West to Bozeman
The GRP crew in the US is happy to say that the season has officially started!!
After enjoying some awesome skiing on the trails in Craftsbury during our last week there, we made the trek to West Yellowstone, Montana for the season’s opening SuperTour races. West Yellowstone in November is like a mecca for nordic skiers, and every year it seems like there are more and more people out enjoying the trails. It’s great to see so many people enjoying the sport, and it’s also fun agility practice weaving through the lines of people.
On Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, we all toed the line for the first race, a skate sprint. It was great to have 6 GRP skiers make the heats, but unfortunately it wasn’t the best day for us as only Caitlin advanced past the quarterfinals. We would have loved to stay all the way through her B Final to cheer, but it was cold out (strangely, as the thermometer said 40 degrees, but the damp chill and winds didn’t help). So we all checked out the live feed and timing from the couch, and got ready for our races the next day. Saturday’s distance was also a tough day, although Caitlin was able to take 4th place. I think I can speak for the team when I say we’re not completely satisfied, and we’re eager for more races to prove ourselves!
Luckily we have great skiing in Bozeman, where we’ll be racing a classic sprint and 10k/15k mass start classic starting tomorrow. Although there has been some rain, the courses have held up pretty well and we’re hoping for a good solid freeze tonight to get the track ready.
Here are some photos from the last few weeks in Vermont, West, and Bozeman. Stay tuned for updates from the races, and make sure to follow us on Facebook (Craftsbury Green Racing Project) and Twitter (@CraftsburyGreen) for the most recent news!
Adventure ski crew on Stowe Mt in Vermont, the first ski of the year! (since Austria)
The annual Costco run in Bozeman. Takes a lot of food to fuel 9 skiers and 3 coaches for two weeks
Just one of our carts… now how to fit it in the van?
Happy skiers, even with boxes and bags of food on their laps for the drive to West Yellowstone
GRP ladies enjoying a sunny day in West. Photo from Caitlin’s Instagram
A few racing shots! Alex Schulz in the 15k, on the first hill of the course
Gordo cranking it
Pete climbing…
Me, coming into the finish of the 10k
This may be the first GRP men’s team shot of the year! Celebrating Movember by growing out their staches
Beautiful view of the Bridgers from our rental house here in Bozeman
Caitlin, Kaitlynn, and I doing an interval workout on the trails in Bohart
Thanks for reading! Oh, and if you want a more detailed report from the races, check out this news piece on the COC website, which is where we’ll posting results all season long.