Speed week in Sugarloaf

In the winter, ski racers often spend more time on the road than we do at home. In the past three weeks, I have skied at Sugarbush in Waitsfield, Sunday River in Bethel, Maine, Sunapee in Lake Sunapee, New Hampshire, Cannon in Franconia, New Hampshire, and I am currently spending the week at Sugarloaf in Maine.

These trips are a blast. On the day of our departure we pack up our van, piling skis on the roof rack and cramming all of our ski bags, boots, tuning boxes, food and homework into the back. Although it is quite a process, we are so used to it that we can pack the van fairly quickly, although not necessarily neatly.

This week at Sugarloaf, we are racing downhill, the discipline that requires the greatest amount of insanity. Upon our arrival the first night, we headed to the tuning room to prep our skis and get them to run on the snow as fast as possible. To do this, one must wax the skis with wax that is made to perform best with whatever kind of weather is predicted for the race day. Then, all of the wax has to be scraped off and the skis have to be brushed until no more wax comes out. When you finally think your speed skis are all set to go and you have gotten all the wax possible out of the bases, you scrape and brush them again. After that process was over on our first night in Sugarloaf, we went to bed, visions of downhill courses dancing in our heads.

As tiring as the prep work may be, skiing downhill is definitely worth it. At Sugarloaf, the track weaves smoothly through the gates of the upper pitch and plunges down the famous “Headwall.” After headwall, you hit the flats and fly off a knoll. Doing your best to minimize your time in the air after the knoll, you plunge your hands down and grab your tuck to the finish, crunching your upper body down on your quads until you can barely lift up your head to see out of your goggles. As soon as it began, the run is over. Adrenaline rushing through your body, you cross the finish line and descend back to reality.

We will spend the week taking downhill runs each morning, each time trying to go harder and faster. Our afternoons are spent tuning our skis for the next day, doing homework, relaxing, and enjoying the fabulous food of the local restaurants.