Parent and Alumni Event at Wildcat Mountain Feb 6-8th!

Brown Skiing at Wildcat Mountain
February 6-8th, 2009

The Brown Sports Foundation and the Friends of Brown Skiing cordially invite all alumni, parents and friends of the Brown Skiing program to join us for a carnival and race at Wildcat Mountain. A dinner will take place at 7 p.m. on Saturday evening with the Brown Skiing coaching staff and team members.


Wildcat Carnival and Race
Friday & Saturday, February 6 - 7, 2009
Wildcat Mountain
Route 16
Pinkham Notch, NH

Alumni and Parent Dinner
Saturday, February 7, 2009
7:00 p.m.
$25/per person
Cash Bar will be Available
Tuckerman's Restaurant at New England Inn and Lodge
Route 16A, Intervale Resort Loop
Intervale, NH
2 miles north of North Conway Center, NH and 15 miles south of Wildcat Mt.

Please RSVP by February 2, 2009, to Lauren Hylton at (401) 863 - 1900 or by email at Lauren_Hylton@brown.edu.

Tentative
Alumni Ski Race
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Please vist BrownSkiTeam.blogspot.com for details on this event and to read all updates from the Brown University Ski Teams.

Hard Work Pays Off

Just wanted to let everyone know that we surpassed the men's goal of $35,000 and we had a phenomenal 10.5% participation rate. The women's team was shy of the goal, but they did have an 11.5% participation rate. These blow away any old records we once had. This devotion to the team reveals a renewed interest in the Brown Ski Team. As you think about the coming year, know that we will be having a banquet in early February, hopefully in conjunction with a ski race. It would be great to see everyone there. Please check back here for more details!

Thank you to everyone who has put forth support for the team in any way in the past year. We are creating an environment in which lifelong friendships are forged. Go Brown Skiing.

Mobilize the Vote!

Krista Consiglio '11 is in the running for Brown Female Athlete of the Year. Besides being an asset to the team in spirit and skill, she won her way to first in the MacConnell Divison USCSA Conference. Let's bring her to FIRST - where she belongs. Voting is simple. Just go to brownbears.com and scroll half way down the screen. There you can click on Krista and support her (once for each unique IP Address).

The Finish Line Approaches

The fiscal year ends today. Consider giving as we close in on our 10% participation goal for both teams and we are well within the reach of the men's team $35,000 goal.

https://gifts.development.brown.edu/Brown/

Almost There

We have had an unprecedented level of support for Brown Skiing in the past few weeks. The Men's Team is just $2,000 short of its $35,000 goal. We are 8 skiers short of our 10% participation level goal and 16 skiers short of doubling our participation from last year. We still need $17,000 on the women's team side and are looking for any help we can get. Thanks for your support!

New Archive Photos

Thanks to the Brown University Archives for helping us find some old photos and newspaper clippings of the ski team. If you have any photos that you would like to donate, write to archives [at] brown.edu If you know any of the people in these photos, please comment on them so that we can label the ones in the archives. To see the rest of the photos, click here.

Support Brown Skiing! Help us reach our Goals!

Campus Dance this year was a big success. For those of you that weren't able to meet up there is always next year. Hope to see you then!

On another note, we are trying to make our final push this year for fundraising. I have made a concerted effort to avoid fundraising during the year, but as we enter the final month of our fiscal year, I am leading the push to help our teams to reach their goals. Here's what we need by June 30:


Men - $15,000 away from $35,000 goal

Women - $17,000 away from $30,000 goal


First, we would like to meet our goals for the first time in several years, and secondly, we'd like to push our alumni participation rate above 10% for the first time ever! So please consider giving whatever you can!


The way athletic fundraising works at Brown is that each sport has a fundraising goal that they have to meet each year. That money goes to the Sports Foundation which funds the budget of the ski team. For the past several years we have actually spent more than we have raised! The budget is used to pay for everything from travel and lodging to race entry fees, gates, and, yes, even assistant coaches like myself.

To those of you have already given, THANK YOU. The team is not possible without your support. To those who have not, I would encourage you to please consider giving. I have attached below a more detailed description of how to donate, though not quite as personal. Please make special note of our giving levels.

The most simple way to give is to go to: https://gifts.development.brown.edu/Brown/ and click GIVE NOW on the right hand side, then just choose the team(s) to which you would like to give. Please know that, as always, should you have any questions about giving or other issues, please don't hesitate to contact me.

Giving Levels

Drive for Five Team
Gifts of $5,000+ - The goal of the Drive for Five program, which is especially pertinent during the Plan for Academic Enrichment, is to establish a vital and consistent group that annually provides leadership giving for Brown's athletic teams.

Leaders on the Rise Team
Gifts of $1,000-$4,999 - Leaders on the Rise provide a solid foundation of giving that is critical to the success of Brown's teams.

Loyal Bears – The Importance of Participation
Gifts of any size - Our Loyal Bears our "ever true" to Brown Men's/Women's Skiing, remaining firmly committed through victory and defeat by making a gift to Brown Athletics in each of the last four fiscal years.

How do I give?

Checks can be made payable to:
Brown Sports Foundation*
Box 1925
Providence, RI 02912
*Be sure to include "Brown Ski Team" in the memo section

Credit card gifts can be made online at https://gifts.development.brown.edu/Brown/ (just be certain to specify Brown Men's/Women's Skiing) or by calling the Sports Foundation to make a gift via credit card at (401) 863-1900 (M-F 8:30-5pm EST). You can also schedule monthly credit card payments that will allow you to maximize your total gift to Brown!

Making a Gift of Appreciated Securities/Stock to Brown University
Gifts of securities such as stocks, mutual fund shares, or other appreciated assets can be a great tax-efficient method for making a gift to Brown. If you are interested in making a gift of securities to the Brown Field Hockey program, please contact the Sports Foundation at (401) 863-1900.

