Outlier

The UAA Seawolves love Soldier Hollow. And with good reason. This is where the 2002 Olympics were contested. The Olympics will be here again in 2034. The weather is almost always sunny, and it's usually warm, too. Driving to the venue from our lodging in Heber City or Midway is always easy. There's loads of parking. Huge, high-quality buildings and infrastructure. The snowmaking system covers the entire Olympic trail system, and it puts down a four-foot deep layer of perfect, firm snow in which to set rock-hard classic tracks. They have a well-organized race administration, a huge PA system, plenty of great race volunteers, expert grooming equipment operators... Nothing is lacking here at Soldier Hollow. It's perfect in every way. No wonder Johannes Klaebo comes here frequently for training.

And yet, I am not in love with Soldier Hollow. Am I missing something?  Am I a contrarian? I've been hearing exclamations of joy this week from all of us Seawolves - racers and coaches alike -  about the perfect tracts, the great weather, the comfortable apres-ski, the well-run race organization.  And there's no denying any of it. It's comfortable, well-organized, and we're going to have excellent competitions here this weekend.  But I find it a bit sterile here. A bit bland. I always have. There's not much mystery here. The race trails are laid out, back and forth, across a meadow of sagebrush that surrounds and overlooks the ski stadium. From the deck on top of the race building, you can see pretty much the entire trail system; you can watch the entire ski race from there.

Soldier Hollow is perfect. But I get bored easily. Soldier Hollow is not quirky. It's not mysterious. It's not flukey. It doesn't capture my imagination. There are no surprises at Soldier Hollow. I don't dream of skiing these trails. I've skied them plenty of times, and they're still the same trails, laid out across the same meadow. Make no mistake: it's a dream to be a coach or team leader for an event at Soldier Hollow. I'm always happy to see Soldier Hollow on our itinerary, because I know that we can expect a well-run, predictable event, and I know we'll enjoy ourselves here. But I've never fallen in love with Soldier Hollow.

We will be racing here tomorrow morning. We are ready.