Christmas Camp Wrap-Up

 Notice: There will be a mandatory parent meeting on Saturday 1/5 at 3:15 at the Westside Lodge.  Snacks and adults beverages will be supplied by the mountain.  The meeting should last about 1/2 hour.

Another successful Christmas camp has wrapped up as the Mt. Abram Race Team heads into week 3 of our regular program.

The Mt. Abram team was joined by several teams from Massachusetts for the three day camp and everyone had a great time.  There was certainly a lot of improvement in the skiing skills area!  On day one we were treated to what so far has been the biggest storm of the season with over 10 inches of fresh cold powder.  The athletes enjoyed tearing up the mountain and free skiing as the entire mountain was open.  A highlight for many of the athletes was jumping the cliff under the Wayback Machine chairlift and then proceeding down the lift line through the bumps.

On Friday and Saturday we were treated to some great weather and the famously groomed Mt. Abram trails as the athletes continued working through basic skills for balance, turning and edging.  On both days we brought out the brushes for turn shape drills and on Saturday there was a picket fence drill set as well.

The camp was rounded out with a “fun race”, an untimed GS set down lower Boris.  A race always brings out the best in the athletes and this was no exception.  It was great to see so many of our athletes with good direction above the gate, setting up the edge early in the turn and carving a smooth ski through the chatter that results from several different ability levels skiing in the course.

A wrap up was done at the end of the camp and the athletes were encouraged to practice what they learned in the camp; balance in an athletic stance, railroad tracks, pole plants, 1000 step turns and leapers to mention a few.  Hopefully the athletes in the camp began to recognize the importance of a good pole plant, whether skiing GS with a “pole touch” or SL with a “pole plant”.

We will look forward to moving into brush and stubby SL on Saturday Jan. 5 (stay tuned to the Thursday posting on the blog to confirm this).  We wish our friends from Bogastow and Wachusett a great season and hope to see them again real soon!

Click here to see more pics from the Christmas Camp.

Christmas Camp Pictures

Click here to see more pics from the Christmas Camp.

Christmas Race Camp

We had a great early season turnout for the first day of the 12 week race program this past Saturday 12/22/12.  The athletes worked on Balanced Athletic Stance and Railroad Tracks.  We will continue this progression on Saturday 12/29/12 at 8:30.  There will also be a fun race (GS) in the afternoon.

This Thursday 12/27/12 we begin our three day Christmas Camp.  The Christmas Camp will follow the USSA Skills Quest early season progression, beginning with a Balanced Athletic Stance and proceeding through a fun race (GS) on the final day of the camp.  Slalom skis would be preferable for training on the first two days of the camp.

The camp follows the 8:30 - 2:30 Race Program schedule with the following exceptions; there will be a tuning clinic sponsored by BestTunes and Swix on Thursday at 3:30 at the Westside Lodge.  On Friday there will be a panel discussion and question/answer with three current and former collegiate ski racers.  This session will begin at 3:30, also at the Westside Lodge.  Panel members will include Victoria Bobbe - Colby Sawyer, Coach Hilary Lemelin - Plymouth State and Coach Hilary Reis - Babson.

The panel will discuss how to gain admission to a college program and what it is like to be a collegiate student athlete.  Hope everyone can join us!

Remember, we begin the day at 8:30 so arrive at 8 AM so that you can get situated and "booted up".  We will take a lunch break from 11:30 until noon so bring a snack in your pocket for a mid-morning break!

Abram Race Team 2012-2013

Mt. Abram Race Team 2012/13

The 2012/13 season is almost here!  With snow guns putting down a great base and the promise of snow in the future, the Mt. Abram Race Team will begin training on Saturday 12/22/12 at 8:30 AM.

The 2012 Christmas race camp will begin at 8:30 AM on Thursday 12/27 and will continue through Friday and Saturday with plans for a fun race at the end of the camp.  The Christmas camp is included in the 2012/13 season program so we hope to see all of our athletes attend!  The focus for the camp will be early season fundamentals as outlined in the US Ski Association Skills Quest program.  Skills Quest is being used for everyone from the youngest U8 through and including the US Ski Team.

