My skies are likely to be overcast …

But, if you have clear weather tonight or tomorrow take a look at the crescent moon with a pair of binoculars.

Cross country race season is over

The 40k nordic national championships were a true sufferfest! Slow, mushy, classic skiing, with tons of climbing, and downhills which could be very tricky. John Steel Hagenbuch, Gus Schumacher, and Remi Drolet were your men's podium. For the women it was Jesse Diggins, Julia Kern, and Erica Lavern.

I had a good week of training, indicating I am fully recovered from my travels and Birken race. I logged just over 15 hours, on 150k (113k bike, 30k ski, 7k run), with 2550' vertical. I also managed two PT strength sessions and a morning of alpine skiing.

100th day skiing this season!

The Super Tour finals continued today with the club relay championship, won by SMST2. (With Remi, Julia, Ben, and Jessie hard to lose, as they would have done well on the World Cup circuit.)

So, I waited until the end of the day, after exercise biking and an easy hike, to do a 45 minute classical workout. Tomorrow will be the 40k national championship, so I'll have to wait until the afternoon to ski, or maybe ski the toll road.

Excellent day of sprint races

I had a wonderful time with my college buddy (Klink) and his wife Sue watching these races; a test run for the 2026 World Cup Finals.

Ben Ogden had the fastest qualifying time by a huge margin, and then won each of his heats handily. Gus Schumacher won each of his heats, and finished second in the final. Xavier McKeever from the Canadian Team finished third in his semifinal behind Jack Young. But, as the Lucy Loser, McKeever took the podium spot from Young in a photo-finish.

For the women Jessie Diggins had the fastest time in the qualifier, and easily won two heats. Julia Kern had the second fastest qualifier (almost a second back), however she also won both heats handily. In the final Diggins went out hot, but Kern crested the long uphill first, and while Diggins made up some space on the downhill, she could not match Kern on the long gradual uphill, V2 finish. Erica Laven from the University of Utah rounded out the podium.

FROM THE ENDURANCE GUY …

Comes a book about the Explorer Gene by Alex Hutchinson. 

Remember this for my next trip to Zermatt

Rather than cart heavy and cumbersome ski bags around; I found a shop I can rent Skimo race gear, so I'll probably just bring my boots next trip.

THE BIG DOGS ARE HERE!

And the Super Tour Finals have started. Today was the 10k freestyle won by John Steel Hagenbuch (Dartmouth Ski Team) and Luci Anderson (U.S. Biathlon Team).

World Cup season over, but not the ski season!

Super Tour finals in a few days; for those that travel, multiple ski marathons around the globe; and of course, backcountry skiing in the mountains. 

My recovery week went well. I managed to sleep reasonably well, do some easy low key aerobic sessions, and start focusing on my knee related PT. The exercise log included: 13+ hours, on 123k (97k bike, 23k ski, 3k run), with 1400'. I also managed two mornings of alpine skiing, two PT strength workouts, and another PT stretching session. 

https://fasterskier.com/2025/03/johaug-skis-alone-to-50-k-win-diggins-secures-distance-globe/

Super Tour finals

The cross country and biathlon World Cup seasons are over, and most of those athletes are flying back to the states tomorrow. Guess what?  Many of them will be heading to Lake Placid from Wednesday to Sunday. Also, NCAA and USCSA Cross Country Ski Championships are over, so many of those folks will be headed this way as well. Not to mention "retired" athletes like Lucy (5 ski marathons this season) who will be there.

The two best viewing options are the national championship events: Friday sprints with head to head racing, and the 40k mass start on Sunday.  That National Championship distance race will be five stout laps with a total of over 4000' vertical.

MVH getting set to host Super Tour finals



Sunset on our deck

Back at Mount Van Hoevenberg

Well, with the exception of the VIC, VanHo is the only game in town for groomed tracks and skate lanes. Of course, this is only on the new competition trails.

Next week MVH will host the Super Tour finals, and our World Cup skiers will get a chance to become familiar with these trails … next year we will host the World Cup Final Weekend!

Does increasing fitness keep cognition fresh as you age?


https://www.outsideonline.com/health/training-performance/vo2-max-brain/

Pain Cave … Saturday at 1pm … after 5 hours of racing

Today, at 1pm (four days later) I can say that my recovery has continued to go smoothly. While not fully acclimated to EST, I am back to training. 

Yesterday I spent the morning riding lifts at Whiteface, and then did 40 minutes on the exercise bike. This morning I did a vigorous 45 minute PT strength session, followed by a short 20 minute hike with Stash.  This afternoon I'll do a short ski at Mount Van Hoevenberg and another stint on the exercise bike. 

