Burke Mountain Academy’s Nordic squad is settling back into the routine of school after returning from ten days of training and the season’s first race in Torsby and Mora, Sweden. Burke’s schedule is laid out in blocks of academic time interspersed with periods of training time that are long enough to take advantage of training opportunities in other parts of the country or the world. The Fortum Tunnel in Torsby had been getting great reviews...
Peter Johansson (L) and Larry Paromaa catch a quiet moment before beginning a 1600 kilometer drive up to northern Sweden. The two were in Torsby last week helping the USST sprint team test skis. World Cup service techs make for a special breed. On the U.S. team, former serviceman Per-Erik traded in waxing skis for tracking domesticated reindeer along the tundra of Alta, Norway. Lasse spent his working days away from the ski races by...
Go up another 2,000 feet and this is what folks have been doing the last two weeks at Hatcher Pass, Alaska. Not too shabby for October skiing!
German Axel Teichmann will miss the World Cup opening weekend in Dusseldorf with a cold, the German Ski Federation confirmed. Teichmann won World Championship gold in the pursuit last year in Sapporo and was the overall World Cup Champion in 2005. He has seen most of his success in distance races, but has had several top 15 finishes in World Cup sprint races over the past two seasons. The Dusseldorf races are both freestyle –...
With less than a week to go to the World-Cup Opener in Düsseldorf, the organizers are working hard to prepare a perfect ski trail. This is no mean feat in October. So how is it possible to have snow this early in Central Europe? We did a bit of research and found out that it is the result of a high-tech operation involving a climate controlled dome, snow science, and a lot of manpower. The...
** Editors note: The Coaches Around the Country colum is back again for a second winter. This column will highlight our ski coaches from around the country… including elite coaches, college coaches, high school coaches, volunteer coaches, and learn-to-ski coaches. This is an effort to sample a diverse group of coaches and recognize the people who are the backbone of today’s skiers. If you would like to nominate a coach for an interview, please email...
MORA, Sweden (Oct. 22) – Andy Newell (Shaftsbury, VT), who ended a two-decade World Cup podium drought for U.S. skiers in 2006, showed Sunday he was ready for the upcoming World Cup season by dominating the final loop to capture Mora's annual Oktobersprint despite sluggish, slow snow conditions. Teammate Torin Koos (Leavenworth, WA) led the quarterfinal and semifinal heats of the classic technique race, but Newell took charge on the final uphill and breezed to...
In the latest from the saga of the Swedish National Team, the Swedish Federation has announced that Team Mekonomen (the private team consisting of the Fredriksson brothers, Bjorn Lind, and Anders Sodergren) will not be allowed to race World Cups unless they sign a contract where they agree to represent the sponsors of the Federation. Swedish radio stations have reported a worst case scenario that the four skiers would change citizenship and ski for another...
NENSA BKL clubs can now purchase equipment in bulk orders with a “Buy One, Get One Free” deal for any club interested in starting a new, or growing an existing, ski lease program. “TD Banknorth's $10,000 grant was a huge boost to the program and is allowing clubs to get twice the equipment they'd normally be able to afford. It is our sincere hope that this program will directly enable hundreds of kids to get...
Andy Newell showed he is in good form, winning the “October Sprint” race in Mora, Sweden. US Ski Team teammate Torin Koos finished a strong fourth in the classical event. Jackson Hole, WY junior Willie Neal also turned in an impressive performance, finishing 28th in the Junior men's category. According to Koos, the course was “surprisingly good,” with snow depth more than sufficient and the trail plenty wide. The race organizers brought all their Vassaloppet...
Lindsey Dehlin is the youngest American skier to ever go to the Olympics. She has been a junior national champion, USSA Senior National Champion, NCAA National Champion, NCAA all American and Lindsey has represented the US at the Nordic World Championships and two Olympics. A Northern Michigan University Alumnus, Lindsey was part of the team that took first, second and third for all the women’s Nordic events at the 2007 NCAA Championships. She now resides...
What a day...
Scott Elliot, Chairperson of Cross Country BC, and his wife, Ineke, died last month while vacationing and visiting family in South Africa. While waiting for their lodging at a national park to be prepared, they took a walk and got caught by an out-of-nowhere veld (prairie) fire. FasterSkier would like to extend our sincere condolences to Scott and Ineke’s children, Tara and Adam, the rest of their family, and friends. A number of readers wrote...
Skiers loaded up and drove one hour north of Anchorage this past week to get some early season skiing in one of the most scenic places around… Hatcher Pass, Alaska. People have been training on race skis on the groomed tracks. Special thanks goes out to APUNSC assistant coach Holly Brooks and Mike Matteson for the photos. …..and the money shot.
Andy Newell skied fast throughout all heats and took home the victory in the kick-off event for the Swedish national race season. Torin Koos finished a strong fourth. 2006-2007 FIS Marathon Cup winner Elin Ek won the women's race skiing for the hometown club. Top Four: Men 1. Andy Newell, USA 2. Håkan Löfström, Falun-Borlänge (Sweden) 3. Tommy Aasen, Norway 4. Torin Koos, USA Women 1. Elin Ek, Mora (Swe) 2. Annika Löfström, Årsunda (Swe)...
The Swedish national racing season begins tomorrow in Mora with a sprint competition. Burke Mountain Academy is currently in Sweden and has a number of athletes registered to start, incuding assistant coach and former UVM stand-out Carina Hamel. Favorites in the race include Petter Myhlback, Fredrik Persson, and the Östberg brothers from Falun-Borlänge on the men's side. In the women's race big names Elin Ek, and Susanne Nyström will be leading the charge. US Athletes...
The Bright Side Bryn Knight I spent the last week at home in Whitehorse, Yukon. The smiles (and upside-down smiles) I saw from both athletes and coaches at Yukon Ski Team training sessions got me thinking about the part attitude can play in sport and life. I’m not sure who first taught me the importance of staying positive – it could have been any one of the enthusiastic Yukon coaches. Whichever one he or she...
VANOC, the Vancouver Games Organizing Committee, announced last week that tickets to the 2010 Olympic Winter Games will go on sale in just little less than a year from now, on October 11, 2008. Approximately 1.6 million tickets will be available, with 100,000 tickets priced at $25. Half of all tickets are priced at $100 or less and Opening and Closing Ceremonies tickets will range from $175 to $1’100. Together with its partners, VANOC is...
Jackson Hole athletes Willie and Eliot Neal, as well as Jackson Hole high school coach Walt Berling took a day trip to Grand Targhee Ski Resort to classic rollerski up the road, which climbs a substantial amount at a steady grade (from 6440 ft to about 8000 ft). The weather was perfect until the very end, and the temperature was warm. What was not anticipated though was the amount of snow that would be on...
Ski flex can be as simple or as complicated as you wish to make it — as simple as finding a ski to fit you, or as complicated as finding a fast ski. Several years ago, I met a Finnish ski technician named Harri Altonen. Harri introduced me to the concept of measuring the pressure areas, or contact zones, with the snow to figure out if and when a pair of skis will be fast....