In Rossland, British Colombia, most residents can reach the town’s lone alpine hill by car in five minutes, the cross-country trails in seven. Tucked high in the Monashee Mountains, hemlock and fir outnumber some 3,500 locals, most of whom know each other by name. And over the past two decades, Rossland, which was fourth in the juvenile boy’s classic sprint. “That sat heavily with me all summer because I knew, I believed that I was capable of being...
In an effort to showcase the North Americans competing at this past week’s International Ski Federation (FIS) 2017 USANA Nordic Junior World Championships and U23 Cross Country World Championships at Soldier Hollow in Midway, Utah, we asked those qualifying athletes several questions about themselves — actually, we had them fill in the blanks. Here we have 16-year-old Rémi Drolet, of Team Black Jack, representing Canada at his first Junior Worlds. On Feb. 1, Drolet competed...
The Black Jack mini tour represented the final chance for Canadians to earn World Cup Period 2 starts. A timely week of snow and colder weather delivered great skiing conditions after an unusually warm November wreaked havoc on most of the western ski areas. That same warm weather canceled the Bozeman combined SuperTour/NorAm, which reduced the selection races from seven days to five. Chelsea Holmes of Alaska Pacific University (APU) continued her winning ways in Canada,...
"Cancel" is a word no race organizer wants to entertain, and the local committees behind the first two NorAms in Rossland and Whistler, British Columbia, did everything they could to make sure their races happened -- even if they had to be moved a six-hour drive inland to Sovereign Lake.
Some of the best photos from last weekend's NorAm at the Black Jack Ski Club in Rossland, B.C, with freestyle sprints on Dec. 14 followed by 10- and 15-kilometre classic individual starts on Dec. 15.
In the last big North American race before the holiday break, Kevin Sandau (AWCA/NST) and American Kate Fitzgerald (APU) took home top honors on Sunday in the Black Jack NorAm 10/15 k classic individual starts in Rossland, B.C.
Extraordinary performances are becoming ordinary for the North American contingent this year as new stars emerge, historic results accumulate, and expectations continue to grow. FasterSkier was on site in Davos, Switzerland, where five USST members raced to the top 30 in Saturday's distance races and six made the heats in Sunday's sprints.
Emily Nishikawa and Erik Bjornsen picked up their first victories of the season in the Black Jack NorAm freestyle sprints on Saturday in Rossland, B.C., coming out on top of heats that were jam-packed with tactics, crashes and tight finishes.
During his recent visit to California for a training camp with his Black Jack Ski Club, former Canadian National Team Head Coach Dave Wood met up with FasterSkier's Nancy Fiddler and shared some intimate thoughts on the sport. "You can’t improve by just going to Europe to race,” Wood says. “You have to figure out a way to cut 45 seconds over 15 kilometers before going.”
Sovereign Lake Nordic Center’s annual Summer Ski camp from May 10-19 attracted the usual collection of hard-core skiers, a mixture of teams and day trippers who need a last fix of snow before the inevitable arrival of summer. With the city of Vernon already in full-summer mode in the valley below, Sovereign’s weeklong camp is the last chance for set tracks in the region.
“Jessie Diggins basically blew by us on the last lap,” said Holly Brooks, who was leading the tour Sunday morning. Sadie Bjornsen (APUNSC) also gapped Brooks at the end, and left Brooks in third place for the overall Nor-Am minitour.