So, while it's clear from this picture I am deep in the pain cave - topping out on the course high point - at the 35k mark, I am pleased with my training and race preparation. And while I was a DNF, I feel excited to know from Strava that was my longest ski in over a decade.  Also, I did hit three lesser goal: average ski time of 8:30 per kilometer (I managed 8:27), ski baby prince Hakon (11 pound pack) across the two mountain tops, and not wreck the day with poor decision-making, like skiing the hard, fast, crowded, technical final downhills. 

Further thoughts: bring skin skis as well as a pair to wax for kick, build confidence with more practice time on those last hills, and consider the "tour Birken" to avoid congestion. 

Back in the ‘dacks

A warm and sunny, gorgeous morning to be riding lifts! Looks like perfect sugaring weather this week … below freezing nights and warm days. It was a wonderful trip, but glad to be back home.

Oh, and yesterday was my 90th day on snow

It's been a good season so far!

Birken +1

Quick summary: the Birken is the Woodstock of nordic citizen racing and not to be missed. I dropped out at 40k, my knees in a world of pain and my gas running out. That said it's the longest ski race, and toughest (most vertical gain) that I have done since 2013!

The ancillary to this summary: like any addict, at Sjusjoen, I would have paid any sum for ibuprofen and kept on going. (Enclosed picture is Hock in the pain cave at 40.6k). But, on this day after, I know that stopping was the right choice. I felt good about my best in over a decade effort. I also felt good at 72, not adding another crash and burn to my resume.

Twenty four hours after the race, I feel quite tired but almost ready to go again. And, I know I'll be back with race skis and not fishscale backcountry skis!

On a related note, it boggles the mind that Stina Nilsson doubled poled that entire course in 2:44 48.

The Big Day Has Arrived

Up at 3:15 am, taxi at 4:20 am, bus to Rena arrives 7:00 am, 70+ year olds go off at 8:00 with the elite seeded skiers. Here we go!

Calm before the storm

The Olympic cross country ski stadium (and finish of the Birken) is mostly empty. By this afternoon, the 1000+ skiers touring the Birken (untimed) will arrive, and tomorrow the 10,000+ skiers racing the Birken and Half Birken will arrive at the finish line. I hope to be one of them!

An easy shakeout this morning for 45 minutes to look at some more hills. I have skied the sections (in red) on the course. I have handled the downhills reasonably well; however I had obviously not skied the 35k preceding them, and they were in primo conditions, but how will they be after thousands ski them before me? Finally, how much gas will be in the tank, and how congested will those downhills be?

T-2 days and counting!

Skied at Sjusjoen again, but this time I went to check out some downhills at the 41-43k point of the race course. Tomorrow, I'll check out some of the downhills between 50-52k in the Birken. Fast, steep, technical downhills, and so I'll need to keep my shit together.

After my ski, I met Lucy to get race bibs, and to check out the HUGE nordic ski industry expo. Some great deals, but with little luggage space I only settled for a pair of swix gloves and a Birken hat for about $33 dollars.

Another great day in Sjusjoen …

The nordic paradise. With such great skiing, the key for me is to not go hog wild and over do it; as the last time I skied 50k was in 2013!

Stop at a hut along the way … coffee and waffles are a thing … although no maple syrup.

Norway the nordic nirvana

Yesterday was a little blurry! We got to bed from our 30+ hour travel "day" at 3:15am. Lucy made a quick trip grocery shopping as we still had her buddy Lexie's car, which she kindly parked at the train station so we could get to our AIRbnb.

After a breakfast of scrambled eggs and tortillas, we unpacked, and relaxed until the afternoon and our first ski. Sjusjoen is the Mecca of cross country skiing. I did a nice 11k easy workout on the middle - rolling - portion of the Birken race course. Superb tracks; great views; a host of nordic true believers, and my only disappointment was that the Kafe was closed when I finished.

Truly an amazing place with hundreds - maybe thousands - of well groomed trails.

On our way to Norway

Zurich to Hamburg, to Copenhagen, then Goteborg, on to Oslo, and finally Lillehammer. Lucy and I are going to ski the baby prince Hakon 54k over the mountains, to safety.

Two long days …

Up at 5am to finish packing. At 6am we had the hotel transport luggage to the electric van and by 6:15 we had our bag lunches, and boarded the train. By 10:20 we were in Zurich.

That was just about when Lucy finished her Engadine skimarathon. There were 12,000 skiers, but only 2-300 women could be classed as high level competitors. She finished 44th, and did the 42k course in 1:55. (She is in the far right of the start photograph.)

