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May 2 to June 25 - Heber City, Utah
June 25 to July 26 - Jericho, Vermont
July 27 to
August 26 - Heber City, Utah
August 27 to December 6 - Jericho, Vermont
Look to the right and you'll see something that has been lacking around here for a very long, long, time. An update! Yes, and not just one promising a real update soon. A genuine update that I actually used my brain to write! I'm back in Vermont for my final semester at the University of Vermont. Training hard, too.
I've been back from Basic Training for about three weeks now. When I got out, I thought it would take months before I was back in shape; but it only took two weeks! More updates on last season, Basic Training, and what's up next... this weekend when I have more time.
I'm in Vermont, yes, that's right. I skipped World Championships so that I can go to Basic Training for the Army National Guard. I leave on February 12 and won't be back until late April.
We drove seven hours yesterday from Cesana near Torino eastwards towards Venice and north towards the Austrian border to a small town called Sappada where the next European Cup will be held this weekend.
Last week, I flew from Utah back to Europe after my two-week break at home in the mountains. Europe couldn't be more different than the Rockies: it's almost 60 F and there's little snow anywhere. But there's enough for us to compete in the European Cup this weekend. I know this course all too well. This is my third time here!
I'm living in a large log home at Daniel's Summit, elevation around 8000' (2500 m). Training has gone really well the past ten days since I arrived back home from Europe. The trail conditions are great -- hard pack, a dusting of powder a few mornings. Last week was cold, but this week has been milder, around freezing.
There are 18" of snow in the valley. Almost 30" at Daniel's Summit. The temps are below-zero in the morning, but in the teens in the afternoon. Sounds like winter? For most of Europe and the U.S. right now, winter is a distant memory. So why not buy a jet and fly out here? I've taken a little break since I arrived back here on Monday from Europe. The results from World Cup 3 meant I needed to think a bit differently about my training and my competitive season, too. Now I think I've figured out what I need to do to ski and shoot faster while still shooting 80 percent. But I thought I knew before what was right; we'll see...
There is still no snow on the ground here in Obertilliach, but the expert snowmakers have been blowing snow every night such that tomorrow we should have a 2.5-km loop ready for the first European Cup race on Saturday. It is rather surreal to be running through green fields that should be covered with three feet of snow by now and to be honestly thinking about rollerskiing on the road that runs through the valley. But such is the weather, and right now, it is pleasant.
I apologize for being so out of contact the past month... or longer. When I last updated you, I was in Torsby, skiing around in the new Swedish tunnel. We moved north to Ostersund to do some testing and then to Solleftea to ski on real snow. It became to warm, and started raining, so we traveled early to Ostersund. Last Sunday, I said good-bye to the World Cup team and flew to Munich. I was picked up the next day by National Guard Biathlon, and have been in Obertilliach ever since. There is only a 1.5-km loop of man-made snow, but the weather is sunny, warm, and beautiful. I hadn't seen the sun since I left Utah in early November! I am using a dial-up connection, so I'll have to make this only a brief update. A belated "Happy Thanksgiving" to you all!
We're back in Torsby, Sweden, to ski some really long penalty loops in the new Fortum Ski Tunnel. You might remember that I was here in August/September. So consider this Part Two. Surprisingly, it is not as bad as I had expected. A lot of parts of Scandinavia have been teases on snow -- a few feet, then rain, and it's all gone. At least here, we know there's two feet of good snow inside the tunnel awaiting us every morning. More to come.
After two months in Europe, I'm back in the U.S., enjoying cool fall weather in the Heber Valley. I'm also on a no-potato diet for the month that I'm here since I exceeded my annual ration of potatoes in the past two months alone. Apparently, they haven't heard of quinoa, millet, amaranth, or brown rice, yet. I'll be here until November 2.
I've been in Europe for nearly two months now, first in Sweden, then Norway, and finally, now in Austria. On Wednesday, I fly home to Utah for a month. I'm looking forward to training again at Soldier Hollow, riding my road bike, running in the hopefully snow-covered mountains, and seeing my friends and family again. The past three weeks in Austria have been some of the best training I have ever had, so I am anxious to further that even more in Heber City.
I'm living in a small town in central Austria for the next three weeks for some medium-altitude training and skiing on the Dachstein Glacier.
After 300 loops inside the 1.3-km Torsby Ski Tunnel in Sweden, I was sure ready for a break. I'll be in Geilo for an easier and more interesting week of training before flying south to Ramsau, Austria to ski again, this time for three weeks on the Dachstein Glacier.
The U.S. National Team is in Sweden for a three-week training camp. We're in the last week of the camp, skiing on snow in a 1.3-km cooled tunnel. Two days ago, to keep my mind occupied, I figured out that there are about 18.7 million Slushies worth of snow in the tunnel. Medium size, of course. That took an hour and a half to figure out. Yesterday, my mind was kept occupied by shooting, since there is an indoor shooting range in the tunnel, so we can ski directly to the shooting points as if it were winter.
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