Thanksgiving Camp
December 7, 2024
With racing right around the corner, EMXC skiers and coaches were thrilled to have the opportunity to ski on some amazing snow for our 2024 Thanksgiving camp. Better yet - we returned to MA to find a manmade loop of snow at our home trails on the Leo J Martin Golf course! Winter is off to a great start.
Day 1: Friday
Thanksgiving camp was extra special this year, as Vermont got a coating of natural snow that allowed skiers to venture off the man made loop. Skiers arrived Friday, with the team’s first official practice being a classic ski starting in the early afternoon. It had been a while since we’d been on snow, and it was definitely a process to get used to klister as opposed to rollerski ratchets. After a lot of no-pole skiing and classic drills, everyone was sliding around with ease and figuring out how to kick up the bigger hills. Not to be accomplished without at least a couple of klister-induced faceplants (including one from coach Avery).
We wrapped up day 1 with a game of skiing Trivia, and skiers answered questions about nutrition/fueling, race rules, equipment, and fun facts about the team. The most challenging question of the evening was: how many Ch(K)ris’s are involved with EMXC? The answer was 8 (or so we think)!
Day 2: Saturday
Day 2 started with another classic ski - this time with a fun twist. The race wax team got a chance to practice for race-day operations and learn about klister application, and the athletes got to do some intervals on their race skis! We worked through some bugs in the system and with a little delay, got everyone on their race skis. We were all glad to have done a practice run so that we’re running smoothly for the Eastern Cup just two weeks away!
After lunch and some rest, the athletes reconvened in the afternoon for a skate ski practice. Skiers split into two groups - one group focused on drills while the other group went skiing, and then the groups swapped. The “just ski” group had fun skiing on new trails, and the drills group dialed in their glide and weight shift!
The day wrapped up with a team gathering at the Synnestvedt’s, where athletes did some team bonding with a group game, and coaches and parents had a chance to socialize.
Day 3: Sunday
All of a sudden, we were on our final day of camp! Craftsbury hosted a time trial for anyone who wanted to participate, so there was a fun energy on the trails that morning. Because of the busyness of race-day, we opted to venture onto some of the quieter trails off of the man-made loop for our morning skate ski. Athletes did some adventuring; finding a jump in Murphy’s field and practicing tele turns down the powder-covered hills. The joy of skiing was alive and well, and smiles were showing! The group eventually met up for some V1 work in Murphy's field before heading back for an early lunch.
During lunch, Calvin raced the time trial and crushed it by skiing strong throughout all 6 laps. Teammates cheered from the deck of the activities center during their break!
Our final workout of the day was a classic ski with double-pole focused drills. Skiers were itching to go on a true adventure ski, so drills were short and sweet to allow for enough time to find the good trails. Many groups skied the 5k loop while others opted to stick to the manmade loop. Those who skied on the natural snow found themselves skiing on stilts, as our wax was a little too sticky for the natural snow. Luckily, coach Marika came prepared with a stick of wax for touch ups along the way! It doesn’t get more adventurous than that!
Overall, camp was a great mix of drills and technique work and free skiing on new trails. After a few days off from skiing, the team is now back at Weston, where we’re already on snow. Shoutout to the Weston snow-making team for the amazing loop! We’re looking forward to two more weeks of training before we go back to Craftsbury for our first races of the year.