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Ella Hall

Growing up in Washington’s Methow Valley, Ella was immersed in skiing and the ski community from a young age. From early days bundled in the pulk, to learning to ski as soon as she could walk, to junior racing, a few seasons of collegiate racing, and then to coaching, she has experienced the ski world in many forms. Now, as a recent graduate from Dartmouth College, she finds herself living in France splitting her time between teaching English at a university in Lyon, avidly following ski racing (and now writing about it!) and adventuring in the outdoors as often as possible.
Fast Wax Creates American-Made Fluoro-Free Future
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Fast Wax Creates American-Made Fluoro-Free Future

Ella HallFebruary 20, 2023

Editor’s note: FasterSkier is fortunate to have the sponsorship support of Fast Wax; therefore, we are proud to highlight the innovative spirit that Fast Wax brings to the cross-country skiing marketplace. This article is less an endorsement of one company’s products than it is a recognition of the hard work undertaken by so many companies in the the ski industry. Dan Meyer likes to innovate. So naturally, as he became more interested in Nordic skiing,...

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D1 Skiing returns to the University of Nevada, just alpine for now
CollegiateGeneralNews

D1 Skiing returns to the University of Nevada, just alpine for now

Ella HallAugust 31, 2022

In a press conference on Wednesday, the University of Nevada, Reno (UNR) announced that it will once again support a Division I ski team, starting this season. For the time being however, the program will only have alpine skiing.  Both the president of the university and the university’s athletic director were present for the announcement, marking the moment. “It has been truly amazing to see how much the program’s return has energized our community,” said...

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Three weeks down under: Diggins and Kern find snow in Australia
FeatureNewsTravelUS Ski Team

Three weeks down under: Diggins and Kern find snow in Australia

Ella HallAugust 28, 2022

You might imagine traveling from the U.S. to Australia as being an arduous marathon of flights- and it is- but as Jessie Diggins points out, it turns out to be about the same length of journey time as the U.S. Ski Team makes annually when heading to Ruka, Finland for the first World Cup of the season. “So in my head, I was ready for it to be like this crazy long, super hard travel,”...

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Running Roundup: Skiers Find Success at the Golden Trail World Series
NewsRacingResults

Running Roundup: Skiers Find Success at the Golden Trail World Series

Ella HallAugust 15, 2022

The sport of trail running is growing. With more specialization, sponsorships, and media attention, the scale of competition changes. The Golden Trail World Series, which launched in 2018, is helping guide this growth. With a world series circuit, national series, and a championship, the Golden Trail World Series (GTWS) “exists to celebrate and evolve trail running as a sport.” Given that trail races can be roughly anywhere from 5 k to 330 k and with...

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Training Out East: An Update from Summer in Stratton
FeatureNews

Training Out East: An Update from Summer in Stratton

Ella HallAugust 9, 2022

As the saying goes, skiers are made in the summer. If that is the case, then many are forging their way to success in Stratton, Vermont this season. Depending on the year, various clubs around the country may play host to an increased number of athletes for a summer; from Bend, Oregon, to Anchorage, Alaska, to Stratton, the “hot spot” shifts periodically. This year, as SMS T2 Team Head Coach Perry Thomas put it, “we’ve...

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Trail to Gold Fellowship Wants to Put More Female Coaches on the World Cup
CommunityNewsWorld Cup

Trail to Gold Fellowship Wants to Put More Female Coaches on the World Cup

Ella HallAugust 3, 2022

While it’s difficult to get exact numbers, the general distribution of coaches and service staff on the World Cup level is largely male dominated. The recently announced Trail to Gold Fellowship aims to help change that. Following the publication of the Trail to Gold book in November of 2021, members of the book committee began discussing how to use the net proceeds generated by book sales. After bouncing around various proposals, they settled on the...

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Switching to Equal Distance and the “Trickle Down” Effect
FeatureRacingWorld Cup

Switching to Equal Distance and the “Trickle Down” Effect

Ella HallJuly 25, 2022

In most sports, the question of whether men and women would compete on equal playing fields, so to speak, was answered long ago. While gender inequalities remain- a recent decision by the IOC to maintain the exclusion of Women’s Nordic Combined from the Olympics comes to mind- the sport of cross-country skiing will now be joining the list of those in which competition is equal for men and women. In a press release issued on...

