Oh my goodness…where to even begin? I feel like I hit the ground running once we got off the glacier and have just now slowed down enough to write about it!
Celine, me, Sadie and Sophie. We were so lucky to have Celine join us this year! (photo by Matt Whitcomb)
The morning we left for the glacier, we found a Momma moose and two babies in our backyard!
Me, trying to prove that I could definitely defend us from bears with an ice ax. (photo by Zuzana)
The week of training up on the glacier was amazing. AMAZING, I TELL YOU!
Loading up the helicopter for the trip up to Eagle. Thanks Alaska Air for flying us!
The girls camp crew! (photo from Matt Whitcomb)
It was foggy most days with surprising amounts of sunlight coming through to make it warm enough for me to ski in shorts and a t-shirt most sessions! Of course, that doesn’t mean it was actually warm enough for everyone to want to be in shorts, but I’ve always had a problem with being 10 degrees too warm.
Liz, Zuzana and me (photo from Zuzana)
Because the glacier is a moving thing, some cool and huge cracks started opening up along the hill we ski down from the building to the main trails. So, to be safe, we wore harnesses and clipped onto a rope while skiing down. The chances of us actually falling into a crevasse were extremely low, but with my luck? I think it’s good I clipped in. 🙂
Skiing out from the stadium (photo by Zuzana)
The grooming was fantastic, as well. A huge thanks goes out to Erik Flora and our glacier guys Don Haering and Andre Lovett for such hard work all week to make camp such a success!
Our last morning’s ski in the rain! (photo by Matt Whitcomb)
And of course Zuzana Rogers was so awesome, coming up to the glacier to do PT every day for every girl at camp! She also helped me when I came running up to her room going “Zuzaaaaanaaaaa…..I’ve got a problem!” with blood running down my knee again because I slipped and fell on my stitches. (side note: my knee is healed now, and the stitches are finally out! All better).
Doing a little afternoon strength at the training center (photo by Zuzana)
Our usual routine was to wake up around 7, drink copious amounts of coffee and have breakfast prepared by the breakfast crew (there are 4 jobs up there: breakfast, lunch cleanup, dinner and dinner cleanup, and we rotate). Then we’d go hit up the ski trails for a couple hours! We usually skated in the mornings since that’s when the snow was the hardest, and after coming in for lunch, a nap and some downtime, we’d head out to classic around 4 in the afternoon.
Training in the fog (photo by Zuzana)
One thing I’ve been working really hard on this year and last is my classic striding technique. Specifically, klister skiing. The glacier with it’s soft wet snow is ideal for that! Getting quality on-snow striding time with video feedback and coaching is so helpful in getting me to my goal of being a more confident classic skier. Of course, there are a lot of things I’m working on with my skating too, and it was good to have varied terrain to work with!
The SMST2 girls loving the glacier! Soph, Erika and me (photo from Sophie)
After coming back in, dinner crew would chef up a big meal. Since we skied anywhere from 4-5 hours a day, we ate a LOT of food! Besides the tasty dinners, at least one delicious thing was created every day, whether it was fresh baked bread (Celine and Cork), cookies (Erika and Rosie), or spice muffins and pumpkin bread (me)! After dinner we would hang out, sometimes play a game or read books.
Holly posing with our pile of goodies! Everyone brought up a secret ingredient or spice to “spice up” camp!
Most years I’ve had at least some sketchy phone service up there, but this year…nothing! Which was actually really great. It felt pretty nice not looking at a screen for a week and not worrying about what was going on outside of our perfect little ski bubble, but instead just talking to the people up there and really enjoying their company! As a result, I threw my phone in my bag and forgot to take photos, so that’s why every nice looking shot is from Zuzana or Matt! I feel like I always learn so much more about my teammates and friends up on the glacier because nobody is on their phones all the time and we just end up talking to one another so much more.
The “wall of fame” in the training center on the glacier! Each camp signs their names
Riding the piston bully partway down the glacier to meet the helicopter
Found this bike leaning against the helicopter hanger…
After getting down from the glacier, thanks to Alpine Air, we went to Kikkan’s house for a night of live music and relaxing. The next morning, Holly, Liz, Celine, Sophie, Erika, Rosie and I all drove over to Hope to spend the day at Holly and Rob’s cabin! We went there last year after camp, and it was so much fun that when they kindly invited us back we hopped on board. We went swimming the the chilly river, saw their new cabin/house which has been getting more and more amazing as they continue building it, sat around the bonfire and had a good sleep up in the loft.
Me, Erika and Sophie on a hike with the rest of the girls after coming down from the glacier! (photo from Erika)
After all those Alaskan adventures, it was time for me to go home to Minnesota for a week! I had a nice easy week of training and I took it really slow so that my body would be able to soak up all those hours of training on snow. I also was crazy busy – in a good way!
I drove south to Winona for a day to do a photoshoot with my sponsor Fastenal and a roller ski clinic with the Winona Nordic Club. I was so impressed by those skiers! I had them doing some fun yet crazy drills and skiing backwards, and they were game to try anything I came up with!
I also got to visit Podiumwear, and see all the new designs they are working on and the new cut of the Women’s Gold Line suit. Since my name is part of the line, it’s important to me that it’s the best fitting and nicest suit possible, and I can honestly say it’s the most comfortable thing I’ve ever trained in!
Mackenzie, me and my Dad out on the St. Croix river (Mom took the photo)
I also spent two evenings with my family out on the river in Prescott, Wisconsin – right where the St. Croix and Mississippi rivers converge. We went waterskiing, tubing, and ate a picnic dinner on the beach, and it was really great having some time with my family since I don’t get to see them all that often anymore!
Mackenzie practicing her waterskiing! She’s getting really good!
I also got to see some friends from high school, some ski friends and my Grandparents, which was pretty lucky since I’m not always in the right place at the right time! We went to the blessing wedding of Chase and Ysanne Olson, which I felt lucky to see, since the Olsons have always been good family friends.
On Saturday we packed up the car, laid down a blanket for Cass in the back who promptly began slobbering in my ear, and headed up north. We stopped for the night at my Meme and Grandpa Clif’s house in Duluth, and it was lovely to see them!
Mackenzie and I playing dress up with our Meme’s closet!
We left early the next morning and boosted up along the north shore to my Nana’s cabin up in Thunder Bay, Ontario. I’m so excited to spend a week relaxing up here with my family, see some of my cousins and family that I haven’t seen in years, and be in the water every day!
