The Nordic Vikings found snow to practice on in Ironwood, Michigan at the beginning of December. (L-R, front) Sarah Larsen, Cailan Carpenter, Audrey Summers, Will Seaton, Joey Chmelik, Jaret Baker, Ben Seaton. (L-R, back) Nate Carlson, Mark Summers, Dylan Deschampe, Levi Axtell, Kelly Summers, Mara MacDonell, Abbey Sutton.
The last three weeks have been fairly light on snow—resulting in heavy dry-land training and snow-wishing for the Cook County Nordic ski team. The positive attitudes displayed during these tough practices are remarkable and the future rewards on the race courses this year are sure to be great.
This year’s Nordic ski team is small but strong with 16 participants ranging from grades 6 to 11. With the amount of individualized coaching everyone on the team receives, who would want to be on a team any larger?
Head Coaches Mark and Kelly Summers do a fantastic job helping the team with training, technique, and the intricacies of all things cross-country skiing. While the team generally considers Mark and Kelly to be Superman and Superwoman, they obviously can’t do it all, and are assisted by the skiers extraordinaire, Cory Berg and Kerrie Fabius.
Running—running up large hills, running up large hills with ski poles, roller skiing, sit-ups, push-ups, skate bounds, squats, and a variety of other pain-inducing but muscle-building and speed-increasing exercises have occupied the hours after school for the Nordic team. The dry-land training for the last few weeks has been productive, but the entire team is ready to commit to skis.
Two weekends have provided team members with the opportunity to unzip their ski bags and get on the snow. The first weekend of December, many of the team members headed to Ironwood, Michigan for some early season skiing. This trip (organized through the North Superior Ski and Run Club) provided many kilometers of easy skiing, to get in a good base.
Skiing over eight hours during the weekend was exceedingly fun, but also made for many exceedingly sore muscles! As in years past, on the last day of early season skiing, new and experienced skiers alike attempted “Peltanon Pass Out” for some exciting downhills and treacherous uphills. It was a fantastic weekend to be out on skis with friends.
More recently, the Nordic team headed up to Bearskin Lodge for a Saturday practice on the gorgeous trails. Many thanks to Bearskin Lodge for the opportunity. The first time skiing in Cook County this season was excellent, with many team members logging over 12 kilometers of quality skiing.
With all the dry-land training and the small, but quality, amount of skiing, the Nordic team is ready for its first race at Spirit Mountain. With the first race soon, the ski season seems to have truly begun! Let’s hope for more snow and wish our Cook County Nordic Ski team luck at their first race.
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