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The Other Tour: Roadside Perspective from the Tour de France
CommunityNewsTravel

The Other Tour: Roadside Perspective from the Tour de France

Ella HallJuly 23, 2022

Recently I’ve become rather obsessed with the Tour de France. Having never watched a bike race previously, I now find myself glued to Eurosport for upwards of five hours a day. There are a number of factors contributing to this shift on my part: an increased familiarity with the landscape and culture of the host nation, some covid-induced couch time, and a newfound respect for the insane feats of athleticism on display day after day. ...

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NENSA Summer Series Kicks Off with Lost Nation Roll and Some On-Snow Action
CommunityRacingRegional / Local

NENSA Summer Series Kicks Off with Lost Nation Roll and Some On-Snow Action

Ella HallJuly 13, 2022

The 2022 NENSA Summer Series hosted its first rollerski race of the season at the beginning of July. The Lost Nation Roll took place at the Craftsbury Outdoor Center on July 3rd, and by all accounts, was a huge success. Both men and women raced 10 k in an interval start format on the Outdoor Center’s paved rollerski loop.  Coinciding with the Eastern Regional Elite Group (REG) camp, around 40 top Eastern juniors boosted the...

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Skiers Take on Mount Marathon, and other Running Race Roundups (Updated)
DrylandNewsRacingResults

Skiers Take on Mount Marathon, and other Running Race Roundups (Updated)

Ella HallJuly 10, 2022

Occurring annually on the 4th of July, and touted as the toughest 5 k on the planet, the 94th edition of the Mount Marathon race took place this past Monday in Seward, AK. Needless to say, the race is a storied tradition, beginning with its first “official” running in 1915. Over the years, participation has increased to such an extent that these days there are a number of complex ways for race entrants to register,...

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Q&A with New Faces on the U.S. Ski Team: Will Koch
CommunityFeatureInterviewsNewsRacingTeam nominations

Q&A with New Faces on the U.S. Ski Team: Will Koch

Ella HallJuly 2, 2022

U.S. Ski & Snowboard recently announced its U.S. Ski Team nominations for the 2022-23 season. Of the 22 athletes named to the team this season, six were not on the previous year’s roster, either newly named or renamed: Michael Earnhart, Walker Hall, Zak Ketterson, Will Koch, Finn O’Connell, and Sammy Smith. To help fans get to know these new(er) faces, FasterSkier is doing a series of interviews, providing insights into the factors that have contributed...

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U18 NTG Camp Wraps up in Whistler B.C.
CampsJuniorsNewsTraining

U18 NTG Camp Wraps up in Whistler B.C.

Ella HallJune 29, 2022

After an untold number of bear sightings and many hours of quality training, the U18 National Training Group (NTG) camp wrapped up in Whistler, B.C. the third week of June. The first of the National Nordic Foundations (NNF) Summer Series, the goals of the camp were twofold: the first was to give these athletes a chance to meet and train together, particularly since the annual U18 Nordic Nations Cup trip was canceled in January due...

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A Trailblazer in Women’s Cross-Country Skiing: Alison Owen-Bradley is Inducted to U.S. Ski & Snowboard Hall of Fame
CommunityFeatureInterviewsNews

A Trailblazer in Women’s Cross-Country Skiing: Alison Owen-Bradley is Inducted to U.S. Ski & Snowboard Hall of Fame

Ella HallJune 17, 2022

Since the opening of the U.S. Ski & Snowboard Hall of Fame in 1956 there have been 448 members inducted, only two of whom are female cross-country skiers. The Hall of Fame website states that, “the honored members voted into the U.S. Ski & Snowboard Hall of Fame represent the highest level of national achievement in America, featuring prominent athletes and snow sport builders whose accomplishments showcase American skiing and snowboarding.” The first woman cross-country...

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Q&A with New Faces on the U.S. Ski Team: Sammy Smith
CommunityFeatureInterviewsNewsRacingUS Ski Team

Q&A with New Faces on the U.S. Ski Team: Sammy Smith

Ella HallJune 13, 2022

U.S. Ski & Snowboard recently announced its U.S. Ski Team nominations for the 2022-23 season. Of the 22 athletes named to the team this season, six were not on the previous year’s roster, either newly named or renamed: Michael Earnhart, Walker Hall, Zak Ketterson, Will Koch, Finn O’Connell, and Sammy Smith. To help fans get to know these new(er) faces, FasterSkier is doing a series of interviews, providing insights into the factors that have contributed...

