Orientation - The Burke Process Tableau

As part of orientation today students visited several stations in their "team clean" groups.  At one station they examined the "Burke Process" and each group created a tableau: a still image to represent the Burke Process created with their bodies.

Slalom action in SUI

We shot a ton of video today, but since the kids were getting so many runs I got a rare opportunity to try to take some still photos. I missed a few, but I tried to catch everyone - enjoy!

Matilda

Sammi

Aidan

Julia

Ava

Calvin

Char

Jennette

Ella

Daphnee

Kelsey

Laz

Lili

Maddy

Sammi

Poppy

Marta

Maggie

Sophie

Teddy

Sunrise in Chile

Here are a few scenes from Chile yesterday.  Kraig reports that they moved into SG and that they have a jump, wave track and glide course.

Perfect day with SL, GS, and SG training yesterday

First day of SG for most

Ferg giving the U16 boys an intro to the wave track

Skiing in Saas Fee!

After a string of tough thunderstorms down here in town, and what was apparently snow up high, we finally got back out today at Saas Fee. It was a perfect day! The German World Cup women are training SL here, and the Austrian men's Europa cup team was skiing GS, so it seems like this is still the place to be in Europe. We are looking forward to finishing with a few more days like today to close out a great camp! 

Above the clouds as soon as you get off the metro. 

Ava, Matilda, Julia, Char, Aidan, Lili, Kelsey

Daphnee and Jennette

The view from the top of our lane

Sophie & her siblings Poppy and Harper, chasing her around all morning! 

Weather Day In Saas-Fee

We ended up with an extra day off ahead of our SL block thanks to some inclement alpen weather. Turns out, Saas-Fee is home to some of the most visually and audibly spectacular thunderstorms! We've been keeping busy with homework, games, and today we did a scavenger hunt that took the kids all around the valley.

The items on the scavenger hunt were:

1. A photo with an animal larger than you (cows!)
2. Five facts about a famous athlete from the Saaser region. 
3. Taste a local food that you have never had before, and write a review ("It was good.")
4. Ride two gondolas other than the ones we ski from, and take a photo at the top of each one.
5. On a map, plan a route to Saas-Grund and Saas-Almagell.
6. Find two churches, take photos of each.
7. Find hotels with a "Z," a "V," and a "B" in the name.
8. Learn the Swiss national anthem (probably the hardest question. Props to Maddy for the solo performance).
9. Find one of the most common family names in town and get an autograph and photo from someone with that name (Bumann, Imseng, and Zurbriggen all represented).
10. Take a photo of a live marmot. (One team was only able to video the inside of the marmot hole after the animal disappeared into the ground).
11. Extra Credit:
• Take a photograph of a live camel (there are two nearby)
• Full name of all 5 coaches (Victoria Beyonce Amorello, apparently)
• Names of TK's sons (Niklas and Sebastian)
• Names of both male NCAA champions from 2015 - both Burkies (Dom Garand and Rob Cone)

Kelsey, Teddy, and Sophie at the top of one of their gondola rides.

A local church.

I'm actually not sure what's going on in this photo. Maggie, Calvin, Matilda, Celeste.

Maggie, Calvin, Celeste, Matilda at gondola #2. "The blue gondola."

This is a photo of a photo of a marmot. No points were awarded, but it was the only one that didn't look more like a Bigfoot sighting.

Team #1 met local legend Nikolai Zurbriggen at his ski shop. Famous athlete (semi-famous, at least), and local family name all in one pic.

Calvin and the camel. "This was the only angle we could get."

Team #4 won the day, and a box of chocolates. Charlotte, Maddy, Ella, Julia, and Sammi. Maddy's solo rendition of the Swiss national anthem put them over the top. Their implementation of PowerPoint was excellent as well.

 More scavanger hunt photos are lost in email world but will be up soon!

And a couple group shots from after the speedball tournament. Congratulations to the grey team, I think you won! The white team (my team) definitely lost. We were 0-3 in the tournament but we'll come back stronger next time.

Maggie, Daphnee, Ella, Celeste, Kelsey, and Jennette (I think?)

Classic Burke session. The outdoors is the gym here, no matter what. This is looking up toward the ski area.

Obligatory jumping photo.

A little awkward on the landing.

Miscellaneous from Saas Fee!

Julia, Daphnee, LiLi, Matilda & Jennette

Watching World Cup video with Sam after our meeting the other night..

Aidan is 13! 

Maddy getting some one-on-one from Sam during her return to snow - yay! 

Sophie & selfie

Talking through the plan at the top of our lane with Sam 

Rebecca challenged Teddy, Cal and Laz to a Bananagram game or two...

Each night the whole group has to give a presentation on a legend of ski racing. Last night's subject was Ingemar Stenmark...tonight the Mahre brothers.