Summer training carried on this week, with two notable events. The first significant change to our normal routine was having a big group of athletes from the SMS T2 pro team in town. We all know that the Burlington-area is amazing for training, and it was time to share our best spots and workouts with some of the best skiers in the country!
Hanging at the MNCC
The T2 athletes and college group skiers were buzzing around the Range trails on Tuesday and Thursday, mingling with our MNC University and Junior crews. In between Range days they got in all sorts of Burlington experiences like a Lake Monsters game, the food trucks on Pine Street, and the “triple crown” trail running loop that we’ve enjoyed each year.
On Wednesday afternoon, the whole T2 gang (coaches, pro athletes, collegiate athletes) joined our Juniors at the new Mansfield Nordic Community Center (MNCC) for snacks and a Q&A session.
With thunder rumbling in the distance and coaches all refreshing the radar, we eventually made it on to rollerskis and over to Greystone. In what was only a small prelude of what was to come, it started raining on us all. A lot.
The clouds opened up and a torrential monsoon poured down from the skies above Richmond, and a train of soggy skiers made their way back to the MNCC and frantically scrambled into cars just as it really started to come down.
Skiing with the pros! Ben Ogden and Julia Kern lead the way
And boy, did it come down, especially in the Richmond/Huntington area. At around 11pm on Wednesday I walked out into the kitchen because I swore I heard a continuous, long rumble of thunder that just wasn’t receding off into the distance. It took me a moment to realize that it wasn’t thunder at all…it was the large rocks and boulders of the Mill Brook behind my house being violently rolled downstream in real time. I flicked on the outside light to see the stream had become a river, flowing rapidly across my entire backyard and within 15 feet of my house.
For reference, the stream is usually a small quaint Vermont mountain stream that can be crossed in one or two rock-hops. Now it had risen above its banks to become as wide as the Winooski. With flashlight in hand I walked over to my neighbor who, sadly, has a house that sits closer to the stream. He was sitting in his truck beaming his headlights down on what were two tipped propane tanks and a sunk car. This was all surreal, and on the anniversary of the brutal flooding last year. What’s ironic is that last year our side of Bolton (the western side of the watershed) received almost no flooding or damge, while the east side was devastated.
Turns out, both sides got it equally bad this week…I lost power, but upon driving out to Jericho in the morning received a photo message from my mom. She had taken a picture of the morning news cast with a reporter discussing terrible flooding and road closures. Behind the reporter? A complete river running right over Route 2 and DIRECTLY INTO THE MNCC!
I had only removed the outdoor flags and banners hours earlier, when we finished up with SMS T2. I guess I should’ve left them up, because it would’ve been a lot of free airtime on the local station! Not exactly the PR we are looking for though, I have to say.
With the road closed there was no getting into the MNCC anyway, so all I could do was wait…besides, there was other business to attend to! It was an early morning trip to the Range, with the chainsaw in the car, in case of blowdowns and trail hazards. The trails fared ok though, and those that could make it to practice unimpeded by flooding got in a solid ski including the famous 5k (or 2k, if you’re a U16!) Project.
Alas, I did make it down to the MNCC shortly after. The water had shifted and I was able to don my rubber boots and wade into the now-underwater basement level of the facility. It was a bizarre scene, with water about a foot deep, and the water had clearly been much higher (about 3′ based on the evidence of wall and stair silt).
Floating haunted wax box
The good news? Nothing of value was on the lower level, and Coach Liz and I had already made it a point to get lots of cheap shelves wherever we could find them (Goodwill, ReSource, the side of the road, etc). The items that I found literally floating around were mostly construction materials that had been on the floor…some paint cans, brooms, plywood…sadly and eerily, there were a few BKL wax boxes drifting slowly from one side of the room to the other, like a ski-themed horror movie with Swix and Toko poltergeists.
We had anticipated flooding, especially after knowledge of what happened at this location exactly one year prior. We just didn’t expect this level this soon!
However, by the evening the waters had all drained from the MNCC: a benefit of a 100-year old building with less-than-tight foundational systems. I was able to use a squeegee to get a bunch of sand and mud off the floor. The following morning the Juniors helped out with that task too, as we were going for a run from the space. We also started the process of laying some bleach down to disinfect and de-odorize.
The main area upstairs was pristine, as if nothing had happened. Phew! It was quite a week, and we realize things could’ve been much worse for us, just as they WERE much worse for many others. We’re sorry for those that lost so much more, and we know the community will continue to come together in times of need as well as times of ease.
Elsa getting the last of the mud out of there! Vermont Strong!
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