Making Ready in Montana

For the past two weeks I have been in Montana preparing for the new season. I began my western swing in West Yellowstone, Montana the traditional starting place for the US Nordic sport season. West Yellowstone has a network of cross country trails near town, and a backup training location on a plateau south of the city. This season there was not enough snow in town to ski, so training was moved to the plateau. Skiing on the plateau is challenging due to its elevation- 8,000ft above sea level. It was great to be skiing again after a long summer and fall of dryland training. During my time in West Yellowstone I contested a US Supertour Series cross country ski race. The race was an excellent opportunity to tune up for the more important competitions to come, and put in a hard workout on snow.

The skiing on the plateau was excellent by week’s end, however the plateau rests on US Forest Service land and the access road closes on December 1^st. With our days on the plateau numbered and a grim forecast ahead, the team and I moved to Bozeman, MT to take advantage of the snow at Bohart Ranch. The local biathlon club, Biathlon Elite a collegiate program based in Bozeman has been very accommodating.

Next week I will be moving to Minnesota for a shooting and intensity camp designed to put me in top form for the upcoming IBU Cup Trails.     

Lobster Roll

This Photo shamelessly stolen from Katrina Howe  

This past Sunday I travel to North Haven Island off the coast of Rockland, Maine to take part in the Lobster Roll, a rollerski race contested by the Nordic ski teams of Maine's colleges and universities. I am not a member of a Maine collegiate ski team, however the CEO of the Maine Winter Sports Center-Andy Shepard, organized the event, so my teammate Katrina Howe and I where able to take part. The race was 15 kilometers long with one racer going out every 15 seconds in the  skating style. The roads on North Haven are ideal for rollersking, they are perfectly paved with nice rolling terrain and almost zero traffic. Best of all the event took place under sunny skies, with a light wind making the 65 degree day feel just a bit brisk. I am in the all black in the video below.