, selling all manner of goods. This man was running his metal cook-ware sales out on the sidewalk:

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Life is raw here… its cold, and there is a huge clash of ancient and modern. Brand new apartments heated with open wood fires. People split and gather firewood in the street:

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And there are whole sections that are abandoned and decrepit:

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There are these huge wild dogs that roam the countryside and the cities, eating trash and scavenging:

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One thing that stands out are the number of mosques. There is one on almost every single street corner, quite literally:

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As well as the sacred religious art  that is everywhere:

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The city is alive, and the markets are crammed full of (mostly) everything you could possibly be looking for:

photo - Logan Hanneman

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We are here for racing after all… I had a blast watching the Juniors yesterday, and they laid it all out there on a gnarly, gnarly, course… Logan was flogging himself on the last few laps, absolutely dying, to hand with his pack. He finished 23^rd, which is an awesome result, especially with this incredibly stacked junior field.

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U23 pursuit today, and then Junior relay on Sunday, and we are done… but don’t worry, there will be more blogs!

Thanks for reading!

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