i2P Baffin Island Expedition: The Akshayuk Pass

I put a lot of thought into how I was going to write this.  Who am I kidding, no I didn't - I always knew exactly what I wanted to get across in this blog update.  I could go on and on with all of the amazing experiences and tales I have from this expedition, but picking and choosing a select few of these would still have this blog update up around the neighbourhood of 10,000 words.  Haha.  Sooo, here is the final blog I wrote for i2P to be posted on Sept. 21st (hopefully):

The most beautiful place on Earth.

"First of all, I can’t say enough about my experience with impossible2Possible on the Baffin Island expedition as a Youth Ambassador.  It was truly one of the greatest experiences of my life! 

I was very inspired from the get-go.  The lineup of guides on the expedition and others involved with the organization were amazing; World class adventurers and everyone very passionate about motivating and inspiring today’s youth.  It was an invaluable experience spending time and learning from the other Youth Ambassadors from across the continent as we faced challenges and hardships both mental and physical together as a team as we crossed the 100km of rugged Arctic landscape.

I learned more over the 2 weeks with i2P than I have ever learned in any 2 weeks in my life; whether it was stories and advice from outstanding athletes and adventurers, practicing media exposure, surviving in a harsh and unforgiving yet stunningly beautiful environment for 9 days, or thought-provoking discussion amongst our youth team and the senior members of the expedition.  It was an incredible learning environment!

I have taken a new perspective on life from my involvement with i2P through meeting and learning from passionate individuals who only hope to inspire others and show that awesomely unimaginable achievements are possible in life.  Being part of this i2P expedition was simply life-changing and I am very fortunate to have been picked as a Youth Ambassador. " 

I am going to leave this update at that and any additional info you want, please visit the i2P site.  And when you see me next I'm glad to go into more detail about the experience!!  Feel free to email too if you want more deets!

The Baffin Expedition site: http://www.impossible2possible.com/world/

The impossible2Possible site: http://www.impossible2possible.com/?v=home

What an amazing organization!!

There was a total of 14 on the expedition.  Here are the 5 of us Youth Ambassadors from across North America.  (left to right) Amanda Cobbs-Russell (Murrieta, California), Sandi Nypaver (Parma Heights, Ohio), Kathleen Merritt (Rankin Inlet, Nunavut), Tamara Banks (Lombardy, Ontario) and I.

There was a lot of bog to trudge through.  Feared by most, fine by me.  Lots of the greatest cross country skiers from Scandinavia did long training sessions loping through bogs.

There was also a lot of sand.  I would say that almost half of the whole hike was on some kind of sandy terrain.  Here we are actually walking on a giant slab of ice insulated by a thick layer of sand.  The actual glacier has receded far up into the valley in the direction from which I took this pic, but there is still a humongous amount of ice left below.  The lake here used to be about 20 feet higher.  Recently a heatwave paired with unusual rainfall swelled the water level to burst through a bank of glacial moraine to devastate the remaining 30 km of valley with unimaginable ferocity.  Think Lord of the Rings when the elves summon that crazy wave that destroys the ring wraiths.  Something like that I would think, haha.  Water-horses and all.  Man that'd be sweet.

Here is some more of that same lake, Glacier Lake, with a smaller pond in the foreground.  It was actually this neon blue colour!

Over the course of the expedition we were constantly blogging and doing interviews via satellite phone.  The blogging was quite amazing, as we typed blogs on Ray's Macbook and the Iridium satellite phone would send the email as a text message (or something like that).

Big thanks to FSC Architects and Engineers who are helping me out big-time for the 2nd year.

Ray Zahab and Bob Cox, the founders of impossible2Possible and two amazing human beings.

This is the day when my blog was titled, "I'm on a Boat."  Haha.  L to R - Bob Cox, TD, Ray Zahab

And this has got to be my favourite photo from the entire expedition (one of the communal photos I got on my ext. HD).  Ray and Bob.  There's a bit of an inside joke to it, but still hilarious.  The expedition took endless hours of organizing.  Even though the whole expedition and everything surrounding it was so monumental, with so many following it and so much media attention, there was still time to have fun.  Actually, that's all we ever did on this trip, haha.  Good times fo sho.

