Road To Russia…Via a Tiny, Little Town in Northern Italy!

Today marks the third week I’ve been in Europe for the start of the 2011/2012 Biathlon Season. For those of you who don’t know, biathlon is a combination of cross country skiing and rifle marksmanship. Biathlon is a sport that pits skier against skier, biathlete against extreme weather, and shooter against the challenges of mental and physical exhaustion. It’s exciting, an obscure sport, but exciting none the less!

Week 1: Ostersund, Sweden

My first week in Europe found me traveling from my wintery home in southern Colorado, to an unseasonably warm, almost tropical Sweden. Normally this time of year winter is not hard to find in Scandinavia, but winter conditions were lacking in almost all of Scandinavia and central Europe. The only thing that was consistent from my previous travels here was the sun, which sits very low on the horizon and makes it look like dusk for much of the day. My twin sister traveled with me, as we both compete for the U.S. Biathlon Team together. When we left Colorado, we packed for what would be a 5 month journey across Scandinavia and Europe for our competition season.

When we arrived to the biathlon venue, we found a strip of snow snaking it’s way along the 4 kilometer course bordered in a sea of green grass and lush green forests. Nothing looked more out of place than the ski trail that we’d be training on for the next week. The snow that made up our little winter wonderland was made the previous year and stored in huge piles in the forest under a blanket of sawdust and tarps. Biathlon is the most popular winter sport in much of Europe bringing in millions of dollars and thousands of spectators. The biathlon venues cannot afford to take a chance with the weather, so snow is stored up to make sure the event can still be hosted without delay or cancellation.

At the end of the first week, we had our first big test. A European Cup, or “B” World cup race. A warm up and qualification for the World Cup that would start the next week. The morning of the race, we awoke to snow dumping out of the sky. Winter had arrived just in time. While it was great to see the fluffy white stuff, the once hard and fast ski tracks were now an ocean of deep powder, and the wind was whipping furiously. With the excitement of the first race, I struggled on my first two loops through the deep snow. The wind was relentless when I came into the range, and my confidence wavered.  I floundered a bit on the shooting range, where I’m normally consistent and accurate. With a disappointing finish, I missed the cut for the World cup, but would have a change within a week in Italy to make it back up there. My twin sister, Lanny, found a steady rhythm on her skis and shot well in the wind to secure a spot on the World Cup. I promised her when I left I’d be up racing again with her soon.

Week 2: Obertilliach, Austria

We left Ostersund, Sweden at 4:30 the morning after the race. We drove 12 hours from Ostersund to the southern tip of Sweden to the port town of Goteburg.  We then took an over night ferry to Kiel, Germany where we would once again spend 12 hours driving through all of Germany and then on to a small town in the mountains of Austria. I’ve driven much of Germany before, but to see the full length of it from a car window in one day was pretty neat, even though most cars are traveling close to 90 miles an hour on the autobahn! We arrived in Obertilliach, Austria late that night. We had seen little to no natural snow since leaving Sweden. We would once again be training on a strip of man-made snow. This week was an off week from racing and consisted entirely of training. The week was training as usual, with the only exception being the enormously adventurous journey to dinner every night.

In certain parts of Europe, the rich tradition of St. Nicholas takes center stage this time of year, as St. Nicholas Day falls on the 6^th of December. In the southern parts of Bavarian Germany and the german speaking Tirollean parts of Austria and Italy, the tradition of St. Nicholas also involves that of his helper, the Krampus. While St. Nicholas would reward kids who had been good, the Krampus would ultimately scare the bad kids in hopes that they would practice habits of being good. The Krampus resembles something of a devil mixed with a hairy goat. Their masks are extravagant and extremely expensive. The Krampus, which are typically made up of the younger male population of these small towns, dress up in their frightening attire, and wielding small whips, walk the streets at night in search of any unsuspecting children, or American biathletes on their way to dinner.

We’d leave the safety of our apartment with our senses heightened, and weave our way through the old houses and barns on our way to the restaurant. Every once in a while we’d here the sound of bells, followed by a scream. Even though the Krampus had the upper hand, they were required to wear a gigantic bell on their back. That way, any victims would at least be warned to their presence. We arrived in Austria on the 29^th, which meant we had a week until the big day…St. Nicholas. While I’m not sure the length of time before St. Nicholas these Krampus start terrorizing the streets, I did know that we had at least a week to try and avoid them. The first night didn’t fair so well when a Krampus, who had to be about 12 judging by his size, took on the tallest and biggest guy on our team. My teammates large frame towered over the little Krampus, but it didn’t stop the little devil from whipping my teammates legs repeatedly until he decided to run off. It was actually quite comical to see, so long as you weren’t on the receiving end of the whipping. Later on that week, another male teammate was cornered,  He did his best linebacker maneuvers to get around them, but received one or two good hits from the Krampus.

The last night we were there was the eve of St. Nicholas. This was the night when St. Nicholas, accompanied by the Krampus, would go from house to house where there were children and give them candies and treats. We did put on a pretty good sprint to make it to the restaurant that night with the Krampus on our tail. I’d have to say that I’ve never had that much excitement heading to dinner before.

Week 3: Ridnaun, Italy

On the 6^th we traveled the two hours from Obertilliach, Austria to Ridnaun, Italy. The drive took us through the rugged Dolomite mountains. We awoke that morning to freezing temperatures and every ski slope on the drive was a flurry of blowing white with all the snow guns making snow. Most ski areas remained closed with no natural snow, but with the colder temperatures, the resorts were determined to open soon for their eager customers. Ridnaun, Italy is a small town at the end of a valley, high up in the mountains. For anyone who’s been there, it remains their favorite place to travel to in Europe. The food is outstanding the people are incredibly friendly. Everyone in this valley speaks German, although most of the town signs are written both in German and in Italian. Some of the older folks in town still feel more ties to Germany than to Italy.