Many companies offer a matching gift program to support the philanthropic interests of their employees. Use the GiftPlus online search engine at www.matchinggifts.com/brown/ to see if your company can extend your gift to Brown Men's /Women's Skiing!

How do I update my information with the Sports Foundation?
https://alumni.brown.edu/alumni/login.aspx?ReturnUrl=%2falumni%2fBRUnet%2fWelcome.aspx

Newsletter and Campus Dance 2008

We are pleased to announce that our May 2008 Newsletter for the Ski Team is finally out. You can download it or view it online (it may take a few seconds to load). If you did not receive an email telling you about the Newsletter, be sure that the Sports Foundation has your email address in order to send you other official ski team announcement - SIGN UP. A special thanks to Aaron Todd at the Sports Foundation who helped us put together this phenomenal newsletter!

We are also looking at doing a meet up on the Main Green during Campus Dance. Things can get hectic and we'd prefer if you didn't have to spend your whole night on the phone trying to find friends. (Tentatively scheduled) There will be a meet up at 11pm outside the front steps of Sayles for all current and former Ski Teamers. Hope to see you there! If you have any questions please write us. We are hoping to be graced with the presences of many former ski team legends - including one from the class of 1979!

Brown Men's Skier Cross - A Cinderella Story

The year for Brown Men's Skiing began as what DR affectionately referred to as a "rebuilding year." He could not have been more wrong. A ninth place finish in the MacConnell division should have left the team feeling dejected and demoralized, but this team never missed a beat. Not making regionals, our men still had their eyes set on the prize of Nationals. As an exhibition event, the men were able to enter into the SkierCross competition. Two days ago laughs would have greeted the humble dream of our men to podium at Nationals. When they ascended the podium yesterday with a second place finish our men exchanged their rags for riches - the eyes of USCSA were focused upon the Brown Men.

The skier cross really began Thursday night as we loaded the men's skis with flouros and other high speed waxes to propel them down the hill. The determination had been made that winning the race was all about the start, and while this wasn't entirely true, I am proud to note that in nearly all of the heats, the Brown men led through the fourth gate. After a long morning practice session on Friday, the race began around 1130.

(The rest of this incredibly detailed post is from Men's Team Captain DR Richardson)

The first Brown racer to go was Antonio. He pushed mightily out of the gate, crowding out the three others in his heat. Unfortunately he caught way too much air through the first set of rollers and ended up landing on the front of the next roller, causing him to lose a ski.

Next was Dow, affectionately called the Caymaniac. Dow had a lot of self-confidence going into his race and we all had high hopes for him. Unfortunately he too was unable to stay out of the air and crashed hard, landing on his back.

2 Brown racers down in the first round, 2 more to go.

Next up was freshman and DR-look-alike, Jeff Ernsting. Jeff took an early lead after the gates and managed to hold on to it, winning his heat. Jeff would proceed to the next round.

Finally, 3-time Captain DR Richardson was up next. He settled into a close second after the first gate, having to jump over the skis of the guy in first, or risk wiping out. He stayed right on the heels of the first place skier through the hard-right footer. The combination of high-fluoros and successful drafting kicked in right then, enabling the ex-racer to pass the leader on the outside. DR held on to the lead through the big-air and all the way down to the finish. He too would make it to Round 2.

Now only two of the original five Brown men were left. Jeff went first. He pushed out of the gate in third. Though he tried every trick in the book, throwing elbows, drafting, and catching major air, he was not able to improve his position and ended in third. We would proceed to the Consolation Round.

DR had a great start in the second round. He pushed out in front of the competition. Yet he soon succumbed to the same fate that had deviled Antonio and Dow; he caught way too much air through the first rollers and crashed. After sliding 50 yards, he stood up and finished the race, coming in third. He too would not make it to the finals, instead having to race in the consolation round.

The consolation round would determine positions 5-8. DR and Jeff would be competing against each other in this final race. Out of the start, Jeff pushed into second and DR struggled to take third, but was ultimately relegated to fourth. While Jeff tried to overtake the leader, the skier in third crashed into DR, dislocating his shoulder and sending him 50 yards off course behind the b-netting, in the process losing both poles and his helmet. He looked up at his Coach, Will Bowling, who had radioed head coach Mike LeBlanc. "Carnage..." was all that DR heard. Fortunately, in Skier-X, there are no rules. DR put his shoulder back in place, retrieved his helmet and poles, hiked around the netting, and finished the race in third. Jeff meanwhile had overtaken the leader, winning the heat, and coming in 5th overall. DR would take 7th, Dow, 9th, and Antonio - unknown.

The men left that day, bruised, battered, and second in the nation.

Nationals Days 1 and 2

Wednesday
The first two days at Nationals could not have been more different. Wednesday was low 30s with sleet and rain. After a short delay during the morning, the poor snow surface conditions and precipitation caused the cancellation of the race. I am not sure that anyone was disappointed. DR and I were able to spend some time during the afternoon becoming acquainted with the SkierCross course. That evening we were also able to nearly double the size of our Freestyle Program from DR, Dow, and Adam to include Antonio and Jeff. We leveled off the imperfect day with an epic game of laser tag with a 4th place finish by Blaine.

Thursday

Women On Thursday we had bright sun and blue skies. After a chilly morning it warmed up to about forty degrees. The decision was made to compact the men's and women's GS races into the same day. We woke up super early to get the race off at 8:30. The course was set so that both men and women ran the same beginning and split halfway to take off down separate trails. Krista had a tough break on her first run taking a gate to the face. She put forth a valiant effort and hiked to eventually finish the course. Sophie fell, but Blaine, Meaghan, and Elisa all completed first runs strongly. Unfortunately, Elisa fell in the second run requiring the girls to count Krista's time which meant that they finished less strongly than they have been skiing recently.