Super Post

Buddy 'ol pal Inukshuk whom I erected a few years back is still hanging tight up high in the Rocky Mountains. He gets decimated by wind storms from time to time, but always seems to get back up. Thanks Haig skiers.

Chapter 1: I became a traveler.

Recently I have spent many solid days driving in the Fit. People wince and grimace when I speak of the distances I have travelled. Truth is, the ’09 Fit is a very comfortable vehicle that’s fun to drive and is very fuel efficient (I’ve been averaging like 5.3L/100km lately). So anyhoo, I’ve driven some long distances in the Fit. Driving “days on end” distances. And I’ve discovered the most ingenious way to both pass the time and to enrich the mind (two things that don’t often go together). Podcasts. Howstuffworks.com podcasts specifically. “Stuff you missed in History Class” and “Stuff You Should Know”. And in one of these episodes of, “Stuff You Should Know,” I listened as staff writer Josh M. Clark and editor Chris Paulette entertained and pondered the question of, “Where is the best part on your body to get shot?” They talked of such gruesome phenomena as cavitation (where tissues expand like 100 times the size of the bullet around the site of the wound upon getting shot) and also of bullets ricocheting off bone. A soldier in the War on Terror (I believe) who was shot in the upper chest had the bullet bounce off bone in such a way that it travelled the length of his arm through flesh all the way to his finger where it exploded the periphery like a roasting cheese smoky splitting open in a deathly spray of seething-hot dairy. Another deadly phenomenon - that immediately eliminated the torso from being the best place to get shot - is when the bullet ricochets around the contours of the rib cage wreaking havoc on internal organs in its desperate attempt to escape its fleshy prison.

To close off this metaphor, this berserker bullet bouncing about madly and randomly inside this body cavity represents all of this high energy and exciting material bouncing around in my mind trying to emerge somewhat organized in a controlled chaos of an update. So much AWESOME lately has left me attempting to pin the blog post tail on a non-existent donkey. The whirlwind has subsided and it appears that I am in the calm epicenter that is the eye of the tornado (another great podcast of “Stuff You Should Know”). So its time to write an update before I am swept off once again, haha. [/segway]

Camille is on the top of the World. Literally and mentally.

Don't leave that shirt off for too long!! SPF 4 held off the sunburn for this kid (barely!), but most of the BC athletes had some pretty hilarious burn lines during the camp.

So let’s start by talking a little bit about One Fit Man (who was me…ahem…who hopefully still is me). He went up to the glacier for a week with a young group of BC athletes at the start of July. It was his first time as senior athlete of the camp. Coincidentally, his first ever glacier camp, as a first year Juvie (some 7 years ago), was with the BC team as well. Back in the day when Jesse Heckrodt was constantly cleaning up at Nationals.

The epic-per-usual camp had me slamming 4-hours-ish daily. Skiing on the lunar landscape of the Haig Glacier under harsh solar radiation every morning and walking the earth as a zombie every afternoon, stumbling about drunkenly in a hypoglycemic stupor, scowling scorningly as the bubbly BC kids gushed in merriment over their card games and Cosmo magazines.

Technically sound skiing with no glaring issues. Heart rate VERY low skiing through a possible combination of suppression and a new fitness profile that meant something different being the cut-off for faster skiing AND surviving the week. Breathing would be pinned with my HR reaching 140, so with that in mind HR monitoring was virtually thrown out the window and breath counting was a new method for ensuring optimally short anabolic switch over time post-training day to day (aka: not over-doing it). Lactate spot-checks were in store as well, as is common with “high-end” endurance athletics these days despite ambiguity as a pace-setting monitor and at the very least its ambiguity in how different coaches interpret different readings. 1.8 mmol/L: GO FASTER!!! Haha. Maybe I should “slow down” when lazing around after eating my lunch when my La is 3.8mmol/L…hmmmm… Paralysis through analysis. But at the same time it’s cool to have a window into metabolism albeit only one single very small portal window covered with a mung-clogged bug screen. Don’t get me wrong though, it IS useful, haha. Moving on….

