Seawolf Wedding of the Century

 First week of August, 2023. The place to be was Wiedenfelsen, bei Buhlertal, in Schwarzwald, Deutchland. The event was the wedding of Theresia Schnurr (UAF 2013) and Lasse Mølgaard-Nielsen (UAA 2013). 

Former Skiwolves, Jaime Bronga (2012), Steffi Schauer (Hiemer) (2012), Tim Samuelson (longtime friend of the Skiwolves, but not actually a Skiwolf), Lukas Ebner (2014) and Viktor Brännmark (2013).

After finishing up skiing and school at UAF, Theresia worked in genetics at the University of Copenhagen, while Lasse worked as a lawyer at the biggest law firm in Denmark. But after several years in Copenhagen, they moved to California and have spent the past couple of years in the San Francisco Bay area with their two young children, where Theresia's doing research at Stanford and Lasse's working for the Danish Consulate. 

We all had so much fun at Wiedenfelsen!  And despite the rainy weather all week, the sun came out just in time for the wedding. 

If you look close, you might be able to make out what they're spelling.

Congratulations Theresia and Lasse!

Eastbound and Down

 

Morning at Kincaid

We're a big team this year. A lot bigger than usual. We have seven returning Seawolves. Eight new Seawolves. The freshmen outnumber the upperclassmen. I'm still trying to learn all the new names and faces. 

One of the things I really like about NCAA athletics is the turnover. No matter how much I might want these skiers to stick around, after four years they're going to have to go (with some pandemic-era athletes being the exception). The clock is always ticking. We've got a long way to go and a short time to get there. The quick turnover really makes me appreciate every moment.

 Spirits are high. The vibe is good. We're excited about the year to come. 

Making Tracks

Tracks don't fall from the sky. Sometimes you have to pitch in and help make them yourself. That's what we did yesterday, when both the UAA alpine and nordic skiers spent a couple hours in the evening, cutting brush at Kincaid Park.  

Former NCAA skier (Western State College) Ben Arians was getting tired of getting smacked in the face by alders, willows and elderberry branches whenever he skied along the edge of the trail, in the classic tracks, here in Anchorage over the past few winters. He didn't think skiing on our City ski trail systems should feel like bushwhacking through the Chugach Mountains. So he decided that, rather than bitching about it, he would do something about it. And the result is his campaign to rid our city's ski trails of overhanging branches that create a safety concern and take the fun out of classic skiing.

Ben has been out there with a chain saw, loppers, wood chipper, and whomever he can recruit to come out and help him beat back the brush and tame the wilderness. Yesterday, it was the UAA Ski Team's turn to do our part. 

It felt good to get out there and help out for a few hours, to make our training and racing venues a better place to go skiing. But on the other hand, I have it on good authority that when we all went back to class and to our rollerski interval session the following morning, Ben Arians and John Mahaffey went right back to Kincaid Park the next morning and picked up where we left off the evening before. 

Flexing?  You decide.

Shutdown

Late last March, I could tell that the entire crew at the UAA Nordic Ski Team Blog needed a little break. The staff writers were running low on ideas, the copy editors were showing up late and missing deadlines, and even our custodial staff seemed low on morale. After a long ski season, our management team was getting tired of the relentless pressure from corporate for increased profits, and from our shareholders for increased dividends. The vibe around HQ was not good. So I made the difficult but necessary executive decision to furlough the entire staff (without pay) until fall. 

And I'm glad I did. After a half-year break, the entire UAA Nordic Ski Team Blog staff has returned to their tiny cubicles refreshed and ready for a new start. At our corporate campus, the air is abuzz with energy, new ideas are being kicked around over lunch in the cafeteria, and the brainstorming is non-stop.

And it's not only the Blog staff that's refreshed and ready for a new season. The UAA Ski Team itself is also awash in new faces, and Trond has that excited, giddy laugh that he gets when he starts thinking about ski racing, ski racers, and skis. If you know Trond, you know what I'm talking about.

So we're off on a new adventure!  As my counterpart, Volunteer Assistant Alpine Coach Morten Kjerland told the alpine skiers today: You only get four years to be an NCAA student athlete, and the clock is already ticking. So all of us here at the UAA Nordic Ski Team Blog are fired up for a new year, ready to make every moment count, and make lemons into memories!

Two weeks ago. Already snow in the mountains above Anchorage. We'll likely be skiing next month.