We arrived to a wonderful meal and a warning that winter was on its way. We went to bed that night with clear skies and a bit of skepticism.  In the morning, everything was white and snow was dumping from the sky. Winter had finally arrived, only a month after we’d been hoping for it. The ski tracks were soft and the shooting points uneven, however, there was an air of giddiness among the biathletes. It was like that feeling of seeing a bunch of kids playing around in the snow for the first time. Most of us are long past our childhood age, but are obvious fans of winter because of our chosen profession.

I have been doing biathlon for over 12 years now, which means I’ve been living out of my suitcase for the last decade. I’ve been zig-zagging across the globe in pursuit of what most other biathletes are after: the perfect race. Biathlon is a very unpredictable sport, and the winner of the race one day can end up at the back of a 100 person field the next day. There are variabilities like wind, snow and freezing temperatures coupled with physical ability, mental prowess and the uncertainty of dueling competition. We have close to 35 races in a year and it’s likely you won’t be “on” for all of them.

One thing all biathletes pursue is that race where everything comes together; your physical ability on the skis and your mental strength in the shooting range. The excitement comes as you ski as hard as you can for several miles and then, with your heart rate at over 180 beats per minutes, shoot at a target the size of a silver dollar from half a football field away. That’s what makes biathlon so exciting, and that’s why it has captivated huge crowds of people in European countries. Some of the World Cups will draw more people than the Super bowl will in the United States. Kind of hard to believe that people would get that excited about watching athletes ski around in spandex and toting guns, but it truly is exciting and I’d encourage you to check out a race. You can watch the races live at http://eurovision.digotel.com/ibu/index.html.

This weekend the racing will kick off again here in Italy. With winter now here to stay, it’ll make for one exciting, and very unpredictable event.

-Tracy & Lanny Barnes

Biathlon Race Updates from Ostersund, Sweden

We left Colorado and lots of snow several weeks ago to head to the pre-World Cup training camp in Ostersund, Sweden. Once we arrived, we found warm weather and the only snow was from what they had stored over the summer. Yes, snow stored over the summer! A mountain of snow was in the woods right next to the ski tracks and covered with sawdust and a big tarp for just such an occasion when warm weather and lack of natural or the ability to make snow isn’t available. The Biathlon World Cups are such a huge financial motivator that the venues, like this one in Sweden, will go to great lengths to secure good conditions and a quality event.

We trained for a week and a half on the “man made” loops before our first test which was an Europa cup. While we had mild temps all week, winter ran right into us a few hours before the start of the race. With driving winds and blowing snow, we fought some 100 women from all over the world to secure a spot on the World Cup. Lanny did secure a spot, however, Tracy had really bad luck with gale force winds picking up just when she entered the range. She missed out making the World Cup and now competes in one more European cup in Italy next week. Hopefully Tracy will be back on the World Cup circuit before Christmas.

Lanny stayed in Ostersund, Sweden and competed in the first World cup. She had a great start in the individual race, but the wind got the best of her and she missed 5 targets out of 20 to finish 48th place out of 98 women competing. If she would’ve been clean (hitting 20 of 20), than she would have made the coveted top 10. Now Lanny heads to Hochfilzen, Austria for some more World Cup action and Tracy heads to Ridnaun, Italy. (This is where Tracy became the first women in the US to medal in the World Jr. Championships. There, she hopes to take home an European Cup medal and secure a spot on the World Cup circuit.)

You can watch the races live on the Internet at:
eurovision.digotel.com or
services.biathlonresults.com

Here is the schedule of race coming up this week:

World Cup
12/09 6:30am MST (8:30EST) Distance 7.5 km Discipline Sprint Women

12/10 6:00am MST (8:00EST) Distance 7.5 km Discipline Pursuit Women

12/11 6:30 am MST (8:00EST) Distance -4×6 km Discipline Relay Women

Europa Cup
12/10. 2:00am MST (10:00 am European) Distance 15 km Discipline Individual Women

12/11 2:00am MST Distance 7.5 km Discipline Sprint Women

And here at the end of 2011, it seems fitting to thank our wonderful sponsors and supporters as a well as our family and friends for all your help in our quest to bring home the gold!

Sponsors: Advanced Technology International, Otis Technology, Enell Sports Bras, Danalco, Babes with Bullets, Bushmaster, Columbia Southern University

Supporters: Atomic Skis and Boots, Brunton, Smith Optics, Women’s Outdoor Media Association, SportLegs, Elete Water, Prois, Pelican, Women’s Outdoor News, Asym Precision Ammunition, TeludynTech

Editors Note: Tracy & Lanny Barnes are part of the US Olympic Biathlon team. Their WOMA blog, “Road to Russia” gives wonderful insight into what these talented athletes are going through to take a medal in February 2014 at the Winter Olympics held in Russia. It will be their 3rd Olympics and we encourage all the members of the WOMA, along with companies you may know, to help these twin sisters with donations and sponsorships. For more information, or to make a donation, visit their website at www.twinbiathletes.com.

Tracy and Lanny Are Heading to Sweden!

Here’s an update on Tracy and Lanny’s races in Utah and their upcoming schedule:

After the trials races in Vermont in August and Utah in October, Tracy and I secured the top two spots at the trials and secured a spot on the World Cup/ Europa Cup team heading to Sweden in a few weeks. We have a training camp in Ostersund, Sweden and then we’ll compete in World Cups and Europa Cup races in Scandinavia and Central Europe before Christmas.

This winter we will travel to Sweden, Italy, Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Norway, Finland, Czech Republic, Slovenia, and Russia. We’ve made a lot of great progress in our ski speed and shooting and can’t wait to use it against the rest of the world in the races coming up. Once we leave for Europe, we won’t be back in the States until the end of March.