After 3 very successful weeks of training, nailing every session and hermit-ting in my down-time to ensure proper recovery, it was time for a break from the straight-and-narrow. And thus the Fit and I embarked on our journey to the Great White North.

Haha. Amy McDonald from Hay River, my favourite flag girl, posted near Kakisa. Saw her both on the way up and way down. Used to be a competitive biathlete in Canada. Note how bad the bugs are!

Chapter 2: Yellowknife Mosquito Infestation.

Getting back to Yellowknife is always a great feeling. Apples and oranges with Whistler. Not nearly as many fun things to do in terms of training venues or randomly intriguing activities in town, but the comfort of living at home in a town where I know a large portion of the population and am familiar with the ins and outs of the city makes for a feeling similar to putting on your most comfortable jeans after wearing lesser jeans for, well, a very long time? You know?

Training up to this point had been quite heavy. Yellowknife was intended as a rest from the keen focus I had down south (and the beat-down). I trained decently big days when I could, but for the most part took some time off doing things like working Mountain Bike Madness and getting other Yellowknife business out of my system. I let training come back to me naturally, not trying to force it after a hard block. Train big and hard when it comes easy, if not, be patient; set-backs are short-lived. I was tired a lot. Operating my mountain bike camp and dealing with miscellaneous errands during my last foreseeable stay in Yellowknife had me running around constantly.

In the end, I had my dose of YK and was itching to get back to Weaseltown.

Highlights of Yellowknife in Summer 2009:
- seeing everyone at Folk On The Rocks (and getting slaughtered in the Sam Roberts mosh)
- hanging at Mo-dawg’s house boat
- 24 km run to Berry Hill with Corey (YK’s highest point, at maybe 250 metres)
- chilling at the beach with Mountain Bike Madness
- East Arm camping (greatest place in the world)
- Getting an N-Dub license plate on the Fit
- NOT the heinously bad mosquitoes Yellowknife has this year

Ella Mawdsley and I during the pedal, paddle, pound race. I won the bike (then waited for Ella) and the run. Despite overheating really bad running and nearly dying in the cloud of blackflies.



Fishing out by Pauline Bay.



Near Burnt Island on Great Slave.


Corey and I atop Berry Hill. Man broke dog on this day. Misty was crippled all week.

Chapter 3: Back To Weaseltown Again

- Depart YK: 2:00 pm Thursday, August 6th
- Arrive Peace River: midnight
- sleep in the Fit for 5 hours in Wal-Mart parking lot
- 30 minute run along the river, looked over by 12-foot Davis
- Depart Peace River: 6:30 am Friday
- 45-minute nap on the side of the road at 8:30 am
- Arrive Canmore: 3:00 pm
- 1 hour rollerski with P-Wood and Fraser
- Hang at the Ice Cream Bus with Pate and get free b-day ice cream
- Sleep on Jess’s couch (way comfier than the piano-laden Fit – it actually had a piano in it. Along with 2 bikes, 2 ginormous duffels, a longboard, rollerskis + poles and about 5 other smaller bags and about 10 sets of footwear)
- 1 hour rollerski and watched AWCA uphill skate TT
- waited 20 minutes in line for some dimwit and the Starbucks baristas trying to get a coffee order right
- hit the road for Van at 9:30 am Saturday
- PODCASTS!!!!
- After driving through the smoky bbq that was BC, arrive to my Auntie Lori’s cooking at 6:00 pm
- Drop off piano at Grandma’s
- drive up to Whistler the next morning for 9:00 am 3hr15min run up Singing Pass and down on Whistler Gondola with Lee and Camille (awesome).

2700km. Filling the Fit 4 times on the road.

Back to Weaseltown. And up Singing Pass. Turned out to be an awesome workout despite not really knowing the route we were taking.

AND WHILE ALL OF THIS STUFF IN THIS BLOG IS GOING ON…

(This news is pretty old actually; I’m just a pro at crastinating…)

After an impromptu application at the start of June to be part of a once in a lifetime opportunity to trek the Akshayuk Pass on Baffin Island with an entourage of world-renowned adventurers and ultra-endurance athletes, I was selected as one of twelve finalists in North America to get a phone call interview. After talking to B. Cox on the phone I was selected as one of five youth to take part in this unique opportunity with the non-profit organization, impossible2Possible.

