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Spring Skiing on Mt. Hood
Dave Chamberlain is a two-time World Championship Team member and spends much of his year training with the USST. He lives in Bethel, Maine, and just spent some time on snow at Mt. Hood.
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\r\nSpring Skiing
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\r\nBy David Chamberlain
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\r\nDavid Chamberlain here, writing from Hood River, Oregon. The past week I have spent my time between Hood River and Mt. Hood, taking advantage of some really nice early summer skiing and some dryland training. For years I have heard alpine skier friends tell me how good the summer skiing was at Mt. Hood. When I heard that nordic trails were going to be groomed at Timberline Lodge this year I figured this was my chance to check it out.
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\r\nI have been to Oregon twice. The first time was for the Junior Olympics in Bend. The second time was for some summer skiing at Mt. Bachelor. On both of those occasions it was hard to miss Mt. Hood on the drive down, but I had never stopped in for a visit. In fact, it is hard to miss any of the mountains out here. They simply rise out of the green like the old volcano's that they are. Just this morning I was out running in the hills behind Hood River and stopped to check out the view from a break in trees on top of a hill. I got a perfect panoramic view of Hood, Adams, Mt. St. Helens and Rainier. Unbelievable!
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\r\nThe skiing at Hood was better than I expected. The groomers did a great job with the trails each night, and Rick Kapala set classic tracks every other day or so. We had a mix of rain, snow and sun, but the tracks were set to go every morning. There were a couple loops to choose from, some gentle rolling terrain, a very aggressive switch back loop down and up an alpine trail, and an out-n'-back trail on a forest road. The sunny days offered up some nice views and the snowy days gave us solid winter-like skiing. There were a number of skiers there, Rick Kapala and his group of junior skiers from Sun Valley, Travis Jones with his group from Boise, and a few other groups of juniors from the west. It was also good to see Jess Kiesel from Utah back out on his skis.
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\r\nThe week even saw a visit from my good friend and coach Peter Vordenberg. Pete drove down from Seattle on his new Kawasaki. He spent three days with me skiing. I was glad to have Pete around, he helped me test out my new Atomic skis and Alpina boots. And he is always good for a few laughs.
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\r\nI need to thank Rick Kapala for putting the grooming and the trail system together. Before the week was over Rick was already talking about how the trails and tracks could be improved for next year. I would say that the area has very good potential for a full blown, early summer skiing camp. The snow is piled high and the energy seems to be there to maintain the tracks. I wouldn't be surprised if Mt. Hood turned into a nordic destination for spring and summer skiing in May and June. One thing is for certain, I would like to come back.
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David is sporting a few new sponsors this year. Summer is an important time for athletes to test new equipment for the upcoming season.
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\r\nTeam Today is a non-profit organization run by, and for, the athletes of the US Cross-country team. The USST is run on a shoestring budget, and our increasing success at the international level is making for increasing demand on our ever-limited resources. To find out how you can join Team Today, visit www.teamtoday.org, or contact Andrew Johnson bode1978@yahoo.com, or Pete Vordenberg pvordenberg@ussa.org. With your assistance, we will be THE BEST IN THE WORLD!
Written By: DChamberlainDate Posted: 6/21/2004Number of Views: 349
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