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Oh, Sweet, Sweet, Sweaty Vermont Summer

9/12/2022

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Woah! It’s September. I love September. The mornings are a brisk 62 degrees without a cloud in the sky and the perfect amount of sun train in a t-shirt. The leaves are starting to tease us with a hint of color. Pumpkin spice lattes are soon to be ordered by Lina. Alayna recently purchased the perfect fall “shacket.” Jessie and Julia returned from Australia. Perry shaved his beard, and I honestly don’t recognize him sometimes. Pat and Ida had a baby (a few weeks ago!). Sverre is soon to be Grandpa Sverre. It’s safe to say September and the fall are looking marvelous.

After the last two falls out West, I cannot wait for another East Coast fall! However, it wouldn’t be fair to jump into fall without giving a true summer recap because it was truly one of my favorite summers yet. Why was it so great, you may ask? Well, take a seat, and grab your hot cup of coffee or tea.

This summer was a lot of things but one thing it had the last few years lacked was a large intentionality/investment/focus in myself. That might sound confusing, odd, or maybe obvious; I’m not sure. Not to sound like an inspirational quote on your Grandma’s bathroom wall, but I’m guilty of getting from point A to point B without always enjoying the journey. This summer, I focused most of my energy on my needs, wants, goals, and the journey of getting to point B, C, or D. Maybe I’m maturing at the ripe age of 25, but I’ve recognized that juggling a few too many things makes it, so you don’t even have time to think about the journey. Being in Stratton this summer forced me to slow down and prioritize the things in my life that benefit me, my skiing, and my happiness. Sometimes you need to slow down to get faster, which has been my summer mantra. While life in Stratton sometimes feels a bit isolating - it gave me the space to reflect and be intentional. And wow, it pays off. What a concept, I know! What did that look like, you may ask? Great question; for me, this summer, it looked like a lot of things, one of them is working with a sports psych/therapist (because destigmatize mental health!), and another one was a sailing trip in the Grenadines with one of my closest friends and her brothers, and others include: rediscovering my love for skiing, self-dropping when the pace was too hot for my L1 or L3, many hours spent on my gravel and mountain bike, walking laps in the pool to stay active during a back spasm, not training through a back spasm, prioritizing my sleep/recovery, frequent dinner parties with my teammates, emphasizing the importance of every workout, and being kinder to myself.

In that vein, this summer was a bit of a reset for me; a new chapter of my career, a new team, and a newish place to train. As I’ve spent two summers in Stratton, it has been nearly seven years since I last lived here. Things didn’t feel entirely new, but rather it was the perfect amount of familiarity with the excitement of novelty. It’s also been cool to reflect on my personal growth from when I was here last, the summer before starting at Dartmouth. A lot has changed, and I’ve grown a ton as a person and a skier! It’s fun to tuck the downhills that 17-year-old me walked down and to easily double pole or V2 the terrain I used to stride or V1. In the last seven years, the training in Stratton has just gotten better; the roads are smoother, there are more mountain biking trails, and we were lucky to have an incredible, energetic, and fun crew!

Some of my major summer highlights include:

-Jessie mastered the gluten-free and vegan cakes for all the birthdays. My favorite was the carrot cake!
-Many bean pool dinner parties
-Dinner parties at Sverre’s house, including an intense game of crocket
-Oat milk lattes from Ungrounded Coffee Roasters
-The GF cookies at Capucine’s
-The Peru concert fundraiser
-”The Voices of Classic Rock” concert including Foreigner, Asia and Kansas in Ellicoville, NY
-Pico, Kristin’s corgie puppy
-Thomas’ cat
-SLATE VALLEY, especially the trail Hunker Down.
-Walking at Dartmouth’s graduation two years later
-Spending a week in Boston with my family
-Skiing in an indoor ski tunnel for the first time

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Hallo from OberHof, germany!

9/3/2022

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Hallo from Oberhof!

Lauren here reporting live from Oberhof, Germany! Today, August 21st, is day 9 of our 11-day camp. Oberhof is a skier’s paradise; there are endless running/ski trails (the Rennisteig runs through it), two roller ski tracks, and a ski tunnel. If you’re unfamiliar with a ski tunnel (I was too until a few days ago), it’s a refrigerated loop of snow that has nearly 1.7km of snow all year. Here is a picture of it from above (this is from google images), and here are tons of photos I’ve
taken while in the tunnel.

Since we’re at day 9 of our 11-day camp, I’m certainly feeling the fatigue of the training, but honestly, I’m writing this horizontally, with a smile on my face. There’s just something about that on-snow feeling that makes the hours of summer and fall work feel so worth it. But what’s cool is having a little taste of winter with a bit of summer and an entire fall to put in more work before the racing starts.

I have a lot of thoughts from these past nine days on snow in the tunnel. Some of these thoughts are due to the fact that it is easy to get deep into your thoughts when skiing in a concrete tunnel. My main takeaways include the following:

Skiing on snow > being slightly bored by skiing inside a tunnel.
Technique, technique, technique! It’s easier to devote yourself to it with no distractions.
No pole skiing is always the secret sauce.
The tunnel is very chilly.
Nature is great; make sure you spend some time in it daily if you can.
Just swap what you would have put peanut butter on with Nutella.
Gluten-free Schnitzel changed my life.
Learn more languages.
The Swiss national team is very lovely!

To elaborate on a few ski-specific thoughts, I’m on a high with how fruitful this camp has been. I’m not going to lie, 20+ hours spent in the tunnel the past week has been less entertaining than rollerskiing in the beautiful green mountains of Vermont, but the tangible value of the on-snow time outweighs the entertainment right now. However, I’m very excited to strap on the roller skis in Stratton next week!

In a sport where a ton of factors you usually can’t control, the tunnel is completely controlled; the snow, the temperature, and the terrain are always the exact same. This controlled environment is a double edge sword because it never changes. I’ve tried my best to lean into the side beneficial side of the blade, and I’ve felt immense technique improvement from the controlled environment. The many hours spent around the hampster wheel was the perfect environment for me to think purely about how I was skiing, technically, and I had an ‘aha’ moment with my classic striding. I’ve been focusing on relaxed arms and legs to create a pendulum feeling and setting my kick right under my hips. As most people don’t have access to a ski tunnel or snow this time of year, I would argue that no-pole skiing is a great option to focus on improving body positioning and technique. I’ve had a handful of injuries in my career that have forced prolonged periods of no-pole skiing, and I swear by it!

As well as technical gains, there have been some significant fitness gains! This block has focused on getting comfortable with being on snow with an emphasis on intensity. The tunnel has surprisingly decent terrain for about 1.7km of skiing. The terrain has allowed high-quality intensity and speed sessions with lots of climbing and transitions. Another benefit of skiing the same 1.7km roughly 20-25+ times a session is the ability to try various techniques and ‘perfect’ sections of the terrain. The Swiss National team is also here in Oberhof, and it was fantastic to learn from them and to make friends with them! Overall, my experience here in Oberhof has been incredible. Please enjoy my trigger-happy finger documenting the trip so far :)

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Oh, Sweet, Sweet, Sweaty Vermont Summer

Hallo from OberHof, germany!

Lauren Jortberg

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