Crimson Nordic

Thanksgiving Camp!!!

2011-12-14T19:56:00.004-05:00

A report by Akeo:

This year marked the beginning of what looks like will become an great new Thanksgiving camp tradition for Harvard’s nordic ski team. This year we went to Craftsbury, VT instead of making the customary Thanksgiving break trek to Canada. In Vermont we stayed at the local outdoor center in an olympic-village like setting, with skiing out the door, weight facilities, and an excellent dining lodge. Our first day was spent dry land training, but thanks to a large snow that night we were able to ski twice a day for the rest of the week. It was such an amazing time being back on snow after the long summer months, and spending so much time bonding together as a team. Our first few days on snow were dedicated to easy distance skiing, with lots of technique work to transition and adapt all our hard work from roller skiing to snow skiing. The week built in intensity culminating in a 4.5km skate race. This was a great opportunity for everyone to push themselves and get a in a really good hard effort.

Off the trails we also had a fantastic time. After a few months of Harvard dining hall food it was a nice change to have home-style cooking. We also had a suite with a nice common room where we were able to spend lots of time together studying, watching movies, talking about skiing and baking pies and cookies! Everyone was sad to leave after such a fun camp, but with only a few more weeks before local skiing, spirits are still high and the air is filled with excitement for the upcoming races.

The Air was Sweet and Fragrant...

2011-11-11T14:21:00.001-05:00

...on the van ride home from practice yesterday.
More scintillating conversation from Esther and Chris:
Chris: "What's the French word for air?"
Esther: "Err?"
Chris: "No, I mean, what's the word for air."
Esther: "Err? Huh, I don't know."
Chris: "No, air, this stuff."
Esther: "Oh, air!"
Chris: "L'air?"
Esther: "I thought you were talking about err!"
Chris: "No, I meant air."

2011-11-08T10:51:00.002-05:00

The past few weeks have been busy forthe ski team!

Chris's backyard on October 27

As most of you probably know, New England was hit with October snow this year! There wasn't enough for us to ski on, but it was still exciting! Chris and his wife had already put their daughter, Maggie, to bed when the snow started, but Chris insisted that Maggie needed to be woken up to see her first snowfall.

Maggie's Immediate Reaction to the Snow

A few days later, the Stocks graciously hosted brunch for us at their house. We were all impressed with Professor Stock's cooking abilities. Pumpkin pancakes and french toast have never tasted so good. As good as the food was, the highlight of the brunch was the babies! Both Sara's and Chris's children came. Maggie was quiet and cute, while Sara's son Loki spent most of his time rolling around on the ground.

Everyone was very sleepy after brunch

This Sunday (November 6), was theannual CSU classic rollerski race. Chris Stock and Akeo took turnsleading during the race, but Chris came out ahead to win the overall15 k title. Alena was the second woman behind Alex Jospe to be the topCrimson female finisher. The weather was great, sunny and 50degrees, so everyone enjoyed the day. We were happy to return toCambridge with pumpkin, apple, and blumberry pies.

Two weeks until we're on snow!

JRR

2011-10-19T06:37:00.001-04:00

Skicircus

Update from Innsbruck, Österreich
After navigating through blogspot in German- yes the language of all the websites change while I'm over here- I have finally figured out how to log in (anmelden)... Even the facebook ads are in German:

Singles auf Facebook

Mit über 50.000.000 Singles ist Zoosk die grösste Dating Community auf Facebook. Füg die Zoosk Anwendung jetzt hinzu!

Yeah pretty cool. Mein Deutsch is getting a little better here everyday, but I fear my English is getting worse, so it could be problematic when I return in January.

It's been a while since my last blog post so I'll give a rundown of my journey thus far.

On 19 September I left Vail with my parents and headed off to the land of yodelling, frolicking in the hills, and weinerschnitzel- of course! After a long 2 days of traveling I finally arrived in my new home, Innsbruck! I was greeted by towering peaks and 40cm of snow. For us Americans that means something like 16 inches.. Not bad for September, and I was already getting pumped to ski. From there my parents and I did a little bit of traveling in the Austrian state of Tirol. We first went to Alpbach, then Höchfilzen, and Gerlose. All three were gorgeous ski towns, but as far as I can tell every town in Austria is a gorgeous ski town and there is a lift on every hill, so it makes no difference where I am as it is all wunderbar! In Höchfilzen I was lucky enough to shred their rollerski track... yes I did say rollerski track!

The cow above was one of many (approx. 400) my mother took a picture of. Why she likes cows so much... ?

But yes there are tons of cows with pretty bells that make lots delicious milk (@Chris Stock). Maybe I'll bring one back so that the Elliot house milk dispenser doesn't constantly run out.

The picture to the left is atop a peak in Aplbach. Note the cheesy sign that the study abroad office wants me to hold. Clearly, I'm "Outside the Yard!"

From there orientation began and I met my group from New Orleans. They are a pretty cool bunch, so it's been fun hanging out with them. During the first weeks I also met tons of international students from everywhere as far as Brazil and Taiwan to as close as Sud Tirol (~30km away in Italy). It is amazing how international Innsbruck is and I am constantly making friends from all over the globe, so it is tons of fun.

Earmuffs Chris and Scush...

During the last day of orientation I ventured over to Münich to experience the famed Oktoberfest! I may or may not of had some beer and enjoyed the Gemütlichkeit (english equivalent of a cozy feeling of happiness experienced while drinking or being with friends) of the Hoffbrau Haus.

Yes I am wearing lederhosen! My German friends are wearing Dirndls (traditional decorative dresses in Bavaria and Tirol)- I'm a big fan!

The next day classes were suppose to start, however, due to some scheduling miracles (all class meetings on Wednesday and Thursday!!!!), I managed to have my first class on Wednesday the 5th of Oktober. It was the longest summer ever, but I'm not complaining. Since then I have been attending the occasional classes, and been exploring Innsbruck and Austria during my long weekends!

The photo on the left is of Emperor Maximilian who ruled the once expansive Austrian Empire from 1486 to 1519. Below is a cow decorated for an Almbtrieb (the Austrians have a huge Fest to celebrate bringing the cows down from the mountain pastures at the end of every summer).

As far as training goes, it has been really great over here. Between the hikes, rollerskis- on actual tracks- and cool runs, there has been no shortage of training.

Some highlights include running a half marathon in Söll, bounding up the Norkette, and most importantly SKIING on the Dachstein Glacier with the Swedish marathon team Exspirit!

This past weekend I had the opportunity to train with team Exspirit from Thursday until Saturday in Ramsau. I got there about noon on Thursday, so that day we just did an easy afternoon run. The next day we got up on the glacier and joined the entire Eastern Block with some on snow training for the upcoming season. When I say the entire Eastern block, I'm being serious. Roughly 150 Russians (still can't figure out how they are all on the national team, but they all had the race suits on and were super legit and even more scary), a bunch of Ukrainians, Poles, Estonians, Czechs, Slovaks, Turks, Belorussians, and of course all the Scandinavians! I had never seen so many world class caliber skiers on one 5km loop, so it was an amazing experience for me. I tried to ski around with the Swedes, but their "easy" pace is roughly my level 2+/3, so after 2 hours of fighting to stick with them I was about ready to go into hibernation. That afternoon we had an interval session 4X9min threshold with 1min max efforts between minutes 3 and 4 and 7 and 8 in each interval. Once again I tried to stick with the big boys, but after 2 minutes of pushing it an promptly blowing up, I was struggling to fend off the girls. So so fast. The next day we did some classic skiing and then hit up the world renowned Ramsau rollerski track. Talking to both the Swedes and the Austrians, they all assured me it was the wildest loop they have ever rollerskied. Needless to say it didn't disappoint: 30 mph downhills, crazy banked S-turns, and a bunch of padded trees that did little to boost my confidence.

I also had the pleasure to run and hang out with former Harvard skier Dave McCahill here in Innsbruck. Great times!

Morning skiing at the glacier..

Train Station and sign. Pay special attention to the route name top and center, just right of OBB. I feel it is a most fitting description of my semester here.
Me with the Dachstein in the background.

Last but not least... a barbed wire toilet seat??

This quite literally scared the s*@t out of me!

Miss you all and can't wait to see you in January, but until then keep up the good work and I'll do my part here in Austria!

Tschüss,

Tony

Erratum

2011-10-17T23:40:00.000-04:00

The post entitled, "Fall Camp!," dated Sept. 30, 2011, erroneously attributed to Esther Kennedy a thought about the so-called environmental lapse rate. This is in error, for although trusted sources refer to the effect as such, Kennedy herself would have followed other trusted sources in referring to it as the atmospheric lapse rate. This dispute over nomenclature is unresolved and may prove to be a potentially divisive issue in further blog posts.

Reached the Beach! (a while ago, admittedly)

2011-10-14T22:43:00.001-04:00

**I'm currently in North Carolina with sketchy internet, so no pictures will be forthcoming, but I'll upload some later**
It all started on a gorgeous spring day in April when Tor and I were out for a run and saw some fellow runners with Reach the Beach relay shirts. Intrigued, we did a bit of research and learned that it is a 200 mile relay race that starts at Cannon, NH and ends at Hampton Beach. A team of six people or less qualified you for ultra(cool) status. "We are in good running shape now, ergo we will be in good running shape in September after probably not running too much over the summer," we reasoned like the rigorous scientists we are. I gathered together a motley crew of six, we signed up, and went our separate ways for the summer. Come September, people were having second thoughts. Specifically, four separate people either backed out of the race or agreed to run then rescinded that agreement. Ten days before the race, we finally had an official team and even a reluctant and bemused blessing to run from Chris City.
The day before the race arrived, and disaster struck! Tor's trusty soccer-mom van rolled its last few inches and locked up for good. While we had had since April to come up with a back-up plan, there are very few soccer mom vans lying around New England. We cobbled together two cars that were too small for the whole team for transportation, one from Maine and the other from Boston, and breathed again. We also thanked our lucky stars that 4/6 people on the team could drive manuals since neither car was automatic. "Statistically speaking, how slim are the odds that Esther's team could possibly escape with no other major problems?" Chris Stock thought to himself in his bed that night. His concern was well founded when, then next day, two competent drivers were speeding far ahead to catch some rest before our next legs while the third was out running. Just as we were wondering in the leading car whether Taylor would be comfortable driving and assuring ourselves that she was, a phone rang.
T: "I can't turn the car on."
Me: "Do you have the clutch in?"
T: "I can't get the emergency break off! I can't get into reverse! Why am I moving forward?! WHY AM I MOVING FORWARD?!?!?"
Me: "We're coming back right now!"
Needless to say, 200 miles with 6 people, 2 cars, and 3 drivers was unappealing, but what could we do? The next 25 hours were somewhat surreal as we loped through the backroads of NH, caffinating--not sleeping-- as needed. Two blown exchanges, a few minor injuries, and a frosty morning later we had reached the beach! I'm pretty sure the drivers were no longer speaking English at that point, while the other three looked like they had been run over, but we were all still alive which was, frankly, a surprise. After some predictable debacles getting the two cars back to their respective homes, the adventure was over and we were left to return to the much more predictable wilds of Cambridge. The rosy glasses of retrospect are already on, though, so I'm definitely already planning next year and on the hunt for some automatic cars.

2011-10-11T20:34:00.005-04:00

Watching for some epic finishes

Fall Time Trizzle: BRING ON THE HURRICANE

Yesterday was our first rollerski time trial of the season. We did the usual 5km uphill course at Littleton. It was a beautiful, sunny and crisp fall afternoon. Akeo picked enough apples to fill up his shirt. It looked like he was carrying a pile of tiny hamsters. Akeo had a great debut finish, Tor killed it as always, and Chris and I posted some new course records to beat. Tanner had a great day, and skied to a time a minute faster than last year! Esther, Clare, and The Byrnester all had great days as well, and rookie girls Emily '15 and Ainara '14 kept it rollin' fast up to the finish. As "Stocky" eloquently put it, in one month, we will be much closer to ski season!

Shooting the breeze post-TT

Results:

Chris - 0:13:47
Akeo - 0:14:59

Tanner - 0:15:08

Tor - 0:15:54

Alena - 0:16:49
Esther - 0:17:12

Clare - 0:18:27

Ainara - 0:19:26

Addie - 0:19:42
Emily - 0:19:54

All in all, it was a great workout, and we're all stoked for some of the good stuff, visible just to your right.
Check it out.
Thanksgiving Camp is in a month and a half!!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ADDIE AND CLARE!!!!
Love,
Nudibranch

Fall Camp!

2011-09-30T00:52:00.003-04:00

From left: Akeo, Chris, Addie, Tanner, Esther, Alena, Tor, Clare, Ainara, Coach Chris.

Not pictured: Jen, Emily, Tony, Coach Sara (photo cred).

Last weekend the team took a jaunt up to Waterville Valley, NH, for our annual fall camp. With the weather mostly cooperating, we got some terrific training in and spent a lot of quality time together as a team.

But before I get into that, here's a hyperlink summary of the weekend's cultural highlights, by category: Movie. Song. Infant.

On the training side, we started the weekend with a hard hill-bounding interval ascent of the Waterville Valley alpine mountain. Through the 100% humidity, we could see hints of the foliage turning around us and glimpses of beautiful views across the valley. By the time we reached the top, the hot weather at the base of the mountain had given way to much more comfortable temperatures. "Thank goodness for the environmental lapse rate!", Esther thought to herself.

That afternoon, we explored the valley roads in town on a recovery skate rollerski, which ended with an awesome but tiring half-hour climb back to the rental house under a bluebird sky. And in the evening, over a hearty meal of beef burritos, we had a super talk about our team values and goals for the year, followed by a film screening (see above).

Sunday morning, we woke up bright and early for the highlight of camp - a run/hike of Cannon Mountain. The summit was hidden in fog, so we avoided it and instead opted for the ridge trails, which were gorgeous. The picture above is from a refreshing excursion into Lonesome Lake at the end of the hike. (In the Fun Facts department: other people, like CSU master Wes Denering and Tanner's SLS 20 teaching fellow, also thought that this particular lake would be a great place to be on a splendid Sunday in early fall. Who knew?)

Running down the mountain turned into a vicious race akin to Game of Thrones when we realized we were competing for a limited supply of Gatorade bottles at the bottom. ("Everyone who isn't us is an enemy," Alena was overheard telling Addie.) Luckily, it turned out there were enough Gatorades to go around, and there was even time a lovely picnic lunch before piling in the van and heading back to campus.

That's all for now! Stay tuned for Esther's update on her Reach the Beach relay experience.

Happy Autumnal Equinox tomorrow!

2011-09-22T14:33:00.002-04:00

The ski team appears in the Harvard Crimson!

Esther G. Kennedy ‘13 and Chris H. Stock ‘14

RR: What are you doing here?

Chris: Well, I’m trying to find my PAF and I literally ran into Esther.

Esther: We’re on the Nordic Ski team.

RR: How is the Nordic Ski team?

Chris: We had some of our best results last year.

Esther: The athletic director here is still not sure we have a ski team.

(Unprompted)

Chris: Don’t you think Esther here could beat you up? She’s a rock climber, so she’s got giant lats.

Esther: He came up to me at the beginning of the year and said “I wanted to introduce myself, but I was worried you would beat me up.”

Chris: ... Ski team is a good time.

Across the interwebs

2011-08-15T02:11:00.002-04:00

BOZEMAN, MT - Remember that 20-mile race that Tanner mentioned, the one that ranges between 4900 and 9600 meters in elevation on technical terrain? Sources are reporting that Harvard Nordic freshman Akeo Maifield-Carucci, the youngest out of hundreds of racers from the Bozeman area, placed third overall with a time of 3:27:47.8. This reporter is super duper impressed!

The blogosphere is alight with rumors that wunderchild Akeo, dissatisfied with his accomplishments to date, will move on to completing his entire FOP route in a mere eight hours.

xoxo Gossip Girl

"Owt and Abowt" (Out and About)

2011-08-11T15:04:00.005-04:00

Checking in from the Big Sky Country! Akeo and I just got back from the magical land of Canada. After jamming 40 hours of training into 10 days, I think I can speak for both of us when I say that rest weeks are the bomb! We were in the Canmore/Banff, Alberta area working at the nordic "centre" and exploring the breathtaking Canadian Rockies.

We got to work with some guest stars on the trip: Leif Zimmermann, Bettina Gruber (Swiss National Team Athlete), and Torin Koos. It was an awesome opportunity to chase these guys all week and hear stories about world their impressive world cup and olympic experiences!

It was a great trip, but I'm not sad to be home dialing it back for a few weeks! I can't believe how soon we'll all be back on campus! I know that Akeo leaves this weekend(!!!) but not till after he runs a 20 mile race across the top of the Bridgers with more than 5000ft vert in gain to the ridge before dropping 7000ft on the other side! Wish him luck everyone!