World Championships are in Ruhpolding, Germany this year and we hope to be representing the US there at the races in March. They are expected to have record crowds at the races with close to 50,000 spectators at every event. We will fill you in on the how the races go and our schedule of races as soon as we get to Sweden. You can watch our races live on www.biathlonworld.com and we’ll keep our results, pictures, and adventures on www.twinbiathletes.com and blog on http://thewoma.com/category/the-road-to-russia/.

Currently we are some of the only biathletes in the World getting on snow training as most of Europe and Scandinavia are too warm for snow. I guess it pays to breath a little harder and live at altitude! We hope this will be an advantage for us when the first races roll around in a few weeks!

Editors Note:  Tracy & Lanny Barnes are part of the US Olympic Biathlon team. Their WOMA blog, “Road to Russia” gives wonderful insight into what these talented athletes are going through to take a medal in February 2014 at the Winter Olympics held in Russia. It will be their 3^rd Olympics and we encourage all the members of the WOMA, along with companies you may know, to help these twin sisters with donations and sponsorships. For more information, or to make a donation, visit their website at www.twinbiathletes.com.

Twin Biathletes Attend ATI Writer’s Event

Recently we attended the ATI (Advanced Technology International) Writers event at the Impact Training Center in Mt. Carol, Illinois. This year ATI signed on as our platinum level sponsor and are helping to make that gold medal in the 2014 Olympics achievable. This event was the first time we were able to spend some quality time with the owners and employees of ATI.  I don’t know why I still am shocked at how many incredibly good and decent people I meet in the gun industry, but it now really makes me proud every time I do meet more shooting industry people.  I’ve been involved with and met people in many other industries and can honestly say that the gun industry holds the most wonderful and endearing people I’ve ever met.  ATI’s owners are a shining example of this.  I have never met two people who were more passionate about what they do.  John Chvala and Eric Pfleger are truly remarkable people.  Being passionate about business, I look up to and am inspired by the business savvy that these two possess.  John and Eric’s business sense is exemplary.  As a young entrepreneur I can only hope to duplicate the rare and incredibly innate sense of how a successful business should be run.

We also witnessed ATI’s ability to produce incredibly reliable, and cutting edge products. Their buttpads are like nothing I’ve ever tried. They feature a recoil system that literately takes the shock out of shooting.  During the writer’s event everyone was shooting shotguns, AR’s, and a 50 cal and no one complained of a sore shoulder. With any standard buttpad you’d find on the market, you’re sure to be sore the next day after that many rounds fired, but with ATI’s Akita Scorpion Buttpad you can keep shooting until you run out of ammo.  I am continuously impressed with ATI’s products and their versatility.  During the writer’s event competition everyone used the same AR and shotgun.  With ATI’s adjustable stock it was a quick adjustment to go from a 6 foot tall guy to my short 5 foot 4 inch frame. They are the industry standard when it comes to gun stocks and accessories.  The company promises new and exciting products yearly that will blow the mind of any shooter.  Their products make sense. They are light, strong, and durable thanks to the science developed by Poly One.  Their stocks are adjustable.  Their colors are stunning and sleek.  Their technology unrivaled.

Besides the product aspect of the business we were exposed to ATI’s ability to be laid back and relaxed. Hence the writer’s event.  I haven’t been to another writer’s event but I doubt many are as exciting and fun for a writer as ATI’s writer’s event.  How many events involve a 3-gun competition, cutting edge products from top line companies, and a car filled with tannerite?  I witnessed Suzi Huntington, Editor of American Cop, accurately move through the pistol stages with the new Ruger SR1911’s, Kim Sidelinger of Media Direct flawlessly make her way through her very first 3-gun shooting competition. Gloria Shytles, Managing Editor of Inter Media Outdoors, stepped up behind a 50 cal and hit a jug of tannerite in a Toyota Corolla and blew it sky high, Eric Poole of Guns & Ammo took some great shots offhand with the AR’s to do some damage on the car.  Everyone seemed to have a wonderful time.  The food was great, the people we incredible.  We can’t wait until next year’s ATI Writer’s event.  ATI is sure to host another great event.

Moose on the loose

It’s June in Anchorage, Alaska and we are in the middle of a two-week biathlon clinic and training camp at the World Class Anchorage Kincaid Biathlon range. Kincaid Park used to be home of a large military base that housed Nike missiles. These Nike missiles could hold nuclear weapons and thwart any attack within 75 miles of Anchorage during the Cold War. Now Kincaid is a park used by bikers, runners, and many outdoor enthusiasts. The only dangerous things left in Kincaid are the many moose that roam the park and even the moose don’t compare to what used to sit in the many bunkers dotting the landscape.

Kincaid Park has the largest moose population in Anchorage and we encountered moose almost on a daily basis while training in the park. The park moose are fairly used to human encounters, but can still be dangerous, especially in the spring and summer when the cows are running around with their calves and in the fall when the bulls are in rut. There are more attacks made by moose on humans in Anchorage than by bears, so with that in mind we tried hard to make sure we didn’t add to that statistic.

While in Anchorage we are working with three different groups of juniors during our two-week stay. A few days into our camp we are running down one of the many trails in Kincaid with one of the three groups. The group we are with that particular morning is a very motivated and talented group of advanced juniors, some of whom have represented the U.S. overseas in the World Junior Championships. We are swapping stories and running down the trail when all of a sudden Tracy, who’s in the back of the group chatting with one of the girls, realizes that in only a flash she is at the head of the group and everyone around her is retreating as if they were running in the running of the bulls in Spain. While she hears the footsteps of all the athletes now behind her and leaving quickly, Tracy finds herself face to face with a momma moose who’s charged the group. Tracy, who wasn’t used to such encounters with moose didn’t have the big “danger, danger” flash in her mind as quickly as the local kids and was momentarily stuck flat footed in the middle of the trail with a brown wall of fur detaching itself from the thick forest and getting closer. While her heart rate began to rise and beat against her chest at a much faster rate than before, Tracy’s mind finally clicked into action as she wheeled on one foot and put it into fifth gear and retreated with the rest of the biathletes before the encounter escalated into anything other than a quick scare and a jump in heart rate.

