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Fluoro-Free Waxing—Two Years In with Zach Caldwell

  On January 17th, 2022, a US Ski and Snowboard (USSS) ban on using perfluorocarbon-based wax products (“fluoros”) at all International Ski Federation-sanctioned (FIS) races in the country went into effect. The action marked the critical point in a rapid evolution of policies meant to limit competitive nordic skiing’s emission of perfluorocarbons, part of a class of especially environmentally persistent, and potentially health-concerning, chemicals known as PFAs. Overnight, The cumulative knowledge of 40 years on...

FasterSkier At the Movies—”Kikkan”

For those of us suffering from the post-ski-season let down—or for those who simply can’t get enough ski-related content—an effective way to help address these issues will be to take 46 minutes to view “Kikkan,” a nicely produced short documentary about the life of Kikkan Randall. Presented (sponsored) by L.L. Bean and Providence Health Alaska, the film includes details of Randall’s childhood, ski career, cancer struggle, and personal life. The movie is a candid chronological...

Elevation, and a Season Not Yet Gone

It’s the nature of the old English teacher who still resides within me: I fiddle with the words, revisit the definitions, consider the etymology. English words generally mean a thing, combining roots from Latin, from Greek, from the Germanic to express meaning by combining different parts. Today’s word: elevation, one we generally take to mean being higher. But it’s more than just high compared to low . . . el·e·va·tion — /ˌeləˈvāSH(ə)n/ E/ex, meaning “out,”...

USCSA Celebrates Another Championship Season

In 2024, the United States Collegiate Ski and Snowboard Association National Championships offered 621 Collegiate athletes (representing 71 colleges and universities) the chance to compete in the sports they love. That level of participation demonstrates that the USCSA is a far bigger league—and hosts a much bigger field—than what’s found at NCAA championships. USCSA also features competitions in an array of snowsports: Alpine Snowboard, Freestyle Snowboard, Nordic Skiing, Alpine Skiing, Freeski. FasterSkier has covered USCSA...

Hollywood Calling: Klaebo Takes On a New Role

In a move likely to anger movie purists everywhere, it was announced late this weekend that a long awaited sequel to the cherished classic The Sound of Music is in the works. Why is this relevant to a ski racing magazine? Because none other than Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo has been announced as the choice to play the lead of Captain von Trapp. “It seemed like a natural fit for us,” said Charles Diller, President of...

Spring Skiing on a Volcano: The Novelty of Mt. Bachelor

If there’s ever a place for a cross-country skier to put on their bucket list, Mt. Bachelor in central Oregon is it. With a ski season that typically lasts into late May and can even extend to June—with natural snow some 6,400 feet above sea level—the Mt. Bachelor Nordic Center is spring skiers’ paradise. According to Nordic Manager Sydney Powell, Mt. Bachelor (about 22 miles west of Bend, OR) has been inundated since January with...

Hagenbuch and McCabe Win Snowy Spring Nationals 40 k

  Out like a Lion: the old adage seems to apply to March in Duluth, Minntesota. At the end of March—during the only true snowstorm that season has delivered to Duluth—the last race of the 2024 SuperTour season and Spring Nationals was set to be a ten lap, 40 kilometer mass start skate race. It was a big race, marking a big end to a big season for a pair of America’s best young skiers....

Gus Schumacher went to D.C. to testify on climate change. Then a senator dredged up four-year-old tweets.

This story was first published by Northern Journal, Nat Herz’s news site and newsletter in Alaska. Subscribe here. Gus Schumacher, the Anchorage Olympic cross-country skier, arrived at his first-ever congressional hearing in Washington, D.C., knowing he could be a target. The Senate Budget Committee’s chairman, Rhode Island Democrat Sheldon Whitehouse, invited Schumacher to testify last week in one of a series of more than a dozen hearings about the harm climate change is inflicting on...