See ya'll soon!

Spotted: Harvard skiers

2011-07-28T21:43:00.004-04:00

Location: Kalispell, MT

Tor O'Brien and Esther Kennedy were spotted on a rare break from their geological pursuits (aka observing rocks), touring through Glacier National Park. They were later seen leaving a Mexican restaurant with another Harvard skier, rumored to live nearby, at which point the three of them strolled the scenic streets of Kalispell, discussed the great outdoors, and spent a considerable amount of time laughing and chatting in the Motel 6 parking lot. According to sources, Tor and Esther will return to the wilderness (and their scintillating rock studies) for two weeks, at which time they will adjourn to a romantic getaway on the tropical beaches of Hawaii. Paradise? Or merely another "working vacation" for the adventurous duo? Tune in next week to find out...

xoxo Gossip Girl

2011-07-25T13:17:00.001-04:00

This weekend, at a restaurant in St. Petersburg, I bonded with a Swede over his accent, aka a Minnesota accent. If I am ever in Europe and miss home, I will go Sweden, and all my problems will be solved.

JRR

Hello from Canada, eh!

2011-07-20T14:18:00.005-04:00

My darling pterodactyls,

I am consistently amazed by the experiences Harvard deems educational…and thus funds. For example, I am currently languishing in the spectacular Banff National Park in Alberta, Canada, ostensibly “researching for my senior thesis.” Seeing as how I am surrounded by majestic peaks rising thousands of feet above me, secluded tree-lined trails and welcoming sunny skies, my “research” has included a lot of “getting to know the area.” I took my brand-spanking-new road bike out for a spin the other day and rode to Canmore, about 15 miles away, where I suffered up the MASSIVE hill to the nordic course and managed to catch the tail end of the Canadian Mountain Bike Championships before rolling back toward Banff (Nordic skiers: I tell ya, they even make you work for your tourist experiences. Gluttons for punishment, all of them). I’ve also taken plenty of time to head out into the hills and wander about, competing with the millions of other tourists to see who can get the best photo of the same stunning vista.

Besides Banff, I’ve also had a little bit of time to bum about Montana, exploring my native Glacier National Park with Anne and making a trip to Yellowstone (where I just so happened to run into Mr. Tanner Wiegand in Bozeman). In America’s first national park, I hung out in a real-life Old West town, saw loads of wildlife, active geysers, amazing scenery, and the ever-elusive “tourist in the wild.”

I hope you’re all having fantastic summers! Keep training, keep blogging, and I’ll see you in the fall!

Peace, love, and rainy summer days,
Clare

Salmon and spaghetti.

2011-07-19T13:56:00.011-04:00

Hi all!

Things have been bustling here at FRI (that's the Fisheries Research Institute) since I last posted. While the fishing season was still going on, we had all sorts of bigwigs in the fishing industry come to visit, including Alaska's Director of Commercial Fisheries and some execs of one of Bristol Bay's salmon canneries. Now that the fish have mostly moved inland and the fishing season has drawn to a close, we haven't had as many visitors. But that isn't to say that we haven't been busy.

The lake here is bordered in places by impressive mountains. On an off day, we got the chance to climb one of them. It was one of the steeper hikes I've done:

But the view at the top was pretty incredible.

A Fourth of July tradition here is for all the guys to get haircuts -- mohawks, actually. I figured Tanner had already set a precedent and I wasn't about to be left out of this hallowed tradition, so I gamely bared my head for the razor. As one observer noted, what emerged was less reminiscent of a mohawk than an indie rocker hairdo. (Don't worry, we fixed it later.) I was a little perplexed by my new identity, though.

>

A few days later, I had the pleasure of meeting up with fellow skiers James Crimp (Bowdoin) and Neil Liotta (MSU). James's family is from Anchorage but comes to Dillingham every summer to fish commercially. Though it's difficult and exhausting work (they fish with the tides, so they have to be on call around the clock), his whole family is involved in the process, which seems incrediblyrewarding. I very nearly got to rollerski with them, too, but plans changed and that didn't work out.

Ever since my arrival here, the amount I eat has attracted some attention. It's not just me, though: there's another undergrad here whose extensive appetite had also raised some eyebrows. To settle the matter of appetite once and for all, the grad students here arranged an eating contest: pounds of pasta (with red sauce) in an hour. After my experience finishing a bucket of pasta at Senior Nationals, I couldn't refuse the challenge, and trained extra hard that day to work up my appetite. In the end, I was able to eat 5.26 pounds in the allotted hour. Alas, my opponent was strong and beat me by nearly a pound. Yet we were both dwarfed by the legendary Cookie Jarvis, a competitive eating champion who holds the world pasta eating record of 6.67 pounds of linguini in ten minutes. I suppose I should stick to ski racing, then.

Now that the fish have moved out of the bay and into the inland lakes and streams where they will spawn, the work around here is shifting from run prediction to in-stream monitoring. There is a certain stream that we survey daily, counting live fish and collecting data on carcasses (sex, length, mode of death). Sometimes we would grab live ones too, just for fun:

That's all for now! Keep on bloggin'!

Chris

2011-07-18T11:37:00.001-04:00

I saw Lenin's body this weekend. I was going to post a picture, but you can look it up yourself. Creepy, but fascinating.

JRR

Western REG

2011-07-10T20:44:00.005-04:00

Hi everyone. I just got back from Western REG a couple weeks ago and thought I should try to give a report on how everything went. Overall it was a great camp in beautiful Park City. The camp was from June 20 to 26 with skiers from all the western regions: PNSA, Far West, Rocky Mountain, Intermountain, and High Plains. It was a great experience and a lot of fun spending 6 days training with many of the top skiers in the west. We got to roller ski with Billy Demong, Simi Hamilton, Rolf Figi, and Miles Havlic, plus play Kickball and Whiffleball with the rookies inluding Tad Elliott, Noah Hoffman, Jessie Diggins, Ida Sargent, and Saddie Bjornsen. On top of working out and having fun with all these great athletes we had great coaches to learn from. with an athlete to coach ration of about 3 to 1, every skier got lots of personal attention and technique advice. This included some one-on-one technique work with Matt Whitcomb and some pointers from Pete Vordenberg and Brian Fish. At camp we did some OD classic rollerski and running workouts and we did some higher intensity work. We had a spenst workout and three competitions for NEG. The NEG competitions consisted of agony hill climb, a roller ski sprint/agility course (I am in the red shorts at the beginning), and the Canadian Metals strength test. Each of these were scored separately with World Cup scoring system (100 points for 1st, 80 for 2nd, 60 for 3rd, and so on) and the 6 highest scoring girls and guys from all 4 REG camps then get to go to NEG. While I was bummed I did not qualify for NEG I still had a great time and learned a lot. Hope everyone's summer is going well!

Akeo

Helloz to all from the Forest...

2011-07-07T22:23:00.011-04:00

...Harvard Forest, that is. Harvard Forest is about and hour and a half into Western Mass. from campus, and is a research site focused on forest ecology. I'm learning lots of useful things this summer, like how to drive a cherry picker (otherwise known as a bucket truck), push water through sticks and work with and build small electronics. Here are pictures from the fire tower of Mt. Monadnock, sunset over the Forest, and a typical day up in Bucky, the friendly neighborhood bucket truck. Bucky can lift us up to 80 feet in the canopy.

Besides training and working, I'm doing lots of relaxing things here -- in fact, we've purchased an inflatable kiddie pool for our living room, in which we watch Planet Earth (typical, I know), Game of Thrones or the Tour, read, fall asleep and generally become slug-like post-work day. The pool is also known as the FCRC, or the Food Coma Recovery Center. The food is wonderful here. Much of our supply comes from local farms and businesses. Newest discovery: Ginger ice cream. I just went wild raspberry picking last night while walking the border collie I'm currently dog sitting. Nighttime here is also relaxing, with only fireflies and crickets and tree frogs breaking the starry quiet.

I just got a present from the Massachusetts Department of Transportation -- brand new pavement, a whole mile of it, stretching from here to my favorite rollerski road off of the main drag. Sunday ODs have typically concluded with a few hours of sleeping in the warm sand at Queens Lake, which is a beach just down the road. I've been running a lot, and also using rocks for my strength work. I'm happy to be out here, and though an occasional jaunt into Boston is great, I prefer the pace and atmosphere here. I also discovered Harvard Forest has ski trails (!) so maybe I/we can come back out sometime this winter to check them out (hint, hint...). I'm excited to see you all soon!

-ANT

Alaska!

2011-06-25T04:13:00.008-04:00

Hey all,

About a week ago I arrived in Aleknagik, Alaska, a small village in the Bristol Bay region, about 20 miles north of Dillingham. You can't get here by road from Anchorage -- just plane and boat. This is the one I flew in on:

The two real live Alaskans on the team are probably yawning about this, but I think it's pretty cool.

This time of year, the only thing on everybody's mind around here is fish. That's because the biggest sockeye salmon fishery in the world operates out of Bristol Bay. This year they're predicting an average-size run of around 36 million salmon. Turns out that one of the biggest side industries to actually fishing the salmon is predicting how many will come and when... this way the fish processors know how many workers to hire, the fishermen know when they have to go out, and the district managers know how much fishing to allow so that they can meet their sustainable fishing goal. The Bristol Bay salmon fishery, unlike most fisheries in the world, is well-managed and thriving. I learned a few days ago that it's actually unconstitutional in Alaska to manage natural resources in an unsustainable way. Wild!

Anyways, I'm working with University of Washington researchers who try to come up with an accurate real-time forecast of the salmon run. For the most part they have the models all written and it's just a matter of running the code, but there's also a fair amount of human evaluation and heuristics that go into it.

As I write this at 1am, it is legitimately dark out -- perhaps the equivalent of 10:30-11:00 at night in Boston right now. This is the first time I've seen it like this, and it's probably a result of particularly thick clouds. Here's a picture I took of the view from the dock a few minutes after midnight the evening I arrived:

The first time I went for a rollerski here, I left at 9:30 PM and got back an hour and a half later in comfortable daylight. Since then, I've transitioned to a morning schedule that feels a little more natural to me.

The availability of training facilities here is not too bad. There is exactly one paved road that goes 19 miles into Dillingham, and it is pretty well-paved, low-traffic, and fairly rolly... definitely V1 material in a few places. Unfortunately, even though there are a bunch of mountains around here, none are easily accessible from my location and getting the vertical in is my biggest problem right now.

I've also been told to keep an eye out for bears and moose while I rollerski. I'll keep you posted on this, but so far the animals that have caused me the most trouble so far are mosquitos. Really, though, they're not that bad, particularly with judicious clothing choices and application of DEET as necessary.

The most fun thing about training so far has been coming up with my strength routine. This is a pretty well-stocked camp and I was lucky enough to find a pair of 12lb dumbells and a gym ball. There's even an installed pull-up bar and stationary bike! But, with no med balls to be found, I assembled a collection of rocks and a concrete block to use instead:

Not a bad view for core strength.

I'll keep you all updated!

Chris

Update from the West

2011-06-23T14:52:00.007-04:00

Friends, Romans, Teammates,

Lend me your ears:

After weeks of continuous rain and tenuous cloud cover teasing us with the promise of blue sky someday, the weather has finally broken and it is summer in Montana. I have spent the past month roaming the pine-wooded mountains and swimming in its cool ponds. Everything is so green here and it feels impossible to stay inside with the sun luring now me out at every chance.

I have been teaching boot camp as a personal trainer 3 mornings a week. It's been a rewarding experience, but also an interesting one trying to direct someone else's training besides my own. Most days I am up around 5 to make boot camp at 6:15, before hustling to training at 8. I nap, have lunch and hit afternoon training, then dinner and flop into bed exhausted. In honor of the recent sunshine, I cutoff all (but a stripe) of my hair:

My mother's not crazy about the look, but in my spare time I have been re-watching Glee on Netflix (which I have decided was a terrible idea to sign up for, because it's too easy on a lazy day). So the inspiration for my cut was Puck from Glee:

Disturbingly similar in our many perfect attributes: I know. It's pretty much been a perfect summer here. The lack of schoolwork has relaxed me completely and my lack of responsibilities and obligations have me feeling like a young kid again. I forgot how much I love summer training. We have a large group of athletes training with us this summer and it's good to have some fast guys to chase through the forest. I stepped right back into Dragan's European eccentricities, but it's been priceless training in the Big Sky again for a while.

Akeo and I have been training with our high school teammates here. Mainly OD runs and rollerskis, but we've been hittin' the gym and gettin' ripped too. Coach Hess would be proud. I hope... I didn't really realize how much the elevation change was gonna suck, but I figured it out about 3km into a 10km running race just after getting home. So note-to-future-self: ease into elevation after a year at sea level.

Clare Miller swept through town on Tuesday night and we got a chance to go out for ice-cream, living it up on the longest day of the year! I hope that all is well, wherever you are and whatever adventure you are on!

From the Big Blue Sky Country,

Tanner

CXC Elite Camp

2011-06-18T11:05:00.004-04:00

Hey guys!

I just spent the last two weeks at the CXC Elite camp at Telemark Resort in Wisconsin. That's where the Birkie starts.

Telemark Lodge, Brian Gregg, and Igor's ever-present CXC van

I had a lot of fun meeting and training with the CXC elite team (these guys) and I got a ton of hours in. I was there as a guest along with a few other junior skiers from Colorado and Minnesota. Chris (City) also came for the first half of the camp as a guest coach.

By the end of the camp, Jessie Diggins had a nickname for me: "Harvard."

The focus of the camp was on technique and moderate-intensity hours, so we did a lot of video review and a few interval sessions in between OD rollerskis. Particularly valuable was the VO2 max test we did a few days into camp and the lactate tests that the coaches ran during interval workouts. I learned a lot about how to do a proper threshold workout!

They were all complaining about the food, but after two semesters of HUHDS, I honestly didn't see what the big deal was.

In about half an hour I'm leaving for the airport to fly to Alaska, where I'll spend pretty much the rest of the summer. I'll be sure to post some photos when I get there!

Chris

2011-06-16T18:18:00.005-04:00

Hey all!
Instead of traveling east and across the pond like some of my other teammates I decided to take my talents west back home to Vail and then to Spring/ Summer training camp with SSCV Team HomeGrown in Bend, OR.
May and June in the lands west of the Mississippi look similar to New England in January and February, except for the ample snow and sun!
Vail pass June 5th with Dan Weiland and Tad Elliot (SSCV/ USST).

While home/ traveling the Wild West, I ran into some recent Harvard Alumni.
Trevor Petach '10 took me on an incredible rafting trip through escalante canyon in southern Utah. He nearly killed me, but I still love him.T-revs and I rafting a huge waterfall!

On June 9th I set out on the Oregon trail with my local Vail club to go to Bend. In Bend we have done tons of skiing and spent a lot of time on and off the trails with Ollie Burruss '08.
Here is a short video make by Sylvan Ellefson (SSCV Homegrown), both Ollie and I star in it!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOo4MECprOg&feature=channel_video_title

Summer and Training has been awesome so far this summer! I head back to Vail tomorrow for a dose of work and the real world.

Happy Travels,
Tony

2011-06-15T12:20:00.002-04:00

Hello Harvard Nordic. Greetings from Russia. I left the cord that connects my camera to my computer in the US, so I have no pictures with me in them.

The first place we went to was the Peter and Paul Fortress. When Peter the Great decided to build St. Petersburg, he started with the fort on this small island. Dostoyevsky was imprisoned here. I live in one of the apartment buildings to the North of the island.

I haven't actually been inside yet, but here is the Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood. It is the only Russian style church in St. Petersburg. They sell really beautiful souvenirs outside the church. I am planning to buy some, but I like all the things so don't count on me getting any of you anything.

This is the square right behind the Hermitage. On the other side of that walkway is Невский Проспект (Nevskiy Prospect- I knew you were waiting for me to throw some Russian in).

This picture is from inside the Winter Palace/ Hermitage (Зимний Дворец/ Эрмитаж). We went yesterday after class. This room is one of the most gorgeous things I have ever seen. The staircase is bigger than my house. Russian couples get married every day of the week, and take pictures on the Нева River, Peter and Paul Fortress, and at all the other beautiful historic sites. We saw a couple getting their wedding photos taken on this staircase. Of course, tourist groups got in the way 95% of the time. I felt like I was at home at Harvard. If you ever get a chance to go to the Winter Palace, go, because it is really sweet. Each room is huge and unique.

So now you know the touristy things you have to see if you ever come to Russia.

JRR

Wet Not Cantabrigian Summer

2011-05-25T19:59:00.011-04:00

We did our spring 3km time trial before the end of the school year. Some footage below (this track is perfect for TOB):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_mVzJ5M6Vg&feature=player_embedded

We're all in the midst of ramping up our training, decompressing after finals and transitioning into our respective summer activities.
I got some looks like this out rollerskiing yesterday:

And this:

All and all, life is good.