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A Complete Person: Katharine Ogden Follows Her Own Path Toward Retirement
CommunityFeatureInterviewsNews

A Complete Person: Katharine Ogden Follows Her Own Path Toward Retirement

Ella HallApril 18, 2022

Anyone who has had the pleasure of interacting with Katharine Ogden, also commonly known as KO, can tell you that she is humorous, kind, and thoughtful – both in regard to others as well as in her own self-introspection. She is also a wicked good skier, proving herself both nationally and internationally in competition. Ogden recently shared that she was stepping away from professional skiing, having already experienced a range of career ups and downs...

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Saying Goodbye to Some Big Names in Cross-Country: an International Retirement Roundup
CommunityFeatureNewsWorld Cup

Saying Goodbye to Some Big Names in Cross-Country: an International Retirement Roundup

Ella HallApril 5, 2022

Each year at the conclusion of the race season, there are always a few athletes who hang up their skis and step away from professional racing. The end of the four year Olympic cycle inevitably means a higher concentration of such announcements. Whether it was a fourth or a first appearance at the Games, or a near miss, the Olympics are always a target and their completion provides a good moment to move on. While...

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Canadian Nationals/US SuperTour Finals: Ritchie and Kern Top 45 k Podium in Equal-Distance Event
Canadian NationalsContinental CupNewsRacing

Canadian Nationals/US SuperTour Finals: Ritchie and Kern Top 45 k Podium in Equal-Distance Event

Ella HallMarch 29, 2022

We’ve arrived at the final act, the culmination of a week of racing in Canada and a season of international racing before that. Piloting a gender-equal distance, both men and women raced a 45 k mass start skate on Sunday, completing six laps of a 7.5 k loop at the Whistler Olympic Park. Continuing a pattern of challenging weather conditions, the day started with temperatures around 37° F with rain, making for soft and wet...

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Spotlight on Richard Jouve: the First Cross-Country Skier to Bring Home a Crystal Globe for France
CommunityFeatureNewsRacingWorld Cup

Spotlight on Richard Jouve: the First Cross-Country Skier to Bring Home a Crystal Globe for France

Ella HallMarch 22, 2022

For the past six seasons, men’s World Cup sprinting has been almost entirely about one athlete. Johannes Høsflot Klæbo has raced in 28 World Cup, Championship, or Olympic sprint events since November 2018, and remarkably, has won all but three of them. Incidentally, all three of those times have occurred in Ruka, Finland, and he has ended up a mere second place each time. In his first year on the circuit (2017), Klæbo took home...

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Diggins and Drolet Top 5/10 k Skate Podium to Kick Off Combined Championships in Whistler
Canadian NationalsContinental CupRacing

Diggins and Drolet Top 5/10 k Skate Podium to Kick Off Combined Championships in Whistler

Ella HallMarch 21, 2022

Sunday kicked off a week of racing at the combined Canadian Cross-Country National Championship and U.S. Super Tour Finals event held in Whistler, British Columbia. Hosted by the Black Tusk Nordic Events Society (BTNES) on the Whistler Olympic Park courses, this event also offers junior and U23 skiers a preview of the courses for next year’s Junior and U23 World Championships. With Paranordic, Nordic Combined, and both junior and senior cross-country events, it looks to...

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Concluding the 2021/22 World Cup Season, Sundling and Halfvarsson Cruise to Gold in Mixed Team Sprint
RacingWorld Cup

Concluding the 2021/22 World Cup Season, Sundling and Halfvarsson Cruise to Gold in Mixed Team Sprint

Ella HallMarch 13, 2022

This World Cup coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and the A Hall Mark of Excellence Award.  To learn more about A Hall Mark of Excellence Award or to learn how you can support FasterSkier’s coverage please contact info@fasterskier.com. We’ve arrived at the final event of the 2021/22 World Cup Season and the second new event of the day. It was a fast and furious mixed team sprint in...

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