Tracy and I were fortunate enough to stay a quick 15-minute bike ride from the venue with Sally and Jim Burkholder, who live just on the edge of the park. They live in a beautiful home that has the shape and look of a barn, but is extremely cozy inside. The Burkholders have been involved with and have been an important part of Nordic skiing for a long time and have housed many Nordic and biathlon athletes over the years as they train in hopes of reaching their dreams. During our two-week stay in Anchorage, Sally and Jim let us borrow their mountain bikes which had panyards  on the sides that allowed us to carry all of our equipment and ammo (minus our guns which we carried on our backs) to the range. Every day, sometimes two or three times a day, we’d set off from their house to the range to train or run clinics for the beginner, intermediate or advanced junior biathletes in the area.

On one of our trips to the range, Tracy was in the lead heading down one of the single track trails that were lined with thick vegetation. The trail was similar to biking down a hallway with lush green plants on either side.  With Tracy bombing down the trail and I not far behind, she suddenly slams on the brakes in front of me forcing me to do the same and come to a sliding stop right on her wheel. There in front of her just 15 yards away is small bull moose walking toward us down the trail. With no time to retreat and nowhere else to go, we put the bikes between the moose and ourselves and squeezed off the side of the trail as our heart rate began to rise and the hair on our arms and back of our necks rose in that nervousness you get when you know something bad is about to happen. The moose slowly lumbered step by step closer with its big and dark scruffy coat still shedding its winter fur and flies swarming around its head and rump. He didn’t so much as glance at us as he passed within arm’s length and continued on down the trail with his long legs making sucking sounds when he pulled them free from the mud puddles in the trail. It was the second time in just as many days that we had a jump in heart rate without having to move an inch and a close encounter that we’d rather had from a safe and reasonable distance.

We trained hard for two weeks in Anchorage and even had the opportunity to do a few training sessions with the Alaska Pacific University (APU) team, which is one of the best Nordic programs in the country, with three members of its team on the Nordic Olympic roster in 2010. We trained with Kate Fitzgerald, Kikkan Randal, and many more of the top female skiers in the U.S. We also put on clinics for the Anchorage Biathlon club and worked with the three different levels, from beginners to advanced juniors.  The beginning level kids ages ranged from 8 to 14, and despite a few having never shot before, by the end of the two weeks, we had them not only hitting their targets, but shooting well after running laps around the stadium. The second group we worked with was the intermediate biathletes ages 13-16 – athletes who had skied before and had a little experience shooting, but hadn’t participated in the Arctic Winter Games or World Jr. Championships. These kids were so motivated, they would often show up and hour or two early and shoot with Tracy and I while we were training before the clinic began. The third and final group was the advanced juniors who had a lot of shooting experience and most of them had raced internationally. They would often join us during some of our training sessions. This was the group that we encountered the majority of the moose with and the group we ventured the furthest from the range with.

With daily encounters with moose an other wildlife, two weeks of really hard physical training, and three groups of young biathletes motivated and ready to take on the world, we called the trip a success. We plan on heading up there again next year to train, work with the Anchorage Biathlon club, and dodge moose. We also hope to get back up to Alaska sometime to hunt moose during season. Then the tables might turn and we might actually feel less like the hunted and more like the hunters. With moose on the loose, Anchorage is and exciting place to train and visit.

Editors Note:  Tracy & Lanny Barnes are part of the US Olympic Biathlon team. Their WOMA blog, “Road to Russia” gives wonderful insight into what these talented athletes are going through to take a medal in February 2014 at the Winter Olympics held in Russia. It will be their third Olympics, along with recently winning the Biathon World Team Challenge Shoot Out to add to their successful biathlon careers. We encourage all the members of the WOMA, along with companies you may know, to help these twin sisters with donations and sponsorships. For more information, or to make a donation, visit their website atwww.twinbiathletes.com.

Tracy and Lanny Barnes to compete in Summer Biathlon

Tracy and Lanny Barnes, Twin Biathletes, will be competing in the US and North American Summer Biathlon National Championships in Burlington, Vermont on August 6th and 7th. All the top Biathletes in the US as well as the top biathletes in Canada will be participating in the Championships hosted by the Ethan Allen Biathlon Club. Not only will Tracy be looking to defend her Summer US and North American titles, they both will be vying for a spot on the World Cup and World Championship team this winter. Lanny was runner up to Tracy’s National and North American Championship titles last year. There will be a two part race series to determine the World Cup and World Championship team, the first taking place at the Championships this weekend and the second taking place in Utah in October. They will be competing in a 7.5km sprint with two shooting stages and and 10km pursuit race with four shooting stages. Both race will be completed on roller skis which are very similar to skiing on snow. Temperatures are expected to be in the 80′s, so for the biathletes, they are going to have to battle the heat instead of their usual cold winter temperatures. The twins have been out in Vermont the last two weeks training hard and preparing for the races. Check www.twin biathletes.com for updates on results and pictures from the races this weekend.

The Twin Biathletes, Tracy and Lanny Barnes are supported by these fine companies. Please support those who are supporting us.
Sponsors- Advanced Technologies International (www.atigunstocks.com), OTIS Technology (www.otisgun.com), Bushmaster Firearms (www.bushmaster.com), Enell Sports Bra’s (www.enell.com), Babes With Bullets (www.babeswithbullets.com)
Supporters- Atomic Skis (www.atomicski.com), Sportlegs (www.sportlegs.com), SealSkinz (www.danalco.com), Smith Optics (www.elete.smithoptics.com), Elete (www.eletewater.com), Prois (www.proishunting.com), Point to Point Graphics (www.ptpgraphicsdurango.com)

Homer, Part II: Sweet Cheeks and Big Butts

Homer is a very interesting town. Its views are absolutely breathtaking and the weather is fairly mild, but as we drive through town we see all these peculiar signs for businesses. I have to laugh because if you don’t know where the slang terms in these signs come from, you may be thoroughly confused.

Homer is known as the Halibut Capitol of the World. A halibut is a strange looking flat fish with its eyes on top of its head. They are really funny looking. In Alaska, a halibut is also called a “butt” for short.

Halibut meat is really tasty, but the best cut of meat off a halibut is their cheek. A halibut cheek is a small piece of tender meet that is a delicacy. So, when you’re driving into Homer and you see a sign that reads “Sweet Cheeks and Big Butts,” you’ll know that they are talking about the tasty bottom-dwelling fish known as the halibut.

Homer is home to a swath of land protruding into the bay known as the “Spit.” It’s a small tinker town of shops and tourist traps, restaurants, boat docks, and the final resting spot for many boats in one of the Spit’s many boat graveyards. One of my favorite shops on the spit is the “Buttwhackers.” Here you can bring your halibut (or “Butt” for short) and they will, as their saying goes, pack ‘em, rack ‘em, whack ‘em, and sack ‘em. It’s more or less a fish processing shop, but one with a sense of humor. My other favorite place on the Homer spit is the shop called “Spit Licks.” Spit Licks is an ice cream shop, and a pretty good one at that.

Homer is the only place in the world that I’d ever fished for halibut. I was about 12 years old at the time and that’s the only other time that I’ve been to Alaska. Back then, I had a halibut experience that I hope not to repeat. My dad, my two sisters and I paid a charter for a half-day of halibut fishing. Now, when you’re like my dad and you have three young teenagers, you can’t afford the big nice cushy charters. So we got a great deal with one and were psyched.

The next morning we show up at the docks at 6 a.m. and find a boat just larger than a tin can. My sisters and I glance at each other and think, “are we going out on the ocean in that?” The thing was tiny, a small step up from a rowboat with no cabin and no bathroom. I think the name of the boat was something like, “She’s Got the House” or something along those lines.

The light drizzle and choppy seas are a little rough on the way out, but once I get my line in the water I’m a happy camper. I wish I could say the same for my sister and my dad, who’ve decided that since the fish aren’t biting, they’ll do a little chumming. The boat is rolling up and down these gigantic waves and my poor dad and sister are sea sick. There’s no escaping it either. The guide, who is a crusty old fellow, is determined to get us a fish, so we stay out for two tides! He keeps looking at us girls and saying with a throaty laugh, “What’s the matter, you have to use the bathroom? Why don’t you just use the tin can? Ha ha ha.” We didn’t find him quite so funny.

In fact, we were more scared the guy was gonna keel over and leave us stranded in the middle of the ocean. He was older than dirt, with a long gray beard and a ball cap that had seen better days maybe 20 years ago. He kept telling us how he had recently recovered from a heart attack, and then proceeded to tell us that he had pain in his arm. So, he rubbed his sore arm and we watch the end of our lines for hours without a bite. When we finally did get back to the shore it was a race to the Porta-Potty. We’d been out there for close to 10 hours and we’d long since had to pee.

This old sea-dog of a guide felt awful that we didn’t get anything, so he offered to take us out the next day. My older sister had had enough puking over the side of the boat, so she opted out. But my dad, Lanny and I agreed to give it another go. The next day the water was flat, the sun was out and it was beautiful. We caught our limit and were in within five hours – a big step up from the previous day.

Thirteen years later, we are back in Homer and hoping to catch some more halibut. My dad has a buddy named Charlie who’s offered to take us out on his boat. My parents’ neighbor Manfred would be going along as well. Manfred is German-American. He’s 78 years old and incredibly funny. He has a thick German accent that you don’t find on too many German transplants, but it resembles the stereotypical accent used when describing how a German speaks English. I love it. I could spend hours just listening to him talk. He, my dad and Charlie are pretty good friends, so they sit there and give each other a hard time all day. It’s funny listening to them banter.

On the way to the boat, Manfred is driving really slowly. We are early and he doesn’t want to be. Manfred is usually always late and Charlie is always early and Charlie hates when Manfred is late, hence the slow driving.

We finally get to the docks and head out on the water. It’s a gorgeous day and the water is calm. We head our quite a ways, stop the engines and get to fishing. As soon as we get our lines in the water we start getting bites. Halibut fishing is fun. Every halibut, even the small ones, bite big. Halibut do not nibble your line like some fish do they really bite on it. They are almost bending your pole in the water when they sink their teeth into your bait. It’s a blast.

Several hours later we had all caught our limit of two fish and were headed back to shore. The constant bantering between Manfred, Charlie and my dad hasn’t let up and it’s only getting more intense. As we are heading back into the no wake zone a speedboat goes whipping by Charlie’s boat. Manfred immediately booms, “Vhat awe you doing Chawlie?” Yowr letting that boat pass you Chawlie? Don’t let that boat pass you!”

Manfred is clearly upset that Charlie has given in to the smaller boat. Manfred then explains that on the previous trip, Charlie sped past a boat that had cut them off. Clearly Manfred’s competitiveness was getting the best of him, but he had this big old grin on his face and was having fun.
Manfred has an interesting history. He grew up in a region of former Germany known as Prussia. His family owned the biggest sheep farm in all of Germany. They had a huge farm with thousands of acres and several houses equipped with maids. During the war, when Russia invaded this region of Prussia, Manfred’s family fled its farm to escaoe the Russians. They left everything behind. He tells stories of his family and brothers on the verge of starving. To this day he will still eat an apple core down to the stem. And when his wife throws out food that is old or beginning to rot, Manfred protests that the food is still good.

He was in high school when his family made it over to the United States. And upon graduating high school, he and his brothers all joined the army. They said that they were so grateful to the United States for taking them in and giving them citizenship that they wanted to repay the U.S. by serving their newfound country. It reminds me why I’m so proud to represent my country.

Editors Note:  Tracy & Lanny Barnes are part of the US Olympic Biathlon team. Their WOMA blog, “Road to Russia” gives wonderful insight into what these talented athletes are going through to take a medal in February 2014 at the Winter Olympics held in Russia. It will be their third Olympics, along with recently winning the Biathon World Team Challenge Shoot Out to add to their successful biathlon careers. We encourage all the members of the WOMA, along with companies you may know, to help these twin sisters with donations and sponsorships. For more information, or to make a donation, visit their website atwww.twinbiathletes.com.

I didn’t catch a king – I caught a prince!

While in Homer, Alaska last week, we did some king salmon fishing on the Anchor River.

The Anchor River is just 15 miles north of Homer and there is about a mile of river open to salmon fishing. The river is open up to a bridge that goes through Anchor, Alaska. Beyond that bridge fishing is off limits for salmon to allow the salmon to spawn. King fishing is open to fishermen Wednesday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday from midnight to midnight.

When the tide comes in, the salmon swim upstream and hundreds of fishermen and women huck and heave every shape, color and size of lure at the salmon to get them to bite. When the tide isn’t up, the salmon hole up in deep pools waiting for the three hours of darkness to swim upstream and avoid eagles, bears, and the species known as homo sapiens. There are many similar rivers to which this spawning phenomena happens in Alaska. The Anchor River is popular to people residing in Homer because it’s close to town. The river is small, maybe 20 yards across.

The first day at the Anchor was Wednesday afternoon and evening. There were relatively few people and we found a spot with a long straightaway and a little bit of deep holding water. We fished and fished and finally Lanny hooked a really nice King. She fought it for a while and then beached it and hid it under her rain jacket so the bald eagles wouldn’t take off with it.

Now it was turn for my dad and me to catch something. A little while later I feel a nibble at the end of my line, and I set the hooks and hold on, expecting the line to be drug from my reel. Nothing happened so I started to reel in. There was definitely something on the end of my line, but it wasn’t a king. I could tell it was little and it was fighting as hard as it could.

I brought it up near shore and my dad took one look at it and said, “You didn’t catch a king – you caught a prince!” I look down to see a tiny little fish on the end of my line. He looked the same as Lanny’s, only 35 pounds smaller. He probably weighed in at a whopping 1.5 pounds! So, now I’m thinking to myself that I’ve managed to catch THE smallest fish in Alaska.

The next morning we arrived at the Anchor and got an “early start.” Our neighbor Manfred suggested we be there by 5 a.m. to secure a spot. NowManfred, for reasons I’ll get to later, doesn’t fish the Anchor. So, we show up early and drive down the road that parallels the river. We can already see silhouettes in the half light of the early morning dotted along the river. We get out of the car and start heading toward the river and it becomes apparent to us very quickly that we are late. All the good spots have been taken and it’s elbow to elbow all along the river. I ease into a spot with a little breathing room and I get right to it, hucking my fly upstream. After a few casts I hear splashing and turn my head to see Lanny fighting a king just downriver from me. After only a few cast she’s hooked one. And now the whole river is watching her. Most people are shooting darts out of their eyes at her because she’s only just shown up and hooked one.

While Lanny fights the fish, I settle into a nice rhythm and I am beginning to enjoy the day. Then out of nowhere I hear something loud, and it’s getting closer. A booming voice is echoing over the trees and down the water. Then this guy appears from behind the bend and he’s on his cell phone. Now everyone in the Kenai Peninsula can hear his conversation. He stops on the edge of the water, confers a bit longer with his colleague on the phone, clicks off and then surveys the river and sees a fisherman looking back towards him. This poor guy, like most of us, was looking at this guy out of curiosity, but this was clearly a signal to the cell phone guy to come join his fishing hole. So the guy stuffs his cell phone in his waders and gingerly wades out to within a couple of feet of this fisherman. Then, for the next hour, the guy who was on his cell phone proceded to talk this fisherman’s ear off. I’m thinking to myself if I wanted this much noise or conversation, I’d have gone to the local coffee shop, not the river.

A little while later, though, the cell phone guy gets tired and heads back to town to “get some grub at the diner.” Everyone breaths a collective sigh of relief and goes back to huckin’ flies. As it gets a little later in the morning everyone can hear a collective rolling of tires along the asphalt road. It’s nearing 8 a.m. and the tourists in the RVs start to show up. Now it’s combat fishing. People pour in from everywhere and you aggressively stand your ground for your 2-foot-by-2-foot swath of river. I keep thinking to myself that I haven’t been this close to anyone since I was in the womb with Lanny, and even then I didn’t have a choice. This is what Alaskans describe as “combat fishing,” and this is why the neighbor Manfred doesn’t fish here. You’ll have six guys fishing a tiny little hole and then you’ll have one guy show up and cast his line over everyone else’s and everything gets all tangled up.

After a little while the fish stop biting and we call it a day. Lanny released the king she had caught earlier in hopes of a bigger one the following day.

The next day, we show up even earlier, determined to beat the crowd. At 3 a.m., we are the only car in the parking lot and I’m psyched. I wasn’t too keen on fishing up someone else’s armpit again. We get to the good “grass hole,” as it’s known, and start to cast our flies. A few hours later as everyone is starting to show up, my dad, Lanny and I have all caught a king and are heading home to get a mid-morning nap. Then it’s off for a run through the woods.

Next week: Halibut fishing!

Editors Note:  Tracy & Lanny Barnes are part of the US Olympic Biathlon team. Their WOMA blog, “Road to Russia” gives wonderful insight into what these talented athletes are going through to take a medal in February 2014 at the Winter Olympics held in Russia. It will be their third Olympics, along with recently winning the Biathon World Team Challenge Shoot Out to add to their successful biathlon careers. We encourage all the members of the WOMA, along with companies you may know, to help these twin sisters with donations and sponsorships. For more information, or to make a donation, visit their website atwww.twinbiathletes.com.

Pistols, muddy magazines and rollerskis

“Shooter Ready?! Stand by…” “BEEP.”

Every muscle in my body tenses as my right hand moves towards the holster. My hand slides up to the grip and my fingers wrap around it. The gun slides fluidly out of the holster, my left hand moves to meet it, my eyes find the front sight, my left hand is gripping the gun, my trigger finger is squeezing back waiting for that breaking point. Then,“bang!” The shot goes off… perfect!

Wait a second, I think. Perfect? There’s nothing perfect about my pistol shooting. I must be dreaming.

My eyes shoot open and sure enough, I’m lying in bed. I look over at the clock. 5 a.m. Time to get up. I go over the schedule in my head. Drive to Rabbit Ears pass, ski real fast and head to the range for day two of the Babes with Bullets Pistol Camp! My stomach turns over and I get goose bumps as I think about the last part.

Fast-forward a couple of hours….

I’m in ready position waiting to shoot. I hear the beep, unholster my pistol and start shooting. I take aim at several targets and squeeze off the trigger. I then move to the right and fire off a few more shots. Next up is a mandatory magazine change. I roll my pistol to the right and hit the mag-release button. I wince as my clean magazine leaves the gun and falls into the mud (I’m still not used to dropping a perfectly good mag in the dirt, but I’m getting there). With my left hand I reach for another mag off my belt and feed it into the mag well of my gun. The gun goes back into position and right as I’m squeezing off the trigger I think, “Oh crap!” The shot goes off and the mag, which wasn’t locked up all the way in the gun, falls down and into the dirt. Totally embarrassed and wanting to hide in the hole that my magazine fell into, I look back at the instructor. These piercing brown eyes stare back at me. A smile spreads across the instructor’s face.

The instructor is tall and thin with mid-length straight brown hair and an infectious smile. I’ve only known Deb Keehart for two days, but anyone can see her passion for teaching others to shoot. Deb proceeds to give me a few pointers (as I pick up my magazines and wipe off the mud) and then gives me a reassuring pat on the back.

After that embarrassing debacle, some instructions from Deb Keehart and encouragement from the other lady campers I walk over to the next shooting bay. I round the corner and immediately get excited. My pace quickens as I approach the shooting lanes. There at the loading table is another Babes with Bullets instructor. She loads her magazines with a steely quickness and says a few words about the stage and moves to the firing line to give a demonstration. She steps into the box, loads her pistol and makes ready. She’s short with thin lips and a square jaw. Her big brown eyes are kind and penetrating. When she talks her southern accent is engaging. The buzzer goes off and I blink and almost miss the stage. With fluid precision Kay Miculek, Babes with Bullets instructor and World Champion pistol shooter, moves through the course, leaving all the campers in awe.

Later that evening after hundreds of rounds of shooting and a accidentally dropping my magazine in the dirt few more times, we head back to the condos for dinner, but not before a little rollerski session in the parking lot.

When training for biathlon, we using rollerskis, which are a summer version of our winter skis. They are about 2 feet in length and have a wheel on either end. You use your same boot as you do in the winter, which in this case is our Atomic racing boot.

Another Babes with Bullets instructor, Lisa Munson, has volunteered (or was volunteered) to try out our rollerskis. Lisa is a funny, outgoing and caring person. She has a long, flowing brown ponytail that bounces when she runs. When I watch her shooting I can picture her as a little girl, that same long ponytail flying around as she moves quickly from target to target. She has the energy and animation of a teenager. She’s has these eyes that light up when she talks about shooting. Those same eyes are lit up now as we explain to her all about how to rollerski.

Deb Ferns, camp director of Babes with Bullets, is insisting that we strap on the rollerskis and send Lisa down the nearest hill. She tries to reassure Lisa by saying that we’ll all make a human chain at the bottom of the hill to catch her when she gets down the hill. Nervously I suggest that we stay in the flat parking lot. Rollerskis have no breaks and pavement is very unforgiving and Lisa is leaving for Greece this summer to represent the U.S. in the World’s Pistol shoot. So, I didn’t want one of our country’s best pistol shooters to go down while rollerskiing in Colorado.

So, Lisa bravely straps on the skis and pushes off around the parking lot. To the amusement of the other instructors she cruises around in a loop. After quite a few loops she comes to a stop and I take a deep breath … no blood shed!

After a wonderful dinner prepared by the camp chef Maryann Dabney a warmhearted lady who keeps us all well-fed and our bellies more than happy, all the campers and staff sit around talking. Stories are exchanged. People are laughing and having a great time.

A remarkable camaraderie is born at a Babes with Bullets camp. You hear so many wonderful stories about people’s lives and the triumphs and the struggles they’ve been through. After getting to know all of the campers at the Steamboat Babes with Bullets camp, I have to say that they are all an inspiration to me. I met so many strong, wonderful and kind-hearted women.