Usual Ninth Place Finish at JOs

2011-03-08T18:38:00.003-05:00

By Kristina McKlintock

In an exciting continuation of what has become the Harvard ski team's favorite spot on the results list, Harvard freshmen Chris Stock and Jennifer Rolfes finished the usual ninth place in the skate sprint at 2011 Junior Olympics at Wirth Park in Minneapolis.

Stock and Rolfes took strikingly similar paths to ninth place. Stock qualified 11th while Rolfes qualified 7th, but both finished a disappointing third in their quarterfinals. On tenterhooks after finishing, both eventually moved on as the second lucky loser. After this striking coincidence, Stock and Rolfes lost contact in their semifinals and conserved energy, both finishing a distant sixth. Undaunted, they both skied to third place in their B-finals, winning all-American honors and an overall 9th place finish.

Chris and Jen both rocked the ultimate Harvard top, New England bottom combo.

Trials at Fat Camp

2011-02-04T21:54:00.012-05:00

We kicked off the season with a series of races in Rumford, Maine. The conditions weren't perfect.

So the workout began (shoveling snow) even before the races.

After posting some great results, the team headed to Campton, NH for a week of good training.

This week was endearingly referred to"Fat Camp" as daily schedule went something like this:

Wake-up

Eat

Ski

Eat

Nap

Eat

Wii-Tournament/Movie Time

Strength Workout

Eat

Make Dinner

Eat

Go to Bed

Note: that somedays the Wii-Tournament/Movie Time were coupled with the strength workout

Unlike most of our classmates, we were happy about the snow storms that kept hitting the Boston area.

Unfortunately, the snow made the trip to the ski room longer.
And now: A diversion

Cheese Whiz...

2010-11-29T23:17:00.003-05:00

...it's like he's holding onto the rock with his hands!

-ANT

Champ Camp in Campton, NH

2010-10-10T11:40:00.010-04:00

A weekend of training in picturesque fall New England

Weekend activities included: Rollerskiing, running, watching ski movies, Jacuzzi tubbing, homework.

View from the porch

Hike up the lift at Waterville Valley

Fall in New England

Some of the team

On top of the world

The Nordic Platypus

2010-09-13T21:04:00.002-04:00

The Nordic Platypus
Genus: Ornithorhynchus vikingus
The Nordic Platypus is a bizarre example of genetic divergence, recently discovered as an extreme variant of the Australian platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus). While the platypus is generally regarded to exist solely in Eastern Australia, the Nordic Platypus can be found in latitudes as high as Scandinavia. The most distinguishing feature of the Nordic Platypus, aside from its venomous spurs, is its prowess in the unexpected area of front squats. The Nordic Platypus needs to eat about 20% of its own weight each day. This requires the Nordic Platypus to spend an average of 12 hours each day looking for food. When not in the water or the weight room, the Nordic Platypus retires to various couches and other comfortable furniture. Preferred resting locations are usually strategically chosen due to their proximity to a mini-fridge and a large-screen television.

¡Hola, mi querida pterodáctilos!

2010-07-04T16:55:00.013-04:00

Hi from Chile!
I've officially been here for 3 weeks now (hard to believe), and I think I'm settling in. My Spanish has improved to where I can actually understand most people, which is a relief, and I've begun to make friends with the people working in my office (all under the age of 30). I think I can call myself a true Chilean after living and dying with every play during the World Cup games (Chile hadn't been in the World Cup for 12 years, and hadn't won a game there in over 40. Everything stopped for the games. No exceptions. We're talking changing hospital surgery schedules, here.). Unfortunately, my cooking skills need some work, but hey - you win some, you lose some.

All in all, I'm having a fabulous time in Patagonia, "where the world ends." It hosts some of the most beautiful views I've ever seen, and I would recommend to everyone that they try to visit at least once.

Things I've learned in Coyhaique, Chile:
1. The neighborhood behind my house is ghetto. Not recommended for running.
2. I will NEVER attempt to cook fried chicken again. I didn't think it was possible for such a small stove to create so much smoke.
3. Avocados and mayo go with everything.

Yep. That would be a grocery store aisle of mayo...in bags.

4. The "macho" culture is alive and well in Chile, complete with middle-aged men leering from their pickup trucks.
5. The county prison is less than a mile away. But no worries, "it's just a little one."
6. Someone in this country needs to discover central heating. Immediately.
7. This may be one of the most beautiful parts of the world...evidence:

CM

Wwwwwwwait. Guys....guys, guys guys guys...you know what's really interesting? Ham...and water.

2010-02-27T19:30:00.003-05:00

Carni Crush

2010-02-21T10:03:00.005-05:00

There was lust. There was love. There was Tony and Kevin, wearing very little clothing, serenading girls they didn't know. Oh, and there was some baller skiing. All in all, a very successful Carni Crush weekend.

Evidence:

Fans!

Tony and Kevin's proclamation of love.

Audrey, Cara, and I letting Dylan McGuffin know how beautiful he really is...almost like part-time model.

Post V-day love!
C

Birthday Shoutout

2010-01-29T23:09:00.006-05:00

Tomorrow (today already in France) is Meri's 21st birthday, and since we can't be in Grenoble to say 'happy birthday' in person, we sang to her today on the frigid slopes of Mt. Weston. Happy 21st Meri! We miss you!

-AM

Harvard Nordic Goes Backcountry

2010-01-26T19:20:00.011-05:00

Well the new academic schedule put in place this year allowed for one thing and one thing only: SKIING. That's right, (almost) an entire month devoted to nothing but feeling the flex of our skis beneath our feet, the chill of the air against our faces, the powdery snow against our legs and the satisfaction of craisins in our bellies. We spent just about two weeks in Jackson, New Hampshire training on fresh powder and perfectly groomed, corduroy trails. After returning to Cambridge, we were treated to a delightful afternoon of skiing in Chris City's new backyard! Check out the photo documentary of our adventure, ending with some video clips of a round of Dave McCahill's favorite game to play on skis.

Clare and Trevor excited to start, with Chris City in the background applying kick wax to all our skis (per usual).

Scush and Alena anxiously waiting for everyone.

"Tor, just because you're on your skate skis doesn't mean you can outrun me."

Men. Being men.

"Audrey! Don't fall into the river!"

Smiles!

"Yeah, guys, I don't think that lake is frozen."

"So?"

Audweeeeeeee!

I'm on a boat.... don't you ever forget.

ROCK SKIS.

OMG... hot. so hot right now...

If all else fails, hug a tree.

Team America

Now for the videos... everyone starts with only one ski on. The point of the game is to be the last person on your ski, meaning you need to get everyone else's ski off. Kevin, Trevor, and Tony managed to make it to the final three.

And the rest looked something like this:

Thanks to Liz for a great dinner!

Ultimate Recovery Food: Crème de Marrons

2010-01-24T12:49:00.004-05:00

Harvard Nordic, today I made you proud. For the first time, not only was I not on the last page of results, but I was on the first! And high up there too, 21st overall out of 388, and the 6th woman! Let me paint a little picture...

Setting: Autrans, Rhône-Alpes - where all the nordic skiing in the '68 Olympics took place

Event: the 32nd Foulée Blanche (rough translation: the white stride)

Distances: 42km, 20km, 10km (me!), and 5k

Number of Racers: 2200. not kidding. no really. take a look.

(and this only shows half of us)

Time taken to cross the start line: 14 minutes 8 seconds

Final Placement Overall (out of 388): 21st

Final Result only counting females: 6th

Needless to say, the trick to this race was maneuvering around all the small children, old people, and generally slow racers. The snow was amazing, so even on my rock skis, it felt like I had rockets on my feet, and a lot of the time, the best thing to do was hop in the tracks and double pole around the other skiers. All in all, what with the giant purple Milka cow mascot, the big blue squirrel of Autrans, and the course that took us through the village center, past little shops and houses lined with spectators, this was definitely the most festive and most fun race I have ever done. I couldn't stop smiling the whole time, but I definitely made it hurt.

Men's Top 10 in the 42k

Highlights:

1. Spent the night at the director of my program's father's house (he's 91) with 4 generations of her family, and after dinner (giant raclette--an interactive meal experience where you melt cheese in a tabletop oven type device and pour it over potatoes and various meats.) he spent an hour telling me about his time in the mountain troops in the army and his role as director of all nordic skiing in the '68 Winter Olympics in Grenoble.

2. The refeuling stand after the race: hot wine, tea, cocoa, juices, cheese, dried fruits, oranges, and of course, crème de marrons chestnut spread in a tube. Yes, a tube, a metal one, like toothpaste or Neosporin.

3. My souvenir: a custom buff!

Much much much love from afar,

Meri

Eastern Cup Opener Day Two: Past, Present, and Future

2009-12-21T21:53:00.006-05:00

Another cold day of awesome racing in Presque yesterday! Sunday was the mass start classic race, 10k for women and men. The course was pretty straightforward, nothing too challenging except some serious downhill S-turns which became demolished, and the rest was long gradual uphills with alot of striding. Cara went off at 10:00. After dialing in kick wax and juicing up the skis she was good to go and got off with a bang in the tight pack of women's racers. She went into the woods after the uphill mass start in a solid position. Coming through in the first lap she was in 36th, and skied her way up to 27th! She skied efficiently and strided the hills well for an awesome race.
The mens race went off at 11 and after Tony and I got our skis ready to go we joined the horde of racers on the line itching to go. The gun went off and we established good position early. The race went very well, and aside from the usual mass start carnage on hairpins and what not, we felt fit and smooth and skied well. Tony brought it in for 39th and I came in for 49th. We were stoked to be racing again. We felt fit and relaxed skiing and striding, which is what we are looking for this early in the season. Former Harvard Pterodactyl Ollie Burress had a good one, finishing 17th, and future Harvard skier Chris Stock had a great performance coming in 12th.

After the cooldown we piled into the car for the 6 hour trek back to Cambridge. We stopped at Subway in hopes of seeing our esteemed nordic colleagues from Foret....
Have a Merry Christmas and safe Holiday everyone.

-ksprague

(sorry I don't have too many pics, my camera was frozen solid)

Eastern Cup Opener: Day One

2009-12-19T16:20:00.007-05:00

Greetings from Presque Isle (a bit too close to Canada if you ask me...). After 6 hours of touring America's great I95, we arrived in Presque and were greeted by alot of....well lets just say it gets really cold here and at least they have a Walmart.
Anyways. It's Race Season, game on. today we had Skate Sprints at the nordic heritage center, home of Junior Nats this year. Nice place - soild course - quick start then huge downhill followed by a sharp hairpin, then a nasty climb to the stadium , a couple of whoopdee-do hills, then gradual climb to the finish strech. You get the picture. The field is prety stacked - alot of EISA teams, Craftsbury, MWSC, ski acedmies, a couple of aussies, some canadians and more.
Now the first race of the season isn't always supposed to go perfectly in terms of logistics, and we are hopeful that we got our issues out of the way today, which included slower than expected skis, a broken ski boot zipper that led to a frantic hunt for a boot before the heats, keeping your feet on the ground while racing, and just the fact that it is cold as hell out here. But anyways, it was a good day and it feels awesome to be racing again. Now what you've been waiting for:

-Cara led it off for Harvard in the qualifiers, skiing very strong and coming in 36th, just missing the heats. Well done for a pretty tough women's field.
-I went off and felt good until the hairpin, where I had more speed from the down hill then I thought and Sir Isac Newton made sure I paid the price- I couldn't get around the turn quick enough and went off the mashed up trail, I rebounded but it still wasn't good enough to qualify, and I was a couple seconds out for 49th. still a solid effort.

-Tony went off very strong and looked as though he had one of the best starts of anyone in the qualifiers. Coming to the top of the hill he skied smooth and came into the stadium ripping - good enough to make it into the qualifiers at 23rd.

The womens quarterfinals went, and as the sun slowly started to retreat (no joke it's dark here at 3:30) Tony began to prep for his heat - which was eagerly anticipated due to New Zealand Olympian Ben Koonz's appearance. Well, Tony had something to say about that, and when the gun went off he took the lead going down into the hill. Standing at the top of the hill, we saw Tony emerge in first skiing hard and brilliantly - the suprised look on Koonz's face was priceless. Going into the back hill 3rd place caught up and it was a duel, Tony hung on though and gave them a fight, and finished a close 3rd. His time didn't make the lucky loser qualifier, however his race was awesome.

Now it's time for some R&R, Food, and prepping the classic boards for tomorrow. It's on like Donkey Kong.

keep it real -ksprague.

under the bridge

scoping out the start

Duelin'

Cruising

Cara in the start

Stateside

2009-11-30T10:43:00.006-05:00

After 13+ hours of travel, 4 bags of milk, 2 turkeys, and many quality hours of training and skiing, we have concluded our Thanksgiving Camp in Quebec. An excellent camp it was too - many thanks to Chris and Sara for putting together a great week of training and fun, as well as putting up with shenanigans and a certain genre of music that our generation seems to enthusiastically appreciate. We were able to ski every day - and Saturday morning we were greeted with a couple of inches of snow. By Saturday afternoon, our patriotic souls were growing nostalgic for the stars and stripes so we decided to depart early Sunday to get in some good skiing at Bretton Woods, NH, which we heard had received a good amount of snowfall. This was one of my favorite days of the trip, not just because we were back in the good 'ol U.S. of A. but because it felt great to get in some classic skiing in an awesome New England Landscape. We skied around and worked on Technique in the shadows of the looming Presidential Range for a good two hours. It felt like a textbook New England Winter Day - sun, snow and great skiing tracks made for an excellent cap to our week of training. Now we need to do some serious snow dancing. Let's hope it gets cold here in Cambridge.

Turkey number 1

Ladies

Men

We know what song this is from...

Team Shot courtesy of Rob Bradlee

Quebec Raiders (By the way everything in Quebec City closes before 6 P.M. on a Saturday Night)

Tony what happened to your binding?

Nordic Pterodactyls

Quebec Ski Camp: Unintentional Video Documentation by Coach Sara

2009-11-25T18:29:00.002-05:00

Yesterday afternoon we all piled into two vans back in Cambridge, filled the back with lots of thanksgiving food and such (side note: the U.S.S Party Van is obviously the superior van of the two. We have... a. Spice Girls, b. Whatcha say... and best of all c. Lady Gaga). Everyone got some much-needed sleep on the way up and Tor somehow managed to sleep the entire drive, except when we stopped for pizza (of course). Today we got on snow for the first time all year! It was amazing! The loop we're skiing on is pretty short, but snow nonetheless, and everybody had a great day with two long skis+lunch+some other technique and stuff. Here's some clips from the day, taken by sarah, who was decieved by my camera into thinking she was taking photos. We ended up with approximately 50 random videos from the viewpoint of sara getting chased by sharks. Here's a sampling:
First try at a Dave McCahill pose group shot (many more videos of this):
(also: Note kevin's tuck)

Played an awesome game of sharks and minnows (or Clare's more appropriate title: seals and polar bears):

Esther and I collided. Her effective tactic was to squish me into a fast-moving Audrey.

And Anika was the most skilled minnow of the bunch, she managed to make it to the final two twice and win once before we all decided to gang up on her, but she still evaded us somehow. I was impressed.

(note the impending crash at the end of this video)
some real photos coming soon,
Happy Thanksgiving tomorrow!!!
alena

2009-11-14T12:20:00.008-05:00

WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS!!!!!!
One day there were a lot of : (leaves) in New England instead of: (snow), so the Harvard Nordic team decided to participate in the World Championship Ski Erg!! The awesome (coaches) procured a spiffy ski erg. And the skiers suffered many kinds of exciting ski erg deaths :-). Like : (Kevin) beating the NH coach. And: (Claire) zipping around the world championship course. The Alaskan: (Esther) and the coldplay fan: (Audrey) [sorry everyone else who raced while I wasn't there] also double poled in the World Championships. Cheerio!

Starting the Season Off Right

2009-10-01T12:15:00.008-04:00

So far the season has consisted of lots of running and rollerskiing and even more waking up way too early on weekends. Amazingly the latest we've gotten to wake up was for a little road race called the Brian Honan 5k. The team acquitted itself well in the face of hordes of local running junkies. Now to follow: PICTURES!!

Freshman Tony stretching well before the race

And They're Off!!

Me Finishing it off

Tony bringin' it home

Trevor checking his watch moments before the finish

The Mangan Fans watch as Chris and Alena battle to the very end

Audrey Kicking it to catch Chris and Alena

The team (+ a recruit and a gap yearer) after a successful day at the races

In other news, this week is testing. the week has started off right with 2 new team records in the 3k set by myself and freshman Esther. The year is looking up and is just going to get better. Keep checking for many more random and infrequent posts.

Tor

I don't even go to Harvard anymore...