Winter Comes to Spring: Snowy Duluth Hosts SuperTour Finals and US Spring Nationals

It’s the most welcome irony of the 2023-24 North American ski season so far: As “Spring” Nationals started Thursday at the Spirit Mountain Nordic Center in Duluth, Minnesota, the newly coined “lost winter” of 2023-24 in the Midwest looked to have at-last been found. Snow, from the sky, and not from the end of the snow gun, floated onto that pretty little hillside city near the shores of Lake Superior following the 10 k Classic...

The Devon Kershaw Show, Glitter Edition: Jessie Diggins Joins Us

Jessie Diggins should not need an introduction at this point, but for anyone who needs a quick reminder: This episode of the Devon Kershaw Show features the best American cross-country skier of all time. Diggins has three Olympic medals to her name, a gold from the last World Championships and, most recently, a crystal globe she was awarded a few days ago as the past season’s overall World Cup champion. Diggins joins us for a...

“A Miracle We’re Not On Ice”—Lake Placid’s Fun, Unpredictable Junior Nationals

Lake Placid is a place defined by a particular story of a Miracle. USA v. Soviet Union. 1980. Al Michaels. You know the one. We retell the story because we love the idea: something greater than the sum of all its human parts happens when a community’s energy moves in a clearly focused direction. In 1980, it was a hockey team. In 2024, a community’s dream focused on the efforts of young skiers at Junior...

Snow Mountain Ranch Gets a Late-Season Boost

FasterSkier has been fortunate to have the support of Snow Mountain Ranch for many years now.  If you are looking to extend your ski season we hope you will consider visiting our friends at Snow Mountain Ranch. If you’re a kid in Granby or Winter Park, Colo., snow days aren’t a thing—until last Thursday, March 13. According to Mary Ann Degginger, the program director at Snow Mountain Ranch, students in the East Grand School District...

Diggins Dominates Falun to Win World Cup Overall!

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. The long road that is the World Cup cross-country season came to an end today. And, like all good road trips, something special should be waiting at the end of that road. Today...

Klaebo Captures Falun 20 k, Amundsen Hoists the Globe

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. The 2023-2024 FIS World Cup season ends as it began—an all-Norwegian podium. After 20 kilometers of Mass Start Freestyle racing, the race was decided among a crowd of red race suits as Johannes...

“Everything I Had”—Diggins Rebounds in Falun Classic 10 k

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. Jessie Diggins has worn the FIS World Cup Overall Leader’s bib for over 100 days of the 2024 World Cup season. With only two days of racing remaining in the World Cup season...

Klaebo Tops Niskanen in 10 k Classic Duel

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. The guy is just unbelievable . . . on a day when steady snow fall, swirling winds, and temperatures just above freezing would seem to allow fewer racing advantages for Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo...

Klaebo-Skistad Win Falun Sprints. Svahn Closes in on Diggins

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. It’s hard to believe, but this weekend in Falun, Sweden, marks the final weekend of competition in the FIS World Cup season. The strong showing by the American team in the first period...

World Cup Final Weekend: What Does Diggins Need to Do?

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. It’s always exciting when the season of any professional sport comes down to the last weekend of competition. But for U.S. cross-country fans, and fans of Jessie Diggins, it’s definitely excitement they could...

Brennan Third in Drammen, Cyr Takes Fourth, Schoonmaker Sixth

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. The World Cup moved to its second to last venue today as racers competed in the Drammen, Norway, City Classic Sprints. Over the years, Drammen has taken on an aura all its own...

This Week in Canmore: Biathlon World Cup Season Finale

Canmore is having a year. Just over a month after hosting the International Ski Federation (FIS) Cross Country World Cup, the Canmore Nordic Centre is pulling out all the stops and showcasing its brand-new biathlon facility as the host of the International Biathlon Union (IBU) World Cup Finals from Thursday, March 14 to Sunday, March 17. The world-class venue amid Canada’s Rocky Mountains is no stranger to World Cup nordic and mountain bike events. It...