Birthday Shoutout

Tomorrow (today already in France) is Meri's 21st birthday, and since we can't be in Grenoble to say 'happy birthday' in person, we sang to her today on the frigid slopes of Mt. Weston. Happy 21st Meri! We miss you!




-AM

Harvard Nordic Goes Backcountry

Well the new academic schedule put in place this year allowed for one thing and one thing only: SKIING. That's right, (almost) an entire month devoted to nothing but feeling the flex of our skis beneath our feet, the chill of the air against our faces, the powdery snow against our legs and the satisfaction of craisins in our bellies. We spent just about two weeks in Jackson, New Hampshire training on fresh powder and perfectly groomed, corduroy trails. After returning to Cambridge, we were treated to a delightful afternoon of skiing in Chris City's new backyard! Check out the photo documentary of our adventure, ending with some video clips of a round of Dave McCahill's favorite game to play on skis.

Clare and Trevor excited to start, with Chris City in the background applying kick wax to all our skis (per usual).

Scush and Alena anxiously waiting for everyone.

"Tor, just because you're on your skate skis doesn't mean you can outrun me."

Men. Being men.

"Audrey! Don't fall into the river!"

Smiles!

"Yeah, guys, I don't think that lake is frozen."



"So?"


Audweeeeeeee!


I'm on a boat.... don't you ever forget.

ROCK SKIS.

OMG... hot. so hot right now...

If all else fails, hug a tree.

Team America


Now for the videos... everyone starts with only one ski on. The point of the game is to be the last person on your ski, meaning you need to get everyone else's ski off. Kevin, Trevor, and Tony managed to make it to the final three.

And the rest looked something like this:


Thanks to Liz for a great dinner!

Ultimate Recovery Food: Crème de Marrons

Harvard Nordic, today I made you proud. For the first time, not only was I not on the last page of results, but I was on the first! And high up there too, 21st overall out of 388, and the 6th woman! Let me paint a little picture...

Setting: Autrans, Rhône-Alpes - where all the nordic skiing in the '68 Olympics took place

Event: the 32nd Foulée Blanche (rough translation: the white stride)

Distances: 42km, 20km, 10km (me!), and 5k

Number of Racers: 2200. not kidding. no really. take a look.

(and this only shows half of us)

Time taken to cross the start line: 14 minutes 8 seconds

Final Placement Overall (out of 388): 21st

Final Result only counting females: 6th

Needless to say, the trick to this race was maneuvering around all the small children, old people, and generally slow racers. The snow was amazing, so even on my rock skis, it felt like I had rockets on my feet, and a lot of the time, the best thing to do was hop in the tracks and double pole around the other skiers. All in all, what with the giant purple Milka cow mascot, the big blue squirrel of Autrans, and the course that took us through the village center, past little shops and houses lined with spectators, this was definitely the most festive and most fun race I have ever done. I couldn't stop smiling the whole time, but I definitely made it hurt.

Men's Top 10 in the 42k

Highlights:

1. Spent the night at the director of my program's father's house (he's 91) with 4 generations of her family, and after dinner (giant raclette--an interactive meal experience where you melt cheese in a tabletop oven type device and pour it over potatoes and various meats.) he spent an hour telling me about his time in the mountain troops in the army and his role as director of all nordic skiing in the '68 Winter Olympics in Grenoble.

2. The refeuling stand after the race: hot wine, tea, cocoa, juices, cheese, dried fruits, oranges, and of course, crème de marrons chestnut spread in a tube. Yes, a tube, a metal one, like toothpaste or Neosporin.

3. My souvenir: a custom buff!

Much much much love from afar,

Meri