In addition to the experienced Mt. Abram coaching staff we will have additional help from some top collegiate ski racers.  These young coaches are skiing at the highest level and will be sharing their considerable experience with our camp athletes.

Afternoon activities will include a tuning clinic sponsored by Swix and Best Tunes of Bethel.  This clinic will take place on Thursday after skiing and will be hands on providing our athletes (parents invited too) the opportunity to learn from the best.

After skiing on Friday we will host a panel discussion and question/answer on what is it like to ski in college.  Our collegiate coaches will discuss how many opportunities there are to ski in college and how to plan your training and studies to reach this goal.

Both afternoon activities will take place at the West Side Lodge, a short car or shuttle ride away from the main base area.  All family members are welcome to join in.

We look forward to seeing you next week!  If you have any questions please give Race Director Matty Leach a call at 207-875-5000.

Final Results for W.C. Triple Crown Series 2011-2012

Final Results for this season's World Cup Triple Crown Series.
Team Results
1st-Shake & Bake Champions       Race #1 GS           4:19.23 (1st)
       169 L. Weinburg                         Race #2 SL           5:21.97  (1st)
       234 H. Clapp                              Race #3 KOMBI  5:41.54  (2nd)
       149 C. Williamson                       Total Time= 15:22.74
       268 E. Novick
       236 D. Mendalsohn
       192 J. Mills
       295 A. Rae
       274 E. Lane
       198 K. Flaherty

2nd-Ultimate Duct Tape Dynamite   Race #1  GS        4:44.96 (4th)
        236 A. Lane                                 Race #2  SL         5:43.25 (2nd)
        257 J. Harrington                          Race #3  KOMBI 5:39.35 (1st) 
        259 W. Kline                                Total Time= 16:07.56
        188 E. Massey
        219 P. MacKinnon
        165 C. Burns
        279 S. Novick
        267 H. Lane
        178 A. Kahkonen

3rd- Flying Dutchmen                       Race #1  GS        4:33.27 (3rd)
         164 C. McEvoy                         Race #2   SL        6:16.45 (4th)
         230  J. Carroll                            Race #3 KOMBI  5:57.53 (3rd)        
         234  C. MacKinnon                   Total Time= 16:47.25
         147  A. Johnston
         289  S. Flaherty
         271  O. White
         94    A. Swaney
         148  N. Johnson

4th- Sprinkle Covered Lightning Fast Coconuts   Race #1 GS         4:20.74 (2nd)
         228 C. Harrington                                             Race #2 SL         6:15.68 (3rd)
         239 C. Hagelin                                                  Race #3 KOMBI 6:11.65 (4th)
         218 H. Dorsky                                                  Total Time= 16:48.07
         221 C. Knudsen
         179 P. Rae
         276 K.Lane
         172 K. McEvoy
         195 C. Burns


Please note that less than 1 second separated 3rd place from 4th place!

Individual Results


Dev Womens                                                                        Dev Mens
1st- 268 pts. E. Novick                                             1st-259 pts. W. Kline
2nd-239 pts. C. Hagelin                                            2nd-257 pts. J. Harrington
3rd-238 pts. A. Lane                                                3rd- 236 pts. D. Mendalsohn

MS Women                                                                         MS Men
1st- 279 pts. S. Novick                                              1st- 295 pts. A. Rae
2nd- 276 pts. K. Lane                                                2nd-289 pts S. Flaherty
3rd- 219 pts. P. MacKinnon                                      3rd-271 pts. O. White


HS Women                                                                         HS Men
1st- 274 pts. E. Lane                                                  1st- 267 pts. H. Lane
2nd-198 pts. K. Flaherty                                            2nd-195 pts. C. Burns
3rd- 178 pts. A. Kahkonen                                         3rd-148 pts. N. Johnson

Top 3 point winners overall
1. 295 A. Rae
2. 289 S. Flaherty
3. 279 S. Novick
Congratulations to all participating athletes in this year's World Cup Triple Crown series.

