It was another gorgeous winter morning at Camelback Mountain Ski Area in Pennsylvania.  The sun burned through the few clouds that showed up at dawn.  And the combination of blue sky, sparkling new snow and icy cold temperatures made it a perfect ski day among many such days this season.  After a brisk walk with my Brittany, Jake, at 6am, I put together a fast breakfast of scrambled eggs and toast, then stuffed camera, tape recorder, pencil and paper, into every available pocket in my ski jacket.  A quick meet-up time-check with Gene—the official “Skitales.com Photographer,” and I was racing down the Terrain Park to greet the Camelback Alpine Ski Team at 8am.  

I didn’t anticipate the personable, high energy, motivated group that burst through the locker room doors to clamp on skis and skate toward the lift.  We skied on to the “Rocket,” which is, by the way, my favorite expert trail at Camelback.  Expertly groomed, the 'Rocket’s' snow was packed tight, and the cold temps made the trail a pleasure to navigate.  Coaches and team members set the course up together and prepared for a day of intense gate training.

They call them “CAT,” and rightly so.  These fast, agile, competitive youth were anxious to show their stuff on every run.  As they sped by us, some racers grinned, some shouted, and some winced with the pain of hitting a gate with a shoulder or other body part, but every one carved their last turn with a determined spirit and an expectant look at the coach. 

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