2009-09-01T08:11:00.003-04:00

... and therefore probably should have stopped posting months ago like I promised. But this is the only good way to let you all know that Harvard Nordic has no less than eight new team mascots:

Come visit soon!

-Schlutz

The downside to turning 21 overseas:

2009-08-17T20:15:00.007-04:00

Your license expires without you realizing, just when you're done working and want to rent a car and travel around the country. But instead of realizing this when I was making a reservation with the rental company, I realized it yesterday, after getting up early and hitching a ride over the mountains to the next town over to pick it up from the airport. After pleading with the rental car lady for about 20 minutes and seriously wondering if I could get a New Zealand license for about 2, I decided to just make a day of it in Queenstown. I proceeded to enter lots of swanky shops wearing my sneakers, dirty jeans, carhartt, and backpacker pack, with which I knocked over several rich Australian tourists by the sale racks. Back in Wanaka last night, I frantically searched for cheap buses that could take me where I'd planned on going. So far I've only found a way to get to the west coast glaciers. The project for the rest of today is to find a way to get to most of the other places I wanted to go, including Arthur's Pass (of Lord of the Rings fame) and Mt. Cook. When I return on the 24th, I'll be getting on a plane back to Boston. I'm excited for the new year with a new team!

On the starting line at the Farm.

On a snowshoe expedition.

Rock climbing in skate boots.

-AM

Another beautiful day...

2009-08-16T12:19:00.007-04:00

Thank you, and welcome.

After three moose, four bears, one flip, and a road trip across the country, I'm back on the East Coast. Summer training has been non-conventional (is that a word? I don't know...physicists are bad at English), and tons of fun.

Training....of sorts

Be sure to avoid the dead whale.

It's a rough life.

I succumbed to peer pressure...

Looking forward to seeing all of you in a few weeks. Let's rock things this year. Be sure to say hi to our new freshman when they arrive.

-TP

Life was good today.

2009-08-06T18:54:00.005-04:00

Hey there Pterodactyls.

Hope that everyone is enjoying a most lovely summer. With this dreadful economy, typhoon-worthy precipitation, and fasterskier.com becoming harder to navigate than my income tax returns, I've managed to find some time to sit down and blog away.

Rather, I've compiled my summer into a video highlight reel:

For those of you who didn't appreciate country music, consider me your Missionary to the Church of Latter-Day Honkey Tonk.

My summer's been nice. Highlights have been:

Finally getting my resume laminated at Kinkos. They reported that it was the most professional looking document to me hand-written on the back of a KFC buffet menu.
World-record ascent of Whiteface via running shoes and mountain bike, Midnol-Midnol, 3:37:22. The folks at Guinness World Records have been rather lax in returning my repeated voicemail messages.
Coaching delightful kids. If you've never coached 6-12 year olds, do it. Just make sure to carry a bullhorn loudspeaker at all times, and wash your hands repeatedly.

I'll wager you all thought that graduating from college could never be so fun.

So be well, do good work and come back often.

D

I wrote a longer post but it got deleted

2009-07-23T18:02:00.003-04:00

it had funny anecdotes about my mom and snapping turtles and everything. But now I am frustrated and will give a quick summer recap:

I am in Lake Placid, NY
I wait on/make friends with old people and golfers
I'm living with Sherborn all-stars Kyra Hill (Harvard '09 and my best friend's sister so basically my older sister) and Spencer Tweed (Wisconsin '09 and recent Ironman Kona qualifier)
I swam 4.8 miles yesterday
We hike mountains and train lots
I have no furniture and basically live on the floor
I haven't used shampoo since May 7th

Pictures:Atop Cascade

Kyra and a rainbow

Spencer in the Tupper Lake Tinman

Love,
Meri

2009-07-08T17:39:00.003-04:00

Sooooooooo, seeing as no one will post on the blog, I will make another super post about my amazingly exciting life. Wait, wait, wait.....my life is damn boring, I forgot about that. So I've been working, like a lot. The other day i worked from 8:30 to 9:10 with two 1 hr breaks. It was pretty brutal. I've been trying to find time in between working for workouts and its not easy. The weather hasn't been helping either. I complained last time on the blog and the weather continues to mock me. I tried to find a good picture of the weather for the past month but I thought it would depress you guys too much.

On to more interesting topics I recently watched Public Enemies and it was pretty good. I enjoyed it. It was really really amusing because some woman brought her like 3 year old kid to see the movie. I figured she might leave after the first scene where some guy gets his head smashed in, but she didn't. She continued to watch with her little child and even commented, "don't worry, he's gonna get shot." It was interesting. She finally left when he had to pee.

+ =

I've also taken up playing disc golf on occassion. It is a good time except for the small fact that I kinda suck. Its a really good excuse to go out in the back woods of Maine and throw a frisbee with some funny funny rednecks.

+ =

I have also found that roller skiing on crowned roads really really sucks as my wheels are not higher than the crown.

+ + =

That's all I got for now. I'll try to update if anything interesting happens.

Snow Report from New Zealand

2009-07-07T02:36:00.007-04:00

According to the locals, this the earliest snow has ever arrived in Wanaka. As soon as I landed about 2 weeks ago and found someone who owned both skinny skis and a car I've been literally up above the clouds skiing at the fabled Snow Farm as often as I can. Unfortunately, this is only on the weekend, when I'm off work and can get up the 12 km mountain road with enough daylight to spare for a good workout. This is a minor drawback, however, because during the week I can go on runs during my lunch break that look like this:

I've worked out a deal with the owners of the Snow Farm where I'm instructing in the mornings and can ski in the afternoons for free. So far it's been mostly little kids for a Bill Koch-like program on Saturday mornings and the odd private lesson. My respect for for whoever taught me to ski when I was 6 or 7 has increased exponentially in the 4 days I've been up there, but it's all worth it.

50k of groomed trails.

Necessary gymnast/rock star pose.

With high school teammate Mary (Williams 06) who was in town for a few days on vacation. I haven't quite got the hang of the self-timer.

To everyone back home: I want updates of your summers! Now!
-A

PS- when I was taking a break at work today I was catching up on my Johnny Klister and found this gem:

Exciting things that have happened so far this summer:

2009-06-14T13:34:00.007-04:00

1. I thought I got swine flu. Turns out it was just some virus that has left me with a hacking cough for the past 2 weeks. The following items therefore have nothing whatsoever to do with training.

2. We got a new TV. Woohoo.

Hi Dad.

3. I went up on the roof of my house for the first time. I found out I'm a little afraid of heights.

4. Steve ran a 4:15 1600 at states yesterday.
Look closely and you can see a lightning bolt, he's going so fast.

5. I looked at my calendar and saw that I'm leaving for New Zealand in 3 days!

Wow.
My next post will be from the Southern Hemisphere, hopefully all about skiing.
-AM

2009-06-09T02:14:00.003-04:00

The quaint town of Homer, Alaska (notice the lack of houses...):A moose off the back deck of the place I'm staying:

Here's a post from Homer, Alaska. This is the first evening that the internet connection has been working for the past two weeks. The government has blocked all interesting websites (like blogs and Facebook) at work, so I haven't gotten to post anything.

My boss gave me some roller ski poles last week, so I went skiing along the 3 mile bike path (back and forth a few times to turn it into an OD of sorts). Photographic evidence forthcoming....as soon as I find my camera cable.

The biggest hazards in Homer: moose and heroin. Hypodermic needles were discovered in one of the NOAA boats the other day, so they are worried that one of the interns will sit down on one and get AIDS. Also, I almost ran into a moose the other day while I was out biking. Some old lady was watching the incident and clearly thought I was a young hooligan.

Hoorah for summer training!!

Over and out.

T-revs

Back in the Boonies

2009-05-28T15:18:00.007-04:00

HEYO!!!!

So I'm back in Maine now. Have been for a couple days. Thought that the blog needed some spicing up and I couldn't look at Anna's last post anymore. I wish I had more to update, but there's not a whole lot going on in my home town. My car still kinda works and cops are still very hard to find unless you are going about 90 in a 25. The weather's been awful, 40's and raining all week, and its supposed to continue. BUT, I didn't let that dampen my spirits. I went out for a run yesterday with my old training buddy. It was my first mudrun in many months and man was it satisfying. I wish I had taken pictures at the time, but pictures of my shoes will have to suffice (just imagine mud all the way up my legs from running through pits that were up to my knees in places).

Evidence of sweet sweet mud

Evidence of terrible terrible weather

I also went down to Portland on Tuesday (very exciting) and stopped by peak performance for new rollerski wheels. They had to order the wheels (I'm using some old V2 900's). I looked at the skis afterwards and realized that the back of one ski had been souldered back together, I'm really really hoping it stay s together.

Normal

Souldered (notice the rather significant bend)

Well thats all I have for now, and there's a pan of mac and cheese and a gallon jug of milk that are requesting my attention now, so until next time, have some good summers.

Tor

Over and Out

2009-04-24T16:55:00.004-04:00

A week ago, all of us put on unfamiliar clothes and shoes in which we struggled to walk, ate some fancy food, exchanged gifts and thank yous, and officially called it quits for the '08-'09 ski season. After four years of Harvard skiing, I, along with David Woods McCahill (alias "Badman"), wrapped up our careers as Harvard athletes. Our banquet was 4 hours long and I never really got to say even of the things that I wanted to about Harvard Skiing. As such, I reserve the right to be sentimental and cheesy in the following blog post.

Skiing is the best thing that ever happened to me. My earliest memories of skiing involve a lot of crashes, a hand-me-down snowsuit (which was still purple, despite the fact that all of my older siblings/cousins were boys), and serious bribery in the form of M&Ms. The only reason that I liked racing was because when I first started, I was still able to beat my little brother. I also had a huge crush on Cam MacKugler, which was sub-optimal because I'm pretty sure that he and Ida Sargent kept sneaking off and making out in bathrooms. Then a few years down the road, Peter Graves sweet-talked me into applying to Harvard. Sheer laziness kept me from filling out any other applications, so I wound up at a school that is completely foreign in every way from everything that I was used to at age 18. It has Asians and black people, it has people who are smarter than I am, and it is situated in a city, which means that it has homeless people, traffic lights, ethnic food that does not come from Wok 'n' Roll, and a dearth of dirt roads, hills, and snow.

Harvard is not an easy place to ski. I'd argue that its location forces any motivated skier to be more creative, more dedicated, and more immune to boredom than skiers at any other college in the EISA. In trying to be all of those things alongside many of my teammates, I found that I forged some of the best friendships of my life. I'm leaving this program and this school with memories and friends that I wouldn't swap for Petter Northug. (That's a lie, but not too much of a lie, so I'm leaving it there for dramatic effect). Because I came to Harvard to ski, I have had the opportunity to feed Chris Nabel out of pudding-filled paper cups for two straight weeks, the privilege of having Dave's assorted footwear nauseating every Jordan resident, and the honor of seeing the entire girls team naked.

So in just over a month I'm outta here. Where I'm going and what I'm doing, I don't know, but I do know that I'll miss you guys. So thanks for the good times.

Over and out,

Schlutzerrrr

Harvard Nordic Views CSU Head Coach Rob Bradlee's Chest Hair

2009-03-11T11:13:00.004-04:00

That's right, pterodactyls, chest hair. Last night, illustrious head coach of the Cambridge Sports Union's rockstar junior team (many of whom are posting impressive results at JOs right now), raced in a slick, bell-bottomed, one-piece disco suit unzipped to his belly button. There were hip thrusts when he received his medal for the Tuesday Night race series.

But seriously, ski friends, last night, Audrey, coaches Scushman and City, and myself raced with more characters than usual in CSUs final Tuesday night costume race extravaganza! Think 'clown on high fluoros,' a beekeeper, 60-year-old Harry Potter, scuba man in full wetsuit, tank, and cardboard flippers, santa with a backpack full of teddy bears, a single Blues Brother, and Andy Milne in a white retro uni. And, of course:

Richard Simmons, Just-look-at-those-snowpants, and the Dairy Fairy!

Honorable mention to Anna's headband, Tor's mini Fischers, Cara for loaning me her boots. Every other piece of clothing courtesy of your's truly (and don't worry, I also made Audrey race sans jacket. Not shown, Chris City, sporting the old purple Harvard suit, pants, and jacket. I can't tell you how many times my udder got felt up. But at least I won a hat for it!

Love,
M

P.S. In other news, Dave makes the same noise waking up as when he jumps out from behind doors and tries to scare Shannon and Clare. I know because ski fan Kyra Hill and I bought him a late night thesis care package of double stuffed Oreos, gummies, and Red Bull, only to find him asleep. Good to see that sleep still remains a high priority even in times of stress. Although I don't think he was sleeping in a Snuggie.

Fan shout out! Badman, Matt Coogan, and sister superfans Alyssa and Kyra Hill at Dartmouth!

Help a Friend in Need, Buy a Snuggie....

2009-03-06T00:23:00.003-05:00

Confused? Don't be! See this plea for help from a true Harvard Skiing Fan; she specifically requested that we post her email on our blog to help make do on her "terrible blunder".

It's okay, Tami. Harvard Skiing <3's you. Forever and always.

Dear all,

Many of you have heard about "the snuggy" on infomercials and various other enriching programs. Recently, I thought I would take advantage of their "buy one get one free" offer online. Unfortunately, pure greed and misunderstanding led me to a terrible blunder. After I thought I had placed my orders, it seemed as though they were offering to give me 3 more free snuggies. "3 more free snuggies?!" i thought, and I clicked yes (absolutely). Instead, what they charged me for, was 4 sets of snuggies, totaling $125. When I saw this, I realized a) why americans are stupid b) why i am a stupid american and c)that i have learned my lesson about ordering from infomercials. never again (with the one exception being that hair braiding device I've had my eye on). I currently have 8 snuggies.

anyway, as i don't want to deal with the pain in the ass of mailing all of these f-ers back-- which i will do post-thesis. I wanted to extend to you the very special (risk free) opportunity of buying a snuggy off of me. I will only charge you $10 dollars for them and the first person to respond will get a free book light (it came with my snuggies).

If I can get 6 people to respond, I will not mail the snuggy's back and I will cut my losses.

If you are unsure of what a snuggy is exactly, please see here: https://www.getsnuggie.com/flare/next

Chloe, please spare me of your mocking, the pain is already great enough.

Peace be with you,

Tami

Tor was yet again disappointed by the lack of crunchy french toast wrapped in bacon this weekend

2009-03-01T22:52:00.003-05:00

What a fantastic season! I personally have learned so much this season and hope to learn so much more. While my results may have been lower than what I would hope for (no DFL's though), I still had a great time. At times I definitely felt that this guy could have given me run for my money:

This was rather disheartening at first, but has now set my resolve to get faster and all around better at skiing in the upcoming months and years. I will hope to be able to ski like this for at least a little while in the future:

No but seriously, this team is amazing and I hope everyone comes back next year (yes that includes Dave and Anna). I will now leave you all with a video that will hopefully change Audrey's opinion of Peter Northug:

By mashing his face with her favorite song.

Tor

Tor didn't get crispy french toast wrapped in bacon this Sunday

2009-02-09T11:38:00.004-05:00

This is how I felt about Sunday's race:

This is how Cara and Anna felt. Top 25!

Video credit to Schlutz.

That is all.

Cupcakes and Carnivals

2009-02-03T15:13:00.003-05:00

January at Harvard - For most students, that means roughly 60 pages of papers to write, 12 hours of exams (or more, if your name is Trevor Petach), and long days of griping/bragging about how much you have to do. For me, however, January meant roughly 60 hours of House (a week), a scavenger hunt final in the Sackler, baking experiements, and of course, birthday! Given these exhausting schedules, it was easy to see why our first carnival up at Rumford was disappointing for some of us, but the season is just ramping up, and our improved results this weekend at UNH (and young Miss Sprague sporting her red sequined headband in the heats of Friday's classic sprint) serve as proof that we have dusted off our battle wounds from the mass start 15/20k skate and thrown down the hammer, for real this time. I can't wait to see how we do at Trapp's this weekend.

Pictorial:

Rainbow cake!

Cookie Monster Cupcakes in Trevor's power color for his birthday

Audrey tearing it up in the 5k classic at Rumford

Tor's first college race!

Rev has impressive thighs

That is all.

Mer

Snow in Cambridge

2009-01-19T00:11:00.003-05:00

The burden of a 10-day exam period was eased today by more than half a foot of beautiful new snow. This morning we got to ski the full "Tour de Weston" free from grass and rocks, the snowflakes persistently pelting us in the face the entire time. A few snowsuit-clad toddlers and their dads were doing an OD sledding marathon while we attempted an OD ski. They were definitely out there longer, and though the kids were briefly impressed by Dave and Trevor's tele turns, they yelled at us when we took too long in their sledding lane. We learned that Dave cheats at sharks and minnows, that asking the guy in the Pisten Bully to groom us a jump run does not work, and that Coach Cushman has absolutely no qualms about taking face-first diggers in the powder.

