We celebrated the start of school with a hike up Mad River this week. It has been an unbelievable stretch of weather for training in the Valley and we have capitalized with some fun workouts all over the map. The feeling of Fall is starting to creep into the mornings and evenings here, and it’s amazing that we’re about to depart for Italy in just over a week! For now we’re enjoying the comforts of home and remembering that we don’t have to travel far to find a beautiful place outside.
It’s a great crew this year: we are 5 skiers strong and will be joined by alums and guests on training camps and even at regular practice over the course of the year. We would of course like to officially welcome Maddy Pfeiffer, Ian Moore, and Elliot Ketchel to the team. With Devlin Shea and Heidi Halvorsen captaining the group we are set up for a great year full of success and fun! The pictures here are from our hike two days ago, but there are many more to come. Stay tuned for daily updates on training as well as retrospectives of our great summer camps from these past few months. We’re looking forward to another great year at GMVS!
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| The theme of the hike turned out to be finding the primary colors in nature… kicked off when Elliot found these red mushrooms hiding under the roots of a tree above a riverbed. |
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| Elliot expresses his excitement at the first find! |
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| Heidi, fresh off the NTG camp in Utah, and Maddy, a PG from New Hampshire, are sure to be excellent training partners this year. |
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| The same can be said for Dev and Ian Moore, who joins us as a junior from Maine. |
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| And Elliot will be with us the whole way, dazzling us with his local knowledge and inspiring us with his enthusiasm. |
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| The second primary color: a yellow iris carried up from where it had fallen off the stalk at the base lodge. |
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| Justin found a brown praying mantis blending into the grass. Nice eye! |
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| Elliot stands on his favorite rock at the halfway point. |
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| Up through the ferns. |
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| Justin takes a break with an overheated Rafter, who’s hanging out on the moss pillow. |
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| Looking back to campus from the top of the double. We could see the White Mountains in the distance. |
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| Camels Hump to the North. |
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| It won’t be long before these guys are humming up the line. |
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| The final color: a blue berry. But probably not one that Elliot wants to eat, even if it matches everything he’s wearing. |
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| A view from Campus in the morning: we’re settling into the routine here in Paradise. Stay tuned for frequent updates throughout the year! |
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