Finally got first tracks today on Washington Pass – the weather has been teetering right on the brink of winter, with temps in the teens at night and 30s during the days, but little precipitation until now. The mountains got about 10″ yesterday, enough for Scott to take the snowmobile and chain-link fence up to the Overlook road yesterday to groom our traditional first-of-the-year 1km loop.
It’s a tremendously welcome change from rollerskiing, and very apt timing. Tomorrow I am leaving for Silver Star to train at altitude for a week before heading to West Yellowstone, so these few workouts that I get on snow will allow me to get the snow legs under me a bit. Also, it affords me the opportunity to test out my new Madshus gear.
I’m working in close concert with Peter Hale and Mark Waechter at Nordic Ultratune to put together a great quiver of Madshus skis, and this week I’ll be testing different flexes and cambers to decide which pair gets a coveted spot in the ski bag. Working with Mark in these circumstances is the best an athlete can hope for; he’s got a great stock of race-quality skis so between him and Peter’s selections I’m confident I’ll have some great boards!
I’ll put up some more updates from my solo training camp in Silver Star. 11 days until the opening Super Tour races in West Yellowstone!