Triple Crown Finale on Saturday March 10, 2012

The final leg of Mt Abram's World Cup Triple Crown Series is slated for Saturday March 10th. Last Saturday's weather forced the event to be postponed due to visibility and snow conditions. This weekend's weather looks to be a much better scenario to get the Kombi Race in under sunny skies. Saturdays schedule is as follows:
7:00am-Course setters and race crew meet at base lodge.
9:00am- GS course opens for inspection
9:30am- GS race starts
NOTE: Following the conclusion of the GS run, the start will be brought down to the SL start and SL course inspection will open at that time. The SL will start as soon as possible following course inspection. Time will be allotted for athletes to change out equipment.
11:15 (estimated) SL start
After the conclusion of the SL run, all athletes are asked to cycle up to help pull the gates and equipment off the hill.
12:15 (estimated) Pizza party in base lodge with year end awards to follow the feeding frenzy.

Good luck to all teams and athletes on Saturday, we are looking forward to a great Finale to the season!

Pictures Availble

If you are interested in getting pics go here. You'll have the option of either purchasing or getting pics for free.  Enjoy!

World Cup Triple Crown Finale this weekend.

The third and final leg of Mt. Abram's WC Triple Crown Series is scheduled for Saturday March 3rd. The Kombi race consists of one run of GS and one run of Slalom, the combined times of each run will be used for scoring purposes.  The weather is looking like it may not cooperate for us on Saturday. "The forecast is for warm temps and some wet precipitation" said Coach Joe Reis. In the event that we cannot go on Saturday, we will look at moving the race to Sunday March 4th. The GS will run in the morning and the Slalom will be after lunch.
The standings after 2 events are as follows:
1.) Shake & Bake Champions
2.) Ultimate Duct Tape Dynamite (-0:47.01)
3.) Sprinkle Covered Lightning Fast Coconuts (-0:55.22)
4.) Flying Dutchmen (-1:08.52)

The standings are very close and it is still anyone's race at this point. In addition to the team scores, individual scores are being calculated. Mens and womens in 3 catagories are being scored. High School (HS), Middle School (MS) and Developmental (DEV). These catagories are based on the groups that the athletes have been training with. Those standings are as follows:
DEV Womens-
1.) E. Novick 181 pts.
2.) C. Hagelin 159 pts.
3.) A. Lane 157 pts.

DEV Mens
Tie 1.) J. Harrington 171 pts.
      1.) W. Kline 171 pts.
Tie 3.) D. Mendelsohn 159 pts.
      3.) C. MacKinnon 159 pts.

MS Womens
1.) S. Novick 186 pts.
2.) K. Lane 181 pts.
3.) P. Rae 179 pts.

MS Mens
1.) A. Rae 196 pts.
2.) S. Flaherty 193 pts.
3.) O. White 181 pts.

HS Women
1.) K. Flaherty 198 pts.
2.) E. Lane 180 pts.
3.) K. McEvoy 99 pts.

HS Men
1.) C. Burns 195 pts.
2.) H. Lane 176 pts.
3.) N. Johnson 50 pts.

Good luck in the 3rd leg, as you can see by the individual standings, these races are very close. We are looking forward to a very exciting event!

Training Plan for Saturday 2/25/2012

        This weekend brings a very busy schedule to Mt. Abram Resort. The Race program will train in a morning session only on Saturday. In the afternoon, the Sandy Fitch-Dave Gilpatrick Memorial Race will take place on Lower Boris. In memory of two great Mt. Abram Patrollers, this race benefits the Cancer Society to help cure this terrible disease which claimed the lives of both Sandy & Dave far too early in their lives. Entry fee is $10 with all proceeds going to the Cancer Society of Maine.Registration will be in the base lodge. This race is put on by the Mt. Abram Ski Club with a huge effort by the Race Program athletes who set up and run the race. If you would like to help, contact Coach Hutch on Saturday morning.
        The Ski Club's Annual Auction takes place Saturday night starting at 5:30 pm In the Loose Boots Lounge. This is the biggest fundraiser each year for the Ski Club who's mission statement is to facilitate getting local athletes, kids and adults outside in the winter.

• Saturday's training plan for the HS group will be GS. With a focus on technique, Coaches will set helper brushes if needed to enhance tactics. 
• The MS group will train GS as well. Level shoulders, pole touch and hand position will be the focus for the day.
• Dev teams will be training stubbies with the focus on turn shape, quiet upper body and hand position/pole touch. 