Men This was the first formal day of the Brown Men's Freestyle Program. SkierCross combines the variables of terrain park jumps with the speed of an alpine race and the danger of a men's team tuck run. The team made about 12 runs on the course before the time trials in the afternoon. They actually took a midmorning break as the other freestylers had been out too late the night before and didn't even show up. In the time trials our men really held on strong. We posted the 2nd, 3rd, and 5th fastest times. Adam Axler went off the kicker full speed, hit the ground hard, and broke his wrist. Not one to give up easily, he pushed himself up with the still functioning wrist, and in agonizing pain skied to finish the course. Unbelievable. He is currently nursing his wrist back to health and we are hoping that he will have a quick recovery.

Check out Results Here.

Regionals at Waterville

This past weekend the women's team competed at Waterville Valley. Saturday was the SL and Sunday was the GS. Krista Consiglio provided me with this excellent writeup on the past weekend's events:

"Saturday was a rough day for the team as we had 3 girls fall. Blaine had a great first run and unfortunately had an equipment malfunction second run resulting in a DNF. Sophie and Elisa however were good team skiers and did what they had to do finishing 2 solid runs. After a good first run Anna had a little fall second run with a quick recovery. Sunday was a solid day for the team but Anna unfortunately had a bad crash which injured her knee, but she held her head high and was good support for our second run. Sophie, Elisa, and Blaine all had 2 very solid runs with Elisa really stepping it up her second run."

All told it was a trying weekend for the women, but they persevered through the thick to come out strong. Plagued with falls on Saturday, the women were able to pull things together enough to pull together a 5th place finish. Disappointing clearly, but that's sometimes the name of the game in slalom.

Staying out our old stomping ground the Day's Inn in Campton, the team was able to recollect itself for a strong showing on Sunday in the GS. The conditions were hard snow with sunny skies - the ski racer's dream. Unfortunately after some strong runs by Sophie and Krista, Anna went down hard on the top part of the course. She hurt her knee in the process. At lunch Anna's sister Grace told the rest of the team what they were there for: "In It to WIN IT!" While they didn't win the race, they posted a strong finish and are taking that message into next week's trip to Nationals at Sunday River.

The Bengtsons, Consiglios, and Taubs were also in attendance to cheer on the team. Thanks for the food and your continued support!

We're Going to Nationals!

After some hard work this weekend at Waterville for Regionals, the Brown Women will be headed to Sunday River next week to compete in the USCSA National Championships. I will be posting more about the efforts at Waterville later on this week, but for the time being please check out information on Nationals in case you are interested in attending. 

You can find a detailed schedule here

The women will be racing GS on Wednesday and SL on Friday.

Three men will also be competing in the SkierCross (a combination of jumps and ski racing) on Friday. 

Hope to see you there!

Ascutney Slaloms

This was the final weekend of the regular season in our division. We were fortunate enough to be able to stay at the Holby family home in Ludlow, Vermont (Sophie's family). Grethe Holby (Sophie's mom) fed us both days and the house gave us ample room and time for some much needed team bonding.

Women's team co-captain Anna Bengtson was gracious enough to write up a detailed account of the weekend, so I will defer to her comments:

"From the sunny skies and warm temperatures during the day Saturday to the snowstorm Saturday night that make it necessary for Mr. Taub to tow the van back to the Elgort's house to the white-out Sunday during the race, the races were full of unexpected variables just the way the Brown Ski Team likes it.

As the last regular season races the seniors were out in full force. Although there was a momentary one-run race scare on Sunday, the weather gods pulled through clearing up the skies for the afternoon, probably due to the recognition of the devastation that would ensue if the senior skiers were unable to express their creativity and true personalities in costume form. Brown was well-suited second run on Sunday in black tie formals (Axler), retro ski gear (Mallory), gold (Meaghan), metallics, bright pink (Kimbie), princely attire (Antonio) and lone ranger duds (DR). In my personal opinion however, despite DR riding his pony through the finish and Antonio slashing every gate with his sword, no one was able to top the hockey player from St. Anselm who "checked" every gate in the course and then proceeded to throw off his gloves and fight a gate that "hit" him.

These aspects aside, it is Mrs. Elgort who makes the Ascutney races the best weekend of the season. This year all- parents, siblings and friends included -were able to enjoy the cozy ambiance and home-cooking that is inextricably tied to Trollstua. Saturday night Grethe and Sophie single-handedly created a feast as they do every year that silenced the house.

Excellent food, comfortable lodgings and unending adventures. What more could we ask for? I could actually use some of the leftover carrot cake...

Anyway, thank you again and again Grethe for everything, and congratulations seniors I at least will miss you, although I may not speak for everyone (insert evil laughter)."

Amidst all those great comments about the fanfare at the final race and the homestyle accommodations we had, Anna neglectes to mention that the women's team ended up with two 3rd place finishes - the best of the season. Krista Consiglio took the slalom on Saturday, Blaine Martin had an outstanding performance in the slalom on Sunday screaming to her best result of the year, not to mention Anna's best-of-the-season top-10 on Saturday.

The men finished out a fantastic season with the costumes, and some outstanding ski racing by the freshmen. David Sonshine finally went for it in the slalom, bashing down every single gate on Saturday, having waited all season to "just hit the gates." Jeff Ernsting really pulled it together on Sunday with what was unquestionably the best slalom run of his career. He took the hard work he had put in this past week at Wachusett (which resulted in a broken ski pole) and transformed it into a solid run. Unfortunately, at the top he skied over on of the gates, which caused a disqualification. We are looking for some fantastic results by him next year.