We're wrapping up some studying now and the snow is still falling. With the Bates carnival only days away and the arrival of real winter in Cambridge, it feels pretty good to be a skier.

(My bike).

- Anna

New Mascot!

2009-01-19T00:04:00.003-05:00

"The Crimson" is kind of lame and far from fearless, so Harvard Nordic has found a new, ferocious mascot:

(Her name is Lily).

This post is about racing, not breakfast pizza

2009-01-11T20:26:00.005-05:00

Saturday marked our third race of the season, the VO2Max Bogburn held at Bob Haydock's cabin in Pomfret, VT. 7k classic for the ladies, 14 for the men. Some pics from Bob:

Contrary to the stories told by the pictures, the female pterodactyls threw down the hammer as well.

M

Hobo Nordic

2009-01-11T19:46:00.006-05:00

Too much snow to drive? Maybe. Enough for an excursion into ski vagabond-ry? Definitely. On this blustery post-snowstorm morning, an intrepid Audrey Mangan (alias Senator Cletus Scoffpossum)

and Meri Burruss (alias Joey Stinkeye Smiles)

took to the streets on the most beater rock skis in our possession and decked in hobo gear for all seasons (special thanks to Naj Burruss for supplying the hats, a key accessory). Undeterred by patches of asphalt, brown city snow, chain-link fences, and Do Not Enter signs, the pair embraced their seemingly magical ability to kick on skate skis and plowed along the Charles in search of hidden lakes of moonshine and hobo symbols amongst graffiti, considering hijacking construction vehicles and scavenging for treasures along the way:

While we didn't track down that elusive moonshine-and-chicken-bone empire, we did find a nice view of the Boston skyline.

That is all.

\ | /
--H--
/ | \

Loitzl Dominates Prestigious 4-Hills Tournee

2009-01-07T15:41:00.008-05:00

So, few readers of this online rag know what ski jumping is, let alone the significance of the 4-Hills Tournee. For reference, the 4-Hills is to the fans of ski jumping what a monster-truck rally is to the fans of, well, monster-truck-rallying, whenever the Gravedigger jumps over like 68 cars. Okay, if you don't know what the Gravedigger is, that's just downright embarrassing. But you probably guessed it, it's a hearse/MonsterTruck combo that just decimates any competition. Now, and only now, can you truly appreciate the merit of a 4-Hills Win.

Yep, Wolfgang Loitzl of Austria just destroyed it. This dude had never won a WorldCup in his 11 years on the circuit, despite having 4 Gold World Championship medals (all in the team event). He'd been runner up in a WC six times, then rolls into the most prestigious four days of competition of the year, and dethrones World Cup leader Simon Ammann to win 3/4 of the comps, taking the overall title.

Why is this so ridiculous, you ask? In this day in age when Ricardo Ricco and and Bernhard Kohl can just pop a few pills to steal their 4 days of glory in the Tour de Lance?

It's simple. Because in 2003, this guy just sucked. I mean, we're talking beat-tastic. [Think, Michael Jordan's esteemed professional golf career] Need youtube evidence? You got it. See him here in this classic video simply entitiled, "Ski Jumper Fucks Up":

That's young Wolfgang in 2003, and as you can tell, he can't make it off the takeoff on his feet. Then, miraculously, he goes on to seal his 4-Hills win in Bischofshofen, AUT, with a 142.5 meter ride, to which the judges awarded five- 20 point style marks. That's a feat that's only been accomplished by two other jumpers in the history of the sport. One of those jumpers happened to be Audun Lutnaes, proud graduate of the National Sports Academy.

Without further ado, one of the three prettiest jumps, and probably biggest doping shams, in the history of ski jumping:

Yeah, he's good. But he didn't jump over 57 cars in a hearse outfitted with 6' tires. Yawn.

Side note, a hearty congratulations to Anna Schulz, for posting her first win in the even more prestigious WESTON TUESDAY NIGHTER. Somebody had to [wo]man up and slay. We're more thankful, however, that nobdy ended up in the Mass General ICU with head trauma.

'Til next time.

Dave

Nordic Confused...

2008-12-28T08:30:00.005-05:00

An apt decription of the athletes who decideto juggle their time between the Nordic tracks and the jump hill. But what a season those US Noco boys are having, huh? Results from yesterday in Oberhof GER, Lodwick 2nd in an epic sprint finish after jumping himself into 5th following a 2 season hiatus from the WC scene. The rest of the US breakdown: Demong in 5th, 41 seconds back, and Johnny with a strong finsih in 7th, but sadly DQ'd for failing to ski with a transponder. Eric Camerota in 39th.

So, unofficially that's 3 Americans in the top 7. Taking a look at the Continental Cup results, the latest event at Whistler's Olympic Park landed 4 Americans in the top 10. Overall standings for the CC tour put Lodwick in 1st, Brett in 2nd, Fletcher in 5th, Alex Miller in 17th, and Willy G in 21st.

That's a pretty freakin' solid start to the season, especially considering the size of the American Nordic Combined talent pool, which currently hovers around 17 on a sunny, injury-free day. Also keep in mind that all of these skiers come from one of three clubs: LPSC, SSWSC or NSF. Statisticaly, that's just mind boggling. Given, combined enjoys a much smaller talent pool world-wide, but we're still talking about World Cup wins, and spot on that podium is coveted nonetheless.

Now take a look at the special XC side of things: our lone distance skier in the points with a season high of 16th in sunny Kuusamo. And our sprint guru Newell with a pre- Xmas top WC finish in 11th, twice in Kuusamo & Dusseldorf. Plus, team relay in 4th.

Don't get me wrong, these are solid results in the points, but why is it so tough to see American skiing get an athlete into that coveted top 10? Sure, global talent pool is huge, but then again, so is ours. Ski clubs all across the country are pumping out fit skiers faster than the Fed is slashing interest rates and pumping out the green and a competitive high school and Eastern Cup circuit are providing juniors the chance to ski against top domestic racers, former Olympians and World Championship vets. From there, skiers can pop into the ranks of a team on the college circuit, where talented junior skiers simply go to die. College skiing is really the graveyard of young national talent. Instead of being urged to pursue athletic careers with a degree in hand, a scant future of poorly funded domestic teams and a severly under-devloped national team program are all that await the recently enlightened.

United States Nordic Combined: "Long name, amazing results"

So, some food for thought as you grind out the k's and tick away at Lars Flora's tasty 12 days of Xmas workout. What's to blame for the endless drought of US cross country success on the world scene? All in, all out, who cares if the top season distance result is 16th anyway?

My suggestion, take a lesson from your combined buddies, throw a little Tool into the mp3 and just start dropping the hammer.

No excuses.

D

Pre Xmas ski of the Big One

2008-12-23T17:32:00.008-05:00

Woods: "Badman, how are you wasting your life away tomorrow?"
Badman: "Skiing Marcy with Robbie".
Woods: "You know, I've never skied Marcy before Christmas."
Badman: "Would it be safe to assume that none of the Big Fellas have either? Would this be an ascent of epic proportions?"
Woods: "Probably."

4+ feet of the pow.

Merry Christmas indeed.

Happy Holidays from your friends at Crimson Nordic, Worldwide.

Snö

2008-12-11T14:44:00.011-05:00

Today my weather forecast addiction was rewarded with the following delectable tidbit: the Green Mountain State is all pink and as all weather nerds know, pink means snow.

...WINTER STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 4 PM THIS AFTERNOON TO 4 PM EST FRIDAY... THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BURLINGTON CONTINUES THE WINTER
STORM WARNING FOR HEAVY SNOW AND SLEET FOR ESSEX COUNTY NEW YORK...AS WELL AS CENTRAL...NORTH CENTRAL AND NORTHEASTERN VERMONT. THIS WARNING IS IN EFFECT FROM 4 PM THIS AFTERNOON TO 4 PM EST FRIDAY. 6 TO 12 INCHES OF SNOW WITH SOME SLEET ACCUMULATION ARE EXPECTED IN THE WARNING AREA BY FRIDAY AFTERNOON.

If Tom Messner's eye on the sky suffered one of its frequent bouts of blindness and it doesn't snow a foot in VT tonight I'll be sorely disappointed and, out of desperation, will be forced to make my teammates do their best to convince the snow gods to royally dump on us. I'm not too worried, though, because we have tips from the experts:

No worries when it does snow, though, because David and I do NOT drive like this:

But rather more like this:

Hoppas att det snöar snart!

-Schlutzer

Dave wrote a blog post about breakfast pizza

2008-12-09T11:26:00.004-05:00

Right after Thanksgiving camp, Coach City announced to us his observation that despite some pretty long training days, we all appeared to look more rested and healthier by the end of camp. He attributed this to sleeping more than we usually do when at school and told us that we should begin to prioritize sleep and focus on being rested and healthy.

I, of course, took him quite literally and proceeded to attend a grand total of 7 hours of class last week. This week, I’m trying to sleep enough AND go to class, which means I’m sitting in “Molecules of Life” vaguely paying attention to stem cells, but paying much more attention to the abominable shape in which David left our blog. Breakfast pizza? Really? That’s not even one of the most interesting or bizarre things on the HUDS menu. For example, today’s list of offerings includes (but is not limited to) the following items:

- Italian Wedding Soup: is the color of mucus and has lumpy things in it that I think look a lot like eyeballs… was never and will never be served at a wedding in Italy or anywhere else.

- Mahi Mahi Honey Ginger Glaze: unclear what this actually is, though it’s listed under entrees. Mahi mahi might be fish, which would make this dish a fish-honey-ginger glaze. What would you glaze with that, I wonder?

- Portobello Lentil Pattie: not altogether disturbing, unless you consider the fact that it constitutes the third appearance of the word “pattie” on the day’s menu and also looks like lumps of poop.

- Candy Roaster Squash: evidence that HUDS lies, because (a) it does not taste like candy, not at all—it just tastes like squash, and (b) it’s still being touted as fresh, sustainable, local produce (but it was fourteen degrees in Boston yesterday, and I’m pretty sure that all things shrink into nonexistence when it gets that cold).

Note: Nabel, I just looked up and saw on the board “neuraminidase inhibitor R-125489 mimics structure of sialic acid like Tamiflu,” which means I’ll probably need your help on my homework.

- Spicy Black Beans: only unnerving because it was on the breakfast, lunch, and dinner menus, which means that our van to and from practice will smell like death. If Chris Nabel were here, he would guarantee such a stench by bringing spicy black beans to practice with him in a paper cup that also contained sour cream and probably pudding.

- Sticky Rice: is only thing that Oliver Burruss would eat for dinner with the exception of four pieces of grilled chicken, given that the menu otherwise lacks pasta sauce, cheddar cheese, saltines, and oreos.

But we only have another week of HUDS food to get through and then it's back to 730 Swamp Road, which means that all of our meals will look like this:

Trapps got 5" of fresh white stuff yesterday, so we're hopeful that the snow will live through some of the rain forecasted for this week and that we can all get on our new race boards for the Eastern Cups. More importantly, I promise that this will be the last blog post about HUDS. Ever. Sorry for leaving the blog in even worse shape than Dave did,

-Schlutz

For the Very First Time...

2008-12-04T08:43:00.004-05:00

Today is a special day indeed. For the first time in my 3.4 year career at Harvard College USA, I was brave enough to walk into the dining hall and face my greatest fear to date: the HUDS breakfast pizza. Now hold on- I know just what you're thinking: How could one realistically stomach such a medley of stale crust, last week's shriveled green peppers, and mystery meat? Good question.

Well, I just grabbed a wedge with the oatmeal scooper, and dumped it on board next to my bowl of steel-cut. Verdict? It sucked. Totally sucked. No surprise there. But then I got up and got another slice, becasue the prospect of HUDS Breakfast Pizza was just one of those special college memories I can't let slip through my fingers during this senior year. Anna feels the same way, and she's planning on trying some breakfast pizza next Thursday.

Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go help Nabel clean his room:

http://www.craigslist.org/about/best/hou/852526961.html

Editor's Note: Has anyone else noticed a sharp decline in the quality/content of Dave's posts?

Inspiration

2008-12-01T23:51:00.003-05:00

Sometimes, all we need in life is just a little inspiration. Quite frankly, I'm not sure how people seemed to find this in the dark days before youtube. Perhaps inspiration just didn't even exist back then. Whatever.

So if you're stuck with three ultra-lame papers to write before you can bust out of here before Christmas Break/Camp, I figure you'll need a little extra motivation. This first video is good for those days when you wake up feeling like you can just wake up and crush it, you know? Think-Ethan Weibrecht shredding up Lake Placid:

Good. So if you're already in a crush-it state of mind, watch this video. Then, head out to the ski tracks, start yelling at some random skier, tear off one of your pole-tips, and forcefully challenge them to a head to head 100m sprint. Don't worry-chances are they've already seen this video, so they'll totally understand why you just kicked their Chariot child carrier out of the "sprint lane" to make for a "fair Norway-Sweeden fight".

But maybe you're not already in that kind of mood. Maybe you woke up on the wrong side of the bed. Hell, maybe you just fell out of the bed altogether, and you just need to watch something to affirm the fact that other people have bad days, too. Here's one. Looks like David Millar had a pretty bad day here.

Well, that should take care of your daily inspiration. Take away points? Hmm. I guess either start tearing off pole tips, or tossing bikes over barriers, but either way, you should walk away from it pretty charged up.

Did I really just write this garbage? Yes. Yes I did.

-DMac

Gratuitous Photo Post

2008-11-29T12:32:00.005-05:00

Synchronized no pole uphill

Beginning of the Gravy Train

Harvard Nordic's #1 fan!

Our team is patriotic

Almost all of Harvard's nordic and alpine crew at the Thanksgiving table

Dave and the Schulz brothers carve one of the four turkeys

We can't thank the Schulz family enough for opening their home to us this Thanksgiving, giving us a wonderful meal, and talking us into that third piece of pie.

Love and leftovers,
MB

"Total Meat Wagon"

2008-11-28T21:43:00.005-05:00

On Friday, November 28th, Harvard Nordic epically united in a train of love, singing in unison these five, powerful, team-building words to prove that they could, in fact, make a highly technical and mind-blowing film, shot from the most dangerous angles and capturing the extreme edge, wildness and bravery that defines them.

Title: Love Train

Summary: Eleven athletes streamline on twenty-two skis, hands to asses, demonstrating advanced skills in a serpentine train, obliterating jagged shards of boulder with the mere might of their ferocity--their skis untouched and exuding crazy speed!

Setting: “Telemark” trail @ Trapps in Stowe, VT

Starring:
1) T-Revs: conductor; known for his exacting precision on icy, treacherous turns; “snow plow” isn’t in his vocabulary.
2) Schlutzer: train instigator/initiator; wild ginger, rosy-cheeked from her passion for team-building in the form of the love train.
3) Bad Man/D-Mac: train instigator/initiator; recognized by husky petergravian accent; snow plows so little, the tails of his skis meet.
4) A-Devs: sick but tough- nothing will get in the way of this fierce skier’s way; don’t trust that steady, sweet and innocent smile.
5) Audwee44@gmail.com: the weak link; likes to see where she is going (vision is overrated); is harassed endlessly at dinner and will be made to lead “Love Train: The Sequel” and write the next blog.
6) Mer: brings nasty style and pizzazz to the love train, overcoming a (lovable) lumberjack cough and staph infection; would win the tough cookie award, but Cara ate the last one.
7) Spraguer: damsel rescued from the xc-running team just in time for the love train!; has likely already said “That’s what she said” five times while reading this blog.
8) Coils: blond babe bravely succeeding infamous #5 (see above); bites snow with a graceful somersault and a smile (no more pavement!).
9) Clare: Freshman #1; screaming and smiling all the way down; recommends we try again with poles (last time she stabbed her sister [lovingly])--nevertheless, this promises great future feats of bravery.
10) Mannon: Freshman #2; also screaming and smiling all the way down; known for hill-fright, but demonstrating a quick recovery thanks to tender, supportive words from her captains; annihilates her baby skis.

Casting:
Tofters: Badass cinematographer performing turns facing behind, backwards skiing and advanced 360˚ wild tumbling footage. Mad props.

Featuring:
The “We Can Make a Video” song by Petros
Hysterical Screams of Terror by the Harvard Nordic Freshmen.

Reviews:
Having discovered the magic of Clare’s video camera, Harvard Nordic ski workouts have become a significantly less productive…
BUT there are important strategic values that may, at first be overlooked. These being: team-building and bonding, balance, coordination, trust, overcoming common sense and living on the wild side...walking along the razor's edge, and the like.
Audrey is going to live longer than all of us.

Take 1:

Take 2:

In all seriousness, today was a great training day. We hit it off with a long classic ski and some drills to work on hip drive and power. We learned (as we do every year) that klister is a bitch, but after rollerski season, we only care that we’re finally on snow!

