Last day of U16 Camp: The Hike

If you ever get the chance, go hiking in the Tetons. It was definitely one of the most memorable moments of the U16 camp, and I'm so glad I was chosen for the camp because even though it was only a week, I was filled to the brim with new knowledge and ideas. It was an amazing experience and I am very excited to push the boundaries even more now. 
Saturday morning we took an early start to get out on the trail. It was a gorgeous morning with a great big blue sky and perfect comfortably warm weather. We all started off together but ended up breaking up into smaller groups. 
My fellow hikers and I almost to the top
We ended up hiking for 4 hours to complete 15 miles. We summated 3 mountains and climbed up to around 10,300 feet. 
 Climbing up the 2nd mountain
One thing I'm very happy about is I got to have a snowball fight in August! And we made snow angels, although the snow glacier was pretty packed down. 
 
Snowball fight!!!
We ended up eating lunch on the very top of the last mountain, which our coaches ended bringing up on the tram. It was so gorgeous, and very memorable last day. 
Midwest kids at the top!
View from 1/2 up the last mountain 
After lunch and a lot of pictures we took the tram down the mountain and then went swimming in the Snake River where we had white water rafted on Thursday. 
Saturday night we had a dance off as a going away party and then we all left Sunday morning. It was an amazing opportunity and I got to meet amazing coaches and athletes.
 U16 girls 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

2nd Race- 5k Individual Start

Image
I  believe you can always find something good in a disappointing race.  Today was a very challenging race, and several factors played into this. As much as I do not like to admit this to myself, the Auburn Ski Club is just below 8 thousand feet, and compared to the Twin Cities's 700 feet, it's been a bit of a challenge getting into top notch form. Not impossible, but a challenge. The weather has also played a part. Monday's long hot day really drained me and I believe that played a part in the toughness of today. Also today's weather made a difficult race day. After raining most of the night, and after suffering the hot sun all week, the trail was pretty worn down, and after the U16 boys went through it was pretty slushy. The Midwest wax techs were up to the venue before 5:00 trying to work with the dirty slushy snow we have, and the Midwest athletes owe them so much for the hard work they have put in all week making sure we have the fastest skis out on the cours
Read more

Sprint Course Preview

Image
This morning after a beautiful morning run, we previewed the sprint course! I tested skis, tried out the downhill turns and made sure I drank a lot of water! Sun Rising Over Donner Lake The course is very short. We skied a bit later than yesterday, and it was a little warmer, but the track upheld well, despite the amount of people on it. The course was still very icy, but the race directors had put a bit of fresh snow on top of the glazed tracks. This easily was pushed away and off to the side, but added a bit of traction on some of the hills. The stadium is the same as the distance races and you go down the first big hill, but instead of turning left, you turn right. Then you do a 'S' turn which today, in training almost all the skiers snowplowed and because the U16 girls go very last tomorrow, I'm curious what kind of condition it will be in. Me and my roommate Olivia walking along the beach! After the sketchy downhill, there is a sharp left turn that turns away
Read more

Mental Health

Image
I have talked before on my blog about physical injuries. But something that is a little harder for me to talk about is how those physical injuries affected my mental state. I first started writing this piece in the Fall of 2017, but it's only been recently that I've opened up to my friends and family about what I have really gone through after my shoulder injury and surgery. I had always considered myself a positive person, and so when things starting to change for me in my head, I hid it, because I wanted to been seen as strong and tough. I was so lucky to find such a supportive team to ski competitively for I've been working on prioritizing health as a whole: both mental and physical. But despite all the hard work I put into myself, I still feel the effects of my struggles with mental health almost every single day. Four years ago, I never would've seen myself going through struggled with mental health, but I had a life-changing event, and I am a completely d
Read more