There are tons of photos from this past weekend:
-Professional Photos (to purchase or just look at)
-Dave Casey Photos
-DR's Photos (This weekend and the rest of the season)
-The Consiglio's Photos

A SPECIAL THANK YOU TO ALL OF THE PARENTS! This year could not have been possible without you. This past weekend we had the Castens, Taubs, Caseys, Sonshines, Bengtsons, Elgorts, Ernstings, and Consiglios. It is fantastic to not only have your culinary support, but cheering as the racers come down for those 35 seconds of glory.

Archive Photos!

I've been doing some research at the John Hay and dug up a few photos. These are just a few of the close to 100 photos waiting in the library to be scanned. If you happen to know any of these people please add comments to that effect. If you happen to have any ski team photos lying around we'd love to put them up! Click the photos below to link the photo gallery!

Loon Mountain GS

This race was the final GS race of the season. For some on the team, it was the final GS race of their careers. It was carried out in typical New England fashion with a little new snow and lots of hard, hard ice underneath. The MIT coach set a super turny upper section (which gobbled many skiers) and then the course really opened up on the bottom section. There was one left footed turn that gave many in the top seed some trouble. Thanks again to Meaghan who sent me this report on the women's performance:

"The course was challenging and at times bulletproof, but once again our top consistent girls pulled through with great finishes. Krista, Anna and Sophie all finished in the top 15. Blaine finished as our fourth scorer for the team with a 22nd place finish and Kimbie also had a great day of GS as well placing 35th."

The men had some difficulty with the hard snow in the morning, but for second run they seemed to pull things together a bit more. The course was hardly changed for second run (as you will recall it was Super Bowl Sunday). There were some hard times again for the People's Captain Antonio del Balzo who lost a ski on the fourth gate on the first run. A tough season for him to be sure. We are hoping that he will step it up for "The People" this next weekend. Dow had a strong first run that put him within striking distance of the flip 30. We are hoping that his GS hiatus next year to train for the Olympics will bring him well within that group. Adam Axler pulled what was a popular move on Sunday of leaving a pole in the start. While his pole was later returned, the corresponding deduction in time was not made.

As for the videos that I had been hoping to upload, I have not been successful yet it getting the camera to work with my computer. I am hoping that it will work out this next week. In the meantime - please check out the photos (Pat's, Waterville GS )that Dave Casey has uploaded for us. Remember that all the photos are listed on the bottom right of this page.

Thanks to the parents who came on Sunday and a special thanks to John Gillis '07 and John Van Slyke '00 who made a day trip from Boston just to watch our men and women race. The value of passionate alumni cannot be underestimated. Thanks guys for coming out and we hope that we'll be seeing both of you at Slush Pool Party 2008.

We hope to see lots of parents for the final regular season race. It has been a fantastic year and we are hoping that we can translate a great week of training into some great results.

(Photo of DR Richardson '08 at WV GS)

Pat's Peak SL

Each ski season all of the teams have the pleasure to host at least one carnival. This past Saturday was our race at Pat's Peak. Hosting a carnival pretty much means that you have to do all the work that no one else really wants to do - carry gates, get up early, slip the course, etc. The men’s team volunteered to head out to the mountain before the sun rose to prep the hill and set the course for the first run. We had the entire course set by about 745 with plenty of time to fill out new scoreboards (we left ours in Providence, though Doug Allen brought them up for the race on Sunday). Women's Team Captain Meaghan Casey (who took down a 95 point race) had this to report back about the women's performance on Saturday:

"The women skied solidly on the first run and our top girls- Krista, Sophie, and Anna- once again proved that the team can count on them to perform consistently and consistently well. The women’s team helped maintain the course for the men, as the ruts mounted, and during the lunch break both teams stayed out on the hill to help set second run. A great deal of good team work allowed the Carnival to run smoothly, and the women’s team helped rally and motivate each other for the second run. Proof of this were two stand-out second runs from Elisa and Blaine, who both skied very well and very fast."

With six girls in the top 30 we were happy about their performance. We also had club team member of the men's team alum Nick Moore come back to the mic in order to deliver his crowd pleasing analysis of the race. While the microphone was not as well positioned as last year and he was not as "inspired" as last year, we did enjoy having him provide us with careful coverage of the race. Thanks Nick. As for the men, DR led the assault with a 135 point race which was the best of his career and better than any slalom points races of a former men's team member during his senior year (he will remain nameless). The men were also unfortunately plagues by three DNF's. We are hoping that the upcoming races at Ascutney will provide them with the chance to show off their SL skills.

Thanks to the Consiglios, Taubs, and Caseys for coming out to show their support.

(See Pat's Peak Photos Here)

Mid-Week Training Week 2

This week we had two great days of training. On Tuesday we were able to run a full length GS down Smith Walton and Wachusett. It was about 40 out so (much to the chagrin of some athletes) we were able to get in some real race simulation by stripping down to GS suits. There were some strong performances by Mallory, Eliza, and Blaine on the course. The BC coach is particularly fond of placing "stubbies" in the course which are small gates that can be useful in directing one's line, though our guys weren't quite as into them as he was.

Today we switched hills for the first time in many years to train slalom at Blue Hills (this is the hill that you can see at the 95/93 Interchange). They were making snow on Smitty W for the general public at Wa-Wa, so we took off for the day to Canton Mass (hometown of both Mike Cohen and men's ski team legend Dilly). The hill is definitely on the small side (see picture to the left), but has a solid steep pitch that rivals Smitty W at points. The best part was that the double is super quick (about 3 minutes) which means that our athletes were able to get in a ton of runs. We set two courses - a training course without timing and a "race" course that had timing. Even with about 40 racers on the hill (BC, Babson, and us) we got in about 8-10 training runs which is amazing for midweek training. Blue Hills is also much closer to Providence than Wachusett (about 35 minutes versus 70 minutes) which everyone was pleased with as they didn't have to rush to make 1 o'clock class! Those without classes will be skiing tomorrow morning at Wachusett as well as we get ready for our race this weekend at Pat's Peak and Loon. We are pleased to note that Nick Moore, the club team member of the men's club team, will be announcing this race as he did with much enthusiasm last year at Wachusett. We are also hoping that some former members of the team will be showing their support on the hill so watch out for them!

