More of the Same

 The weather hasn't changed for the past week, so we haven't changed what we're doing. Getting out in it, day after day.

This bridge doesn't look very sketchy in this picture. But I thought it was kinda sketchy in real life.

Toomas. Charging. As usual.

Toom, Ale, Siggi and JC. Ale is a UNH Wildcat, but it's cool.

Sigurd comes from the town where Stefan Kraft set the world record in ski jumping: 253.5 meters. When you grow up around this kind of thing, it's in your blood. Jumpers gonna jump:

Today was the day for the annual Norpine Challenge. It's the day when we all get together and close out the year with a little friendly competition, the giving of team awards, the making of speeches, and the jerking of tears. Last year's Norpine Challenge had to be cancelled due to Covid-19. I think this year's Norpine Challenge made up for it.

Here's Toomas rocking a little panel slalom.

The timing crew.

A little nordic action on the slopes.

Speeches were made, and stories were told.

Here we are. All of us. (almost)

Spring Has Sprung

What a difference a week makes. Last weekend felt like mid-winter. This weekend feels like mid-summer. 

Yesterday was the last race of the year. At Alyeska Resort. Short and sweet. Only 3.7 kilometers. But the finish line was 619 meters higher than the start line.  It was a day for the climbers.  I had other obligations that morning, but fortunately Blog Intern Kevin Donley was on scene to memorialize the day in pictures:

Magnum. At around the halfway point.

Derek.  Also at around the halfway point.

Karly

The reason I couldn't be at the uphill race was because Tour Guide Toomas invited Toby Schwoerer  and me out skiing at one of his favorite spots, and that was something I didn't want to miss.

In the Placer River Valley

Toomas is buying this house.

Spencer Glacier

Toby (notice the bear spray in his pack). Toby's no novice. 

There's plenty of snow.

Skookum Valley rated 10 out of a possible 10

Toomas. Leading the way.

Planning future routes.

It was as good as it gets.

A bunch of Skiwolves had been out to Spencer Glacier the day prior. That's Astrid in the foreground.

Friends invited me back for more the next day.  It's not every day of the year that you can go crust skiing. So you have to go when the going's good.

Springtime in Alaska

Sanctioned!

Espen's racing bib had a mind of its own on Sunday.

(photo: Laarni Power)

It's Historic!

 Just like you, I like to know what's going on in the world around me.  I like to keep abreast of the latest news and the events of our time. And that's why, each and every morning, over a cup of coffee, I review all of the major news outlets from around the world. 

And so it was that I came across this little tidbit about our very own Tuva Bygrave as I was perusing Norway's national news roundup on the NRK website this morning. Seems Tuva "made history" by getting fully Covid-vaccinated earlier this month. Alaska is leading the world in its vaccination rate, and our entire Seawolf Ski Team is now fully vaccinated. In Norway, as in most of the rest of the world, availability of the vaccine lags far behind Alaska. So Tuva's feeling pretty fortunate to have such early access to the vaccine

To paraphrase Tuva in the article, "It seems a little strange, as a nineteen-year-old, to be vaccinated before my parents."

You can read the rest or the article at the NRK website, or by clicking on the picture of Tuva Granøien flexing her pipes below.  (If you don't read Norwegian yet, this is your excuse to learn!)

April Fools

 April is traditionally the month of warm sunshine and relaxing in the mountains with a light layer of clothing and a heavy layer of sunblock.  But the past year has been anything but traditional. So it is fitting that our little Alaska FIS Tour de Skimeister was held this weekend in conditions more typical of December than of mid-April. So we bundled up in our warmest down parkas and mittens and spent the weekend freezing our asses off at Kincaid Park.  The quality of the courses and the quality of the competition was good, and we had a productive weekend.

Espen and Tuva were there.

World Cup Schoon was there.

Magnum and Trond were there.

Gus Schumacher and this APU guy were there.

Scott Patterson was there.

David Norris was there.

Hunter Wonders was there.

Siggi was there.

Former Seawolf Hailey Swirbul was there.

Seth Downs was there.

Astrid and Pascale were there.

Karly was there.

And Astrid won the race today.

Dropping Names

Everybody's back in town now, and our local trails have been as good as ever. Marine and Erik came back to town for a visit, and they invited me to take a lap around Kincaid Park with them and Sadie and Jo. It was so nice to catch up with all of them and hear the latest stories about retail equipment sales and World Cup ski racing. 

Mid-week was the time for some intervals at Hillside, and everybody was there. We even had a few extras:  Hannah, Gus, Michaela, Anna... It turned out to be a pretty competitive field!

Have you ever seen so many skiers at a UAA interval workout?  I don't think I have.

There's plenty of snow and lots of skiing ahead of us on the city's trails.