Congratulations to all our athletes who participated in their State Meets over the past two weeks. With States behind us, the focus for the remainder of the year will be building towards next year! See you Saturday morning................

World Cup Triple Crown: 2nd Leg Video

Four Teams battled it out on February 18th for bragging rights. While there was much bragging before the race, excuses took over as the day progressed:

World Cup Triple Crown on 2/18

 Saturday 2/18 brings the 2nd leg of Mt. Abram's Triple Crown World Cup Series. Bring your Slalom gear on Saturday to determine which team has the best Slalom specialists. The morning session will feature SL training with your respective teams and the afternoon will feature the 2nd leg of the Triple Crown Series. Course inspection will begin at 1:00pm and race starts at 1:30pm on Lower Boris.

After the first event the team standings are as follows: 1st place with 40 points is the Shake & Bake Champions; a close 2nd with 41 points is the Sprinkle Covered Lightning Fast Coconuts. In 3rd place with 60 points is the Flying Dutchmen with the Ultimate Duct Tape Dynamite team in 4th with 74 points. The team results can change in a blink of an eye on Saturday and we are looking forward to a great event! Bring your cowbells and air horns because the teams will be fired up for a Vacation Week showdown.

Training Plan for Saturday 2/11/12

Welcome to our new blog page. Brewster Burns (Chris & Caroline's Dad) has updated the blog to feature more photos, videos and and completely new look. Thanks goes out to Brewster, so if you see him this weekend, let him know your thoughts. His talents behind a camera lens are amazing so scroll down to some of the past blogs to see some added photo content and slide shows of past events. Thanks again Brewster!

This Saturday (2/11) brings a very busy day to Mt. Abram Ski Resort. The New England Telemark Festival takes place on Saturday. In addition to the Telemarkers it is also the Annual White Grass Festival featuring some of the best Bluegrass style bands around. We anticipate a very busy day on and off the hill. All groups will be training Slalom in anticipation to next Saturday's (2/18) 2nd leg of the World Cup Triple Crown Series Race.

Most of the High School gang will be at Titcomb for the Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference (KVAC) regional race. Good luck to all our athletes involved! We will combine the HS and MS groups for Saturday's training. MS & Dev team groups will be training Slalom in the morning session, so bring your slalom gear. The afternoon session will feature directed free skiing with Coaches. This session will work on your individual skiing as well as free skiing drills.

Saturday's forecast is for flurries in the morning with clearing in the afternoon with temps in the high teens to low twenties. Dress warm as it is looking more like a January day. To check the weather, click on the NOAA link on the right of this page. All groups will meet at the bottom of the C1 chair at 8:55am. See you Saturday.

Training Plan for Saturday 2/4

This Saturday brings a USSA seeded JI & JII slalom race to Mt Abram. This will be an all day event featuring some of New Englands best High School aged racers. Terrain for the Race Program will be limited because of the race. The morning session will be primarily directed free skiing with a focus on the athletes personal skiing as well as free skiing drills. The afternoon session will feature brush courses to improve quickness and agility. Slalom skis are preferred for Saturdays training, shin and face guards will not be needed. The lodge will be very busy for Saturday, please plan accordingly as space will be at a premium inside.
All groups should plan on meeting outside at 8:50am- see you there.............

Friday Night Light Slalom this week 2/3/12

This Friday is a slalom being hosted by Oxford Hills Middle School. Start time is 5:00pm. If you are racing for your home school in this event, your school needs to submit it's roster to Matty Leach at race@skimtabram.com by Wednesday at 6:00pm. If you are skiing for the Mt. Abram team A.R.C. (Abram Race Club), please contact Coach Hutch at hakhutch@roadrunner.com or tim@pennridgemotors.com by Wednesday at 3:00pm to insure a spot on the roster.

World Cup Team Results from Saturday 1/28

Greenwood, ME: The "Shake & Bake Champions" pulled out a victory in the first leg of Mt. Abram's Triple Crown World Cup Series on Saturday. The margin of victory was less than 2 seconds as all teams gave it their all.

The attendance was great on a beautiful day for the GS race on Boris Badenov Trail. The crowds grew steadily over the course of the race and the cowbells were out in force. Below are the official team results from Saturdays race.