Waterville GS

For the first time in several years we ran a full length GS course during the regular season. The 70 second course was a challenging world class course that left our racers especially tired at the end. Overnight we received about 3 inches of snow which meant lots of slip work. Beneath the new snow was a super hard surface that made for some solid race conditions. More to come....

Waterville Slalom

Today we were on the piste at Waterville that played host to nearly a dozen World Cup races. The many knolls make for interesting course sets that change widely from race to race. We had two solid courses for both the men and women on each run.

I am writing this recap several days after the event, so my memory of both runs is a bit hazy. I do recall solid performances by most of our girls and guys. There were a few slip ups on both sides, but overall we had some strong effort. DR and Adam had some of their best runs of the season. The women took a fourth place finish and Krista Consiglio won that race by nearly a second!

This weekend also saw the return of the self proclaimed "People's Captain "Antonio del Balzo from his winter break trip to Verbier. His British accent and humor were well appreciated additions to the ski team. Tseveta Krumonova was also excited to return to the women's team after a two month sailing journey in the South Pacific. Welcome back!

A special thanks to the Taub, Casey, Bengtson, and even Marley-Mauzy (Janey Marley Mauzy's '07 mother and sisters) families who braved the heated tent outside to come and show support for the team.







(Mike Cohen '11)

Wa Wa - Week 1

This was our first week back at the summit of Mt. Wachusett. The skiing was as fantastic as we all remember. The newcomers were greeted with the perfect snow conditions and super fast lift we have come to love. The routine begins at 620 when we leave for the ski area. Some of us enjoy what DR affectionately calls the "Willy Dozen" which is two dozen donuts of my own choosing. Wachusett is about an hour from campus and located just outside of Worcester. We usually arrive at about 740 and move as quickly as possible to be on the lift by 8.

From 8-9 only racers are allowed on the mountain. This year we will be training alongside Boston College and Babson. This makes for some excellent competition, though also some decent sized lines. We set the courses as fast as possible on Smith Walton (aka Smitty Dub) which is the steepest trail on the hill. While the coaches are setting, everyone else tries to get free runs on Smitty Dub and on 10th Mountain Division (10MD) under the chairlift. Usually by about 830 we have the course up and running. On Tuesday this week we trained GS and on Thursday it was slalom. From the GS Day, men's Cpt. DR provided these words:

"The snow was soft. the sky was blue. the liftlines were short (though it got crowded by 10:30). the course was nice and easy, a couple tricky turns over the knolls (more on that later). One of the coaches set up some brushes in the course to help with our lines. Unfortunately no one knew the point, and we thought we were suppposed to ski around them, or at least I did. I figured out about three runs into it that we were supposed to straddle them rather than go around. Whoops. The knolls in the course made for interesting terrain - Downhill-style jumps., though also some near-mccartney crashes."

(The McCartney like crashes may be an exaggeration, but for those of you who missed a harrowing fall from the Hannenkham downhill check out this link )

Yesterday we had the benefit of being able to set two full length slalom courses - one for the men and one for the women. This meant that the hill held up stronger and longer than usual. We were able to get away with just one slip run on each course. Both the men and women seemed to have fantastic days on the hill. The work of a coach on slalom days, however, has almost as much to do with course maintenance as working with the athletes. In one morning of training 10 gates on the men's course were destroyed and many needed replacement as well - this meant lots of hiking.

We are excited about the Waterville Slalom and GS this weekend. The ski area has rented a hut just for the ski racers so if you are coming be sure to look for it in front of the normal lodge. It should prove to be an exciting Carnival. Hope to see you there!

Wildcat - Private Training Sessions (Pt. 2)

It was twenty below, today, at least - and that was before the windchill. DR, Dow, and I braved the weather heroically as we forged ourselves as ski pioneers on the winding trails of Wildcat. DR reintroduced the face cloth as face mask to the ski world, a practice crafted by the neckwarmer-wary (and Captain Emeritus) Charley Cummings. The oblique reference showed DR's true passion for preserving ski team tradition. We continued to work on high edge angle while covering our faces as best as possible and trying to keep moving down the hill with the 30 MPH wind gusts. The biggest achievement of the day was likely introducing Dow (the Caymaniac) to the men's team tradition of figure eights. We "set the synchros" about four times on the super dry super grippy snow, and by the end we were really impressing ourselves. We are are looking forward to some more training at Wa-Wa coming up this week and throughout the rest of the season.

Wildcat - Private Training Sessions (Pt. 1)

The women's team and most of the men's team chose to head back to Providence today, but DR, Dow, and I have decided to get a couple more days of training. We cleaned the house in the morning and then DR and I took for the cold, windy, slopes of Wildcat in the afternoon. We skied from 1230-330 in the coldest weather yet - it was -10 at the summit. There could not have been more than 100 people there. DR and I did a few drills working on edge angles, pole planting, and, of course, "setting the synchros." The figure eights we laced down the race trail were rewarded with cheers and yells (at least in our minds). The three of us are now enjoying the final moments of Jan Camp joking about those boys who left early while we contemplate what will likely be another epic day of training tomorrow.

Cranmore SL

We had a double slalom set today on what proved to be another day of perfect weather here at Cranmore. Unfortunately, the word of the day proved to be "Hike!" Both runs for both teams were plagued with a series of bobbles and hikes that hurt the team performance. For those that have not seen a double slalom set, it looks like a mine field of blue and red poles on the hill. Quite confusing even for the most experienced racer, the men raced on the right side of the trail and the women on the left.

