Burke Mountain Academy’s Norway Trip – Up Near the End

The final week at Sognefjell has seen the training hours increasing steadily for almost everyone. Occasionally a coach has stepped in and “suggested” an afternoon or morning off. With great trails right out the door it is pretty easy to keep at it, so now and again the voice of reason needs to be heard.

We have been lucky with the weather. There has been a little rain now and again, but no wind and no downpours. Lot’s of broken cloud and as much sunny and clear as cloudy. The grooming has been superb. The picture of Sunday, the 26^th of June’s morning workout shows that pretty well. The picture is of the climb on the west end of the trail with the massif of Fanaraken and its hanging glacier in the background.

It has been fun running into Norwegian kids we skied with in Sun Valley at Spring Series and sharing some time on the trails here. Our older skiers have taken full advantage of the other teams here and of our Swedish friends who have kept a fun amount of intensity and spark in the training. From a coach’s point of view it has been rewarding to see how much improvement happens and sinks in simply when kids ski behind better skiers…less talk, more action and it works.

This has been an exceptional trip and thanks go out to all the participants and their families, to Matt Johnson, BMA’s former Asst Coach and the new Program Director for The Utah Nordic Alliance, Erik Nilsson, the team captain/mgr for Team Ex Spirit from Sweden, Gustav Eriksson from the Swedish Devo Team, and Raamund Munhjeld and the crew at the Sognefjell Hytte in Lom, Norway. This was the eleventh year of the trip and may well have been the best. Everyone’s contribution to the mix is very much appreciated.