You can read the press release here (and I suggest you do):http://news.prnewswire.com/DisplayReleaseContent.aspx?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/08-12-2009/0005076460&EDATE=

So after a hard block of training here in Whistler and then in Canmore for a week, I jet off to Ottawa for a few days prep before chilling in Pang (Pangnirtung (haha, pain in your tongue)) learning to set up tents. From there, 14 of us set off on the adventure of a life-time, getting chased by polar bears and fording glacial rivers for about 10 days. Should be a complete and utter riot! Oh yeah, PS. I’m the only dude Youth Ambassador. Sweet. The girls sound pretty giggly though based on our conference calls, haha…

AND!

Just to make this post even more BA…

This is the totally ballin’ music line-up I’m listening to these days…

Destination Unknown – Alex Gaudino (great music video too, haha)
She Wolf – Shakira
Hotel Room Service – Pitbull
Whatever – Brother Ali (the bass will LITERALLY blow your mind)
This is For You – Bliss n Eso
Stomp (Ratatat Remix) – Young Buck, T.I. & Ludacris
When Love Takes Over – David Guetta ft. Kelly Rowla
Cool – Lupe Fiasco
Run This Town – Jay-Z ft. Kanye & Rihanna
Notorious Thugs – Notorious B.I.G. ft. Bone Thugs N’Harmony
Someday We’ll Know – New Radicals
Shoot Me Down – Lil Wayne
Fight This – DL Incognito ft. Dallas Green (AMAZING)
Sunshine – Lupe Fiasco
Missing You – Notorious B.I.G.
Sideways – Dierks Bentley
Work It Out – Jurassic 5 & Dave Matthews Band

Things are going awesome here in Whistler as they usually are. The Academy has been here for the past week so its been great to hook up with them from time to time for some training. Had a great skate sprint simulation with them in which I had some very good signs. Will post more on that hopefully within the next 2 months. Haha.

Sublime sunset to wrap up an amazing evening out on the water at Moses' house boat in Yellowknife Bay. (having a house boat has now made it onto the list of "Living The Yellowknife Dream". Along with owning a float plane.)

Catch ya later,

Thomsen

One Fit Man

The Kadenwood skate TT. Couldn't quite 1-skate to the top this time. Photo cred: Lee

I have never been this fit before. Definitely not at this time of the year, perhaps ever. And there are a few key points in my preparation and in my sensations to date that lead to such a bold statement. Being fit at this time of year is a double edged sword. I shouldn't be fit right now. I shouldn't be sharp and feeling anything awesome in key hard efforts.

It's important to assess and ask yourself questions why something like this comes about. In some instances there are underlying flaws in the programme. It's important to evaluate and justify the body's adaptations.

It's all about how I got to this point. I have done zero speed this year. I have done one interval session, 4 x 1 km repeats on the track with Corey earlier in the spring time. I get fast by identifying weaknesses and homing in on the body's systems that are the reasons for these hindrances, attempting to constantly raise the level. Not by hammering and "getting myself in shape" with "no pain, no gain" - a common approach.

The Kenyans say you haven't trained until you have sweat.

I will outline two instances of incredible high-end fitness sensations experienced to date this year. But first a little background information.

Up to now I have put a big focus on flexibility. Last year, with the help of a mentor, I identified that my ankle and hip flexibility were major limitations to my range of motion, significantly affecting nearly all motions that include legs, haha. 3 specific stretches performed at least once daily have notably improved this issue. Big gains have resulted, most noticeably running. I can now toe-off. As well as extend and have an efficient power phase in my stride. Running essentials.

To build up running technique and speed, I did no hard runninig whatsoever (besides the 1km repeats with Corey that one day that he dragged me out). I found a 1.41km loop near my house in Yellowknife that had 2 steep hills on it (that would allow me to gain altitude quickly without having to climb forever), both followed by long, meandering downhills that would allow me to open up stride length while maintaining high cadence and mid-foot foot-strike. Practicing on the downhills on this loop a few times a week is the core workout that has taught me how to run again and how to really enjoy it.