The women's team had a decent morning with nearly all the women finishing around their usual times, though there were a couple hangups. The men's team had a solid morning with leaving them ahead of UConn after the first run. There were a couple bobbles that left them with one DNF and a hike. They men's team had poor performance on the gatekeeping with not a single member showing up on time (DR and Dow excepted -see photo above for them hard at work). On the bright side, Ken's lodge poker game is improving.

The snow held up well for the afternoon giving us some of the best race conditions of the season. Dry, grippy, hard snow. The women's team again had a couple of problems, with Mallory going all star on full gate length uphill hike on the fourth gate on the course. An impressive effort! Great work also by Meaghan who despite having to hike on her first run had a stellar second run. The men's team's game deteriorated. The course showed them no mercy. All the men skied the first six gates with expertise and some of the strongest skiing of the year. For most, this was, unfortunately, followed by a major blunder. Mike Cohen lost a ski and in the process pulled himself out of a "Chicken Finger Classic" competition with Axler. DR ate it, almost careened into the B netting, but eventually recovered. David Sonshine dropped 23 seconds between the first and second runs to complete the first slalom of his careeer! Great work!

Thanks also to the Caseys, Sonshines, Bengtsons, and Wendy Wolf and Jack Behrle (Adam Axler's parents) who supplied us with great food and strong support in the finish corral!

Cranmore GS - Beautiful!

Four inches of snow followed by blue sunny skies. The perfect ski day! The morning began with a delayed start due to the snow we received overnight. We were forced to spend about an hour slipping out the wide line on the course and clearing out the soft snow. Eventually we got down to a nice solid track that held up for both the men's and women's runs. First run for the women had some solid results with them coming in second and Krista Consiglio smoking the entire women's field (and most of the men's!) by a second and half. EPIC! The men also posted some strong runs. Adam Axler skied so hard that he lost a ski on the top part of the run (we are hoping that he keeps it on tomorrow). Congratulations go especially to David Sonshine who completed his first ever run! Great work!

The second run did not have much change from the first one. Elisa Handbury had a spectacular second run and Meaghan Casey also skied better that run. Our men had decent second run. Dow continued to battle "the plague" which has been circulating around the ski team, and Jeff finally got his hands in front of him to put down a better second run. Sonshine also had a fantastic save as he careened towards the B netting. Hannah did not compete today due to a shoulder injury, but she and I were able to sneak in an excellent run on the backbowls at Cranmore and enjoy a little fresh snow and ride that legendary double (see photos).

Please take some time to check out the fantastic photos which I have linked above. Special thanks to Blaine and Susan who took close to 50 photos to put up on our website. Well done! Thanks also to the Taubs, Caseys, and Richardsons for bringing food and much appreciated team support. Looking forward to another great day tomorrow at historic Cranmore and a Slalom that looks to be a real ripper with a start that is well up on the pitch.

Rest / Men's Team Rip Day

Most people rested today while most of the men's team went out to take advantage of the fantastic conditions at Wildcat. We worked on some basic GS skiing drills and maybe a couple of tuck runs to get us ready for this weekend's races at the legendary Cranmore. (The founder of Cranmore Hans Schneider is known for his part in making skiing popular through the famed wedge christie and is often referred to as the Father of Modern Alpine Skiing). There were also more than a few opportunities for popping air on some of the rollers left over from snowmaking. Mike Cohen was the star for today finally letting the concept of a parallel inside ski "click." The highlight for the relatively cold day was a rainbow like circle around the sun called a parhelion. There was also another rainbow like figure that was upside down to the ground, though did not make a complete circle. Unfortunately, no one had a camera, though other pictures online do not appear to pay the phenomenon justice.

Also, make sure that you check out Meagh and Sophie who made this week's Wildcat Update on the Wildcat Website. Congratulations!

SL GS Combo

A big day today for the ski team. We were able to get in our intended back-to-back session of Slalom and GS. In the morning we got four solid race runs in of slalom on some of the best snow this year. It was definitely hero snow and it showed as everyone was ripping apart the course. All of our runs were timed and Sophie and Krista have been laying down some rippers. Hannah Brennan was sporting some cardboard shinners as she began to take on the art of shinning the gates. Her hard efforts were rewarded a strong fall, but she should be ready to go by this weekend. We were also filmed a bit in the morning by Wildcat TV and we will likely be on their video blog later this week. More to follow on that.

In the afternoon we closed down Bobcat, set a full length GS, and had timing. We had some especially strong times posted by Adam Axler who has been working hard on upper and lower body separation. DR also layed down several fantastic runs and considers this some of the best ski racing of his career. We are hoping that it will hold over until this weekend at Cranmore. Tomorrow is a rest day, though there may be a few members of the men's team headed up to Wildcat for a few early morning runs.

If you get a chance, you might want to check out some of the fantastic photos that DR has uploaded to our photo blog. Note that DR and I are some of the few holdouts (Axler is in there too) in what has become a men's team tradition of not shaving during Jan Camp (a strong zoom may still be required to see the facial hair, however).

Wildcat - More Slalom Training

The dump of snow from yesterday was well groomed for fantastic snow quality today. It was a great opportunity for everyone to get some strong slalom free skiing under their belts. We quickly got a full length 60 gate slalom course up today with the selfless help of Jeff Ernsting and Ken Ettinger. We had to do two full slip runs to clear out the soft snow and get down to the ice. In the morning everyone got 4-5 runs in. Some solid skiing was being put down by the entire women's team. DR was skiing some of the best runs of his life and we are hoping that Mt. Cranmore will present some strong opportunities for him to push out.


