Utah Junior Camp!

This week the camps continued with the first annual Utah Junior Camp. The goal of this camp was to get all the kids ages 12 and over from all the Utah xc ski programs together for an awesome week of hard training and fun. 

The camp kicked off on Monday with a distance classic rollerski on the Jordan River Parkway (great flat bike path in SLC) followed by strength and disc golf at the University of Utah. It was the longest rollerski most of the kids had ever completed. 

Tuesday, we jumped in the van for another karaoke session on our way to Sugarhouse Park (as a team we may not have much of a future in singing but it was REAL fun!). There we put on our skate rollerskis for a technique, agility and speed session. The kids did great on the timed agility course that mimicked the REG camp course. We then cooled off at the Steiner Aquatic Center with swim relays and diving board competitions. 

Wednesday, we moved a bit closer to home with a distance run starting at Park City Mountain Resort. The Park City Nordic Ski Club then invited us to their home base for ropes course, zip line, and drop tower fun! See the great photos below. 

Thursday, the weather heated up and so did the competition. We met at the bike path in a Midway housing development for a classic (mostly double pole) sprint relay. The older kids did a semi and a final round (each person did 3 laps alternating with their partner then got a 15 minute break and did it again). Luckily, we had planned paddle boarding and kayaking THANK YOU ADVENTURE HAUS for that afternoon! I think everyone was excited when the water war broke out mid paddleboard session leaving not a single dry skier on the lake!

Thursday night the adventures continued for the SoHo and TUNA programs. We wanted to get an early start on Friday's Timp hike so we camped at Timpanogos campground right at the base of the mountain. We kept it simple with grilled brats, corn, and watermelon followed by a campfire with smores and, of course, a chubby bunny contest. Did you know Matt Johnson can put 12 marshmallows in his mouth? Xander gets runner up with 11. 

Friday, the crew got up early for the epic hike up Mount Timpanogos! It was a real hot but fun filled and successful day! Despite an extremely hot day all of the Team SoHo skiers made it to the summit!!! 

Overall, the camp was a huge success! All the kids got to know one another, there was great training and lots of laughs. I know I am excited already for the next Utah Junior Camp! A huge thanks to Jen Jackson for all the hike photos.