October 4, 2008 – Even though the calendar says autumn, it was truly a summer-like feel to the final dry-land (hopefully!) training camp of the Far West Nordic season. For the second year in a row, 14 top athletes from the division met in the Eastern Sierra for an all-too-brief weekend of high-altitude/high-intensity workouts at the Virginia Lakes Fall Training Camp.

Set in an unbelievably beautiful lakes basin at 9,600 ft. elevation, between the eastern California hamlets of Lee Vining and Bridgeport, athletes were treated to the “luxury” of staying at the Tiernan Family Cabin in order to meet, eat, and lounge without too much fear of possible inclement High Sierra weather. And unlike 2007, where campers were greeted with frigid temperatures and a dusting of early snow, this year’s edition enjoyed perfectly blue skies and warm temperatures, resulting in most campers enjoying a couple nights under the stars.

A quick pack-up directly after school on Friday, and it was on the road around Lake Tahoe and down the “east side” to meet up with the small contingent from the southern Sierra. Since it was a camp designed for the top athletes in the division, Friday was not a day to waste, so even before we arrived in Virginia Lakes, it was time for a stiff double-pole session up the road, climbing over 1,000 feet to the cabin where athletes enjoyed a sumptious lasagne dinner (3 cheers for Costco).

Saturday was scheduled as the “intensity” day, so the morning found the group heading south 40 minutes to June Mountain and a grueling Skiwalking and Moosehufs session with former Olympian and 14-time National XC Champion Nancy Fiddler. Led by Nancy and coaches Jeff Schloss and Mark Nadell, athletes were put through the paces of a pyramid interval session before it was time to head to a nearby lake for lunch and recovery, and then more recovery time at the grassy park on the shores of the incomparable Mono Lake.

The afternoon was time for an exploration of new territory – a skate rollerski up the newly-paved Lundy Canyon road just north of Mono Lake. 5 miles of perfect pavement made for spectacular rollerskiing, beginning with a series of “get back to the fundamentals” drills led by coaches Fiddler and Schloss. Then it was a 1,000 foot climb up-canyon, capped by one athlete’s “creature from the black lagoon” excursion into the lake – on rollerskis. If nothing else, it certainly entertained a few of the tourists and fishermen along the lake.

Predictably, the evening’s activities ended a little earlier on Saturday night after the long day of training. Plus, athletes were warned that Sunday was going to be longer and harder, although with less intensity. Scheduled for the final day was a climb of Matterhorn Peak on the northern Yosemite border, one of the 50 Classic Climbs of the Sierra Nevada, immortalized forever in Jack Kerouac’s classic novel The Dharma Bums.

Beginning at 7,000 feet elevation, the mostly off-trail hike ascends over 5,000 feet to culminate in the tiny summit pinnacle of Matterhorn Peak at 12,272 feet, with views of much of the spectacular granite of Yosemite National Park. The route climbs up one of the classic glaciated hanging valley canyons from Twin Lakes, cresting briefly at Horse Creek Pass. There, athletes were met with views of the final ascent – termed the “vertical beach” of rock, sand, and scree — where two steps forward usually resulted in one step back until the final summit blocks were achieved. But the views and thrills were more than worth the effort after over 4 hours of ascending, and athletes held on tight to the rocks as 3 sides of cliffs plummeted precipitously to the valleys below.

A long descent made for almost an 8-hour day of hiking, and athletes had to come back to the reality of the long drive home (and homework to do before school the next day). Needless to say, the drive back was a bit quieter than the trip down on Friday. But the athletes had shown the coaches an impressive blend of hard work and team play throughout the camp, proving that they are well on the way toward a successful fall season of training in preparation for their ski racing goals.