click to enlarge John Morton, Midd class of '68 in his natural element.

Last week, Rikert & Snowbowl manager, Peter Mackey, Noah Brautigam and I took a walk on the race trail that will eventually be the homologated course for carnivals and beyond. Work starts this month on improvements and I'll get some shots up of the progress. Good stuff. Thanks to John for coming out and working with us on this ongoing project.

A good day at the office. John, Noah & Peter survey the bridge leading back to the Bread Loaf campus.

click to enlarge Photo: People always ask if I train with Jimmy. For the most part, I don’t. But we do get in the occasional OD workout together. Here's Jimmy and I hiking at Breadloaf – circa 1994.

In typical Levins fashion, I’ve been playing a lot of golf this summer. When I’m not practicing or playing in tournaments, I’ve been working at the golf course, spending time on my potter’s wheel, and training. At the beginning of the summer, I went up to Craftsbury for the REG camp, where incoming freshman Ben Lustgarten did an absurd number of dips each strength session. I’ve also headed down to Stratton over the last few weeks to get in some training with Sverre’s group. It’s a great group of skiers, and includes another incoming freshman: Austin Cobb. Get ready men’s team- he’s looking for the point guard slot on the intramural basketball team. For the most part, I’ve been training around Rut Vegas. Basically, it’s a lot like the training at school: rollerskiing right out the door, lots of mountains to scale, and miles of trails to run. Instead of the TAM, however, I’ve been running the Pine Hill Park trails. They’re primarily mountain bike trails, but after a few unfortunate falls, I’ve decided it’s safer for everyone if I just run. My younger (but now taller) brother, Augie, has been working and riding the trails all summer. If you’re in the area, you should definitely come check out the park- the riding/running is some of the best around. With a few weeks left until school, my summer will close out with one more golf tournament, a trip down to Massachusetts to see my roommate, the endless task of trying to make sure Chloe doesn’t beat me in our big sister vs little sister golf matches, more work, and another good block of training. I hope you all enjoy the rest of the summer, and I can’t wait to see you all back at school.

click to enlarge Cate Brown pictured in the middle.

A Few Moments We were Meant to Share.

The following clips are moments from a cross-country trip earlier this summer. I know several people on the team have made this trip and a few more are hoping to drive back to school together this fall. I wish we could all pile in a van together, but hey, if airfare goes up—maybe there’s a Yellowstone ’11 in the works? With teammates spread from Alaska to Sun Valley to Bend, Park City and Rutvegas, Sam Tarling has been by only consolation back here in Hanover. I miss you all, Emily and Emily, it was great to see you at the Prouty and I can’t wait for the Fall!

Authority: Dedicated to Graham Egan.
The segway cops descended within seconds, noses leading the hunt, bosoms balanced resolutely on the handlebars, baseball hats tucked under their official helmets, stamped “Airport Security”. “Ma’am, this area is for Active Loading and Unloading Only,” the two butch women let out a gruff and uncompromising growl. Reno 911, baby, it’s no joke. If you are looking for a career full of instant gratification, irrelevant authority and irrefutable power, buy a Segway and hit the curb in Reno.

Super Church: Dedicated to Courtney and Patty J
I believe you have all heard, but Courtney now has a boyfriend. For most of us, this comes as shocking news. Such shocking news in fact, that sometimes I wonder if there has been some form of spiritual intervention. Curious, perhaps, I decided to attend the Sunday Mass at Flatirons Church, a 6,000 person Super Church in Boulder, Colorado this past June. The theme of the day was to ‘Cannonball for Jesus’. Indeed, for 45 minutes, a 26 year-old preacher in a muscle-T urged us “to climb the diving board and take a ‘leap of faith’ for Jesus”. These words sunk in with every pulse of the cover band’s high-frequency strobe light, and soon Patty J’s angelic face burst through the fog, like Mufasa. And he spoke: “You must leap, Cate. Forget everything and train.” Indeed, summer training can be a ‘leap of faith’. But when the hours drag on and rolling seems so far from snow, just think of Jesus Christ and Patrick Johnson, and take a leap of faith. It will be worth it.

Homeless: Dedicated to Michael Mommsen
So we’ve just finished the bike trip, we’re acclimatizing to modern society and my best friend Bry and I have been dumped on The Haight; a burnt out, urban chic section of San Fransisco where Dead Heads and college grads exist in peace. With 15 minutes to spare, we lug our bike bags, backpacks and several overflowing grocery bags full of accumulated junk to the Macdonalds on the corner. Plopped on the sidewalk, Bry and I ask an older couple to take our picture. They ignore us. We ask again. Silence. That kind of awkward silence when someone asks you for money and you pretend not to hear. Mm, they think we are homeless. Two minutes later, we are offered five types of drugs. Mommsen, I’m so happy you have a job next year. May we all be so lucky.

Coming Soon: The World’s Largest Czech Egg: Dedicated to Dougie Fresh
That’s it. The best thing in Kansas. I have never been to Minnesota, but I imagine that the mid-west was pretty upset when Kansas stole such a national treasure. Dougie, Kansas is the state for you. It’s full of superlatives: fast, classy and full of Munchkin magic; and you’re never more than 13 miles away from Macdonalds…

Shower in Macdonalds: Dedicated to D Grald.
Yup. By Missouri, we were desperate. I washed that shower down with Gerber’s Sweet Potatos, with extra Vitamin A. Why waste your energy chewing on a crispy Panini when you could just swallow? Hilary, I hope Grald cooked you an appropriate amount of obscure vegetables on your voyage out west.

