Bugging Out

UAA's alpine team has traveled to its top-secret preseason training facility.  They have agreed to let me come along as long as I don't disclose our location. Anyway, everything here's awesome!  We're in a remote location where we can train in peace without any drama about traffic, road closures, lift lines, or getting hit by out-of-control skiers.  Basically, we're skiing at a closed ski area, with a lift and a full run all to ourselves, with perfect, firm man-made snow top to bottom. It couldn't be any better.  Literally, it couldn't.

Early morning. Sparky and Anna

Strategy session

I told them this photo could never be in the blog because it's contrived and posed. But here it is anyway.

Anna in full-on coach mode.

Anna again. Not doing anything in particular.

Our secret training venue is a pretty nice place to be.

Team dinner

Hey, check out our new training bibs!  Thanks, Waddell & Reed!

Here's Nicole

Chloe

Li

Georgia

Liam

We were provided our own ski tuning room at the bottom of the ski hill.  The whole situation is totally dialed.

Video analysis back at the team house.

Anna and I do our apres-ski out on the nordic trails.

Soleil

Chloe

Mike

It's Taco Tuesday!

And the tacos are made out of crickets!  We've been eating nothing but insects around here this week.  It's been sort of an experiment.  It takes a little getting used to, but after just a few days as insectivores, our insides are bathed in formic acid and we're feeling great!  It's been a real eye-opener for me, but after dining on crickets, grasshoppers and black ants, I'm looking forward to bringing what I've learned about bug-eating to the nordic team when I get back together with them next week. Get ready to have your minds blown, Nordies!!

Hauling gates. A Sisyphean task.