Across Anchorage, the sun was shining as the temperature inched towards 70. Swimmers splashed in Goose Lake. Barbecues smoked at Valley of the Moon Park. Fans cheered the Anchorage Glacier Pilots at Mulcahy Stadium.
But in a remote corner of town, high up on 4,000-foot Eagle Glacier, some of America's best cross-country skiers continued doing what it seems like they always do -- ski. Pay no mind to the signs of summer everywhere. There was snow to be had, even if it took a helicopter ride to reach it.
At the end of a 6-minute flight from Girdwood is the Thomas Training Center owned and maintained on the glacier by Alaska Pacific University. It includes a big kitchen, two living room areas and close to 25 beds, accommodating sessions by APU skiers, masters and juniors once the weather turns warm.
"The glacier is awesome because it's a time when the entire team comes together to live and work in the same environment," said APU skier Don Haering. "What we get out of it is very simple: If you want to become a fast skier, the best way to do it is to ski a lot with other fast skiers. That's what we do on Eagle."
All together, 20 skiers between 16 and 31 filled up the camp for at least 20 hours of skiing that included intervals, speed work and slower recovery sessions earlier this month.
Oh, and the sun shined much of the time too.
"It's changed a ton since I first went up in 2002," said APU skier Tazlina Mannix of Talkeetna. "But it's always been a fabulous training opportunity. Now, I go up three times a summer."
That adds up.
Mannix estimates she's spent 20 weeks of her 24 years alive skiing on a glacier. Despite all her experience, it's an adjustment every year.
"It's a little bit of shock," said Mannix, who finished seventh in the 30-kilometer freestyle national championship race this year. "We go up there, and it's definitely winter. Some times up there, it's snowing or it's raining. Other times you get really low clouds -- you can't see your own hands kind of thing."
Bring it on, said two-time Olympian James Southam of Anchorage.
"Even when weather is nasty, you just feel tough -- and you take some pride in that part of it too," he said.
Not everyone revels in such conditions. After all, America is a country with at least two movies called "Endless Summer" -- but not one called "Endless Winter." Most Alaskans, after enduring snow from October through April, are anxious for warmth.
But not all Alaskans.
APU skiers seek skiable snow 11 months of the year -- September can be tough. As a result, by the time the Alaskans arrive at the first national races of the season in West Yellowstone, Mont., skiing on snow is familiar.
Just ask Morgan Smyth, the Northern Michigan graduate who moved from Vermont this year to train at APU. When Smyth lived in the Lower 48, she sometimes showed up at the first races of the season without having skied on snow that season. Other than one summer spent skiing in New Zealand, Smyth has used roller skiing and cross training to stay sharp.
Until now.
"It was awesome, really cool," she said of her session on Eagle Glacier earlier this month. "We had awesome weather and the track held up really well. I don't think there's any question that skiing on snow in the summer is an advantage."
And while the setting can be gorgeous when the sky clears, it's not plush. Nevertheless, the operation bigger and better than it was a decade ago. A PistenBully groomer is on site. A remodel overseen by APU coach Erik Flora improved living conditions, with more small rooms instead of a gymnasium-style existence. Toilet moved indoors.
"When I first started going there," said Southam of Anchorage. "There were maybe six or seven of us. It was just our own little camp, and it wasn't super organized."
When Southam showed up for his first flight to the glacier, he brought skis but no sustenance.
"I didn't have any food," he said. "I figured it was all was provided. "
Wrong. Fortunately, other skiers brought extra, but "that was kind of a wake-up," Southam said.
Increasingly, the benefits are becoming clear too.
"In the camp this June there was a really obvious improvement in nearly every member of the team," said Haering, who visited for his fifth year. "I've never seen most of the guys ski that fast. That's another thing which is fun and inspiring, you can see the improvement in your teammates as well as for yourself."
Perhaps a hidden benefit is gaining experience on wet, sloppy snow -- conditions becoming increasingly familiar at an array of nordic races. Vancouver's Winter Games in February regularly saw temperatures soar towards 50.
"When we race abroad over in Europe, the snow can be much more variable," Mannix said. "It's kind of like mashed potatoes, and the Europeans are used to that."
Summer days on the glacier simulates those conditions.
"I feel like my soft-snow classic skiing has improved so much," Mannix said. "You can get really good at klister skiing. Alaska skiers tend to get so used to hard-wax skiing."
And when the sun shines, there's the rush of skiing high in the mountains with Turnagain Arm twinkling in the distance and the worry of frozen digits a distant memory.
"When the weather is good and it's sunny out, you can't really beat it," Southam said. "Imagine, skiing in shorts and no shirts. It can be baking hot up there when there's no wind and the sun is reflecting off the glaciers."
Just like summer's supposed to be.
Masters glacier session
A training session on Eagle Glacier for older skiers is July 25-31. Four days of training on the glacier will be aimed at technique, endurance and strengthening ski-specific muscles for up to 15 masters. Three days of dry-land training in Girdwood with APU's elite team coaches is included.
Taken from the ADN, 22June10, by Mike Campbell
Read more and see pictures: http://www.adn.com/2010/06/21/1334372/year-round-dedication.html