Love,
Freshman #2

DANGER: Nordic Pteradactyls

2008-11-26T21:46:00.008-05:00

Ladies and Gentlemen, thank you and welcome back to the Crimson Nordic Blog.

Yes, it's true. We haven't written on our trusty blog in many moons, and your efficiency and performance reviews at work have no doubt improved because of it. We sincerely apologize. However, you're in for a real treat, because today is a special day. No, no blog readers really don't care that today happened to be Crimson Nordic's first day on snow for the 2k8/9 season, but it happens to be the birthday of notable Ski Team Alum Andrew Roberts Moore.
For those whose most recent copy of Crimson Tracks seemed to have been lost in the mail along with their GM 3rd quarter dividend payout checks, Anders has since moved to Marquette, MI, and is currently the assistant Nordic coach for the Marquette Ski Club. Learn 'em good up there, Anders! (And if you run out of boring ski drills, calmly read them some Habermas and they'll peel out for an OD ski faster than you can say "American Pragmatism").

So happy birthday to you, Andy. Also, we've made a pact to be better with shout-outs to recent CrimsonNordic alums on the blog, so buckle your seatbelts.

Alright. Oh, yeah! First day on snow! As we speak, the Nordic A-Roster is packed into the cozy "Chateau La Femme", or annex cabin of Stowe's favorite five-star: the Innsbruck Inn. After a tasty dinner of steak and shrimp stir-fry (to the cooking/clean up of which I offered very little), we're all unwinding on the couch watching the episode of "the Office" where Jim dresses up as Dwight. Read, "Which type of bear is best?"

Skiing rocked. Solid cover on the notch between Stowe and Smuggs, we ended up with 1:30 of tasty skate skiing, just enough to get the lats and tris pumpin'. And yeah, we got it on video with our new helmet cam! Dive in below:

So that's our news. Beyond that we're simply busy embodying the lifestyle of "all-in", "all-out", "no excuses", and "live to win... 'til you die".

Happy b-day Andy, wish you were here.

Best-

Crimson Nordic, back from Hibernation

Bam.

Oktober.

2008-10-15T21:13:00.007-04:00

For the past seven weeks or so, the Harvard Nordic team has been consumed with academic endeavors so gruesome that all of its members have had no more than precisely 11 seconds per hour to commit to blogging. From reading every footnote of Choper and Fallon's tenth edition Constitutional Law casebook to investment banking interviews and professional etiquette dinners, our google calendars have had so many overlapping obligations that today, my friends, is the first time that any Crimson skier has had time to blog since early September. And it's being sent from my mobile device, which is so perilously small that I've nearly sent it through the wash four times. Luckily I get texts so often that I've always heard it beeping in a pocket before I can actually start my laundry, which really only consists of jeans, because everything else I own needs to get dry-cleaned.

And by all that I mean to say that David McCahill and I have been so busy baking apple crisps (and then eating said apple crisps... and then evading the subsequent waves of horrific and unavoidable flatulence brought on by the digestion of said apple crisps) that we've been too preoccupied to blog. Apologies. But look!

Dave demonstrates his domestic prowess.

Fall training has been going well. The men's team is small but determined and the women's team is both sizeable and committed. Unusually nice fall weather in Cambridge has allowed to get in numerous OD skis out in Littleton and runs on the trails around Walden Pond. Today we worked on skate technique at the closest safe rollerski venue: the Cambridge Cemetery, which is not only plagued by bloodthirsty coyotes, but has recently been fallen victim to a copper theif as well. Needless to say, we're leading suspects.

Audrey, me, Alyssa, and Clare doing some pickups

Joe and Dave getting off the starting line quick-like

Katie and Meri drag-racing

Stay tuned for updates, which will come much more regularly now that apples are getting to be out-of-season.

- Schlutzer

Snow Report: Ushuaia, Argentina

2008-09-08T21:27:00.004-04:00

Once again following the policy of better late than never...

About three weeks ago I finally took advantage of the fact that it is winter in Argentina and got in some very ski-specific summer training:

The glacier.

"If you're a beginner, turn here."

The Beagle Channel.

Snowing too hard to see the mountains.

Turns out a Bates skier, Sam Evans-Brown, had been hanging out in Ushuaia training, but left the day before I got there. I did manage to end up on a shuttle with the Canadian men's alpine team though.

¿y vos? ¿de donde sos?

2008-08-17T14:31:00.000-04:00

So, I'm not exactly a city person. Put me in Boston for a few months and I'm okay. Put me in New York for more than a few days and, well, yeah. There are about 13 million people in the greater Buenos Aires.

Now, the fact that I spend a good deal of my time during the week in lab (and say what you will, I really like the lab, so since I had to work for the summer one way or the other...) helps a bit. But I needed a little bit of time away from the busy, never ever ever resting craziness that is la Capital Federal. Solution: about three weeks ago (I'm a little behind), I flew out to the Iguazú Falls in the northern part of the country.

Iguazú Falls (las Cataratas) are on the river between Argentina and Brazil, a couple miles from where the borders also meet the border with Paraguay. If anyone has seen the new Indiana Jones movie (I haven't), they're supposedly featured. I've heard that the view of one of the biggest falls, Garganta del Diablo (Devil's Throat) is better from the Brazilian side, but I didn't really feel like spending the time and money to get a Brazilian visa. Apparently at some point in the last few years, the US started requiring Brazilians to have a visa to even set foot in the US, and Brazil responded in kind. Iguazú means "big water" (i- water, guazú- big) in Guaraní, the language of the indigenous people in the border region.

Big water is an accurate description. Amazing, gorgeous, unbelievable also work. Here:

The falls are one of the larger tourist attractions in Argentina. While most of the people there were Argentine or Brazilian, almost everyone was a tourist. And while most of the people there were Argentine or Brazilian, here "most" does not mean nearly all. At dinner on Friday night I spent about an hour talking to two Australian women, one of whom lives in Hong Kong. I spent Saturday morning wandering around the falls with two college students from Scotland and Australia, respectively. I went hiking that afternoon with an Aussie and two Canadians and then had dinner with two Argentines and three British women. Later in the evening I went exploring the town with a group from Holland. Sunday afternoon, along with two of the Dutch guys, I hung out with three Spaniards and two Israelis. My seat on the plane back to Buenos Aires was in the middle of a French family. How did I meet these people? Some of them were at the same hostel. Otherwise, I took to turning around and asking where people were from (hence the title of this post) every time I heard English. Because everyone was a tourist, it was not nearly as creepy and awkward as it would normally be. Or at least so I thought.

Last week I went to Uruguay for a little bit. Really cool colonial city named Colonia (who would have imagined, I know?)

Oh! Also, something really cool happened here the other day. I was wandering around about three blocks from where I live here when...wait...squint...yup...that sweatshirt looks familiar! In the middle of Buenos Aires, I managed to find someone wearing a 2006 Eastern Nordic Championships sweatshirt. A girl from western Mass. Someone here who has raced at Weston!

And on the topic of skiing, I'm going to get in some very ski specific summer training. I'm not going to the famous Bariloche, which while beautiful, is almost entirely alpine. Instead, I'm heading to Ushuaia for a few days, which is apparently the best place on this continent to go nordic skiing. The city is in Tierra del Fuego and is supposed to be the southernmost city in the world. Yes, I'm going skiing in August. On Wednesday. Hah!

More to come (don't worry, I'll rub in the I'M GOING SKIING part plenty more).
-KEC

The Cobra

2008-08-14T15:13:00.002-04:00

Dear Blog Readers:

I know what you're thinking. Right off the bat. Why is this post titled, "The Cobra"? Easy. You're naturally thinking it could be for one of two possible reasons. Possibly it's a vague allusion to "The Python", a highly sophisticated retail technique used by Bill Schneider of Placid Planet Bicycles. If you're thinking this, I commend you for your out-of-the-box effort, but you're just plain wrong. Ollie has surely guessed it by now, and it's true. "The Cobra" is the name of the new local road ride with a near cult-like following.

If you're really confused at this point, relax. "The Cobra" is simply the nickname of cycling phenom/ savage doper Ricardo Ricco. Here's a nice photo of Ricardo himself being led away by the police. Smile, Ricardo!

It's time to kick the mid/late-summer training blues and turn things up a notch, just like Matthew McConaughey would. In honor of Billy Demong's assault on the Tour of Utah, here are some rants about local cycling routes, in particular super hilly ones where you won't be in constant danger of being t-boned by aerobars or being reduced to nausea by copious, poorly inked M-Dot tattoos.

Anyhow, last year, the hot local road ride which was simply saturated with vicious climbs became affectionately known as "The Michael Rasmussen Route". However, Ollie and I have found it imperative to include the recently paved Schaeffer road into the mix, as it's... well... recently paved. Duh. So now, the once glorious Michael Rasmussen Route has faded into obscurity faster than last year's Hoops Prize winners, and it's been replaced by the two-fanged and incredibly dangerous Cobra Route. Just swing by your local bike shop, pop your head in the door, and loudly shout, "Hey! I'm off to do the Cobra! See you poor saps in 3 hours!" When all you receive are awkward glances or hushed whispers to quietly leave the store, just shout even louder, "I'm off to ride the snake! I'm gonna live forever!" If at this point you're not in handcuffs, just like Ricardo Ricco is now, go out and enjoy the ride. Bring lots of food and water.

Be sure and click "show elevation", that's important.

Lastly, The Cobra has a european counterpart which can also be viewed on mapmyride.com:

Enough ranting. Go and do something fun. Preferably outdoors.

-DMac

Updates from North Elba

2008-08-10T15:32:00.006-04:00

Greetings fellow Blog readers from the quiet hills of the Adirondacks.

Much is happening in the world these days. Michael Phelps is swimming like a fish, John Edwards is lying like a rug, and several members of Harvard Nordic's elite are training like... emm... wild dogs. Yes, wild dogs.

It's been a great summer so far, despite being stuck in the nagging clutches of Tropical Strom Lake Placid. That hasn't stopped us from logging the hours, ticking away at the threshold sessions, bagging serious peaks, endlessly double-poling Bear Cub, and eating cookies that Anna and Audrey bake at a frantic pace.

Time in the weight room from our girls is already paying off, and I managed to squeeze off this photo of Meri Burruss' calves during the last of her stellar performances in the local Mini Triathlon. She and Audrey have been using the races as some bonus cross-training intensity to nicely pad the training log.

This past Saturday, Harvard Skiing Fan #1 Matt Delaney and myself travelled to Jericho VT, via Burlington Regional Airport*, to partake in the annual Jericho Range Roll. After being denied access to the much touted evenly matched NENSA v2 Rollerskis, probably because of the color of our skin, Matt and I simply took two pairs of his own V2 boards. We set 'em up on a waxing bench, donned our respirators, and greased the bearings with EPO, then attached rocket boosters to both pairs. This alerted race officials, who disqualified us from the "offical" podium after Matt placed a strong 2nd behind Bill Bowler and I rounded off the podium. I knew it was a stupid idea, Matt! Damn. That prize money could have paid my gas bill, my houseboat bill, and probably three months of child support.

Link to story and results: http://www.nensa.net/news/news_more.php?id=2776

So thanks for reading, and stay tuned for more updates, but take solace in the fact that Harvard Nordic is busily gearing up for it's fastest season yet.

See you out there--

Dave

*Denotes a funny detour/story.

Anna and I must be really really ridiculously good looking

2008-07-21T22:11:00.002-04:00

Because Lowell Bailey stopped us on Averyville Road to introduce himself. Okay, so we were rollerskiing, and he did start talking about skiing at first, but the conversation did turn itself to the scintillating topics of: his music at the recent BarbecueFest and his possibly failed engagement to one of Anna and Ollie's buddies from last summer. Unfortunately, we were too starstruck to tell him how much we love our team's adopted anthem, Fire Them Down. And he was too awed by our sweaty and rain-drenched good looks to ask for our numbers.

To finish, check us out on the fourth:
yeah, i made both those shirts.

What season is it?

2008-07-07T07:31:00.006-04:00

Winter. Again. No summer for me this year. Not that winter in Buenos Aires is really winter. And it has been really cold a few days. I mean, who in their right mind would consider wearing less than a sweater, jacket, scarf, and hat when it is only 10C (50F) outside? I have started getting used to the mumbles when I go running in shorts ("crazy girl's gonna die, it's freezing"). I think my personal favorite was one I heard this morning: "So what, you gonna wear a jacket in the middle of the summer then?"

The city itself is HUGE. There are quite literally 500 bus lines and your standard avenida has no fewer than 8 lanes in one direction. Not that anyone actually pays attention to lanes. I was prepared for the Spanish to be spoken fairly quickly, but not for the accent, which replaces anything that would normally sound like "y" in Spanish (including "ll") with something more like "sh" or "shj." The end result was that the first few days were rather like being in the middle of NYC at rush hour and only understanding every third word.

I'm staying in a residencia, which is kinda like living in the dorms again, except with 4 people sharing a room the size of your average single. So far, there are or have been kids here from the US, Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Bolivia, Peru, Mexico, Spain, France, and South Africa. Right now I'm the only American and would be the only English-speaker if not for the South African guys (who might as well speak a different language because while fluent, their Afrikaner accent is strong enough that I have problems understanding them). I end up playing translator for those three, which has had its entertaining moments.

Because my naturally blonde hair makes it 95% certain I'm a foreigner before I open my mouth, I've been carefully studying other ways of seeming less like a gringa. For the fashion minded, a few tips on how to dress like an Argentinian:

- Wear layers. Lots of them. Preferably of mismatched color and print.

- Cover your neck. This means either a scarf or a turtleneck. Yes, turtleneck.

- Roll up your jeans. This one is actually sensible- they shouldn't drag.

- Converse Allstars. Mandatory. May be occasionally substitute knee high leather boots if female.

- Obviously attended-to hair. For women, this means lots of layers, side part, half up, well-concealed bobby pins. For guys, this means more hair gel than I used in my last ballet performance when my hair stayed in a French twist on its own, without pins.

The end result of this careful study is that I have occasionally been asked for directions by random people on the street. Of course, the entire illusion falls apart the instant I open my mouth. Oops. It was kinda funny though to let an American guy on the bus struggle through an entire explanation of how lost he was and where he needed to go in (interesting) Spanish before I responded in English.

Speaking of random people on the street... So it turns out that Argentinian guys are much more aggressive when it comes to persuing women. Example: while walking down the street on a holiday Monday morning, I was approached by a man in business dress who appeared to be about 30. He explained that he never does this sort of thing, but that I am the most beautiful woman he has ever seen, and he just had to tell me that, and would I like to go get coffee? Not the only time here I have been asked out to coffee by a random guy while waiting to cross the street. The starring, whistling, and side comments have led to plenty of awkward moments. Including when I was discussing sports related scars with one of the guys at the residencia and rolled up my pant leg to show off a particularly impressive rollerskiing scar (for reference, see "my ass looks like hamburger" from sometime in the end of March), only to discover that the Colombian guy I was talking to has a calf fetish. Um, yeah... On the bright side, I've discovered that when I get dressed up, I can get on the subway for free.

Lab is great. It's mostly guys and they are generally younger than the ones in my lab at home, and therefore a little less serious about life in general. We speak a mix of Spanish and English because they want to improve their English and I want to speak Spanish. I've decided that it's harder to switch back and forth than to just pick one and stick to it, but oh well. A few of them were really concerned that I would be bothered by the fact that I don't always understand what's going on when they start talking really fast with slang (can you imagine someone trying to understand the way some of the people on our team talk?). I explained that no, it doesn't bother me, at least the dominant language is Spanish, which I generally understand, instead of Chinese like in lab at home. Kinda strange to understand more in a lab in a different country...

The food here is clog-your-arteries-and-give-you-a-heart-attack-by-age-25 amazing. I think I have had 2 salads the entire time I've been here. Oops. But really, people just don't eat healthy here. There's milanesa (thin breaded steak), empanadas (think hot pocket), and alfajors (two or three layers of dulce de leche, a caramel-like substance, between soft cookie-ish things, all covered in chocolate). Aside from being used in alfajors, dulce de leche can also be put on crapes for breakfast, made into an incredible ice cream flavor, and baked into the middle of muffins.

Okay folks, I finally posted. That means it's your turn. I love hearing from you!

Coil(s)

Updates from the land where rollerblading is still considered to be a major form of personal transport

2008-06-25T08:17:00.010-04:00

Greetings team members and team member supporters!

As some of you may know, my access to internet is rather limited, but that hasn’t slowed down my personal LAN capabilities, and I’ve been good and busy. And I don’t want to let the cat out of the bag, but this year’s edition of Let’s Go: Rural Austria is going to be spicier than ever.

