Numb toes and frosty fingers are all part of senior Mandy Judah’s favorite activity. She loves the team spirit and challenge of cross country skiing.

“My freshman year, I was pretty much the worst skier on the team,” Judah said. “What kept me coming back every year was really that team spirit. Everybody was so encouraging. They knew it was my first time skiing, and even the very first time I was on skis, two seniors stayed by me the whole time and really helped me get my bearings. Ever since then, it’s been such a supportive environment.”

This year, Judah is returning as one of the top skiers on Wayland High School’s varsity cross country ski team. Judah looks forward to being a leader. She attributes her success to her team’s positive support.

When Judah was a freshman, many of her upperclassmen friends encouraged her to join the cross country ski team. Judah signed up because she wanted to try a new and unique sport. She grew up in Seattle, where most high schools don’t have cross country skiing. As the sole freshman, Judah was intimidated at first.

“I was the only freshman, which at first was kind of scary because I didn’t know anybody,” Judah said. “But it turned out to be really nice because I made so many new friends who I didn’t know before.”

Now, friendly faces on the Weston Ski Track have become Judah’s favorite community. The team practices at the track every day after school. Juniors and seniors drive underclassmen in an ever-changing carpool. This year, Judah looks forward to driving freshmen to practice and introducing them to the welcoming that the ski track fosters.

“The fact that we don’t practice on the field with a bunch of other teams is special because we go to the ski track, and we have our own place,” Judah said. “It’s where we race, it’s where we practice. I think it has it’s own sort of community.”

According to Judah, the Weston Ski Track is both a practice area and race track many ski teams. Before races, skiers line up at the starting line with the fastest skiers in front. For the first twenty meters of the race or more, skiers “double pole,” meaning they are only allowed to use their poles to propel themselves forward. Double poling at the start is intended to reduce collisions at the beginning of the race.

“A ski race is an experience unlike any other,” Judah said. “The start is the most exciting part. Getting everybody into this really tight space with their skis, everyone trips over each other, and you’re pretty cold out there, which is the worst part of the race for me. People lose poles. People fall over. I did a lot of that. Now, I like to think I’m more experienced, so it doesn’t happen as much. Thinking back, my very first race was hard. Going up the hills was pretty difficult.”

When Judah was a freshman, she dreaded clambering up Mount Weston, the largest hill on the track, during races. Since then, to her great relief, the track is groomed differently so that Mount Weston is no longer part of the race course. However, the Weston Ski Track still provides a formidable race.

“There are still lots of challenging hills,” Judah said. “I really like that we’ve used the same track every year since then. It really encourages me to do better every single race.”

This year, Judah is pushing herself to reach new athletic goals. She wants to improve her time at the all state cross country ski meet this February. Last year was her first time skiing at the all state meet, at Notchview Reservation in Dalton, MA. Team members missed a full day of school to participate.

Aside from goals to improve her own skiing skills, Judah wants to promote enthusiasm among her teammates.

“As an underclassmen, I really looked up to the captains and how their passion for skiing really came through. This year, as a senior, I also really want to cultivate a community within the team and make sure everyone feels as excited as I do. That’s my main goal,” Judah said.

Judah claims that last year’s team established team spirit through team dinners. The girls’ team went to the Cheesecake Factory, the Rainforest Café, Bartley’s Burgers, Smashburger, Ben & Jerry’s, Bolocco, Starbucks, and Chipotle, as well as team members’ houses.

Additionally, the boys’ and girls’ cross country ski teams had weekly “waxing parties” at former senior Eli Bucher’s house. At waxing parties, team members renewed the thin coating of wax on their skis, and bonded as a group.

For Judah, the time she spends with her ski friends passes by too quickly. Encouragement from her teammates pushes her to excel at her sport. She looks forward to her final high school season on the snow this winter.

“It’s crazy to believe that I’ve done it four years,” Judah said. “Ski team’s the best team ever.”