The Guru

The man has been slaving night and day.  

Is this the face of a lunatic?  Yes, perhaps it is.

In any coaching team, there has to be a division of duties. Given enough time, a coaching team can gradually develop a rapport, and different responsibilities naturally shift to different team members who are most comfortable and adept at performing them. When a team is thrown together for a week, though, decisions need to be made up front about who's going to handle what.  Galen, with his "day job" coaching junior skiers and preparing skis for junior skiers, was a natural fit for the job of "chief of waxing" for Team Alaska. It also doesn't hurt that he cheerfully admits to being a "tech nerd who likes to test and tinker with waxes and base structures and is very content to spend the entire day in the wax cabin" (this is a direct quote). Whatever he's doing in there seems to be working because in these blustery, snowy conditions, I've heard only glowing reviews from the racers regarding the wax concoctions that Galen's cooking up.

From the vault: Here's a photo of Galen taken the last time Arctic Winter Games was held in Greenland. I was the head coach that year, and Galen was still a couple inches shorter than me.  Obviously, that wasn't going to last for long. Look at the size of those lobster claws! Considering the size of my parka, this photo could only have been taken in Fairbanks.


Abby probably got the best photos of the opening ceremony, thanks to Galen


The master of his domain.

More Vons

Hey UAA Ski Teamers! 

Do these skiers on the top step of the podium look familiar to you? Like someone you know?  A teammate perhaps?

How about a little closer shot...

That's right, they're Marcus' younger siblings, Hannah and Derek Deuling, and they've won every race they've entered here at the Arctic Winter Games. Team Yukon is staying in the classroom next door to ours, and every time I see Derek I feel like I'm on the road with Marcus and the UAA team. You're not likely to find a nicer crew anywhere.  Now I know where The Von gets his manners.

NCAA's Start Tomorrow

There's no news from Colorado.  NCAA's has not yet begun.  Racing begins tomorrow.  I have received spy photos, though.  Having no story to go with them, I will make something up and then the team can tell me how accurate I was when I catch up with them next week:

The weather in Steamboat has been, as Etienne would say, "insane". Though the place is known for its "champagne powder", it rained like crazy and everyone was really weirded out about it. That looks like Mt Werner in the background.

It's been a tradition to do a workout on Rabbit Ears pass for a little extra altitude acclimatization.  Thus, the team will come down in altitude to Howelson Hill for their races.

Here's the team at Rabbit Ears Pass in standard mode.

And here they are in zany mode.

(I received a third photo from the same place, but I can't post it because this here is a family blog.)

A typical daytime scene for Andrew, getting medieval on the skis. 

Eveningtime Andrew.  The trivia master himself, enjoying a soothing glass of milk.

Racing begins tomorrow.  I bet you can catch all the important stuff here, including the TV coverage. And I think there's something interesting here, too, but I couldn't watch it because I'm in Greenland and I don't think I'm able to get the full interweb experience. I think it's a video. If it's good, let me know what happens.

Le Meteo

This morning, my new pal Mogens invited me over to his office so we could look at banks of computer screens and discuss weather models and pressure gradients.  We had a nice time, and we figured out that the weather's getting better in Nuuk.  Accordingly, flights have been taking off for Nuuk for the past couple of hours, and we're scheduled to board a flight at 5:30 this afternoon.

The dining hall's been a busy place.

This is where the weather forecasting magic happens in Greenland.

That's the Greenland ice sheet in the distance

Kangerlussuaq is located at the end of a very long fjord. This is that fjord.

Airplanes are moving at the airport today.

The scene in town.

The scene after lunch

Jordyn in the foreground.  A musk ox in the background.

Mallory

My Worst Nightmare

Of course I'm not in Steamboat Springs with the UAA Ski Team for NCAA's this week, but the local paparazzi have been working overtime to get me the news and information that you blog readers crave, and I'm very disappointed to have to report to you that this happened today on the mean streets of Steamboat Springs:

Tattoo

If Fantasy Island had been set in the arctic, it would resemble our time in Greenland today.  We all arrive on the island with our fantasies and our dreams, but reality sometimes delivers something different from what we expected.