I watched the women's 50k world championships in the train station. I met up with Lucy at 5pm, we had dinner, and at 7:30 pm boarded the train for the first leg, of our 27 hour journey to Norway. We change trains 12 hours from now in Hamburg.

A FANTASTIC WEEK IN ZERMATT

Late afternoon on my last day in Zermatt, I went for an hour run on the Zmutt trail. I used it as a bit of intensity, a week out from the 54k Birken.

I had a wonderful time with Lenny, my college buddy, best man, and for several years also my doctor.

In spite of the fact that I had no expectations of this being a high volume week, I still managed a solid training week. I logged 17.5 hours, on 35k hiking, with 4000' vertical. I also had three afternoons riding lifts with skimo gear, as well as one good nordic workout.

Day 7 in Zermatt

Another beautiful day. This is a quick shoutout, to remind you to keep your eyes peeled for the many different pieces of art that capture the essence of the Matterhorn. From wood and stone carvings, to watercolors, stained glass, and oils, plus more impressionistic, and modern pieces you'll find in Zermatt galleries.

Below is a large oil painting that graces the lobby of the Zermatterhof, and the stain glass mosaic that adorns the glass ceiling of the dining room.

Day 6 in Zermatt

The run of spectacular weather continues. Heading to Tasch this morning for a 60-75 minute cross country ski. It's been a week since I was on my skinny skis … longest break since before Thanksgiving!

Took the photo on our way out to a burger joint; not that you can really call anything a "joint" in Zermatt.

Hike to Zmutt and on to Furri

Excellent day - a partial rest day - went to the Zermatt Museum, had a sauna, and a hot soak.

The first picture is of Lenny leaving Zmutt with - from left to right - Rimpfischhorn, Strahlhorn, and Adlerhorn. The second picture is from the museum exhibit about daily life in Zermatt at the beginning of the 20th century; black nose sheep were a key agricultural component.

Day 5 in Zermatt

Yesterday Lenny was feeling a bit under the weather, and so he took the day off to sightsee at Schwarzsee and Gornergrat. At dinner last night, he was obviously feeling much better, as he made quick work of his rack of lamb.

I had a full day, riding lifts and making turns on my Skimo gear. In the afternoon I hiked around to different parts of Zermatt. I also did a bit of browsing for books and skimo gear. I was delighted to find out that Mountain Sports has a full - an affordable - well stocked backcountry rentals. From race skis to fat boards, crampons, to avalanche beacons, and shovels.

My afternoon hike had two surprises, the first bumping into a chalet with a sunny terrace, live music, and a superb view. A stop was in order to sip some wine, soak up some sun, and listen to the talented voice of the gal on the acoustic guitar. When I resumed my hike, happenstance called my attention to a very steep, switchbacking trail. It proved to be a delightful, and direct route up the hill, to the Winkelmatten Chapel … on the way the hiker is treated to all the stations of the cross.

Day 4 in Zermatt

Yesterday I snapped this picture of Adlerhorn (right) and Strahlhorn (left). Strahlhorn is one of the many 4000m peaks that can be climbed from Zermatt.

Day 3 in Zermatt

Another beautiful day, a trend which looks to continue until we leave. We hiked to Fluhalp and back from Blauherd, after Lenny left on the funicular, I lift skied for almost two hours. Then a sauna before a big fondue dinner.

While we were hiking Sam and his three month old FaceTimed us, and the texted the screen capture enclosed below.

Hike to the Champagne Bar and Chalet Reid

A great day; although a poor route choice by Len (I warned him) was more direct, but was icy and sketchy in places.

Super soup; great conversation at the bar, and the views were spectacular.

Last leg of the journey

Yesterday was a mammoth travel day, which with the time change spilled into Sunday. Frankly, the two days were a blur!

The bottom line … we made it!

And, we managed to do an easy one hour hike - up and around Winkelmatten - as well as have a tremendous dinner of brats and rosti at the Zermatterstubli.

So, great to be back in the Alps with Lenny … reliving my first 1972 trip with Dick, my 1978 trip of first big climbs, and other fond memories of so many trips over the years.

Second leg of the journey

An early morning flight and then a ten hour layover at JFK. The mitigating factor was hanging out in the plush Delta One Lounge. Cushy seats; massage chairs; showers; massive free and yummy food; as well as all the champagne, wine, and whiskey you desired. Also some couches you could sack out on.

Time for the third leg … across the big pond to Zurich.

First leg of the journey

Selden is dropping me off at Lenny's house in Ballston Spa, as we have a very early flight tomorrow. The skis I left behind in my quiver!