On snow, finally! Over the past week or two, much of the US biathlon community (those that aren’t in Europe preparing for the first World Cup) have converged on Canmore, Alberta for some early season skiing. Canmore is a beautiful town situated in the Canadian Rockies. I like it here- I always feel most content when surrounded by big mountains on all sides.
Sunrise at quarter after 8.
Although there isn’t a lot of natural snow yet, it has been cold enough for the Canmore Nordic Centre to turn on the snow guns and make a couple small loops. The venue and shooting range also have evening lighting systems and I’ve enjoyed the night skiing here, especially when the moon is out. It takes a couple workouts to remember how to ski and how to shoot with skis on. Skis are a lot longer than summer rollerskis, and it can be awkward to get into the prone shooting position with long boards on your feet. But skis are magical!
Currently there are about 3 km of manmade snow.
Freshly stone-ground skis require a ton of waxing and skiing before they become fast. Here you can see Anthony Bramante, Melinda McAleese, and Gary Colliander helping with waxing.
Shooting practice has been fun. This range is much more exposed than our practice range in Lake Placid, so it is a good opportunity to practice shooting in windy conditions. Before each practice, we “zero” our rifles by shooting on paper. The coaches help us with a scope by watching where the shots fall on the paper. They tell us how many clicks we have to turn the sight knobs and in what direction. We adjusting the settings of our sights so that what we see through the sights corresponds to the center of the target. Each day has a slightly different zero because variables such as temperature, wind, and lighting conditions, all affect the accuracy of the rifle. Each time you come in to shoot during a practice or a race, you have to assess the conditions (wind and lighting) and determine whether or not they have changed since you zeroed. If they have, you have to “take clicks” to adjust for the changes. It takes a lot of practice to get a feel for how many clicks to take and even the most experienced shooters still struggle with it sometimes. I am very much a rookie in this regard.
Zeroing at the Canmore Range
Today was our first race of the season. It was a typical first race; things didn’t go according to plan. I almost forgot my rifle at the start, I skied a downhill on the first loop a little too aggressively and ended up sliding down it in belly flop position, when I went to shoot I couldn’t see through my sight because it became clogged with snow when I fell (so I borrowed a tool from a range official to clear it out), and then on one of my (many) penalty loops I tripped while trying to pass a girl and accidently took her down too (which I feel really bad about). However, it is okay to start the season on the wrong foot-you get the tough races out of your system early and it reminds you to relax and laugh at yourself.
On Thursday we celebrated Thanksgiving. Carolyn and her husband Anthony hosted us in their room. We brought in extra tables, chairs, plates, and forks from other rooms. Everybody contributed a different dish. It wasn’t quite as good as being home, but is was a fun and wonderful feast nonetheless. We had to wait over an hour after dinner before digging into the pies because we were so full.
My favorite cooking/baking activity is making bread, so I contributed the dinner rolls. Despite the mountains of food we had, people were disappointed when they discovered I had only made one small batch, so since the turkey was running late, I made a second.
Attack of the veggie-vampire! Grace Boutot and Annelies Cook prepare green beans for a roasted veggie dish.
Dueling turkeys! Carolyn Bramante and Walt Shepard have a carve-off under the guidance of Tracy Barnes-Colliander.
Our team will be in Canmore for another week and a half before taking off to Coleraine, Minnesota, where we will train and race until Christmas.
Susan Dunklee 