So there is the highlight reel. I will be in Hanover teaching SAT prep classes and training for all of August. If you find yourself on the East Coast, ready to scale a few mountains, let me know. I hope you all have wonderful August adventures and I can’t wait to see you soon!

click to enlarge Noah getting his double pole on during a GMVS camp earlier.

In the futuristic 2012 model (available for preview during summer 2010), Middlebury College has made some changes. Many of these changes come about after a corporate buy-out of the college by Tropicana, incorporated. Tropicana project managers brought in from the Central American region have masterminded numerous focus groups, where unwitting students were lured to Adirondack House by the promise of “chocolate treats” (do mini-snickers count? Yes). Perhaps due to the lack of more eco-friendly treats, the most forceful request made by students involved in the focus groups was for a renewal of the 2007 promise that Middlebury would reach carbon neutrality by 2016. Also prominent were demands for endowment transparency and socially responsible food sourcing. In an unprecedented immediate response, the newly-minted administration began serving fresh fruit at every meal. Under pressure from the constant stream of honeydew melon, plums, grapes, and blueberries, Middlebury College students have agreed that all serious issues have been addressed, and that the college is in better hands than ever.

But seriously, there’s tons of fresh fruit in Proctor during the summer. It rocks.

As for me, I can be found most days looking out over Nelson Stadium, riding the Panther alongside of dozens of other student workers, research assistants, recent alums, and a majority of the local homeless. I’m employed by the Middlebury Geography Department and Huntington Graphics, a map-making company in Burlington. My summer project, already in its final weeks, is to make a general recreation map of Stowe and the surrounding area. This has proven to be very stressful, filled with fact-checking hikes, paddles, and mountain bike rides. Also watching the World Cup and the Tour de France on my second computer monitor. That’s right. I have two.

The remaining hours of my days are spent coaching the Mansfield Nordic Summer club in Jericho alongside of the much-more-highly-qualified likes of Murray Banks, Matt Johnson, Juergen the German, Tim Weston, Eli Enman, Johanna Mayerhoffer, Erin Mallory, Ryan Kerrigan…you get the idea. We have 50 kids signed up for the program this summer, which is crazy and awesome, and makes for some packed rollerski trails at the Jericho Firing Range. Coaching these kids is incredibly rewarding and fun, not to mention a great workout for me most days. A standout in the group is incoming freshman Ben Lustgarten. Boo Ya.

Summer highlight to-date: White Mountain Hut Traverse ala George Heinrichs. 54 miles, 16000 ft of climbing, 14 hours 17 minutes.

Pictures will not be forthcoming, I lost my camera in 5th grade and its hasn’t resurfaced yet. If you have any information please call 802-555-5555.

click to enlarge Austin at Junior Nationals in Presque Isle, ME

Hi, I’m Austin Cobb. I live in Peru, VT, five minutes from the Caldwell’s house. Growing up with Austin and Izzy led me through much fun and adventures, and ultimately made me a Nordic skier. If not for them, I would probably be injuring myself while alpine skiing or playing lacrosse. Thank God I live near the Caldwells. This summer, I haven’t really been doing much. I have been training with the Stratton group and working for John Ogden, a former Middlebury skier who lives in Landgrove, VT, also about five minutes from my house. The training has been excellent so far, aside from that one week when it was 90+ and humid. It has also been awesome to see Jimmy and Keely on occasion. Work has been pretty good too. I work in John’s woodshop, and pretty much do whatever he asks. It is great to learn about the woodworking trade from such a great guy.
I guess the one trip I made this summer was to Hampton Beach, NH for some surfing on the weekend when I was supposed to have written this blog post. I went with Skyler, Cameron MacKugler, and his girlfriend. After a spring break trip to Costa Rica where I became mediocre at surfing, I figured it wouldn’t be any harder here in the northeast. However, I found myself pretty much unable to ride a wave. Still, it was a fun trip; Skyler was getting barreled, which was good to see. At least one of us remembered how to surf.
That’s about all I’ve got. No big plans for August either. See everyone in the fall.

Links and Resources

Head Nordic Coach

Andrew Gardner

Gardner enters his fourth season at the helm of the men's and women's nordic ski teams. He came to Middlebury from Colorado Rocky Mountain School (CRMS) in Carbondale, Colo where he was Nordic Program Director. Since coming to New England, he acted as the wax tech for the 2008 Junior National Team, a coach at regional development camps and serves on the U23 NENSA board. Gardner is the coordinator for sustainability in athletics, serving on the college's environmental council. In the summer he enjoys road racing for the MetLife cycling team.

agardner@middlebury.edu

o: 802.443.5963

Assistant Nordic Coach

Patty Ross

Now entering her 23rd year as a full-time coach of Middlebury nordic skiing, Patty came to the College after four years of world-class competition. She was one of five American women nordic skiers to compete in the Sarajevo Olympics in 1984; she also competed internationally with the U.S. national team from 1983 to 1986. Patty graduated from the University of New Hampshire, where she was an All-East collegiate skier and captain of the Wildcat team. While at UNH, Patty competed in the World University Games in Sofia, Bulgaria. As a coach for the International Special Olympic Games, Patty received a Distinguished Service Award in 1984. She acted as a coach for the U23/ World Junior Championships in Italy in 2008.

o: 802.443.5006

Team Archives