Far West Nordic just completed a summer training camp for Junior Olympic-qualified athletes in the high country of Yosemite National Park. Combining ski-specific exercises with long-distance running, hiking and roller skiing, along with some peak-bagging, swimming, rock climbing, ultimate frisbee, and more, this camp was extremely successful in keeping the athletes motivated and working hard during the summer. We camped out in Tuolumne Meadows at 8,600 ft. (2,120 meters) high in Yosemite, the highlight of the 3 days was the summit climb of 12,600 ft. Mt. Conness (a total run/hike of over 22 miles and almost 5,000 total vertical feet of climbing). Some of the younger athletes did a (slightly) shorter hike to an 11,000 ft. lake in the backcountry. The last day was spent roller skiing up the Virginia Lakes road to an elevation of almost 10,000 ft. How’s that for altitude training?
Far West is coming off its most successful Junior Olympics in its history, and we’re looking forward to keeping that trend going throughout the 2006 racing season. These kids are working hard over the summer. For those interested, there are lots more photos on the Far West Nordic website at www.farwestnordic.org
