The Hoffman Chronicles: Part 3 – Sun Valley, Madshus and Lake Placid

This is the third installment of a seven part series in which the U.S. Ski Team’s Noah Hoffman recounts his 2010-2011 season.

11/1/2010

Since my last update I’ve been in Sun Valley, Seattle, Denver, and Lake Placid. I’ve been incredibly busy, but I’ve had a really productive fall. I’m ready to start racing! My training has gone as well as I could have hoped. My coaches and I have some high expectations for my winter. That has added to the pressure, but it is also very exciting.

At the end of August I took a quick two day trip to Seattle. My ski, boot, and pole sponsor, Madshus, is owned by K2 Sport. K2 is based in Seattle, so I headed out that way to work with them on the new boots as well as check out their operations and product development departments. K2 Sport includes K2 Snowboarding, 5150 Snowboards, Ride Snowboards, Line Skis, K2 Skis, Tubbs Snowshoes, Full Tilt Boots, Atlas Snowshoes, K2 Skate, and Madshus Skis among others. Needless to say, it is a huge operation. It was very cool to see all the different departments of the company as well as their massive distribution center. They treated me incredibly well and I owe a huge thanks to Peter Hale, John Svensson, Jon Fewster, and Van Brinkerhoff for making it happen. It was my first time in Seattle and I got to stay right downtown. It was a very cool trip.

In mid September the US Ski Team had a camp in Sun Valley. Because I hadn’t been up there since I moved from Sun Valley to Park City a year and a half ago, I decided to arrive a couple days early to hang out with my friend and old roommate Mikey Sinnott. We went up to Mikey’s cabin north of Sun Valley on Petit Lake.

It is absolutely not “roughing it,” but it is a spectacular place to hang out, relax for a couple of days, play horse shoes and bocce, go for some incredible runs in the backcountry, and enjoy the views.

The camp in Sun Valley was really fun. I wasn’t feeling very sharp in my training, but that’s just about right in September. We were put up at the world famous Sun Valley Lodge and had personal chef Russell Lintner cooking for us about half the nights we were there. Russell is an avid Nordic skier and mountain biker who volunteered his time. He cooks for Tom Hanks among others when they spend time in Sun Valley. He made some of the best meals I’ve ever had. It was so awesome having him!

Three days after the Sun Valley camp I took off from Park City to Boulder for another technique block with one of my coaches, Zach Caldwell. Working with Zach on technique this summer has been really productive. I like the direction we’re moving, and I think it will transfer well to racing. After Boulder a friend and I went to a Rockies’ game and a Broncos’ game in Denver while staying with my grandparents in Castle Rock.

After Denver I spent a week and a half in Park City. The Canadian National Team was in town which made for some great training opportunities. It was really nice to spend some time in Park City and to relax between camps. I had dinner with my grandparents on their way through town, and I took advantage of the time to meet with some of the specialists employed by the US Ski Team for our benefit.

On October 6th I headed to Lake Placid for our final camp of the year. In Lake Placid we stayed at the Olympic Training Center. There is a dining hall that’s open from 7A.M. to 9P.M. and has buffet style food out all the time. The strength room and sports med facility are right in the building and there are great training opportunities right out the door. It makes for a really easy, consistent training environment. We had a really good group of athletes and it was a very good camp.

We did a lot of hard intensity workouts in Placid as well as two races. I was skiing really well, if anything a little too well. I wish the season could start immediately instead of in a couple more weeks.

This picture is from the Whiteface Hill Climb Roller Ski Race. If it wasn’t one of the most painful races we do all year, I might have been able to enjoy the picturesque views.

Last weekend my parents and sister came out to Park City to see me. It was really fun to have them and have all four of us together.

This past week I got tired and had to take two full days off and back my training down to make sure I go into the season well rested.  On Saturday I headed back to Boulder for one last technique block before the season, and I seem to be feeling much better now. Wednesday I’ll go home to Aspen, and Sunday I head to northern Finland, north of the Arctic Circle to start the season. I can’t wait!

I’ll update you from Scandinavia! Thanks for your continued support!

Sincerely,

Noah

The US Ski Team’s Noah Hoffman spent most of the winter racing in Europe, with stints back in the United States for National Championships and the SuperTour Finals. With two top-30’s at World Championships in Oslo, Norway leading the way, Noah had his best season to date, adding strong performances on the World Cup and U23 World Championships.

Along the way, Noah sent periodic updates back to friends and family – a digital diary documenting the entire 2010-2011 training and racing season. The journey started over a year ago with the end of the 2010 campaign and a trip to New York City. With stops in Bend, Oregon, Lake Placid, New York, Finland, Latvia, Estonia and Norway among others, Noah had plenty to write home about before he wrapped things up in Sun Valley, Idaho this April at the SuperTour Finals.

He has graciously shared these updates with FasterSkier, providing a unique year-long perspective on the life of an elite ski racer. We will publish Noah’s updates in serial form, with a new one coming every few days.

The Hoffman Chronicles

Part 1, Spring 2010 – NYC to Phoenix

Part 2 – Summer Skiing, Baseball and Rodeos

Part 3 – Sun Valley, Madshus and Lake Placid

Part 4 – World Cup…

Part 5 – Tennis, Bowling, US Nationals and Back to Europe

Part 7 – Spring