I am now running faster than ever. Today was the Spud Run down in Pemberton. Laid back, pretty chill (like everything Pemberton!), and a good time all around. The 8.5km race seemed like a perfect hard effort to gauge training effect (train easy pace almost always, isolate the fundamentals of the aspects of "fitness", and then test your work in a hard effort from time to time where you put all the fundamentals together to observe weaknesses).

The 8.5km race was pretty interesting. Classic, beautiful Pemberton views. At the 5.5 km mark I figured I could bang out a decent 3km so I made my move, pulling ahead of Lee who had paced me up to this point. I had it pinned for a while as I gapped the field, running at around 17.5kph till I got near 8.5km, unfortunately with no finish line in sight. Great. The scorching sun was searing me on the hot pavement. And I had used up much of the reserves I had left making that push. I struggled in to the line, speed dropping down below 15kph, overheating and pasty-mouthed. Ended up being a 10km run. Was also my fastest 10km ever, haha. 38 minutes on the dot. On a course that was about 3 km sand and soft, mushy gravel, another 3km on gravel paths, the other 4km being on the road. And bonking at the end. Very promising observation of fitness. With no fast running anywhere near that speed, just those runs on that loop with the long downhills.

Apres Spud Run chill sesh. Just layin' on a sandbar in the scorching heat post glacial stream dip...

Moment of remarkable fitness #2: Kadenwood 2km uphill double pole TT. Hard uphill with one rest at 1.5km before the final steep pitch. Pinned it off the start up the first hard section and was nearly sure I had blown the remainder of the TT. Somehow sustained it on "pinned" gear the whole way. This alone is nothing special. But being able to do it with a proper crunch, especially keeping the abs contracting efficiently and powerfully throughout the entirety of the TT, while at the same time coordinating this motion with diaphragm contraction. Somehow this is something I am only just learning. It would appear it is fairly fundamental to double pole and that I would have learned it before only just last year??

The focus of this abdominal crunch has had me in the gym many a time thus far. I've had some great sessions with Corey (haha, get it? CORE-y? ya?) back in YK, he's a great motivator and great at stressing a point. Francis' (Bodyworks) ab crunching machine was money (Corey disagrees, but I stand by it) along with the kneeling crunch down on the flies. The building of a Power Gut. But with the Power Gut, don't forget to keep a balance with back strength and the rest of your core. A great article linked from XCottawa drove home this point. Working abdominals exclusively is a recipe for disaster and back injury. A well-rounded core routine is essential. It's easy to pick out the gym rats with the ripped 8-pack and the scrawny-looking back. A few showed up at Lost Lake beach today.

I guess you could say the Power Gut was the foundation that hauled my butt up Kadenwood the other day. Something that is only just amassing its strength and should be a force to be reckoned with come winter. It will be interesting to see if I can beat my "invincible"-sensation-TT next time I challenge the looming Kadenwood climb.

Near the top of Comfortably Numb trail in Whistler. "Whistler's officially epic trail". It is epic. Was a 25km pt. to pt. in a frigid rain. A top training session of the year so far.

The past 2 weeks training in Whistler have been dialed. Completely dialed. Every session, day in, day out. 17-ish hour weeks, nailing every aspect of ski training. I'm taking this seriously, haha. And it's been a great environment. Whistler alone is "where the magic happens". Lee has been a great motivator and I have got some great work done with him so far. CVTC is running smoother than I have ever seen it and it looks like a great program is being rebuilt from the ground up.

I guess mr. Alex Hopkins from YK, now Edmonton, inspired me to write something that would hopefully help developing skiers like him. He's 16 years old and eager to learn and work hard. Hopefully he and others who are interested can get something useful out of my musings and experiences. But remember that, that it's just "my musings and experiences". Everyone is different and there is no one cookbook to guide everyone. It's your journey. Alex is supposed to send me some questions on nutrition that I will entertain on this blog. So that should be an interesting topic... everyone seems to have quite a unique take on it.

