Snow in Cambridge

The burden of a 10-day exam period was eased today by more than half a foot of beautiful new snow. This morning we got to ski the full "Tour de Weston" free from grass and rocks, the snowflakes persistently pelting us in the face the entire time. A few snowsuit-clad toddlers and their dads were doing an OD sledding marathon while we attempted an OD ski. They were definitely out there longer, and though the kids were briefly impressed by Dave and Trevor's tele turns, they yelled at us when we took too long in their sledding lane. We learned that Dave cheats at sharks and minnows, that asking the guy in the Pisten Bully to groom us a jump run does not work, and that Coach Cushman has absolutely no qualms about taking face-first diggers in the powder.

We're wrapping up some studying now and the snow is still falling. With the Bates carnival only days away and the arrival of real winter in Cambridge, it feels pretty good to be a skier.

(My bike).

- Anna

New Mascot!

"The Crimson" is kind of lame and far from fearless, so Harvard Nordic has found a new, ferocious mascot:

(Her name is Lily).

This post is about racing, not breakfast pizza

Saturday marked our third race of the season, the VO2Max Bogburn held at Bob Haydock's cabin in Pomfret, VT. 7k classic for the ladies, 14 for the men. Some pics from Bob:




Contrary to the stories told by the pictures, the female pterodactyls threw down the hammer as well.

M

Hobo Nordic

Too much snow to drive? Maybe. Enough for an excursion into ski vagabond-ry? Definitely. On this blustery post-snowstorm morning, an intrepid Audrey Mangan (alias Senator Cletus Scoffpossum)


and Meri Burruss (alias Joey Stinkeye Smiles)


took to the streets on the most beater rock skis in our possession and decked in hobo gear for all seasons (special thanks to Naj Burruss for supplying the hats, a key accessory). Undeterred by patches of asphalt, brown city snow, chain-link fences, and Do Not Enter signs, the pair embraced their seemingly magical ability to kick on skate skis and plowed along the Charles in search of hidden lakes of moonshine and hobo symbols amongst graffiti, considering hijacking construction vehicles and scavenging for treasures along the way:


While we didn't track down that elusive moonshine-and-chicken-bone empire, we did find a nice view of the Boston skyline.


That is all.

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Loitzl Dominates Prestigious 4-Hills Tournee

So, few readers of this online rag know what ski jumping is, let alone the significance of the 4-Hills Tournee. For reference, the 4-Hills is to the fans of ski jumping what a monster-truck rally is to the fans of, well, monster-truck-rallying, whenever the Gravedigger jumps over like 68 cars. Okay, if you don't know what the Gravedigger is, that's just downright embarrassing. But you probably guessed it, it's a hearse/MonsterTruck combo that just decimates any competition. Now, and only now, can you truly appreciate the merit of a 4-Hills Win.

Yep, Wolfgang Loitzl of Austria just destroyed it. This dude had never won a WorldCup in his 11 years on the circuit, despite having 4 Gold World Championship medals (all in the team event). He'd been runner up in a WC six times, then rolls into the most prestigious four days of competition of the year, and dethrones World Cup leader Simon Ammann to win 3/4 of the comps, taking the overall title.

Why is this so ridiculous, you ask? In this day in age when Ricardo Ricco and and Bernhard Kohl can just pop a few pills to steal their 4 days of glory in the Tour de Lance?

It's simple. Because in 2003, this guy just sucked. I mean, we're talking beat-tastic. [Think, Michael Jordan's esteemed professional golf career] Need youtube evidence? You got it. See him here in this classic video simply entitiled, "Ski Jumper Fucks Up":

That's young Wolfgang in 2003, and as you can tell, he can't make it off the takeoff on his feet. Then, miraculously, he goes on to seal his 4-Hills win in Bischofshofen, AUT, with a 142.5 meter ride, to which the judges awarded five- 20 point style marks. That's a feat that's only been accomplished by two other jumpers in the history of the sport. One of those jumpers happened to be Audun Lutnaes, proud graduate of the National Sports Academy.

Without further ado, one of the three prettiest jumps, and probably biggest doping shams, in the history of ski jumping:

Yeah, he's good. But he didn't jump over 57 cars in a hearse outfitted with 6' tires. Yawn.

Side note, a hearty congratulations to Anna Schulz, for posting her first win in the even more prestigious WESTON TUESDAY NIGHTER. Somebody had to [wo]man up and slay. We're more thankful, however, that nobdy ended up in the Mass General ICU with head trauma.

'Til next time.

Dave