We left the course up through lunch and did two slip runs (some people did three) to cut down the burms that developed on the course. All the runs in the afternoon were timed which provided for an excellent tete-a-tete between the top skiers from the men's and women's teams. We got some excellent video and spent a few hours in the afternoon reviewing slalom footage. The men's team will all be working on upper and lower body separation and early turn initiation tomorrow as we do back-to-back sessions of SL and GS in the morning and afternoon respectively. It is also possible that the Wildcat TV will be filming us for their weekly video segment!

Powder Day!

The ice from this weekend's freeze was complemented perfectly by an all day snow totally close to 8 inches by the end of the day. It was a bit treacherous getting to the mountain, but we were still able to get on the lifts at 9am. We were able to get the course set up quickly with the efficient help of men's team captain DR Richardson. Unfortunately, we had a slightly smaller crew of skiers today as some members of the team are nursing colds. The morning presented us with some solid training as soon as we were able to get down to the harder snow. Mallory Taub made considerable progress through the morning as did Adam Axler and Mike Cohen. We were able to take some video and will be reviewing it in the next few days.

(click photo for photo album)

In the afternoon we set a course that we did only three runs on. We had to take two full length slip runs to clear out the enormous amount of snow that accumulated during our lunch break. Courtney (aka Coach Whalen) set her first ever ski course which was well received by everyone. Congratulations!

The snow was super slow, but it gave people a chance to work on being aggressive. After our three runs we pulled down the course and took a much needed free skiing adventure around the mountain. The sides of the trails were covered with snow, though the ice from the rain last week made for some strange skiing conditions. The photos that I have made an album from (above) are from our afternoon free skiing session. We have more slalom set for tomorrow, though it may be difficult to pass up the excellent snow that is set to continue until 10 tonight.

Also - big news in US Ski Racing history with Bode Miller matching Phil Mahre's record of World Cup wins by and American - see article here.

Sunapee GS #2 - Welcome to New England

We had optimal ski racing conditions today. The mush from yesterday set up overnight to create rock hard ice. Generally this is great for creating a consistent race surface, but it was totally different from the soft snow that we have been training on all week. The first run went off without a hitch with Mike setting the course. While we had solid performances by all of our men and women, both were relatively hesitant on the hard pack snow. Blaine's west coast upbringing meant that this was pretty much the first time she had actually raced on ice. After the first run Sophie Elgort '08 was in 7th place. The men had a few bobbles on the top of the course with Ken Ettinger leaving one pole in the start gate. Dow Travers skied a "smoking" run with a 33rd place, but one on which we all think that he can improve.


We had several parents that provided us with food for lunch. The Bengtsons and Taubs were in attendance and Mr. Consiglio brought a pizza from the family restaurant in New Haven (above). It was well received by the athletes. (see photos)

Second run was less strong for the team. The snow actually hardened up between runs creating a super fast snow surface. The course set was especially tight at the bottom and devoured a couple of our racers at the end of the run. At the end of the day, the women took a fourth place finish and the men dropped a spot with a ninth place finish due largely to falls by Ken, DR, and Dow. We are hoping that four days of solid training this week will prepare us for the legendary piste of Mt. Cranmore. I know that I am especially looking forward to a couple of freeskiing runs on the back bowl trails and perhaps even a tuck run on Artist Falls - former men's team member John Gillis's favorite trail on the circuit!

Looks like some snow is coming in tonight. Hopefully a few inches will cover up those Brown spots on the mountain. Thanks again to the parents who make all of this possible and to those who are coming out next week for the race at Cranmore!

Sunapee GS #1 - Day of the Variable

It has been said that the Brown Ski Team puts the "able" back into "variable." That could not have been more visible than today. When we arrived at Sunapee at 7:35, the lift was not running, the course was not set, and the fog was so thick that we couldn't even see 100 ft up the mountain. The original plans had been to start slipping at 8:15, but those plans quickly deteriorated alongside the weather. Overnight some of the snow had frozen with the sleet, but beneath that was some pretty soft mush.

We waited until about 9:30 to really get things going. For those who haven't been to a race in a while, most of the decisions are made on the hill and radioed back to those at the bottom of the mountain. Like the children's game "telephone" the message frequently gets garbled in translation. There were multiple messages floating around on the airwaves today on start times and inspection runs which made for a morning that was nothing short of chaotic.

Eventually we had a group slip to break through the hard layer of snow and try and harden up the mush. This involved all of the athletes slipping down the hill in line formation. While this was able strengthen some parts of the course, the top quickly started to go brown as we hit dirt. It is amazing to think that only one week ago there was too much snow! The final verdict from the coaches was a delayed start time of 12 noon, a lowered start that cut off the top ten gates, and a one run race. In close to fifteen years of ski racing, I don't believe that I have ever seen a one run GS. The weather today left us with no choice. Around 11, racers got an inspection from the lowered start.

In a sprint race like this it is difficult to really do much critical assessment, but it seemed like both the men and women put together a solid effort. We have yet to see the results, but I will update this once they come in. The women's team was consistent with nearly everyone finishing under forty seconds. It was the first race for both Krista Consiglio '11 (2nd place!) and Blaine Martin '11. I was posted up at the bottom of the course and I overheard several surprised parents comment on how fast our new girls were! Overall the women came up in third place and with more training and races, we are poised to do even better. All members of the men's team had great runs also. All six guys stood up and it was the first runs for Dow Travers '11 (just in from Aspen), Mike Cohen '11, and Jeff Ernsting '11. It was a great first finish for our men and something that is a great stepping stone for the rest of the year.

David Sonshine and Susan Kovar did not race today but were assets providing moral support at the bottom and helping post the scoreboard for recording times. Even after the rocky start, the course seemed to hold together quite well. A special thanks to the Casey and Taub Families for coming all the way out to Sunapee to provide the team with both moral and edible support.