Thanks for reading (if you actually managed to fight through that epic).

tdhont

Building Back The Rep

Alrighty then. Apologies are not in order. I'm not sorry for my hiatus. So deal with it. (haha, lots of bloggers would be sorry, but I know how so many of you readers hate when apologies are given for lack of stalking material!)

My Statcounter has taken a hit recently (look ma! A pun!), with unique returning visitors per day averaging down around the 10-15 range as opposed to the 30+ figures seen during the glory days of multiple weekly updates.

Now that my life is somewhat in order, and thoughts are moderately organized, I can put musing to blog.

The past 2 months at home in Yellowknife were a time of joy and happiness although riddled with uncertainty as to my fate for the whole next year. I knew I would be pursuing my Olympic dreams with full-hearted commitment, but where and with who was yet to be determined.

Training in Yellowknife over this time was amazing as I was able to put in some volume on snow for the entire month of May. What can only be characterized as drawn out sequences of perfect moments, skiing on Great Slave Lake during warm, sunny days constitutes some of the most regally beautiful memories I possess.

But like most good things in life, even the lake skiing comes to an end. Spring break-up. Whatchyoself.

Things in Yellowknife were good. "Too good" hints at over-indulgence, so let's just stick with plain old "amazing" - being with family, meals cooked for me (wild meat! boo ya), sleeping in my bed at home, hanging with great friends, being out in nature on my old stomping grounds, training going awesome, excitement of Mountain Bike Madness - why did I leave? Even I can't answer this question very well. I suppose the cliché answer to that question is that duty called. I had been through quite the ordeal with the shake-up with CVTC. I tossed and turned at night, weighing and re-weighing my options. Whistler vs. Canmore. Deathmatch.

After writing a pro/con list, things became quite clear. Throw in an unexpected "WOW moment" from Mr. Churchill and the scales tipped notably towards Whistler. Going for a beer with Corey and talking it over further had my mind virtually made up.

The phenomenon of the midnight sun in Yellowknife fubars circadian rhythm. You don't feel like sleeping when you watch kids on the block jubilating late at night in the blazing sunshine as your boxer-clad self half-heartedly/grumpily brushes teeth. Eventually you give in and your bed-time passes into the next day. I met someone this spring who ignores conventional time awareness (aside from work hours, haha). Without environmental stimulus for sleep, ie. darkness, this person will sleep when she's tired. Meaning that if she isn't tired, she will stay up all night. This person also requested that I name this blog update "______ is AWESOME!!!". I politely declined.

I did a triathlon the day before I left town. Swim was dialed (I improved approximately 400% in terms of endurance since my practice swims), bike was effing cold, and the run was actually dialed - I ran through almost the entire field. Goes to show what a little ankle and hip flexibility work can do for you.

So where am I now? Whistler. Beautiful, amazing Whistler (it even smells good here training in the Coast Mountains). Where "Lucky Man" by The Verve constantly perks the goose bumps as you take in the majestic surroundings. I have returned to the sacred Olympic grounds. Teammate Camille (the legitimate Champion of Highlands) and I are living in style right in the Village for a very focused 2 weeks (before heading to Canmore for glacier skiing) under the tutelage of Lee Churchill.

Double training session days on the straight and narrow are in order for the next few weeks. I have identified the gains required to ski fast, now it's just a matter of a little hard work to reap the rewards for this period. It's an exciting time! Welcome to the journey.

Thanks for checking in.

Thomsen

Ice Age

Not much has been happening in Yellowknife lately.  I have got out of the "spring-time" phase, got through the "get serious" phase and am now in the "serious" phase that will take me through the rest of the year.  It's game on and training is a number 1 focus.  I have finally got my phone call offering my position on CVTC.  So all this "hurry up and wait" over the past while is now "hurry up and make a decision". 

There is still skiing in Yellowknife.  Some days are brutal though.  It has been freezing cold, getting down to lows of -10 C at night and barely getting above zero most days.  A very cold May, but I'm not complaining.  The ice isn't great for skiing on these cold days, as it's rock hard and is as loud as a 737 when skiing on.  In this picture, Corey is being pushed by the gale force winds on the chunky ice on the ice road.  I froze skiing back to town.  

Cool drifts.  Just out past Dettah village.