Now that a dismal, nagging case of low pressure has been blasted out of the Tirol by some high pressure straight from the sands of Africa, we’ve been blessed with outrageously gorgeous weather. It’s been nice, so I’ve been doing a fair amount of traveling. That’s been nice, too. Here’s a brief recount of the adventures thus far:

Two weekends ago, I snagged a spot onto a bus headed South with several of my classmates from last semester, and we enjoyed a glorious weekend in a region known as “Süd Tirol”, which once denoted the Southern border of the once infamous Austrian empire, but which was divvied up by President Woodrow Wilson and given to Italy in 1914. Training was sparce this weekend and we passed the time exploring the famous Neustift Monastery, touring five illustrious Tirolean castles, including Schloß Tirol- the former epicenter of Tirol, imbibing heartily during a decadent wine tasting led by Count Siegfried de Rachewilz and getting a rad demonstration on the art of falconry. Incredible! Got a “buzzing the tower” flyby from a huge horned Owl with a 2.5 meter wingspan, his talons grazed my scalp as he cruised over! The staff did not take kindly to my suggestion on changing his name to Maverick.

After a speedy and busy week spent getting ahead on some research, lounging with my hosts here in Lans, Familie Stöger and logged some of those monotonous sustained threshold hours. I packed up shop on Saturday and headed to a tiny village called Kuchl, just south of Salzburg, for the Salzburger Triathlon. What an incredible site- hands down the most beautiful race venue I’ve been to, the swim took place in a pristine little lagoon complete with what I called “Pleasue Island”, for no real reason, and the 40km bike ride spun us out through windy single-lane downtown streets packed with cheering fans, and up into the mountains South of town. The field was really strong, with nearly 550 athletes present, including Austrian Phenom Frederic Kohl who wound up 3^rd, a renowned pro who finished 4^th at the famous race in Kona a couple years back.

After returning to my cozy home in Lans and enjoying a nice day of recovery, I headed West for my inaugural trip to Voralberg, the western-most region of Austria, to meet with Paul Ammann, the mayor of a small village called Ludesch. Paul was one of the most interesting people I’ve ever met, and explained to me how he’d spent the first 30 years of his life as a baker, waking up at 4 every morning to bake fresh loaves. The citizens of Ludesch elected him mayor in 1984, and since then he’s revolutionized the once-sleepy town into the headquarters of the environmental movement in Austria. The details are unreal- The town now boasts an average of 1.5 meters of solar panel/ citizen, and is kept warm via a brand new underground biomass plant which burns the “Hackenschnitzel”, or wood chips, left over from the town’s extensive forestry projects. Paul, however, was most proud of the new village community center which houses the post office, town offices, a stunning café and book store, all under a roof made of local white fir beams combined with revolutionary solar paneling which provide all the necessary electricity for the facility. Such a beautiful yet functional community space! Should make for some interesting writing!

So things are beginning to wind down, and I’ll be gearing up for my last of the Austrian Cup Triathlon events, the Innsbrucker Classic right here in, well, Innsbruck, on July 6^th. I’m planning a little trip to Croatia with some friends afterwards, and then it’s back to the Olympic Village to combine forces with the Ladies’ Team, and log some hours with whatever recent graduates happen to be bumming around town at that point. Can’t wait to be back, and see what kind of “nails” shape all of you are in upon my return.

I’ll borrow a classic line which some of you might recognize that dutifully announces the inevitable end to every trip:

“Geeeeeeet totheyellowlineandmovetotherightquicklyplease…”

DMac

Cooking Tips- Training Essentials

2008-06-25T08:13:00.004-04:00

One of the most captivating themes in the inevitable evolution of our blog’s content has been the shift towards food preparation, cooking, and the importance of filling one’s body with healthy fuel for a hard day’s workout. I would naturally like to extend a hearty “shout-out” to Meister Chef C. Shield Nabel, as he’s the one to commend for this wonderful turn of events. However, I’d like to pass on one of my own some of my own secret culinary tips. Now, I do happen to be in the know with most of the “in” cooking techniques, such as reusing a frying pan over again for cooking eggs without washing it, because it adds several layers of flavour, and the often overlooked yet undeniably time saving tip of simply eating pasta raw without cooking it, as it saves time and scrubs harmful plaque from one’s refined palate. However, this post will focus on an aspect of nutrition that we as athletes consider to be essential: mid workout refueling.

Now, I’ll tell you now. I’ve found the ultimate training secret. If you’re Anna Schulz, you’re probably bombarded daily by countless “PowerBar” or “HammerGel” or “Run the Jamaica Marathon 2k12!” emails professing to contain the research proven secrets to replenishing your electrolyte stores, maintaining your glucose levels, and offsetting the lovely effects of hyponutremia. However, you may still be confused on the details, and still ask the most basic questions regarding mid-workout calorie intake. Examples could imclude:

How many PowerGel packets should I mix into a typical tomato-based sautee?

How many HammerGel electrolyte tabs should I drop into my friend’s sister’s drink at Two-For-Tuesday’s at the local pub?

How many licks does it take to get to the center of a blow-pop?

If you’re still fretting as to properly fuel your workouts, rest easy. I’ve got the secret. And you’ll only need one ingredient, and a special one at that. We’re talking about the MILKA brand Schokolade und Karamel jumbo sized bar. That’s right. You’ll know you have the right one when you see they advertise that it weighs one kilo. There is also a smaller, more manageable size for those of you who might be deemed to be “atkins friendly”, but come on. Are you in it to win it? Power. Passion. Lust.

Here are the steps to using this caramel injected mammoth to fuel your next workout. I tested this method on a hot ride over the Kühtai pass here in Tirol, and the effects didn’t wear off for days, nor did the stains come out of my bike jersey for weeks. But that’s neither here nor there.

Steps to Proper Nutrition:

Purchase 1 kilo caramel/chocolate Milka bar. Important, it must have the special resealable “zipper technology” wrapper that allows you to open and re-close your cheap chocolate bar approximately 1.2 times until the crappy and toxic glue wears off and melts into your chocolate.
Place bar into back jersey pocket, into your shorts pocket, or down your pants. That’s right, don’t be shy. Conquer the cosmos with a whisper. The goal here is that the bar melts quickly, turning the chocolate/ caramel mix into a low-viscosity mix of pure liquid cane sugar and high fructose corn syrup. These terms may sound complicated, but they really mean one thing. One thing: Power. Passion. Know so you can go.
Once the bar has melted, and you’re getting cramps from being so hungry, she’s ready to go. Slowly and carefully open the lip of the wrapper, just the tip, and just for a second, so that you have a hole in the resealable wrapper that resembles the hole of a gel packet… among other things.
Grab your lover/ chocolate bar by the hand, and squeeze from below, forcing the chocolate/ caramel medley into your running engine. Repeat as necessary until weak and nauseous.
Disclaimer: Not for diabetics. Not for women who are pregnant, or who may become pregnant (Audrey). Not for people who take training nutrition seriously. Not for people who dislike things that taste so good they should be illegal. Side effects include dizziness, shortness of breath, and euphoria.

Enjoy the power, feel the passion. Know so you can go. Looking forward to more suggestions for culinary delights from all members/ friends of Harvard Skiing.

DMac

Barack Obama's Oil Policy aka My last post

2008-06-20T21:39:00.007-04:00

Anders and Ollie offered their final thoughts, so I would be remiss if I did not follow suit. They provided comments that were aptly introspective and retrospective. As I sat down to write my own final post, I was not to be outdone. If they've already covered retrospection and introspection, then I should aim for extrospection, which is neither retro- nor intro-, but somewhere else along the spection spectrum. Since extrospection is an examination of matters outside oneself, I am naturally unsuited to write about something has been a significant part of me for the past four years. So, I shared my memories and reflections with a robot, and asked it to write a post for me. What the robot returned was downright profane. I was particularly surprised and offended by the use of slang drug references. Needless to say, I had to scrap that plan and return to square one.

So what to say that hadn't already been said? Ollie had already recapped our last official engagement as members of the team, while Andy, using the eloquence and discretion that McCahill has come to know and love, expressed the gratitude we all feel for the opportunities we had and the people who shared them with us. Andy even had pictures of a ski tunnel. I could offer predictions of what the future may hold! but that would most likely dwell on my innovative and exotic cooking skills (oriental mac and cheese = american cheese + strained ramen). I could offer advice to my fellow graduating seniors! but then I saw myself assuming the voice of Naj, telling Ollie that he needs to lock it down with Anna.

Because I was voted "Most Wise" at our team banquet in April, I think it is only fitting that I leave some words of wisdom. When I sit back and think about where this team has been and where it is going, two thoughts come to mind. First, I think about how physically attractive Andy, Ollie and I are. This will always be a formative memory of our time as skiers. We just look really, really good. Second, I think about the changes that have happened over the past 4 years. We now have skiers who know how to ski and go home to snow in the winter. You have a tremendous opportunities ahead of you, academically and athletically. Savor them both, and the people you share them with. It won't always be easy (it usually won't be easy), but it wouldn't be worth doing if it were. Keep up the good work and remember what it's all about: ski hard and have fun.

I'll catch you later.

Chris

A Final Post (for now)

2008-06-20T13:08:00.006-04:00

Well, Oliver's post reminded me that yes, a final post is probably long overdue. A retrospective on my skiing experience is perhaps a bit too ambitious for just a brief blog entry, but something to close out the year and express my thanks to all of you is certainly in order.

We've done a lot during my years on the team. We've trained countless hours in the best of conditions and the worst. Had some great adventures throughout New England and Colorado. Walked along the razor's edge and reached into new depths of the pain cave. As a team we've come a long way in these years and hopefully initiated the next generation into the "new way" that is Harvard Nordic.

All the friends and memories that surround my time on the team make up what is likely the most influential part of my Harvard experience. Thank you all - coaches, teammates, friends, and families.

As I said, skiing's had quite the effect on me. Hopefully, a life-long effect. In fact, I'm already out in pursuit of snow. Right now I'm in Scandinavia for Let's Go this summer and I've made skiing highlights a priority. Below are pictures from Vuolkatti's ski tunnel.

1st ski tunnel in the world. 1.2km.

It's quite the contrast to be inside where your camera lens is frosting over and to look out and see beautiful flowers and 24 hours straight of sunlight up here by the arctic circle (Happy Midsummer!)

A very happy skier after an hour long skate workout on snow 6/17/2008.

A quick addendum to the Ski tunnel trip - there's a big board with signatures of all the people who have visited the tunnel. The President of Finland, national ski teams, etc. Now there's a big HARVARD NORDIC right between a photo of the Russian ski team standing with Putin and a signed picture of Deutschland's National Biathlon Mannschaft.

Anyway, to bring this to a close, I just want want to thank everyone who was a part of my skiing experience. And wish the best of luck to Coach City and the team as they prepare for next year.

As for my fellow seniors. Oliver and Chris, you guys are special. It's been an honor. You are the best teammates, training buddies, and friends anyone could ask for. And as for your contribution to the team...it's almost too much to really recognize. Those awards you were nominated for at the banquet were well deserved, but if there were awards for the individuals who have done the most to improve their team, you guys would win hands down. I can't imagine anyone who has done more to redefine their team's culture, attitude, and aspirations so positively. The work you did on this team will be seen, I hope, for many years to come.

I titled this "A Final Post (for now)" because I do think that perhaps an occasional alumni post might be appropriate if it's pertinent to the team or skiing generally - you know, when Ollie, Chris, and I do the Birkie, I think that's post-worthy. I will, however, as tough as it is, relinquish the right to post on topics such as South Park, run-ins with Austrian Monks, and the like. Well, unless it's really really necessary. I'll just have to resort to being an avid blog reader.

Ski friends, as Peter loves to say, you're the greatest. Good luck team.

Thanks,

Anders

Livin' the High Life

2008-06-18T21:45:00.010-04:00

Before I provide all eager blog-readers with an update on life in Camp Shawnee, I feel the need to share a few favorite pictures that I discovered when I emptied my camera last week:

Nabel and Captain David Woods McCahill construct pod-racing helmets and battle to the death in Jordan South 31. And yes, Nabel is wearing underwear of some nature.

Nabel enjoys chocolate pudding out of a paper cup while snuggled in 4 blankets on my bedroom floor. He then places empty pudding cup on said floor and leaves it there, where it stays until I find it approximately two weeks later.

This is the home that I left on June 1st...

... and the one that I moved into.

Camp Shawnee was a little rough around the edges when I arrived. Fortunately I arrived first, so I promptly bought some bleach and went to town on a few choice items. Jennie arrived second, promptly starting to laugh upon seeing her new home. I sent Audrey a message saying "I think your Mom is going to cry when she sees this..." or something of that nature. But Ann Mangan was not intimidated. She actually went shopping and brought us bag after bag of groceries to put in our fridge, which didn't actually shut unless we wedged something in the door. After some deliberation, however, she declined Meri's empty bed and chose to sleep at the Devlins'. So there we were, left with a week before Meri arrived, determined to clean up our crap-hole of a house.

So we cleaned everything in the kitchen and cleaned it again. We spent two hours scrubbing mold off the bathroom ceiling, black mildew out of the bathtub, and scouring the floor. Kinney Drugs provided us with two bathmats for $3, which covered the 3 square feet of missing tile nicely. We got a neighbor ot tack some plywood over the 4-foot holes in the ceilings downstairs and get the fridge to kind of shut. We bought scrapers and sandpaper and paint and fixed up the most offensive walls and ceilings. Then we covered the remaining holes and graffiti with posters and stolen street signs. Most importantly, however, Audrey bought us a hammock.

Audrey hugs a bag of Oreos in her hammock.

So we finally got Camp Shawnee turned into something that resembled a livable residence, and now that we can actually walk in the bathroom barefoot without worrying about getting diseases, we're settling in. Training is picking up,and employment is at least on the horizon for most of us.

Aww.

More posts and pictures to come soon,
-Schlutzer

My last post EVER

2008-06-13T21:00:00.006-04:00

Well, it happened, we graduated. Anders, Chris, and I are done with college. And let me tell all you underclassmen right now, it sucks. Take George Plympton's advice: when it comes time to finally leave, go back to your rooms, lock the doors, and make them force you to leave.

Anyway, one of the highlights of graduation week was the Senior Letterwinners' Dinner. The Athletic Department puts on the dinner down in the Murr Center tennis courts and it's a pretty sweet affair. Every senior from a Varsity team is invited, you sit with your teammates and their families, there's a sweet buffet dinner, and the senior awards are handed out.

Me and my dad before the dinner (note the toothpick in my mouth). I was the only one to wear his letter sweater out of everyone at the dinner.

My entire family came, along with the Moores, and the Nabels-minus-Catherine. We had two tables of just Nordic skiers and families and we all had a blast.

Anders, my dad, and Meri

As for the Awards, it's pretty sweet. For each award they ask the nominees to stand up and then they announce the winner.

Nabel was nominated for the Francis Burr '09 Scholarship, an award recognizing character and athletic achievement. Opera-singing -footballer-player Noah Van Neil was the eventual winner (Noah, I might add, is a friend of mine from when we were really little kids - we were even born on the same day just a few rooms apart at the Brigham in Boston).

Nabel and I both were nominated for the John Reardon Award, as was Apline's Matt Basilico. The Reardon Award recognized the best male scholar-athlete in the senior class. The winner was Geoff Rathgeber, the much-decorated captain of the swim team and an Olympic hopeful.

In a surprise turn-of-events I was also nominated for the William Bingham Award, given to the best male athlete. Three other Currierites were also nominated, diver Luke Sanders, track captain Alex Lewis, and crew captain Joe Medioli. Geoff Rathgeber, the swimmer, took this award as well.

All in all it was a great night and I think everyone had a lot of fun. It was cool to have so much recognition for the Nordic team. Out of three awards given to male athletes, we had four nominations. The bigger teams, like track, lacrosse, and baseball had no nominees for any of the awards. According to Coach P, Nabel and I were also both nominated for the Strength & Conditioning Award (which went to Brad Bagdis).

The senior awards dinner is definitely something to look forward to during graduation week. Hopefully the trend of Nordic skiers being nominated will continue for years to come.

Nabel and I are all smiles after the dinner

Keep it real Harvard Nordic, I'll see you all on the trails sometime.

-- O

addendum

2008-06-11T20:46:00.000-04:00

also, that painful rain turned out to be hail. fingertip sized hail.

remember that episode of The Today Show when Al Roker blew away?

2008-06-11T15:08:00.002-04:00

Yesterday, our workout looked a little like that.
Since Anna and Jennie are at home, Audrey and I are the only ones left in Placid, and with Audrey babysitting 8-5 yesterday, today, and tomorrow, I'm bored out of my skull. Yesterday I spent the morning at Kyle's in the basement of the Olympic Complex for the first of many free weight sessions, had lunch with Ollie and saw him off, and then spent the afternoon all afternoon unpacking and putting up all my decorations in an effort to cover every inch of peeling yellow-flowered wallpaper that I could. Suffice it to say, I was blissfully unaware (due to lack of internet access in the house and me being to lazy to walk down to the internet cafe and spend more money) of the tornado warnings for the afternoon and evening.

