And....We're back.
Hey Everyone,
Sorry it has been so long. Last November, the last time this blog put something out, I experienced some technical difficulties posting photos. Then, before I sorted them out, ski season took over my life. I don't really have an excuse to account for April through October... Instead, I have this great post from Wilson. Keep an eye out for a few retro posts that never went up in the next week or so.
Hey Team!
After a 12 month hiatus I figured it was about time to
bring back the ol’ blog.
First an update. After a season working at Bates I
decided it was finally time to move back out west. This time I chose a position
that I think most Bowdoin Grads can get behind. For the last month I’ve been
working with Nick Crawford (’09) for the Bogus Basin Nordic Team out of Boise
Idaho. It’s been great to reconnect with him, and we have an awesome young
group of skiers that I am really excited to work with throughout the winter.
This may come as a surprise to those of you who chose
careers outside of the ski world, but ski coaching isn’t just about making an
enormous salary. It’s all about cleaning the Klister Box.
This is a day that I look forward to every year. You may
think that I’m still high from the wax remover fumes (and you may be partially
(mostly) right), but bear with me here.
 |
| (me about halfway through cleaning tubes of klister one
by one. I have a couple possible explanations for the blurriness: 1) The fumes
in the air lead directly to the blur 2) “Wax-Remover Goggles” ie this is how
Nick was seeing the world at that moment (noticing a trend?) or 3) Nick is just
a great photographer |
Reasons why Klister Box Day is Awesome:
First and foremost, I get to read every box multiple
times. There is no moment during the season when I am so sure of my Klister’ing
supremacy. Right now you could give me hypothetical temperature, humidity, and
snow-type and I could tell you exact quantities (down to the mL mind you) of
exactly the mixture you need for world class skis.
Next, but similarly important, is that I still have at least 2 months before
that first race where klister actually comes into the picture, I panic, and cover the entire ski in
“universal” klisters from 4 different brands.
I get to remind myself that I am full of a ton of random
knowledge that is totally useless outside the ski world. Are you familiar with
the blue Rode wax often called Skari? Did you know that Skari is a Norwegian
word for crusty snow, and that the word ‘Skari’ used to be used basically
universally for ice-klisters? (That fact was blatantly plagiarized from Zach
Caldwell’s rad website… and yes that is what was open on my computer while
cleaning the box
http://www.caldwellsport.com/rode/).
Smelling all of the old Klisters and kickwaxes has the
same effect on me as the smell of Evergreen has on small children approaching
Christmas. Chola is a personal favorite, but basically anything that smells
like pine tar or salmon (it’s a real thing) gets me going.
Guru extreme 39, and Guru Extreme 39 Hard.
And finally the pleasant sense of euphoria that comes
over you as the last freshly cleaned tube of klister (that had previously
cemented itself to the bottom of the box) slides into its own individual
carton… ok maybe that is just the fumes too.
For a little more excitement here are a couple more
pictures of our awesome day:
