At one time or another, many fervent cross-country skiers may have harbored the thought that it might be a great thing to own a ski center, and maybe a really big one. Walking out the front door onto your own groomed trails would unquestionably be fantastic. But that sunny image might blind you from seeing the other side of the equation: the hard work and the time-consuming, weather dependent stress that is the reality of...
When Stifel U.S. Ski team member Sophia Laukli’s foray into the world of professional trail running began, the prevailing question was when would this fairy tale string of world class domination end? The answer to that question is now clear; it will end when Sophia Laukli wants it to end. That conclusion reached a thundering crescendo when Laukli notched another victory in the Golden Trail Series competition. Laukli took first place today in the...
This coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and A Hall Mark of Excellence Award. Learn more about A Hall Mark of Excellence Award—or about supporting FasterSkier coverage—by contacting info@fasterskier.com. FasterSkier concludes its interview with Stifel U.S. Ski Team member, Rosie Brennan (Part I, Part II). In Part III, Brennan continues to share her candid thoughts regarding her future, the financial and personal strains of being a professional athlete, and her...
This coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and A Hall Mark of Excellence Award. Learn more about A Hall Mark of Excellence Award—or about supporting FasterSkier coverage—by contacting info@fasterskier.com. Stifel U.S. Cross-Country Team member, Rosie Brennan, continues her one-on-one interview with FasterSkier. She picks up from last week’s interview and talks about the stress of close finishes, her relationship with the media, and her reputation as a blue collar athlete....
This coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and A Hall Mark of Excellence Award. Learn more about A Hall Mark of Excellence Award—or about supporting FasterSkier coverage—by contacting info@fasterskier.com. Sophia Laukli’s dominance of professional trail running continued this weekend with her victory at the 50th running of the Sierre-Zinal trail race in Switzerland. The Stifel U.S. Cross-Country Team member took the victory by a surprisingly wide margin—over four...
This coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and A Hall Mark of Excellence Award. Learn more about A Hall Mark of Excellence Award—or about supporting FasterSkier coverage—by contacting info@fasterskier.com. Rosie Brennan has been a fixture on the Stifel U.S. Ski Team for several years, weathering the ups and downs of professional athletics with grace, aplomb, and stoic professionalism. Her determination and perseverance have created scores of admiring fans,...
This coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and A Hall Mark of Excellence Award. Learn more about A Hall Mark of Excellence Award—or about supporting FasterSkier coverage—by contacting info@fasterskier.com. The Blink 23 roller-ski competition is this weekend. It’s most famous for the giant uphill climb known as the Lysebotn Opp. On the other end of the spectrum are the distance events. On Thursday the men and women competed...
This coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and A Hall Mark of Excellence Award. Learn more about A Hall Mark of Excellence Award—or about supporting FasterSkier coverage—by contacting info@fasterskier.com. The Blink 2023 Nordic Ski Festival—the pre-eminent summer roller-ski event for cross-country skiers and biathletes—is at an end. Part of the schedule for the last day is the biathlon sprint for the men and women. In the women’s race,...
This coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and 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. Taking it all in stride When Sofia Laukli, a member of the Stifel U.S. Cross Country Ski team, decided to jump into the field at the Pike’s Peak trail run last year, little did...
Competing at a professional level in any sport requires great skill, talent, and focus. Thinking of going pro? Unless you’re in the top 1%, don’t bother trying out. Then, once you reach the professional level of competition, the athletic quality is so high that there is simply no margin allowing time to participate in more than your primary sport. Despite all those seeming truisms, occasionally an athlete emerges with the talent and determination to...
If you need a little diversion from whatever you do in the off season and want to connect with skiing’s past, check out this 30 minute documentary on YouTube about Jackrabbit Johannsen. This 1975 video produced by the National Film Board of Canada chronicles the life of the Norwegian outdoorsman turned backwoods legend. Johannsen is widely credited with being one of the first Europeans to popularize cross-country skiing in North America. I’m not certain how...
Stifel U.S. cross-country ski team member Novie McCabe recently won the Gold Rush Award. This award is given to the Nordic Olympic woman who “has represented the U.S. in cross -country skiing and has demonstrated outstanding qualities of grit and grace throughout the year.” Past recipients include Rosie Brennan, Sadie Maubet Bjornsen, Sophie Caldwell Hamilton, Jessie Diggins, and Julia Kern. The past recipients choose the next award winner, so it’s quite a prestigious field...
This week, FasterSkier caught up with U.S. cross-country team member Julia Kern. It turns out catching up with Julia isn’t just hard on the racecourse, but it’s pretty darn challenging in life. No one would begrudge any team member a much needed travel respite after a draining World Cup season. But Julia appears to thrive on movement—she seems to be a living example of Newton’s First Law of Motion— a body in motion will remain...
In a tersely worded announcement, the International Ski Federation (FIS) announced that its ban on Russian and Belarusian athletes would continue. The entirety of the release was contained in the summary notes of decisions made at the FIS Council meeting held May 24th. The current FIS policy, which does not allow the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes and officials in FIS events, will remain in effect until further notice. ...
U.S. Ski and Snowboard has announced the members of the 2023-24 National team, now officially known as the Stifel U.S. Cross Country Ski Team. With a few notable retirements this spring a couple of shakeups were going to occur. The team uses a selection criteria which it has developed to try and balance proven performers with budding talent. It is a somewhat complex set of guidelines. Women’s Squad The women’s A Team members come as...
There probably isn’t such a thing as a bad day cross-country skiing. Like one or two other things in life, even bad skiing is still a darn good thing. However, trying to eke out the last couple of April ski days in a season can be like eating a melting ice cream cone. It’s good, but it might be messier than it’s worth. But, there is one ski area where end of season skiing is...
Ski season is rapidly coming to an end in much of North America. For those who find going cold turkey into non-ski season difficult to manage, a Nordic cinematic experience might be just the salve to heal the wounds of snow’s departure. The film up for review in this episode of FasterSkier at the Movies is The Last King. It’s a 2016 Norwegian film based on of the tale of the Birkebeiner rescue of Prince...
This World Cup coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and 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. Today marked the end: at the completion of today’s women’s 20 kilometer Classic mass start in Lahti, Finland, all unanswered questions would be resolved. There would not be any waiting until next...
This World Cup coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and 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. The clock is winding down on the World Cup season. After this weekend, there will be only three individual races remaining—two of those are Sprints. With time running out, increased urgency has...
There are few movies which feature significant cross-country ski scenes, let alone an entire feature film that has cross-country skiing as its theme. But when such a movie does arrive, you can count on FasterSkier to put on our critic’s hat and give it a review. Off Track won’t make you forget Citizen Kane, but it’s a fun 95 minutes for ski enthusiast. For non-skiers, don’t put in the effort. (Photo: Wikimedia Commons) The movie...