The tracks on previous week's snowfall will remain until break-up.  A-Hop dressed for normal May weather on this day.  And froze.

Ok, this is funny.  Recently I went to Fort Providence with my family to tidy up my grandparents' graves (that's not the funny part, haha).  Randomly, as we pulled into the middle-of-nowhere-village Edzo, we see Yellowknife's only ice cream man.  In Edzo.  So we wave frantically from our truck to flag him down.  

I brought my bike to Ft. Prov and had an amazing ride there that evening.  The river had only recently broken up, allowing the ferry's passage to the south and the rest of the country.  Riding along the river is beauty.  Just look out for bison.  Nice reminiscing on many trips to the area in my childhood.  Notably, the trip to NWT Cross Country Running Champs (back when they had those) with, correct me if I'm wrong, David, Michael and Jill Gilday and Eric Aitken.  

The giant of the D'Hont clan.  I'm half a foot taller than anybody ever was on either side of the family.  And I'm not even that tall at 5'11".  Pate always asks how I did it.  l to r: myself, Dawn (mom), Evelyn (Aunt who has never read my blog), and Adrian (dad).  

On the riverbank checking out a memorial for the hardships suffered by aboriginal peoples in the residential schools.  I climbed this giant boulder nearby that had to be the only rock climbing anywhere near Ft. Prov, haha.  It took a while to climb...no handholds, just pure brawn.

Some cool cracks are starting to form on the lake.  I'm sort of scared skiing sometimes.  There are open patches here and there.  They say to look out for seagulls, they are an indicator of open water. 

With the freeze-thaw cycle, the ice is moving around and pushing up freshly frozen sheets of ice into the sky.  Be careful skiing over these, they can dismember you!

So now that things are set in motion, I should know my plan for the year within a week's time.  Thank you to my sponsors who made this year possible for me: MACA/Sport North, FSC Architects and Engineers, the North Slave Métis Alliance, Mackenzie Management, Great Slave Dental, and Francis at Bodyworks Fitness Centre.  I couldn't do what I'm doing without you, so thank you.  

Waaaaaadddddduuupppp, what's happenin'

You know what this is...

...it's a celebration (kidses)  !!!

Fisherman: "We caught a couple big fish today," as he holds up a ginormous 35-lb trout.  "We got a bigger one in the back."  Then he says, "I'm afraid to go between the islands cause of the currents and soft spots, but out here we've still got 5 feet of good ice."

Awesome.

Pit-stop picnic.  Alex and I recently spent all day on the ice.  In windbriefs the majority of the time.

Pressure ridges like these can soar overhead.  The folds in the ice on either side form deep trenches of water - at least pole-length deep.  

I'm not going to BS anybody and say that skiing in Yellowknife in the spring time is difficult to explain, because, in fact, its quite easy.  

Get in a comfortable standing position, eyes closed, and get someone to read this to you in slow, soothing tones:

Imagine you are scantily clad, skis on your feet, poles in your hands.  You feel the heat of the sun on your skin and hair.  A warm breeze gently caresses your body.  You feel a refreshing chill emanating from below.  The hot and the cold meet in perfect harmony. 

Imagine your eyes springing open, nice and wide.  Initially you are blind.  You slide your inuit bone-snow-goggles, or normal sunglasses or what have you over your eyes.  You look down and perceive that you are standing on a surface of pure white.  It's razor sharp and sparkles like freshly polished diamonds.  

Looking around yourself, you realize that it meets the bright blue horizon in every direction.  A portion of the horizon is lighter blue than the rest, baby blue.  The blazing sun that lights this side of the world slightly more than the rest draws you towards it.  Instinctively, you start skate skiing.  You are shocked at the immediate speed you achieve.  Your limbs move effortlessly, your skis' edges catch the perfect amount of this odd white platform to propel you forward sans resistance.  Every push is perfect.  There's no need for balance adjustments.  You are moving faster than your tailwind, generating this new, equally light headwind that is a welcome respite to the intense heat generated by the sun in this convection oven.  Time and thought drift aimlessly about as you skim speedily through this surreal environment.  Surely it's a hallucination.  Perfection like this simply cannot exist.  "Or can it?" you wonder as you plant your pole tip between your skis and sheer the skin off your torso on the infinitesimal diamonds at your feet and are left in stinging agony for the next 5 days.  