Cut to 5:30, when Audrey gets home and we decide to bike down to Bear Cub for a nice long double pole. After stashing our bikes and backpacks at the Olympic Training Center, we head out. Interesting detail: one of my skis doesn't ratchet, and there is a huge chunk missing in the front wheel so it wanders all over the place. I'm getting new ones, ASAP. So, we get to the top of the dead end, just as dark clouds start gathering ominously in the sky. 2 minutes into the descent, and thunder starts rumbling in the distance. A few more minutes pass, and the lightning begins. A few more minutes, and we see a perfect strike shoot through the sky ahead of us. Okay, now we're pretty scared. Audrey takes out her phone and starts dialing our buddy Brad, who lives on the next road over, and as she's searching through her contacts, the sky opens up and it starts to pour. No answer, so she shouts a frantic message into the phone and we rush back to the OTC. The rain is surprisingly painful, and the winds pick up as we reach the bottom so that it is whipping horizontal curtains of precipitation at us. Soaked, only 50 minutes into our ski, we stumble into the parking lot, grab our stuff and are rescued by a sympathetic biathlon team who let us in, looking like wet rats at this point. Quick call to the Devlin's, and in no time Paige comes by in a huge pickup to pick us up, drive us home to change, and take us back to her house for a delicious dinner and a check of the rest of the week's weather forecast. It was a successful end to my first legit Placid adventure.

Pardon the drama, but it makes for a vivid retelling. And Mom, please let me stay here.

-M

The Hot Game

2008-06-07T12:42:00.002-04:00

I'm currently sitting on the deck of Coffee'n'beans internet cafe, overlooking Mirror Lake on the first nice sunny day since I got here. Jennie and I are thinking of taking Anna's kayak out later today; neither of us have ever used a flatwater kayak before, and with Anna back in VT, it should be pretty interesting.

Yesterday, like most of the past week, was pretty humid and intermittently rainy. Jennie and I went to VanHo for an easy run and some strength. The trails were drenched and covered with mud, but my new Brooks needed a christening anyways. The workout was complete with a Tim Burke cameo during our strength session by the biathlon range after the run. It was a 2 hr session in total, and the humidity started to get to us by the end, so we decided to jump in the lake when we got back (which is right behind our house). I pointed out that after the 7 mile drive back with the windows down, we'd cool off and not be in the mood to jump in 55 degree water anymore, so Jennie suggested we play the "Hot Game."

"What's the hot game?"
"What?!? You've never played it? Oh it's the best, just wait."
"But what is it?"
"I'll tell you when we get in the car."

So we packed up our medicine ball and bungee and got in the car. The hot game, as it turns out, consists of turning on the heat full blast, keeping the windows closed, and driving back the entire way in your own portable sauna (without the supple athletic frame of Trudy Wilson, unfortunately). Jennie decided it would be fun to keep the fans pointed at me, though the car heated up so fast it didn't really matter. We drove at least 5 mph over the speed limit headed back to town, and didn't slow down once we hit the 30 mph zone. We passed the speedometer by the video store going 45, and sure enough, 3 seconds later a police car pulls up behind us with his lights on.

At this point, we're both drenched in sweat. It's beaded up on our foreheads, the car smells like wet runners, and when Jennie rolls down the window, the officer got a full blast of heat. He stood a little behind the window after that as he asked for her license and registration.

"Ma'am, do you know how fast you were going?"
"No..."
"Do you know what the speed limit is?"
"No...we're new in town, we're just staying for the summer to train. We just got back from working out and we wanted to jump in the lake; we're pretty hot."
He looks at the sweat dripping off our faces. "Yeah, you look hot."
"Uh, yeah."

He goes back to his car to check her driving record and leaves us laughing hysterically. He makes us sit there for like 10 minutes, then comes back.

"Just so you girls know, all the roads in town are 30 mph, and we're always checking for speeding. I'll let you go this time since you're new, but please drive within the limits from now on. Have a nice day."

Narrow escape. Good thing we decided not to wipe the sweat off our faces before he got to the window, or he wouldn't have been weirded out enough to let us go.

We got to the lake, finally, but the hot game effects had worn off with the open window. Jennie jumped right in, but I decided to go for just a leg ice bath. Worked for about a minute until Jennie pushed me in, causing me to yell obscenities in front of lots of small children and their parents on the beach. All in all, a successful day. Lets hope the rest of the summer is just as eventful.

~Audrey

Quick Game of "Find the Bandit":

2008-06-05T06:57:00.004-04:00

Howdy fellow Bandits/ fellow Bandit enthusiasts:

Now that summer's ratcheted into high gear, I felt it was certainly time for a long overdue update. I'll keep it short and to the point, much like Chris Nabel's chest hair.

Following exams, I spent a delicious week in lovely Lake Placid. Highlights included: tasty mountain bike rides on the Logger's Loops, River Road/ World Championship Time Trial, delicious Pearl-cooked meals, some solid rollerskiing with the "Putney Powerhouse" Willy Graves, and quality recording sessions with Axel Scholl and Bradley Noel Harden in the "X-Box Rock Band" Recording Studio. Classy stuff.

The juiciest rollerski story involved, as usual, Bobby Shabitt. Anyhow, after some nice sprints on upper Averyville (remember old stock photo? direct results of sprints gone wrong on upper Averyville), I heard the classic horn slam and pulled over to wait for Bobby to catch up in his white Silverado. We parried for a few moments with some choice words and right of way suggestions before I noticed the 6-Shooter revolver, complete with leather hip-holster, lying in passenger seat. I quickly conceded that round, so consider the current LP Rollerskiers vs. Bobby Shabitt standings to be 0 to 1. Do me proud, girls.

Just before skipping town, Woods and I partook in an epic father-son assault on the Whiteface Uphill Footrace, 8 miles at 8% grade. Stormy and cold conditions up top, just around freezing, so naturally I dressed accordingly, in my lightest/ shortest cut split shorts and matching Bandits jersey. See photo. Well played. Race was plenty fun, despite being dropped by a hard charging Duncan Douglas & Friends at mile 1.5.

After that, it was straight to Lake Clear airport for my almost direct flight to Innsbruck, with a brief stopover to enjoy debauchery Bandit style in Cambridge. I'm now enjoying the first few days in Lans, Austria, just outside of Innsbruck. Gorgeous area, copious amounts of great running/ nordic walking trails just outside the door, even a nice little lake across the street to swim in. Pictures/ stories to come soon.

To any Camp Shawnee readers, best of luck with training and save me a hot dog/ spot on the couch. Please don't save the hot dog until at least early July, and please don't store it in the couch cushions.

Lastly, a hearty congratulations are in order to graduating Bandits Anders, Ollie and Chris. Well done, boys. We'll miss you next year. Nothing but great memories. Be well, do good work, and come back often.

Happy summer, everyone.

Dave

... and May

2008-05-10T18:01:00.003-04:00

May is paper time. Final exam time. Procrastination time.

The team has gotten back into the swing of legit training once again. Today a bunch of the girls pulled out their rollerskis and took them for a spin, and tomorrow Dave and Cullen are doing are triathlon/duathlon out in Hopkinton. The trees in Cambridge are all leafy and green, but the weather has been obstinate recently and it isn't exactly hot outside yet. Between the forecasted high of 50 degrees on Monday and the revolting quantity of papers and exams that we all have, everyone is looking forward to summertime. I'll be headed back to Lake Placid, though not to the red house on McKinley Street where I lived with Ollie last summer. I've found another red house, though, known to the locals as "Camp Shawnee," where I'll be living with Meri, Audrey, and Jennie Bender, a girl who skis for UVM. It's a little rough around the edges, but it's our own house and it's going to become the headquarters for Operation Get Jacked '08.

Looking forward to traffic-free pavement, buy-one-get-one-free deals at the Chopper, Jeremy Clark, bikes, lake showers, and make-your-owns...

-Schlutzer

The Bandits: Stealing Sugarbush Tri Titles Since '06

2008-04-22T16:22:00.005-04:00

Now that it's April (and Meri's hindquarters no longer look like a hamburger), it's well past time to begin blog posting like a fiend once again. The first weekend in April saw a contingency of the Riverside Ski Bandits trucking on up to Vermont to compete in the 30th annual Sugarbush Triathlon. I've been doing the race since 8th grade and introduced it to Harvard kids during my freshman year. We've won the college category ever since. The race consists of a 5 mile run, 6 mile paddle, 10 mile bike, and 5k ski. This year Anders did the run, I kayaked, Dave biked, and Ollie skied. We killed it. A team of Dartmouth skiers finished a couple of minutes behind us. My Dad and brothers competed in the family division and slayed that, too. Some choice photos:

Anders heading into the tag zone

Anna starting the paddle

Dave, pre-bike

Ollie finishing the ski

Glorious, victorious bandits

-Schlutzer

my ass looks like a hamburger

2008-03-27T13:03:00.003-04:00

...just not the spherical ones Ollie made for dinner last night.

Apparently when you invite someone to your house for a "run," it means "lets go classic rollerskiing in March." Interesting.

Anyways, it was me, so we all know how this turned out. Basically, Coil and I can't wear pants.

This is what you get for rollerskiing in March:

And, yes, I made those.

-M

Van Gogh was a painter, I think

2008-03-16T20:09:00.002-04:00

This past weekend Schluzy and I went up to Trapps to coach our respective states at the Eastern High School championships. Tomorrow, when I'm one midterm away from spring break, I'll write a more detailed recap, but for now just know that Mass skiers won 5 out of 7 races, including both classic distance races and a classic sprint. Uber pwnage, as Dave would say.

Right now, however, I have to get back "studying" which is code for "sitting around in my room listening to 'Crazy on You' by Heart on repeat." As for art history, one of the Mass boys told me all I needed to know was "Van Gogh was a painter, I think." Looks like I'm all set.

-- O

At least EISA mass starts don't look like this..

2008-03-13T11:50:00.002-04:00

-M

And It's Middlebury

2008-02-20T23:45:00.003-05:00

Seven weeks of racing go by far too fast. We're heading off to Middlebury in twelve hours for our last carnival of the season. We've come a long way this year but aren't done yet. Two races left to wreck house...

-Schlutzer

Fun Disco Jeep

2008-02-13T19:26:00.001-05:00

Betsy Nabel was right about MRI's

2008-02-10T21:21:00.000-05:00

Everyone listen up. Chris' mom was right. There is absolutely NO NEED to put yourself through the hell that is a 1.85 hour fMRI scan for psychological research. NO NEED. Let me tell you all a little story about how I needed money, sorely, and decided to partake in a lousy fMRI study.

So the researcher contacted me a week ago, asked me to choose a two hour block of time to swing down to "Martino's Imaging Center" in Charlestown. First hint that this experiment will end in complete failure: the research center is named "Martino's". Sounds like a the name of a sleazy fast-food pizza place. In fact, they almost let me grab two pizza flavored taquitos off of a rolling grill before my study, but they decided the traces of lead in the ingredients would lead to less accurate MRI readings.

So I hopped on the bike, bound for Charlestown. I allowed myself 40 minutes to make the trip, in the likely event that their horrible directions would get me lost. I trucked it past the Bunker Hill Community College, where mere days earlier a young Anders Moore took his written portion of the foreign serivce exam. Time ticking, feeling close to the abandoned warehouses that must store this MRI machine, I trucked on. Trucked on over a broken beer bottle, I did...

... pppsssssstttttttt

Flat tire. Middle of the street crossing Rt. 1 into Charlestown. Game over. After a bout of profanity that would offend even the Miller brothers, I sprinted towards the wharf, dragging bike, sweating profusely. After arriving 10 minutes late for the study, I met Lindsay, a cheerful, blond lab assistant who led me to an empty classroom to fill out paperwork. She left me alone to sign forms which took all of 38 seconds to fill out, and left me to wait another 22 minutes alone to think about what I'd done to deserve this. I resorted to scanning my only reading material, a purple coupon guide to the Spar grocery store in Austria. Würst and Stiegl are as cheap as ever. Go figure.

Finally Lindsay came back and rushed me to the MRI tube, apologizing for her delay. She then strapped me down in the tube, taping my hands to two keypads with which to record my responses to video instructions and tasks reflected to my eyes by a slanted mirror and monitor in the tube. The 'tests' referred to were responses to racial profiling and involved making social judgments of people of other races. Initial interest turned quickly to a claustrophobic nightmare as I was bombarded for 1.8 hours with photos of Asian teens and confusing stories and puzzles to trick my short term memory. No breaks. No movement. Head was strapped to a board with a hockey goalie ish helmet fixture to send magnetic pulses through my highly irritated brain lobes, while being bombarded with the noise of magnetic pulses. (Magnetic pulses in an MRI tube sound very similar to the noise a snowplow on I-93 makes while scratching dry pavement at 70mph).

After the 2nd worst two hours of my life...

http://harvardnordic.blogspot.com/2007/12/new-definition-of-pain-and-suffering.html

...I was pulled out of the tube and vented my less than cordial opinions on how MRI's should be run, especially with students with flat bicycle tires. Lindsay, feeling terrible, shelled out $85 and a taxi voucher to North Station. I ended up being kicked off the green line 1 stop away from Park Street and the bike-friendly red line by a disgruntled employee and had to walk the last couple blocks from government center in a windy snow squall. I was sure that Lindsay was running behind me with a videocamera, that the real study wouldn't end until I made it back to campus.

So next time you need quick cash and think that lying, motionless, in a noisy, claustrophobic tube is the way to get it... think again. Or just hit the CLER lab.

Better yet, listen to Betsy Nabel. MRI's are toxic.

Still trembling with residual magnetic resonance,

-D

Absentee Captains Necessitate Mediocre Photoshopping

2008-02-09T22:57:00.000-05:00

Check out this jewel that Naj spawned post-race yesterday...

-mer

ps. more girls write on the blog. do it.

Solid weekend

2008-02-09T19:56:00.000-05:00

Well, Oak Hill has come and gone. The races were solid. Friday we put three girls in the top 35, highlighted by A-Devs scoring some points in 28th, then Audrey and Cara in 32nd and 35th, respectively. The rest of the girls had solid showings as well. Mer competed in only her second college race and beat a few skiers. Not bad for probably the hardest 5k loop on the circuit.

In the men's race we had a relatively historic showing, putting two men in the top 40 for the first time since I've been at Harvard (that is to say, 4 years), and probably since the City-Bellizzi era (though I can't say for certain). I rocked a 32nd, my best collegiate finish ever, which was pretty sweet, even though I'm disappointed I was out of the points. Dave was 39th, 24 seconds behind me. Both of us were less than 2 minutes from the top 10 (the race was crushed by Midd's Simi Hamilton, who put nearly 40 seconds into second place). Trev rounded out the scoring in 52nd place, beating some solid skiers from SLU. Anders was right in it, and Cullen had a solid 3rd college race on a wickedly tough 10k. Grundy had a tough fall that put him out of it, but he said the rest of the race went well. As a men's team, we beat SLU for the first time in a long-ass time. And we were close to catching Williams.

Today Oak Hill owned the men's team. With 9k of uphill in an 11k lap, we knew from the outset it'd be a challenge. And, having not previewed the course, we were skiing blind. But whatever, it was a fun day. Trev rocked a 48th, I survived in 49th, and Anders was up there in 52. Everyone had a rough day for various reasons. Props to Cullen for hitting up his first 20k in college, and to Grundizzle for doing the hardest 20k I've ever done in college on less-than perfect pre-season training. C-Nabes, if you read this, we missed you.

The women had another good day today. Audrey got it started with some points in 28th, then Alyssa was 34th and Cara was 41st, a gutsy effort considering after the race she felt feverish and had to go home early. Tannis popped off a great race, thanks to some good skis and an awesome effort. Schulzy got sidetracked by rough skis, but we'll fix that next time. Mer did her first ever race over 10k, and it was on the hardest course on the circuit. Nice going, killer.

And we were joined by some Canadians today. I don't know where they were from, but here's hoping they were from my favorite part of Canada:

-- O

Christopher Shield Nabel

2008-02-03T17:16:00.001-05:00

Remember the days when Chris Nabel had a 10- Year Plan?

Remember the days when Chris Nabel had a plan?

-D

Saturday Recap

2008-02-02T23:19:00.000-05:00

Well, there were bears. And by bears, I mean beater results by yours truly.

I'm starting to think this growing-a-mustache-to-shame-myself-into-racing-faster thing isn't working. I should stick to the clean-shaven look. Mustache may be gone tomorrow. Depends on whether I feel like getting up to shave.

-- O

Yeah, it looks that bad. Seriously. I look like I have cinnamon roll crumbs on my upper lip. Or maybe hot cocoa residue?