TEAM CASCADIA NEWSLETTER

FALL 2012 EDITION

In This Issue of Team Cascadia:

* Torins Stories about summer school and big city training in Salt Lake City, Utah *Bettinas Euro-Inspired Perspective Canmore and Banff National Park * Torin Racing the mini-tour at The Nordic Weekend in Andermatt, Switzerland
the 19th century Pioneers called it back in the 1999. Now Im back again, chipping away at finishing a Masters degree in Professional Communication at Westminster College. I often get asked what Im going to do once Sochi 2014 passes through the rear view mirror of our lives. I guess the best answer Ive come up with is that you have to wait until tomorrow to find what tomorrow will bring. Along the way, though, I dont mind hitting the books. Actually, I really like it. Maybe not always, like those times when I know Im going to be 5 minutes late to class, and I still have to fight through the 5 oclock mini-rush hour traffic, weaving through the motorists aboard my Salsa bicycle. Most of my classmates come straight from work. Many times you can feel a little bit of their stress and exhaustion. They just put in an honest days work, only to be greeted by three-to-four hours of class. My hat goes off to these guys and gals. It makes the tiredness a skier feels when pushing the summer volume, or the competitive anxiety that comes with aspiring for high achievement on the ski tracks the perspective of what it really is playing sport. Summer in Salt Lake City can mean some days of opressive heat. Its not the place where you ever think, Oh I might need a light jacket when the sun goes down. T-shirts and shorts work well late into the night. After last yers shoulder surgery I bought a prone extreme ecosystems like this. It is desolate, it is so underused. The sunsets of the Great Salt Lake are nonpareil the stuff of poems, even if there is a bit of a stinky kitchen sink stench about it. In its own way, its just great. Perfect, even. On my last day in Salt Lake, electricity filled in the air. I got caught out on the leftover water from the ancient Lake Bonneville as the thunder began to roll and the lighting struck. I hurried off the water and met up with Albert, an old college running teammate. Hes calling my living room home for the night before the start of a marathon, that begins at five a.m. Alberts done with the 26 miles by the time I awake, having run the course in 2:40, though he was hoping for more. Mr. Wint wants to toe the line at the next U.S. Olympic Trials. I sure hope he makes it. Different Olympic-like dreams motivating us all. I load up some belongings, put them in storage before heading off north to Canmore, Canada. After 935 miles, Im a little wired and strung out from the road. Before finding my bed, my club coach Dragan Davevski tells me the annual Banff Hill Climb awaits tomorrow morning. I guess in its own way this is just perfect.

Through sport, Ive had the opportunity to trot to more than a few outposts across the globe. Since the first time I set foot in Canmore as a freshman on the University of Utah ski team, the town has been high on my list of ideal towns. So it comes as little surprise to see this former mining outpost keep growing into a mecca for Canadian skiing. The terrain features impressive peaks for mountain running, soft pine needle-laden trails for flatland sprints, ideal roads for rollerskiing, a rollerski track, and even Olympic history from the 1988 Calgary Olympics to build the culture for cross-country skiing. I came to the Bow Valley of Canada from Salt Lake City, my once-again-sometimes home. I first made my way down to the City of Zion as

paddleboard to build back up the strength in ligaments, muscles and connective tissue. Its not a stand-up paddleboard. Its too narrow, and thus much too tippy for that. Rather, one paddles a prone board with freestyle stroke-like with ones belly on the board, or while kneeling and with a butterfly upperbody stroke. Its great strength training. Everytime, five minutes after having board hit water,the lats, traps and most every other muscles in the back and shoulder protests to this movement. Five minutes in, and you feel undone. Then it goes away. And youre bob, bob, bobbing along the Great Salt Lake. The salty, briny water stings the eyes. If theres no wind, having to navigate through large swaths of brine flies hovering atop the waters surface is a near formality. And yet, theres quite something to getting to experience one of the worlds most

A special highlight again this year was a visit the Grizzly Steakhouse. This place brings back memories of the fantastic time before the Winter Olympics in Vancouver 2010. I may still remember what the adventurous dinner with my two best friends. Buffalo, caribou and moose on the hot stone, and for dessert, chocolate fondue with fresh fruit. Rattlesnake is also on the menu, though this year, just like the last two, proved to be a little too exotic somehow.

The Training
With such a beautiful setting, twice-a-day training twice a day is really not hard. Cool lakes for a refreshing swim, the vast forests lure explore, and the Rockies calling out for a climb. Its a beautiful place to live out a beautiful life. Because of my foot problems, I had to be content to watch some of these giants from afar, and ply my trade at mainly rollerskiing.