Shake your body out.  Slowly awake from this odd dream.  Look over at your buddy, the narrator and snap out of it.

If done correctly, there should be blood all over your chest, haha.  

See y'all in Yellowknife in a future springtime.  

T

Sitting, Waiting, Wishing...and more waiting...

We are destined to be together...perhaps in another life. (photo cred: Pate)


I feel like my younger self. Being towed behind JT's pimped out 250cc Elan on my rock skis, getting jerked about behind the tow rope, jostled on the uneven snow of Prelude Lake. Key words: "jostled" and "jerked about". Cause that's what's happening yet again this spring time.

There has been absolutely no continuity between seasons over the past 2 years. In terms of ski programs and the philosophy of those providing guidance. Upon graduation from high school, I made the move out to good ol' T-bay where I was a member of the National Team Development Centre out there. I decided to move on from that program for a more optimal training set-up. In Thunder Bay I learned much of what the Canadian system has to offer as I chose NTDC over pursuing studies/skiing in the States. The main improvement I made with the NTDC was my mental approach to skiing through Eric Bailey's guidance, most notably his mental toughness camp in the fall time. At the end of the season the CVTC's pros led to my move out to Whistler.

Enter 2008/2009 season in Whistler at the Callaghan Valley Training Centre...

Frustration was a common theme for me this past year. But with frustration comes learning and experience, and I feel that even this program led to one of my biggest gains as an athlete. I saw much of the dark side of high level skiing, of the conflicting philosophies and somewhat bitter politics that a younger me (the one being towed by the Elan) would have been oblivious to. The shake-ups that have lead to a changing of the guard amongst the coaching staff at CVTC will mean monumental changes that could go either way for next year.

In Whistler I caught a glimpse of a skiing environment that could be 2nd to none. The raw ingredients are prevalent and the incredible potential for a ski team is beyond comprehension. It's just a matter of holding out for a hero to compose this greatness on the sacred Olympic grounds. A unique hero with a unique skill set; to ride the wave with outstanding outgoing-ness, professionalism, extensive knowledge and compassion. Who (if anyone) will pull this sword from the stone?

Where do we go from here?

My current location: Yellowknife, Northwest Territories. Where I was born and raised. And where such events as the Rock and Ice Ultra take place. Where rent and grocery costs don't exist when I'm staying at my parents'.

Where in the springtime (the best time for skiing in the North) the ski trails don't get maintained. So skiing sucks for a time, until the snow off the big lake melts. In the meantime we get to go bust out some mad boot slipping on frozen overflow on lakes such as Fault Lake on the YK ski trails. And scavenger hunting.

This time of year is a time of planning and organization. Weighing and re-weighing all options, securing funds through sponsorship to pursue the dream, and easing back into training routines. Decision making takes front and center. Where will I go? What will I do for training? A team? Race support?

Most importantly, the springtime is when we stoke the fire for the new year.

It's all about the process. Trying new things, fine tuning. Sharpening dull tools, turning sharp tools into a razor edge. Put all of the pieces together in a way that works, and then from there find another even better way for it to work. But don't fix something if it ain't broken. Build on what you have. Take ownership and never stop learning. Challenge yourself.

Enjoy victories when you can. And find hidden opportunities in the defeats. Take what you can and move on. Don't dwell on your short-comings.

Confidence is a useful weapon. Gain it through training, both physical and mental. (Pic: Zach Caldwell)
Whistler is where the magic happens. I really want to find a way for it to work.

There is a great community of long-time locals who are very supportive of pursuing the Olympic dream. It takes a community to raise Olympic medallists.

2 of my favourite things from Whistler: Twoonie racing, and Pique reading.

Get ready to set out on a new adventure. The path is known. It's time to walk it.

Until next time, (someone's going to punch me in the mouth for the outrageous corny-ness...) it's sitting, waiting, wishing as the higher up decision makers do their work and get programs in line, cough, Callaghan!, cough cough... And that's when the real fun begins. (Pic: Barb Campbell)