-Olympians Brian and Caitlin Gregg from Minneapolis arrived today to train on Frozen Thunder.-
I wanted to see how the snow was holding out after a day where the temperature was +18°C. I was pleasantly surprised at how good the conditions were at 6 pm. The snow was still very skiable and skiers were having a good time, judging by the laughter I heard coming from Michaela and Marie-Eve.
Finn skiing with mom and dad. Frozen Thunder is for all ages.
Classic skiers, such as Brian and Caitlin were using klister. Others were on fishscale waxless. I’m still using my zero skis with reasonably good results. I slip the odd time but not enough to worry about, and my glide is better than I would expect on the soft snow. There was still a well-defined track over most of the course.
Frozen Thunder will grow overnight. The Salt Lake spur has been extended by about 100 metres and the new snow should be groomed early tomorrow.
Maya MacIsaac-Jones is hoping to compete in the World Junior Championships this winter
I had the pleasure of talking with Brian and Caitlin Gregg from Minneapolis, better known as Team GREGG . They are an inspiration to any skier. They are completely self-funded. Both have competed in the Olympics but receive no financial support from the U.S. ski team. Caitlin said you can actually make a living by entering races which have a purse for the top finishers. For example, she earned $10,000 by winning the American Birkie.
Michaela and Marie-Eve were having a good time on the early snow
I arrived just as Maya MacIsaac-Jones was finishing her ski. I had never met Maya before, but I recall seeing her name at the top of the results in many races. She’s on the junior national team, and hopes to compete in the World Junior Championships in Kazakhstan this winter.
Olympians and National team skiers Ivan Babikov and Devon Kershaw were doing rounds on Frozen Thunder
Ivan Babikov and Devon Kershaw, both Olympians and on Canada’s national team were doing laps in the wrong direction. After completing fifty laps in one direction, it’s probably nice to go the other way and have some different scenery. When I say they were going in the wrong direction, I’m being a bit facetious. Although most skiers tend to go in one direction around Frozen thunder, I believe two-way traffic is allowed.
More photos from Frozen Thunder…
