Spencer Glacier

I've grown up skiing in AK, but last week was my first time skiing out to the Spencer Glacier. One of my favorite things about this state is the endless possibilities for exploring new places. Bart checking out an ice berg on Spencer Lake. Apparently the glacier has been receding at an accelerated rate.
Glacier blue and APU blue.
Bart getting a little extra balance practice inside the slick glacier cave.
I punched through the ice when landing this jump-- luckily my Atomic boots were impervious to the water which made the ski home much more pleasant than it could've been!
Bart Dengel-- once a small town kid from Valdez, now an APU/Atomic racer ready to make it big on the pro skiing circuit.

The First Day of the New Year

Tomorrow marks the first day of the new year--for xc ski racers. The coming week includes May 1st, which is traditionally the time when skiers start doing a little more intensity after having the opportunity to take a mental and physical break from training and racing. By this time of year, we've also had the chance to analyze the previous season, write down new goals, and map out what needs to be done in order to accomplish those goals.

My logbook holds I a detailed account of each workout I have done, which helps me try to ascertain what training corresponds with my best performance. Here are a few of the '09 statistics:

--Month with Highest Volume of Training: July
--Months with Highest Intensity of Training: September and October
--First ski of the season (excluding summer skiing on the glacier):Oct 8th
--Number of times I went rollerskiing: 92
--Number of times I went running: 173
--Percentage of time skate skiing of total training: 22%
--Percentage of time classic skiing of total training: 22%
--Percentage of time double poling only: 1% on skis, 1% on rollerskis
--Months that included xc skiing as training: May, June, July, August, October, November, December, January, February, March, April
Placer Valley yesterday, on another epic April crust skiing day.

It's a good thing I enjoy training, because there is an awful lot of time put in for a relatively minuscule amount of time spent racing.
--Total number of races or time trials: 39
--Total number of ski races: 29

They say, If you want to be a fast cyclist, CYCLE. So, if you want to be a fast skier, SKI.

When I was going to school in Denver, people would often ask me, "You go up to the mountains a lot. How many ski days do you have this year?" Counting ski days has always been foreign concept for me-- skiing has just been a way of life and I just go every day possible. But, for curiosity's sake, I did finally tally up the grand total this year.

--Number of "ski days" I've had this year: 162
--Number of times I went skiing (snow only): 202

This is by far the most time I've been able to spend on-snow, so it's fortunate that I am so passionate about skiing. If I didn't love to ski, I probably wouldn't be able to look back at this past year and think, "that was awesome!"

Crust Skiing AK

With nights below freezing and clear days the crust has been immaculate in the early mornings at Placer Valley.
Crust skiing in the mountains is one of my favorite activities of all time. Just about every time I go, I am constantly reminded why I LOVE to ski. For those of you who have never been crust skiing and can't grasp my enthusiasm toward this blissful sport, imagine this: it's like mt. biking at Slick Rock-- except you can create your own sinuous own path, find knolls to descend, random bushes to slalom around, rivers to cross, and there's rarely anyone else out there besides you and your buddies! Erin Phillips, Don Hearing, Pete Kling, Bobby Miller, and Eric Strabel deciding where to cruise next. Skookum glacier is in the background.On the Skookum.
Don Hearing cruising down the crusty slope that was perfect for practicing our turns. After half a dozen descents where we were successively improving each time, Pete made the comment, "I could do this all day". I had to agree. We didn't get to stay all day, since there was a scheduled departure time for the team van, but I have been able to get back out for a few more crust adventures with my friends and family recently. Stay tuned for more photos!

Californ-i-a

Bentley and I soaking up the sun in Loma Linda, California.
Ronsse vs. Bently vs. Libby Medusa?
Janelle on our Easter Sunday ride.
Justin Libby waxing up one of the boards pre-surf-sesh. I spend most of my time in the the nordic racing microcosm, so it was fascinating for me to get to spend time learning about the world of water sports. Even though surfing and nordic skiing are entirely different sports, they both include waxing as well as adjusting to the varying conditions (waves/snow) with different techniques and equipment (boards/skis). There are "Shortboards", "Longboards", "Fishes", "Funboards", and "Guns"... Oh MY! Also, we got to stay with my cousin, Nick, in Ventura and learn all about shaping and making a boards! Pretty cool.
I absolutely loved getting out of my element and learning how to surf. It's challenging and fun-- something I I could see myself doing in another lifetime.
Justin, Katie, Michelle, Landon, Kai, Melissa, Clark, and Jason jumping for joy. Life is good.

Telemark Skiing, AK

The racing season culminated in Fairbanks recently. I'm soaking up every opportunity I have to do non-nordic specific things that I love to do, during our 3 week stint from structured training. Here are a few photos from recent tele skiing adventures.
About to descend Corn Biscuit (Turnagain Pass)
Clint the climber skinning up Magnum (Turnagain Pass)
CXC's Andre and Brian beginning the climb up Peak 3 at about 8pm. The view of the Anchorage city lights at the the summit and descent through the powder was hard to beat.Emma, Catherine, Leah, Paige and I after we got to see Paige rally down the Headwall at Alyeska. Congrats to Paige on WINNING the World Telemark Extremes!