Did you want to get to the B-gates at Anchorage Int'l Airport yesterday? Good luck!  Lt. Governor Byron Mallot was holding court, and Team Alaska had a monopoly on floor space.

Our chartered 6-hour overnight Icelandair flight delivered us to Kangerlussuaq on time at around 6:30 this morning, and a six-hour time difference from our home in Alaska. But even before we left Anchorage, we’d heard rumors of inclement weather in Nuuk, causing delays and uncertainty about air travel into Greenland's capitol city. As soon as we got through security here, we were met by local volunteers who provided us with Danish military field rations (described to me by my new friend Mogens as “suitable to feed a Danish soldier for 24 hours under combat conditions”) and directed us to local military barracks, where we were invited to find a vacant room and a cot and set up camp until the weather in Nuuk allows us to continue our travel.

When I took this picture boarding our flight, Quincy told me this was like a photo her mom would take - embarrassing. And when I hear Quincy say that a photo is embarrassing, I know it needs to go on the internet.

Kangerlussuaq was built as an American Air Force base in 1941, and saw heavy use during the Cold War due to its strategic position in the north Atlantic. The base is now a primary resupply station for three scientific monitoring stations on the Greenland ice sheet.  It’s got an airstrip suitable for the very hugest of planes, so it’s an important point of entry into a country that doesn’t have a wealth of airstrips capable of handling large jets.  For example, Nuuk doesn’t have a runway long enough to handle a Boeing 757. That’s why our 757 dropped us off here instead. We’ll travel to Nuuk on smaller Greenlandair propeller planes. Kangerlussuaq has a lot of infrastructure.  But it doesn’t have many residents.  Everything in this military outpost is here because of the airport. If you’ve ever been to Cold Bay, Alaska, then you’ve been to a place that looks and feels very similar to Kangerlussuaq.

When we arrived in Kangerlussuaq today, we were told we’d fly south to Nuuk at 2:30pm.  But by mid-day, our flight time was delayed to 6:30pm. During late afternoon, we were told that due to continuing poor weather in Nuuk, our flight would instead be taking off at 10:30pm.  A couple hours ago, word came down the chain of command that our flight would now be at 2:30am.  But during dinner at the airport cafeteria this evening, I was discussing the situation with my new friend Mogens, the meteorologist for the Danish national weather service who does 3-month shifts here as Greenland’s weather forecaster.  When I told him we are scheduled to fly at 2:30am to Nuuk, his response was “Oh no, I’m sure you won’t fly tonight.  The weather in Nuuk won’t allow it. But it should improve overnight and you’ll probably fly tomorrow.”  He also mentioned that there are more flights arriving tonight to Kangerlussuaq, and they were probably going to start directing new arrivals to spend the night on various areas of floor around town. It made me grateful that we’d been the first flight to arrive, and had the opportunity to get dorm rooms with beds and bathrooms.

Icelandair might be my new second-favorite airline. I don't know any other airlines that feature Icelandic black metal music on their inflight entertainment systems. 

We’re now directing our team to stay loose, stay calm, stay relaxed, flexible, well-fed, well-hydrated, and to explore around town and enjoy the experience while we’re here.  When we get to Nuuk, things are probably going to happen fast.  We’ll want to be fresh and ready to race; not bedraggled and looking like something that the cat dragged in.

The big building on the right is the pre-fab barracks where our team is holed up.

We started this adventure with 24 skiers and three coaches. We haven’t lost anyone yet.  I’ve been seeing a lot of smiles around the team.  So far, so good…

The locals tell me this bridge washed out in 2013 when warm temperatures on the Greenland ice sheet caused an enormous snow and ice melt-off.

The view west from our lodging

We cruise around town on this bus that runs 24 hours/day for our convenience.

Mallory.  On the bus.

We have not gone bowling.  But if we did, I suppose this is where we'd go.

UAA Nordic Ski Team / Team Alaska AWG Blog Headquarters for the day.  Not too shabby.

Another team meeting

ps.  We just got word that our new scheduled departure time for Nuuk from Kangerlussuaq is 2:30pm tomorrow.... but we are advised to keep our ears open for updates and changes...

Smiles, Everyone!

