It's that time of year again... It's summer in Alaska, and as an APU skier that means glacier season! Every summer since 2001 (minus one), I've trained on the Eagle Glacier at APU's Thomas Training Center. Most of the time I go up there three times a summer for a week at a time. Not only is the glacier a place for consistent, focused training on snow during the summer- a rarity in itself for most skiers- it's also located in one of the most beautiful places in Alaska.
The Thomas Training Center is situated on a ridge above the Eagle Glacier and overlooks the small town of Girdwood, Alaska below. It's a five minute helicopter ride or strenuous 3+ hour hike up to the facility. Our food, gear and supplies are flown in by helicopter, and our mode of arrival (and departure) varies from camp-to-camp due to weather.
APU coaches and staff work tremendously hard all summer to prepare and maintain the glacier facility. Safety is their number one concern, and they take many precautions to insure the safety of everyone who trains on the glacier and travels to and from the facility. Every day a previously designed, wanded and probed loop is groomed by piston bully, making for some of the highest quality summer skiing available anywhere in the world.
In between twice daily sessions, athletes recover in the Thomas training center, spending time eating, stretching, sleeping, and watching video from prior sessions (to work on technique). As seen above and below, the views from the facility are breathtaking. Often the first thing you wake up to when you roll over in bed and glance out the window are mountains as far as the eye can see...
2006 Summer (perhaps?)
2007 Summer
2008 Summer
While many of the camps have blended together in my mind- in fact I have no idea exactly how many weeks of my life I've spent up there- one thing's for sure, the Eagle Glacier is a world class training facility. I feel so fortunate to have the opportunity to ski right out my "backdoor."
So today marks summer glacier season #8. After a morning rollerski, we're headed up to Eagle this afternoon/evening. I'm looking forward to (among other things): the feeling of snow beneath my skis; the second-home-familiarity of the training center bunk rooms; sticky klister fingers jammed into ski gloves every day; making desserts large enough to feed two dozen hungry athletes; the incredible, wonderful feeling of satisfaction that can only come from the fatigue of training a lot (sometimes long, sometimes hard, sometimes both); and, last but not least, the beautiful summer evenings that can only be experienced on Eagle Glacier.