If skiing were baseball, APU would be early winners in the 2010 free-agent class. Two-time National Champion, and former NMU standout, Morgan Smyth, and 20-year-old Sadie Bjornsen, a veteran of four World Junior Championships, have joined the Anchorage-based squad. Smyth was not re-nominated for a fifth year on the US Ski Team after struggling through a challenging 2010 season, undergoing surgery for compartment syndrome and battling mono. Still only 24, Smyth won a National Title...
The Thomas Training Center on Eagle Glacier is proud to offer additional glacier camps this summer on July 18-24 and August 8-18. The camps will be open to individuals, as well as for club team use. The Thomas Training Center (TTC) is one of North America’s premier summer on-snow training facilities. It is located 45 minutes south of Anchorage just outside of the small resort town of Girdwood, Alaska on Eagle Glacier. The TTC facility...
Kris Freeman is healthy, and his training for the 2010-2011 season is underway. That means his brother Justin had better watch his back. The two typically go head-to-head in a handful of running races and uphill time trials each summer, and this year is no different. After Justin got the upper hand in April’s 14-mile Muddy Moose, the brothers will toe the start line in the granddaddy of all mountain runs on June 19th: the...
Following his resignation last week, longtime Canadian coach and team leader Dave Wood said that he was leaving to take a coaching opportunity with a club closer to his girlfriend, and that his parting from Cross Country Canada (CCC) had been amicable. Current and former CCC athletes all praised Wood’s contributions to the organization over the last dozen years. But in interviews, they also acknowledged that Wood’s last year with the program was marked by...
By this point, Billy Demong should need no introduction, but we’ll give you a quick one anyway. A stalwart on the American nordic combined team for the last ten years, he won his first World Cup in 2002, his first World Championship medal in 2007 in Sapporo, and then walked away from this year’s Olympic Games with a gold and silver, from the individual large hill and team event, respectively. The gold was the first-ever...
APU Nordic Ski Center will be hosting a Master’s Training Camp this summer from July 25-31. The goal of the camp is to help master’s improve technique, endurance, and strength while maintaining contact with ski-specific muscles. In addition, it helps support elite development as a fundraiser for the APU Elite Team. The camp will include four days of training on snow on the Eagle Glacier at APU’s Thomas Training Center, as well as three days...
here. You can also get caught up on last summer’s reviews: One Way Pursuit Woodskis Still to come are V2, Marwe, Niflheim, and Swenor as well as new Pro-Ski model. We are dependent on manufacturers and importers for test models, so we have not been able to test every model. If you have specific requests, please let us know, and we will do the best we can!
The nation’s biggest clubs have likely seen an influx of applications this spring, after the U.S. Ski Team (USST) cast off several athletes and eliminated its domestic waxing staff. But there was at least one athlete who didn’t throw his hat into the ring: Noah Hoffman. Instead of joining a heavyweight club like Alaska Pacific University or Sun Valley, Hoffman will stay affiliated with his home program, the Aspen Valley Ski Club (AVSC). “I reviewed...
Bill Holland, a screenwriter who lives in Montpelier, VT with his wife and two daughters, has been cross-country ski racing for over 40 years. You can’t know East Montpelier native Liz Stephen even a little bit and not be struck by her zest for living and her positive energy. So it’s not surprising that while her blog (
PARK CITY, UT (May 5) – The FIS SnowKidz Award, which will be announced June 4 at the FIS Congress in Antalya, Turkey. Its ongoing “Healthy Hometowns” program introduces nearly 5,000 new participants to nordic skiing each year. The new award was launched to recognize and promote the best examples of bringing children to the snow in varying national circumstances around the globe. The U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association awarded its 2009 Russell Wilder Award for...
The Craftsbury Outdoor Center is proud to announce the 2010 additions to the Green Racing Project. After the GRP’s successful inaugural season, we received a lot of applications. After a written and personal interview process with the many highly qualified applicants, we would like to welcome the following athletes to the Green Racing Project for 2010. Dylan McGuffin joins us from the University of New Hampshire where he led the Wildcats with nine top 20...
FAIRBANKS, AK – Alaska Nanooks skiing head coach Scott Jerome announced the signing of two in-state talents, as David Norris and Eric Ryan have autographed National Letters of Intent. Norris, a native of Fairbanks, and Ryan, of Anchorage, will join the Blue and Gold in the fall and both will train for their first collegiate ski season by running on the trails with the cross country team. The 19 year-old Norris skied the past six...
Canmore, AB – The Alberta World Cup Academy is pleased to welcome Chris Jeffries to the coaching team as the 2010/2011 season begins. Chris will join Racing Director Mike Cavaliere and assistant coach Eric Groeneveld to provide the highest level of support to the team. Chris replaces Christian Flury, who is returning to his native Switzerland to take up the position of Head Coach of the Swiss national women’s team following a highly successful one-year...
For the U.S. Biathlon Association (USBA), the winter of 2010 was one of ups and downs. High points included Tim Burke’s podium performances in the early season, which culminated with his donning of the yellow bib of World Cup overall leader after a race in Slovenia. The Olympics were less successful, with Jeremy Teela’s ninth-place leading the way—but the team’s dissatisfaction with a single top-ten is a testament to how far the program has come...
Gus Kaeding, an athlete on last year’s CXC Team Vertical LImit, has been named the Assistant Elite Coach of the team. A 2008 graduate of NMU, Kaeding was a two time NCAA Championship qualifier with a best finish of 23rd. The Vermont native joined CXC for the next season and has a best SuperTour finish of 8th. He is also a founding athlete of the
From strippers to Cirque Du Soleil, there’s a lot to see in Las Vegas. But one spectacle setting up for this July is strange even by Sin City’s standards: a rollerski race between Olympic gold medalists Petter Northug (NOR) and Marcus Hellner (SWE). “Hopefully this will be something new in Las Vegas,” said Alex Øystå, editor-in-chief of the Norwegian magazine Vi Menn. “I don’t know how many people use skis there, but I guess not...
We already advertised for an IT intern, but are also looking for someone to work on the content side of the site. The position is perfect for someone with an interest in ski racing and journalism, and will provide the opportunity to work on original content, as well as assist FasterSkier staff. Strong writing skills and solid knowledge of ski racing are required. For more information, please email us at
Cross-Country Skier of the Year The 2010 FasterSkier Awards wrap up with the Cross-Country Skier of the Year. While the women’s winner was a no-brainer, the men’s was not so clear cut. Cross-Country Skier of the Year (women): Kikkan Randall (USA). Randall is head and shoulders above the rest of the North American women. She followed up her silver medal at World Championships last season with a stellar all-around campaign. With a focus on the...
Athletically, Tad Elliott and Torin Koos don’t have much in common. At 21, Elliott is a distance specialist, and still developing. Koos is a sprinter, and at 29, he’s in the latter half of his career. The two things they do share? Both had hopes of making the 2010-2011 U.S. Ski Team—and both were left off the roster. As part of a shift in strategy under new Head Coach Chris Grover, the team announced last...
