August Eagle Glacier Camp

Last week we completed our final Eagle glacier camp of the summer. As usual, we had fantastic skiing, world-class coaching, video analysis marathons, three hour naps, and delectable meals. While the July camp stands out as the camp where Kassie “wild Rice” chugged a mug of bacon grease after a lucrative bet, I will best remember the August camp as the camp where it snowed over a foot and we built a road. We spent hours chopping up boulders, moving talus chunks, and shoveling snow to make a 9-ft wide path so that the piston bully could be driven into the tool conex and stored for the winter. It was remarkable to see how 20 athletes working together could change the lay of the land.
Check out this gigantic magnet I got to use to pick up old rusty nails. I forgot to charge my camera before the camp (I know, way to start off as an irresponsible blogger, Katie!) Luckily, I have pictures from the July camp and friends like Laura Valaas who sent me the photo above.

On more of a training note, the focus of this camp was on intensity rather than volume. The “sprint group” did 2 strength sessions and 11 relatively short on-snow workouts covering each of the 5 training zones. Erik's prediction is that women's classic sprinting will evolve, similar to what was seen on the men's side in last year's World Cups. We have been incorporating more L5 double-pole intervals on skate skis to prepare for that shift.

When the sun is shining up on the glacier it is one of the world's most beautiful places. Combine the scenery with with crusty fast snow conditions seen after a clear night and it is difficult to stop skiing to go inside. Unlike the previous summers, most days on the glacier this year have been filled with clouds, rain, fog, graupel, hail, sleet, or snow; but the workout plan will be followed, irrespective of the weather. Here are my top-10 reasons why life on the glacier is actually better when it is not a blue-bird day.

1.You can’t tell that you’re going in loops when the only thing you can see is the next orange wand.

2.It provides a great opportunity to work on soft-snow skiing technique.

3.You can get extra balance practice going down hills and maneuvering corners. (Warning: I wouldn’t recommend getting carried away with this one. I caught a tip on the side of the trail on a descent in the June camp and before I knew it I found myself in a supine spread-eagle pose. My tail bone didn’t let me forget about it for 3-weeks).

4.It’s great for making snow balls (and consequently harassing your teammates).

5.It keeps you humble. I feel like a novice when skiing in challenging snow conditions because it exaggerates my technique flaws.

6.You don’t need to drink as much H2O to keep hydrated.

7.Pit-stops are more convenient. In the heavy fog you can hear someone coming before you can see them.

8.It provides a great opportunity to test soft snow skis, adjust klister zones, and play with binding placements.

9.You can get “in the zone” more easily and can concentrate on your own technique and pace when you can’t see anything but yourself and the trail ahead.

10.Lastly, hot chocolate is going to taste way better when you get inside after practice!