8 in a row, and closing-in on a full decade of Mountain Camp! On the drive back from this year’s training camp in North Conway, Sara and I talked about memorable moments and iconic stories from each of the past 8 camps…and we ended up with about 4 pages of notes. We decided that after the 10th running of this camp, we’d need to put together a photo and memory book to tell the story of just what this camp has meant to MNC.
It is first and foremost a training camp, but there’s more to it than the training alone.
- For starters, it was the first camp other than Thanksgiving Camp which the club ever embarked on. Thanksgiving Camp always happens at Craftsbury, with many things taken care of “in-house” (lodging, and especially meals, for example). This camp requires much more planning and flexible execution. It also takes place in the summer, without as many school or sport conflicts.
- This camp is also often a “passing of the torch” moment where skiers on the Nth trip to Mountain Camp share the workouts and living with skiers either new to the club, or new to this level of training having come up through BKL and/or Mini Mountain Camp.
- There are several quintessential workouts that are looked forward to, yet we always manage to find new and interesting options to explore and expand what we can get out of each camp.
- Being together outside of training is great. Whether that means cooking, cleaning, lounging, or repairing holes in the wall, teams become closer through shared experiences…better to have those experiences be more than just rollerskiing and running!
This year one memorable element will certainly be the heat, as it was hot and humid for every. Single. Workout. If our houses didn’t have A/C we would’ve probably been doomed…but it was also a lesson in staying nimble as we had to make a few decisions to swap one workout for another here and there, as well as altering start times to take advantage of cooler mornings or shadier late afternoons.
Things got going with a short run around the base of Attitash on our way into NH, followed by swiming at Saco Beach. The heat was already making it’s presence known. Once we got settled in our houses, we went into town for a skate agility session at Kennet High School, which has one of the biggest and most varied parking lots you’ve ever seen, plus a short 1-kilometer “access” road for warming up/cooling down.
We split into 2 groups, with one group skiing easy and the other making half the course, then swapping. Once the course was marked, everyone did a few rounds through.
We ended the session with some head-to-head speeds, and pushed through the heat to get them done with the help of Geo’s giant portable speaker blasting aggressive tunes.
The next morning we were up early for arguable the most quintessential workout of Mountain Camp: The Kanc. We rollerski this road every year (the exception being 2020 and 2021 when camp took place within VT for Covid reasons). We’ve learned a lot…from starting high to starting low, from breaking up the group or starting together, from striding to attempting a full double pole…no two Kanc skis are alike.
Starting out at the low, LOW point
Snack break and some lactate testing. Now back to the ski!
This year we turned onto the Kanc road from the stoplight, and took an immediate right-hand turn into the state visitor center. We were starting from the BOTTOM this time, no extra driving.
Every skier started at the lowest possible point, and everyone hit that summit. What a difference from 8 years ago, and a true sign of the concept we first began talking about last year at camp: “raising the floor, not the ceiling” which is a Steve Magness concept. In short, you don’t want to just shoot for achieving some singular lofty goal…you also want to raise your base level. Don’t just raise the ceiling and try to jump to it and reach it: raise the floor (your average) and you’ll have an easier time hitting the ceiling, and can hit it more frequently.
Elsa and Gillian at the top, skiing great and with awesome consistency
It was in the 90s for this workout, but good hydration (and ice cream feeds) helped
There is no speed challenge to the Kanc ski, and there really is no ceiling. You could go down and up from the other side once you do the first side. You could do repeats. You could ski from a different town all the way to the base. Basically, this workout is a direct measure of the floor, since you’re adding to the average/baseline each time to increase the challenge, rather than adding to the top achievement. And having everyone start from the very bottom is a great new baseline for us!
Summit success
Mandatory slushie stop post-Kanc
We refueled with slushies from Cumberland Farms after the Kanc, and then decided that with the van thermometer reading 102 degrees on the drive back, we might want to push the bounding intensity to the following day. Instead, that afternoon we waited a bit longer for the sun to dip down before exploring Cathederal Ledge, the big rock cliff outside downtown North Conway. With a swimming hole at the bottom it was the perfect easier workout: hike/run, nice views, quick dip, back for dinner.
Resident rock climber Pat explored the edge of the ledge
For bounding, we had learned on day 1 that the slopes of Attitash were closed for trail work. So our “usual” workout spot was out. That ended up being fine though, because we got to experience some new trails and exploration. We headed instead to Wildcat, just across from Mt Washington. This mountain had a nice work road for bounding/skiwalking that felt just like Bolton, except about 3x longer and with more consistent grade.
At the top, we split into two groups. One group took the more direct route down the mountain the way we’d come up. The other group took to the Wildcat Valley trail, which is a backcountry ski trail leading off the summit that goes all the way into Jackson XC center. Our houses were located right above Storyland (if yow know the area) so it was a longer, gradual route in the direction of home.
Somehow the timing worked out perfectly, and as we emerged from the woods the group in the van was just going by, and everyone joined back up.
With a knee injury preventing him from bounding, Jonah did some uphill skate intervals on Friday afternoon. It wasn’t just solo though…
Pat and Lorenzo joined him for warmup and cooldown, AND a short group interval to build the hype!
It was then time to talk Presi…this workout has dominated discussion for several years, but provided another learning opportunity/metaphor this time. With a threatening forecast, we made the call on Friday night to seek an alternate hike/run at a different location with less exposure and potentially away from the confluence of jetstreams atop Washington. We ended up planning a 15-ish mile route in Grafton Notch, with an option for adding a 3+ mile out-and-back to a bonus peak at the end for 21-22 miles.
Things got a little muddy for Rye and Geo
It was hard to give up the Presi, especially as the weather looked fine driving right past it on the way to this new hike. But everyone seemed to re-direct their focus. I have now been in enough treacherous situations with ski teams on those peaks to be extra cautious, and I also related the Presi goal to the weight of expectations and preconceptions before a ski race, something I’ve been talking with a few skiers about. If you go into a race with a preconceived notion or how well you’ll do, you can easily get thrown-off by anything that doesn’t align with that perception. The Presi has become so mythical to us that I worry we’ve let it become a defining feature of Mountain Camp as a “failure” or a “success” when in reality we should just be shooting to get in a great long effort.
Anyway, philosophy aside, we ended up with something pretty epic. This Grafton Loop hike was challenging with many ascents and descents, some thick vegetation, and sticky humidity. And at the end, most of the group dropped into the parking lot with that kind of wild energy that only comes from shared passion for adventure, trials and tribulation across high peaks, and way too many gummy bears and caffeine. With internal turbines spun by a powerful flow of endorphins, that additional peak was getting bagged no matter what. It was hard not to feel inspired.
A job complete! The 21+ mile epic in Grafton Notch
With some house cleaning in order, it was a pretty late bedtime for most on Saturday. For Sunday’s final workout, we took a page out of the MNC U camp from a few weeks prior and did a nice easy portion of the classic ski from Lancaster to East Concord. It actually meant that, with the previous day’s hike in Maine, our training took place in 3 different states over the course of this camp!
Skiing back home into VT
One final “van picnic” and we’re headed back home
So with that, Mountain Camp 8 is in the books. Next up, a few weeks of consistent summer work (including Mini Mtn Camp) and then our trip to Utah for some altitude training.
You can view the photo album from this camp at this link!
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