Wrapping Up

I'm back in my own home now, looking out at the patchily melting snow and thinking back on the whirlwind ride that the last two weeks have been. I never posted on the last two races at nationals. In short, my skate sprint day was dampened by a fall in the morning qualifier. Despite getting up angry and hammering through the rest of the race, I didn't qualify for the afternoon heats. I came back up to Birch Hill in the afternoon in time to watch future Williams skiers Luke Costley and Eli Hoenig race in the heats. For the closing 15km classic race, I was plagued by back pain from the 5km mark on and finished in 41st in the men's OJ field.

After the end of the week of racing, I stayed on with my teammate Vanya Rybkin in Fairbanks and then drove to Alyeska Resort near Anchorage for some end of season downhill skiing. We trekked from Fairbanks to Anchorage (356 miles) by way of Denali state park and had a look at Mt. McKinley, the highest peak in the US. We stayed over with the a teammate's family in Anchorage (thank you to the Knapps!) on our way out, and I got to check out some Anchorage nordic skiing at the Kincaid Park before I flew home to recover and sleep.

My overall sense from my trip is one of being small. Between being dwarfed by the Alaskan countryside and skiing in such a competitive field it was a humbling experience. At the same time, it was a reminder of how strong you can get if you really push yourself. It was an unforgettable experience that was nothing like anything I'd done before.

I have a few more pictures from some of our off days during Junior Nationals and downhill skiing at Alyeska afterwards.

northern lights on the last night in Fairbanks

Rion dog sledding

Fabian shredding as a musher

it would't be a trip to Alaska if I didn't ski with a moose

the north face of Alyeska

Views from the top of Alyeska

High Traverse Bowl with Vanya

Mountainscapes on Mountainscapes