The next Triple Crown Race will be Saturday February 18th. It will be a Slalom on Lower Boris Badenov.

		Single Course-Team Race	1/28/2012
		World Cup Triple Crown Series-Race #1	GS
	Each team must have 5 members and is scored by total time
Team: Shake & Bake Champions			Total Time: 4:19:23				Rank 1st
Bib	Class	Name	Run 1		Run 2		Result		Used
16	Dev	Ella Novick	27.56	[13]	27.09	[12]	54.65	[12]	*
4	Dev	Henry Clapp	33.21	[27]	31.20	[26]	01:04.0	[26]
2	Dev	Dane Mendelsohn	32.64	[26]	32.02	[27]	01:04.66	[27]
8	Dev	Claire Williamson	DNS		DNS
12	Dev	Leah Weinberg	DNS		DNS
32	HS	Kali Flaherty	25.05	[3]	23.35	[4]	48.40	[3]	*
28	HS	Erin Lane	27.12	[10]	29.64	[21]	56.76	[15]	*
24	MS	Aaron Rae	24.65	[2]	23.92	[6]	48.57	[4]	*
20	MS	Jacob Mills	25.96	[7]	24.89	[7]	50.85	[6]	*
Team: Sprinkle Covered Lightning Fast Coconuts			Total Time: 4:20:74				Rank 2nd
Bib	Class	Name	Run 1		Run 2		Result		Used
15	Dev	Henry Dorsky	29.11	[17]	28.64	[17]	57.75	[17]	*
11	Dev	Cooper Knudsen	29.47	[19]	28.90	[19]	58.37	[19]
3	Dev	Carly Hagelin	29.48	[20]	30.46	[24]	59.94	[20]
7	Dev	Caroline Harrington	32.37	[25]	32.51	[29]	01:04.88	[28]
31	HS	Chris Burns	23.77	[1]	22.80	[2]	46.57	[1]	*
27	HS	Keaton McEvoy	25.27	[6]	22.95	[3]	48.22	[2]	*
23	MS	Kailey Lane	26.93	[9]	27.12	[12]	54.05	[10]	*
19	MS	Polly Rae	27.22	[11]	26.92	[10]	54.14	[11]	*
Team: Flying Dutchmen			Total Time: 4:33:27				Rank 3rd
Bib	Class	Name	Run 1		Run 2		Result		Used
5	Dev	Colin MacKinnon	30.03	[21]	30.04	[22]	01:00.07	[21]	*
1	Dev	Carson McEvoy	30.13	[22]	30.37	[23]	01:00.50	[22]
9	Dev	Jake Carroll	33.22	[28]	33.66	[30]	01:06.88	[29]
13	Dev	Ania Johnston	35.15	[29]	35.44	[31]	01:10.59	[30]
29	HS	Nick Johnson	25.21	[4]	28.29	[15]	53.5	[9]	*
21	MS	Sean Flaherty	25.26	[5]	25.45	[8]	50.71	[5]	*
25	MS	Ali Swaney	27.28	[12]	23.58	[5]	50.86	[7]	*
17	MS	Owen White	29.23	[18]	28.9	[19]	58.13	[18]	*
Team: Ultimate Duct Tape Dynamite			Total Time: 4:44:96				Rank 4th
Bib	Class	Name	Run 1		Run 2		Result		Used
10	Dev	Jack Harrington	28.90	[16]	27.53	[13]	56.43	[13]	*
14	Dev	Will Kline	28.41	[14]	28.24	[14]	56.65	[14]	*
6	Dev	Abby Lane	31.07	[24]	32.04	[28]	01:03.11	[25]
30	HS	Harrison Lane	28.82	[15]	28.5	[16]	57.32	[16]	*
33	HS	Annika Kahkonen	38.68	[30]	22.54	[1]	01:01.22	[23]	*
22	MS	Sarah Novick	26.55	[8]	26.79	[9]	53.34	[8]	*
26	MS	Caroline Burns	30.90	[23]	31.08	[25]	01:01.98	[24]
18	MS	Paige MacKinnon	DNF		28.64	[17]