Cross Country

Traditionally, the SSWSC U16/18/20 XC Team makes the long journey to Bend, Oregon once school is finished, to get additional on snow time at Mt. Bachelor Nordic Center, but with low snow pack and an early closure of the Nordic Center, plans needed to be changed. Fortunately, XC ski training can encompass many different elements for positive physiological effect. In the end we substituted the Oregon trip with a tour of Colorado. We began at the Zink family’s Morning Star Ranch in Fraser, where we completed two three hour road rides, one to over 12,000 feet, climbing Trail Ridge Road in Rocky Mountain National Park. We also hammered out an 11 mile trail run just east of Grand Lake. We left Fraser and moved to Frisco for a 2.5 hour Classic roller ski up to the summit of Vail Pass. The timing was right for us to compete in the Go Pro Mountain Games in Vail. Part of the team chose to run the mountain 10k and the others decided to race the famous Vail Uphill Bike Time Trial. The races were an exciting addition to the week and the festival atmosphere was fun to be part of. We then moved onto the Aspen Valley and roller skied and ran amongst the Maroon Bells and other lofty Elk Mountains. We tallied near 20 hours of training and enjoyed our home state’s beauty and physical diversity.

Alpine

The SSWSC Alpine team recently completed an exciting and productive on-snow training camp at Mt. Hood, Oregon.  With bluebird training days and great snow, rainy day hikes to waterfalls, and some pretty aggressive paintball action, we got a flavor for much of what the area has to offer.  It is always a pleasure to see a mix of ages and abilities all working toward one common goal.  Many of the older athletes are now off to the Fonna glacier in Norway for much of the month of July.  Go SSWSC!

Freeskiing

The Freeskiing Crew took to the air this week with a ramp mini session. Great weather, and high energy levels lead the way for progression.  Next week we have our last 3 day mini session, perfect for testing out the ramps if your not sure how they fit with your training plan.