The Neighbors
After nineteen hours of plane rides I finally stood in front of that huge poster with the fearsome bear in the foreground, on which the long-awaited confirmation emblazoned in large black letters: Welcome to Canada! Uff geschafft! After the long flight Atlantic crossing I was happy for only one thing: to hop into bed, close my eyes and just sleep. But was up early the next morning at 6 clock, and not much better with the sleep. Wide awake and hungry, I was drawn to my favorite Canmore bakery. Blueberry scones, homemade yogurt with granola and fresh fruit, plus a latte. Hmm, what I had been looking forward to! Only now can the three week training camp in the heart of the Rocky Mountains begin. This year Torin and I had the good fortune to stay in the home of a friendly cross-country skier in Banff. The small town sits just 20 minutes north of Canmore inside the Banff National Park and is a tourist attraction par excellence. Souvenir shops, cafes, restaurants, sports shops, bars and souvenir shops line more tightly strung together the main road and the city center. Despite numerous visits around the towns packed sidewalks, even on the last night I was not tired of strolling along the main avenue and watching the world go by. The real residents of Banff National Park are the big animals. I was in a little bit more than shock and almost fell off my bike when a giant elk made a sudden appearance by bounding out of the woods just ahead of my front wheel. The animal seemed unimpressed by my presence and would not let me sway him from his morning meal. Quite to my delight, I could calmly pull the trigger on my Canon camera andrecord this encounter recorded. With the black bear I encountered the very next day while roller skiing, I would not be so lucky. The visual evidence is missing, dissapointedly.

The Countryside
Somehow, I always rave about forests and mountains. But this part of Canadas landscape is simply beyond unique. For example, The Hoodoos. Not only a popular highlight at River rafting route from Banff to Canmore, the narrow labyrinth along the Bow River is perfect wandering tour. Unfortunately I had to miss this jewel this time due to apersistent discomfort in the right foot that turned out to be a tiny stress fracture. A month of playing nicely with it, and my foot is back to normal now, thankfully. Fortunately, I didnt miss a trip to the famous turquoise waters of Lake Louise. I am continually fascinated by the magical idyll and allure of this lake. After a four-hour bike ride, this is just the perfect place for a refreshing swim.

At first, just doublepole rollerskiing at that, leaving my options a little restricted. But with the bike, the paddleboard, and the strengthroom I found plenty of alternatives to make my training varied and goal focused. So I could despite my injured foot or was it because of it? Banff was a time to work on my weaknesses. My back and my upper body have never been stronger! Until the next time.

We were not making good time to the Andermatt region (Kanton) Uri. Which, by the way, was the first Kanton back in the 13th Century to break away and form the republic we now know as Switzerland. Anyways, back to the story. A tour bus was puttering up ahead. Guri gunned the VW Transporter, passed two Porsches, then went for the wide, lumbering bus. Unfortunately, the road wasnt wide enough for us both. Fortunately, the big bus and the little bus lost little more than paint. I got to the start just in time for the first race, put my head down and went until the lungs hurt like they havent in quite some time. All in all, I was satisfied with the racing tour. More than anything, though, it felt good to get competing again. It was interesting to find yourself battling it out with similar faces day after day, and feel a little comradery amongst your competitors. I left the weekend with my stoke pretty high to burn up the steep hills of Davos with Cologna, Kindschi, Livers and Company. Afterwards, Bettina was feeling better and we met up in the Ticino region of Switzerland. Its an amazing place, sitting on the south side of the Alps and beside lakes that trade in names like Lago Maggiore and Lago di Como. Early morning, we hiked in the seriously steep mountains, then headed down to the waterfront for lunch. While checking out the boats, we got invited for a day sailing on the Celeste. Kind of the perfect ending to a long weekend I wont soon forget. Thanks for joining along. See you soon enough. Until then, to all the best in all you do. ~Torin and Bettina

The Nordic Weekend

Every fall, Swiss Ski holds The Nordic Weekend in the mountain town of Andermatt. Its a three day, three race event that brings together 150+ skiers putting on the race bib, a coaches symposium, along with all the industry players to show off the latest equipment. Comparing it to America, I guess its like our West Yellowstone. Only on rollerskis The day before the races, Bettina fell ill. Fortunately Guri Hetland, the head coach of the Swiss Team, was heading over to the races the morning of the first race. I hopped a ride. We came over the Oberalp, a twisting, narrow, uber-Euro style road you might have seen in the Giro dItalia or Tour de Suisse and thought, Roads like that really exist?