As it gets later, the campers begin to filter back to their respective condos to get some shuteye. Lanny and I are staying in the condo with the instructors and enjoy listening to their stories of years of friendship and competition. We are sitting at the dinner table with the fourth Babes with Bullets instructor, Judy Woolley from Montana. Judy is a retired member of the professional Smith & Wesson shooting team and was described by Kay as one of the most accurate pistol shooters in the country. Judy is quiet, yet has a great sense of humor and a great attitude. She’s sitting next to us at the table telling us great advice about never giving up, not letting things or people get in the way of our dreams and overcoming obstacles. Judy is strong and witty, and we’ll never forget her genuine and sincere advice.

The camp is now over and people are packing to head home, but not before the Otis gun cleaning kits come out and the pistols and magazines are scrubbed clean. Having now completed my first Babes with Bullets camp I can say that that was by far the best shooting camp I have ever attended. I came away with some life-long friends, some insight into life’s ups and downs, and a world-class education in pistol shooting.

Thanks to all the instructors and good luck to them at their upcoming competitions. And thanks to all the campers (Marsha, Amanda, Mia, Gail, Cameon, Victoria, Cindy, Julie, Lynette, Sherri, Chris, Deborah, Frances, Betsy, Anne, Pam, Jessica, Sandy, & Joy) for your inspiration. And thanks to Deb Ferns, Babes with Bullets camp director… Keep on keepin’ on ladies!

 

Editors Note:  Tracy & Lanny Barnes are part of the US Olympic Biathlon team. Their WOMA blog, “Road to Russia” gives wonderful insight into what these talented athletes are going through to take a medal in February 2014 at the Winter Olympics held in Russia. It will be their 3^rd Olympics, along with recently winning the Biathon World Team Challenge Shoot Out to add to their successful biathlon careers. We encourage all the members of the WOMA, along with companies you may know, to help these twin sisters with donations and sponsorships. For more information, or to make a donation, visit their website at www.twinbiathletes.com.

And now for something completely different: Pistols!

I recently heard someone say, “You never know where shooting sports will take you, you never know who you’re gonna meet, and where you’re gonna go.” How true… how very true.

This past weekend shooting took me seven hours north of my hometown of Durango to Steamboat Springs, Colorado. I would be attending my first Babes with Bullets pistol camp.

Babes with Bullets camps are held across the U.S. and provide firearms instruction for women. The first camp was held in Louisiana by head instructor, multiple-time pistol World Champion and 14-time multigun National Champion Kay Miculek.

Another founding member of the Babes with Bullets camps is Deb Ferns. I’ve known Deb now for two years. Despite the fact that Deb thinks my sister and I don’t wear enough makeup, I love Deb to death. Deb is outgoing, funny, entertaining, a princess in her own right, daring, yet laid back. Deb’s told more amusing stories about her adventurous life that have me on the ground laughing than anyone I know. She’s tall, with striking eyes, a big smile and a booming laugh, and she’s usually wearing pink.

At Babes with Bullets camps women learn pistol safety as well as skills for speed and accuracy involving stance, grip, trigger squeeze, sight picture, etc.

Another thing women acquire at a Babes camp is confidence. Some of the women who attend these camps have never shot a pistol before and a few arrive with a fear of it. They may show up with a fear of shooting, but all have left the camp with a love and passion for it that will last a lifetime.

Some women attend camp to better their skills for USPSA (United States Practical Shooting Association).   Many have been competing for a while and are looking for that edge to move up in classification or to beat out that male competitor at their local match.

There’s no better place to improve your skills than at a Babes with Bullets camp where you’ll receive world-class instruction from the world’s best pistol shooters. And one of the best things about it all… they’re all women! The instructors understand you and what it takes to teach women how to shoot. It’s a comfortable, safe, friendly and fun environment.

So, why did we attend a Babes with Bullets camp?

It might have had something to do with the fact that Kay Miculek is one of our heroes! It’s not often that you get the chance to learn from someone you look up to, or someone who is so talented. Not to mention the fact that all the Babes with Bullets instructors are world-class competitors who will be competing for the U.S. in the world shoot this summer and who are an inspiration to us.

It might have also had something to do with Babes with Bullets being one of our sponsors for our quest for Olympic Gold in 2014. That’s right! Babes with Bullets is helping us get to that next level and fight for a gold medal in the Olympics. They are a valuable member of our team and we were excited and honored to attend a camp.

Another reason for attending a Babes with Bullets camp was to improve our pistol skills. We had shot pistol growing up a bit, but not in competition and we have plans of competing in multi-gun competitions and wanted to boost our skills.

Going into the Babes with Bullets camp we knew it was going to be a good time and that we were going to learn a lot. We’ve spent some time with some of the campers and staff before and never failed to have a wonderful time. With this group of women you can always guarantee good stories, good laughs and a lot of fun.

We also expected to learn a lot. With the all-star cast of instructors, who wouldn’t come away from camp with a serious education in all things pistol?  We had very few pistol skills going into the camp and knew that we would be receiving a first-rate education in pistol shooting.

At night during the camp, when everyone else went to bed, we would be scribbling in a notebook everything we learned that day. How to apply it to pistol shooting and, excitingly enough, how we would apply what we learned to our shooting in biathlon.

Shooting has taken us all over the world. This time we were much closer to home, but had a world-class experience.

Check back next week when we introduce you to the Babes with Bullets instructors and give you a taste of what pistol camp is all about.

 

Editors Note:  Tracy & Lanny Barnes are part of the US Olympic Biathlon team. Their WOMA blog, “Road to Russia” gives wonderful insight into what these talented athletes are going through to take a medal in February 2014 at the Winter Olympics held in Russia. It will be their 3^rd Olympics, along with recently winning the Biathon World Team Challenge Shoot Out to add to their successful biathlon careers. We encourage all the members of the WOMA, along with companies you may know, to help these twin sisters with donations and sponsorships. For more information, or to make a donation, visit their website at www.twinbiathletes.com.

« Previous Page — Next Page »