We are hoping for an equally strong finish tomorrow, and the weather looks like it might even include some sun!

In other news, we have been mentioned on the blog of our new home mountain Wildcat:
http://skiwildcat.blogspot.com/

Day 6 - What a Difference a Day Makes

Most people probably would have gone inside today. The warm weather continued, the brown patches got a little bit bigger, and then the rain came. It began with a shower and then continued straight through to downpour. We trained today with Boston College which meant 5 coaches on the hill and about 40 racers looping the course.

We were able to fortunately compensate for the soft snow by salting the hill. For those of you who don't know, when the snow is super soft it makes it hard to set an edge and the snow lacks the consistency to be able to focus on technique. Additionally, the deep ruts and bumps can provide for some dangerous skiing conditions. So, after slipping away all the soft snow, we salted the hill with the Boston College coach which involved lugging 50 lb. bags of calcium chloride down the hill while throwing handfuls onto the snow. We then waited for about 45 minutes while the snow "set up" and hardened. For about the first two hours of the morning people took free runs off of the triple.

At 11:20 we finally got things underway. We did timing for about the first fifteen racers, but then the downpour really began. The rain was actually so heavy that it tripped the electronic eye on the finish line. Accordingly, we bagged the timing, and focused in on technique. The salting paid off and we were able to get a nice hard track on the hill. Even with the hard snow the ride was far from smooth. This weekend will likely be more of the same conditions, and if people skied like they did today we will be ready for it! Meaghan Casey had a standout performance by attacking the whole course through the rain and skiing her best runs of the year (ever?).

After three runs we broke for lunch to dry off clothes. It was just about when we decided to call it quits for the morning that the rain stopped, the blue sky came out, and a rainbow formed at the bottom of the mountain that framed the rest of Mount Washington Valley. If only we had the camera! In the afternoon we took two runs and pulled the course.

The spirit award for today goes to Blaine Martin. Even with Lyme disease and torrential downpours Blaine stuck it out in the rain in full GS suit, high spirits, and, most importantly, a big smile. Her role in boosting team morale cannot be underestimated.

Tomorrow we have a rest day and will be traveling way down South to Sunapee to move into the hotel for Thursday and Friday nights. Hope to see you there!

Day 5 - Warm January We're Having

Today was one of those days that you wait all year for - sixty degrees, blue skies, beautiful views, and great corn snow. It is really too bad that it had to take place in the second week of January. The January Thaw is well upon us now and Wildcat has lost a substantial amount of snow in just two days. The powder that once blanketed the whole ski area has turned to brown patches.

(Click on this picture for photo album)

We were still able to get in some decent training this morning on Bobcat training another full length GS. We had the timing system set up this morning with six race runs and most people skiing in GS suits. There were, unfortunately, about three slip runs in between as the ruts were building up to about knee depth in points (there was grass showing at the bottom of a few of them). We also got three runs on video which should be helpful as we are training GS again tomorrow.

In the afternoon, we bagged the course as the snow only softened up. We watched some World Cup video in the lodge and then free skiied underneath the triple. Lots of emphasis on basics and a great chance to focus on what racers are working on in the course. The general consensus, however, was that the snow was not the best for race training. The forecast predicts that it will have to be as we are looking at more warm weather for the rest of the week.

In equipment news Elisa's Rossignol boots came to the house after some careful footwork by Mallory with the skis. She's quite pleased and a happy Elisa means a happy Brown ski team! We were able to take lots of photos today on one of the best days of skiing we will probably see all season. I won't be able to post them today, but look for them later this week.

Day 4 - First Day of GS Training

Pretty straightforward day today. We spent the entire day doing GS training on Bobcat. The warm weather made for some pretty big ruts but the team was skiing exceptionally well for their first day in GS gates this year. All told we made about fourteen (14) runs! We are looking forward to two more solid days of GS training before the GS series at Sunapee. It's wonderful having most of Wildcat to ourselves. One particular newcomer to the team - and ski racing in general - David Sonshine had a standout performance for his first day in gates. Another John Gillis in the making? The girls are looking forward to seeing their freshmen - Blaine and Krista - debut at the race on Friday. Meanwhile the teams are bonding on and off the hill, enjoying home cooked team dinners, and tuning sessions.

Day 3 - First day of Slalom

Today was a half day for the team. We broke up this morning into two groups. One group spent the morning continuing to work on drills which included wedge sets, J turns, and lots of traversing. The other group spent the morning training our first day of slalom on the upper half of Cheetah. While the snow is perfect for free skiing, the soft snow is prone to some decent size ruts. We got in about 5-6 runs. Tomorrow we will be training GS. Wildcat has been extremely supportive of our training here, and since it is Monday we will be able to close down the full trail and get in some excellent training.

Day 2 - Freeskiing and Drills

Today was our second day at Wildcat. The skiing here is fantastic with 8 feet of snow so far this year. Even though it was Saturday, there were hardly any lines. In the morning we broke up into three groups and free skied GS. Right now we are trying put some miles under our feet with an emphasis on the basics. We worked largely on carving in the flats and getting forward. In the afternoon we broke up into groups again and free skied slalom. We are working through a progression of drills and most of the racers will be moving into the slalom gates tomorrow on Bobcat.

We are staying in two houses about 20 minutes away from Wildcat. You can find more information about the ski area check out www.skiwildcat.com. For those of you who are not familiar with the area, Wildcat is located directly across the valley from Mt. Washington. Every run we take we have one of the most incredible views in the country and have clear view of that proving ground of New England skiing known as Tuckerman Ravine.

This week we plan on getting in some excellent gate training Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. We will likely take Thursday off in preparation for our back-to-back GS race series at Sunapee on Friday and Saturday (Jan 11th and 12th). We look forward to seeing many of you there.