On a weekend, Craftsbury is the hub of Eastern skiing where you’ll find clubs from all over, tourists exploring what Vermont has to offer, and hardcore racers getting in their season tuneups. Thanks to the scope and layout, all of these ski groups can find what they need, and on Saturday MNC was a big group that had many different representatives on snow for different reasons.
Early in the morning, all three of our programs (BKL, Juniors, and Masters) were out in force. Practically filling up the entire lower field, our teams gathered to prepare for their workout and training; Juniors and BKL on classic skis, Masters on the skate boards.
Masters group!
Also sharing the wax room with us upon arrival was the UVM team, who was out to fire off a classic timetrial. UVM assistant coach Perry and UVM senior Lizzie had both worked with our groups a fair amount over the summer, and with alums like Bill, Greg, and Conor all skiing for the Cats it feels like a group we can have a great casual interaction with. They’re all super-fast, but they’re all just skiers like we are!
The Juniors had a tough workout on the menu, with 20 straight minutes of 30/30s (30 seconds hard, 30 seconds easy). This is a workout we’ve built up to for a while, and perfect for dialing-in the final tuneups of technique, tempo, and power before the racing season starts. Everyone looked GREAT!
Junior squad on a cooldown lap
The bonus was having the UVM team use a similar section of trail for their timetrial. There was a good amount of overlap, and after the intervals we even sought out some of the Cats late in their race to follow them on the trail and match their skiing.
But the morning workouts were just the start of the day. It was also “Demo Day” and so a host of tents were positioned in the upper field (including our supporters and friends at Skirack) to let skiers try out equipment. Many MNC members headed over there after the morning session to try out some stuff, whether for a new purchase of just for fun.
At lunchtime, we had what I believe was one of our biggest coach gatherings ever! It’s great to get everyone on the same page, both in terms of technique and training but also philosophy. Our group of Junior, Masters, and BKL coaches all spend some time working on various drills, games and challenges before taking a lunch break to watch video and hash out the logistics of MNC. Thanks to everyone that came out to learn!
A gathering of some of our great coaches!
Even later in the day, MNC faces kept popping up either in the lodge or on the trails. Coach Sara was diligently helping folks try new equipment at the Skirack tent, while others switched to a different technique after their lunch break. Coach Rick and I got to even take a lap of our own, a rarity on days like this when there is so much going on! One of the last to leave was Carly, who was taking advantage of the demo day to help figure out just what she was looking for in a new pair of classic skis. I had left just as the sun was rising, and it turns out I was leaving Craftsbury as the sun was beginning to dip down low. I caught this quick photo of Carly showing that alpenglow lighting that so often blankets the Northeast Kingdom in the winter months.
And then…it was back home before getting ready for another great week of skiing!
This coming weekend (the 14th and 15th) we have the Craftsbury Openers coming up! These are great events for any age and ability, including a BKL Race on Sunday! Some of the first Club Cup points are on the line for the season, so come and race for MNC and get the season underway!
You can find registration info on SkiReg
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