The UAA Ski Team has arrived in Steamboat to begin their final preparations for the NCAA Championships and by the look of things, everything's been smooth sailing so far.  Ricardo Montalban would be in heaven right now (or perhaps he's already there) if he could see the smiling faces on this team!

Use of the bellman's cart for something other than it's intended purpose.  

As for me, I leave for Greenland in a few hours, which means that this blog will be doing double-duty for the next week. This space will be the de facto Arctic Winter Games Team Alaska XC Ski Team's blog for the next week, where I'll try to find time to let our young athletes' friends and family back home know that their children (for some of whom this will be their first trip away from home without parents) are still alive and haven't been grabbed by polar bears or fallen into a crevasse on Greenland's ice sheet.  And I'll also try to post UAA Ski Team championship updates if my ass coach intern, Mario, gets me some good material.  

DIA

The RMISA season is done. One more weekend of college racing ahead - the only one that counts - the NCAA Championships next week in Steamboat Springs, CO.

Andrew and Sara announced the team that will be competing at NCAA's next week. It'll be Pati, Mackenzie and Casey for the women.  And it'll be Luca, Etienne and Toomas for the men.  For the first time in quite a while I won't be able to make it to NCAA's this year because I have another ski-racing obligation that week. But Mario has graciously offered his services as volunteer assistant coach for the week. (Good luck getting any sleep next week, Mario. Sara and Andrew like to work in the wax room until well after midnight and then get up well before dawn.)

For the alpine team, it'll be Maria Gudmundsdottir, Isabella Andreini and Charley Field for the women and Curtis McKillop, Sean Alexander and Hughston Norton for the men.

We are now en route back to the homeland from the Denver airport.  The NCAA skiers will have three and a half days of school and training before returning to Colorado on Thursday. At least they'll be traveling light.  We left most of our ski stuff in a parked van here in Denver, to be fetched in a few days when we come back.

Sorting and repacking bags to be left in Denver until the team's return in three days.

Mario was knighted this morning at DIA in his loaner volunteer assistant flouro-mask.  It was a perfect fit!

Fonzie Gets Fourth!

Luca Winkler was fourth today in the 8-lap 20km classic race today, scoring his best college result yet. We're hoping he's saving more of the same for when we return to Colorado for the NCAA Championships next week.

And on our drive to Denver this afternoon, we got word that Maria was second in the women's slalom today. Congratulations, Maria!

Mackenzie didn't have her greatest result today. But do you think she didn't give it her best?  Here she is in the medical tent  after the race.  Looks like Hanna was doing her best to keep Mack's spirits up.

Lunchtime.

We're in Denver tonight. We fly back to Alaska tomorrow morning. NCAA Championships are next. Stay tuned.

Sean

Newly-crowned RMISA GS Champ Sean Alexander

Sean Alexander is the team captain of the UAA men's alpine team. He's the undisputed team leader. This is his fifth year at UAA.  He was an NCAA All-American his freshman year, but then he injured his knee and had to redshirt a year to recover, and he assistant-coached a year, too, somewhere in there. Sean has had a multitude of roles with the team, from biggest point-scorer to mentor, to head video analyzer to team grandpa. This weekend is the RMISA Championships, and Sean's last RMISA races before next week's NCAA Championships. Though he's been close many times to getting an NCAA podium result, he's never quite been in the top three.  Until today.  Sean won his first college race this afternoon and is the 2016 RMISA giant slalom champion, and he did it on the Birds of Prey world championship race hill. I wish I'd been up there in person to see him do it.

Our results on the cross-country course were mediocre today.  We found out during the van ride back from the race venue that Sean had won, and it immediately became the only topic of conversation.  Congratulations, Sean Alexander!

As for us, we raced 5km / 10km skating today.  Beautiful weather, a challenging course, a well-organized race.  Our results were middle-of-the-pack.  We're hoping for improvement tomorrow. Here are a few photos:

Mack

Toomas

Mario

Etienne

The Fonz

The Von

This evening, it was time for the RMISA end-of-the-year banquet, held halfway up the Beaver Creek ski hill:

Mario and Hanna during our gondola ride to the banquet.

All of us: Etienne, Hanna, Luca, Mackenzie, Pati, Casey, Sara, Andrew, Sadie, Marcus, Mario