Who's in the Burrow?

Orientation 2011, Day 2

Fighting Marmot family:


More news follows from both our first night afield and from our Field Day events at Orientation 2011:


* The snorers of our community are now no longer anonymous. Everybody knows who we are, but fortunately the persecution has been pretty mild and good natured. One of my cabin mates - who will remain unnamed - told me that he tried to awaken me in the middle of the night to stop my chainsawing. He actually slept OUTSIDE with the bugs and the bears last night.


* There are now two "Jefes" on the SBA coaching staff, a Nordic "Jefe" - Schloss - and an Alpine "Jefe" - Kai - (both coaches noted that their understudies in the past have given them these affectionate monikers, which are also - from the perspective of Marmot Man - a tribute to the popularity of the Spanish language).


* Colter Fellows set the standard by which all future SBA volleyball players will be judged, leading his team to a 3-2 victory over a talented squad that featured the volleyball starpower of new SBA student/athlete Joelle Romo.


* New faculty member Izaak Eberst was sidelined due to an ankle injury he sustained in a game of Capture the Flag and has been hobbling around camp. The injury doesn't seem to have dampened his good nature.


* New SBA student/athlete Taylor Elicegui, a second-year J2 alpine racer from Reno, became the first student to correctly name each and every SBA community member present at Orientation 2011.


* Around the firepit, students, staff, and faculty shared their hopes and dreams for the 2011-2012 school year. The String of Hopes, an SBA tradition, will hang in the dining room of the SBA boarding house. Students may add or amend hopes at any point in the school year. Augie apparently still hopes to get huge.


* We watched the international space station fly over us at approximately 8:45 p.m. and learned, thanks to the space savvy of Steve Ascher, that it moves at about 17,000 miles per hour and houses about six astronauts.


Day 3 features a hike and swim on the North Fork of the American River, followed by the short return trip to campus with a schedule arrival of 3 p.m.


-Marmot Man, powered by Blogpress and iPhone

Orientation 2011, Day 1

Fighting Marmot family,


Weary but exhilarated from today's adventures - and still burning fuel from the campire smorefest that concluded the day's athletic and advisory activities - the faculty and student/athletes of SBA are settling into our cabins for the night at the Community of the Great Comission.


Hope you enjoy some highlights from Day 1 of SBA Orientation 2011...


• The majority of the SBA student/athletes elected a 10-mile mountain bike ride through manzanita and live oak stands on the hard-packed Forest Hill Divide Trail, which divides the North Fork of the American River from the Middle Fork.


• Nordic Coaches Jeff Schloss and Martin Benes along with faculty member Steve Ascher and Head of School Tracy Keller led a small group of road bikers on a 28-mile ride. The most ambitious of the bunch, including Joe Piercy, Alec Wiltz, Bria Riggs, and Schloss rode 49 miles, down to the middle fork of the American River to Ralston Reservoir, where they enjoyed some swim time.


From what I understand of the area (thanks to Coach Schloss),
these giant forks of the American River are where gold was discovered, starting the California gold rush, making our 2011 orientation site the epicenter of the first big environmental fight in the U.S.


Gold miners came into conflict with the farmers in the area by damming the creeks and using the dammed water to conduct hydraulic blasting of the surrounding hillside.


• Steve Ascher pointed out a spectacular iridium flare from a satellite passing overhead, but most of the student/athlete population was too deep into smores to take notice.


Day 2 features field day events!


-Marmot Man, powered by Blogpress and iPhone