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#fasterskiertakeover: APU’s Eric Packer (@eric_packer) Takes Over FS Instagram

  As the title suggest, we are giving away the keys: Eric Packer, long of the Alaska Pacific University Elite Team, will be posting to our instagram account this week. If you know Packer, his own IG account can be found here, @eric_packer, you understand he has a fondness for the camera lens. He’s a rocket fast skier. But he balances his athletic pursuits by working as an engineer and getting behind the lens. His still photography...

FasterSkier’s Interview with University of Utah Head Coach Miles Havlick

The Internet is a wonderful time machine. Just a few search words and clicks away, there’s Miles Havlick, arms raised, crossing the line first  in the 20-kilometer freestyle mass start at the 2013 NCAA Skiing Championships. It was the second consecutive NCAA championship for the now 28-year-old Havlick — he won the 2012 NCAA title in the 20 k classic. As a standout skier at the University of Utah, Havlick made the jump to Sun...

The FIS opener races in Beitostølen, Norway, came to a close on Sunday as competitors capped off the three day race weekend with a men’s and women’s freestyle distance event. Forty-nine athletes raced the women’s 10-kilometer skate race, with Norway’s Therese Johaug taking the victory in a time of 24:21.5. The FIS win is Johaug’s second in a row (she won Friday’s Beito classic race before skipping Saturday’s sprints) since her return to the circuit...

Sunday Rundown: Beitostølen 10 k/15 k; Bruksvallarna Sprints

Welcome to The Rundown, your quick primer of need-to-know information about the day’s racing. We’ll be updating this digest as the day goes on with additional results, photos and quotes. The Rundown is NOT a race report; stay tuned for complete race reports later today with interviews from the day’s top racers. *** FIS cross-country Beitostølen, Norway: 10 k/15 k freestyle The FIS Beitostølen cross-country races came to a close on Sunday November, 18 with...

Skate Sprints in Beito: Klæbo and Falla Win with Challengers Right Behind

  In a place like Norway, where the pool of cross-country athletes appears eternally deep, when you see competitors raise the bar, there’s nothing else to do but jump. On Saturday in Beitostølen, Norway the known knowns were self-evident: Maiken Caspersen Falla and Johannes Høsflot Klæbo took the freestyle sprint wins during the second day of FIS race competitions. As both athletes were overall World Cup sprint champions last season, there are no shockers there....

Saturday Rundown: Beitostølen Freestyle Sprints; Bruksvallarna 10/15 k

Welcome to The Rundown, your quick primer of need-to-know information about the day’s racing. We’ll be updating this digest as the day goes on with additional results, photos and quotes. The Rundown is NOT a race report; stay tuned for complete race reports later today with interviews from the day’s top racers. *** FIS cross-country Beitostølen, Norway: 1.3 k freestyle sprints In Beitostølen on Saturday, the second day of FIS races there sent the women on 1.3-kilometer skate...

Join the Loppet team! The Loppet Foundation has Several Job Openings

  Join the Loppet team! The Loppet Foundation creates a shared passion for year-round outdoor adventure in the Minneapolis area, with programs and events serving everyone from fourth-graders learning to ski to competitive racers. We are now hiring for customer service, communications, merchandising and more! Join this stellar team and help elevate cross-country skiing and endurance sports widely at our home base in Theodore Wirth Regional Park. See all career opportunities here.

World Cup Preview #4: Finland

  Welcome to FasterSkier’s World Cup Preview, where we check in with the top-10 teams from last year’s FIS Cross Country World Cup tour before the season starts with the Ruka weekend in Kuusamo, Finland, on Nov. 24 with a classic sprint. *** Finland Overall in Nations Cup Last Year:4th Women’s Ranking 2017/2018: 4th Men’s Ranking 2017/2018: 7th Finnish Skiers to Watch: If there are two names Finland’s cross-country ski fans loves to cheer–and will...

Johaug and Tønseth take Beitostølen, Norway Classic Openers

After an 18 month suspension for a positive out of competition positive doping test, during which Norway’s thirty-year-old Therese Johaug could build hour upon hour of base fitness and fine tune the engine with no race-stress, she arrived in Beitostølen, Norway on Friday and didn’t skip a beat. In temperatures hovering around 32 degrees Fahrenheit, and low-level clouds descending on the course, Johaug established herself as the early season favorite amongst a deep Norwegian National Team...

The Methow Valley, home of North America’s largest groomed XC trail system, hosts the inaugural Ski to the Sun Marathon and Relay on January 26, 2019. The 40km freestyle point-to-point race begins in Mazama – a small town nestled on the eastern side of the spectacular North Cascades. The course cruises down the steep-sided valley and along the banks of the Methow River, across open farmland and through wooded hillsides, before an exhilarating climb to...

World Cup Preview: #5 U.S.A.

Welcome to FasterSkier’s World Cup Preview, where we check in with the top-10 teams from last year’s FIS Cross Country World Cup tour before the season starts. The World Cup begins with a classic sprint in Ruka, Finland on Nov. 24th. *** United States Overall in Nations Cup Last Year: 5th Women’s Ranking 2017/2018: 3rd Men’s Ranking 2017/2018: 11th U.S. Skiers to Watch: The high note last season was the gold medal team sprint performance...

BRETTON WOODS TO OPEN FOR THE SEASON NOVEMBER 16

(Press Release)     BRETTON WOODS TO OPEN FOR THE SEASON NOVEMBER 16 Ski & Ride for free on Friday, November 16 with donation of non-perishable food item.         Bretton Woods, N.H. (Nov. 14, 2018) – Bretton Woods, New Hampshire’s largest ski area, will kick off its 45th season this Friday, November 16. Lifts will turn from 12 noon – 3:30pm, and tickets are free for all ages with donation of a...

Winter’s Early Arrival — A Season of Firsts at Wirth Park

(Press Release) FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Alora Jones Phone: 612-900-6890 Email: jones@loppet.org Website: loppet.org   Winter’s Early Arrival — A Season of Firsts at Wirth Park First snow trail of the season opens, new community-based programming, and a first-of-its-kind 759-acre ‘gym’   Minneapolis, MN — Staff and volunteers at the Loppet Foundation have been hard at work this season transforming Theodore Wirth Regional Park into a winter wonderland amidst uncertain weather conditions. Thanks to the completion...

Caledonia Nordic Seeks General Manager

Caledonia Nordic- General Manager The Caledonia Nordic Ski Club operates the Otway Nordic Ski Centre, located minutes west of Prince George BC. The club has 55km of groomed trails, night skiing (10 km of lit trails), 10km of dog friendly trails, numerous snowshoe trails, a new 30 lane biathlon range, and cross-country ski trails and stadium complex that are fully certified under the Federation International de Ski (FIS) homologation standards. We also offer 50+ km...

Calgary Voters Go to Polls Today in Referendum on 2026 Winter Games (Updated)

(This evening, the CBC reported that voters opposed to Calgary’s bid for the 2026 Winter Games won 56.4% of the vote. According to the CBC, these are unofficial results.) The Olympics are a global spectacle, but all politics is local. And when the two truisms go head-to-head in today’s plebiscite vote in Calgary, Alberta, local threatens to win. At stake is the future of one of three remaining host cities for the 2026 Winter Olympic...

Fischer Skis announces the return of their online demo reservation system for use throughout dates of the West Yellowstone Ski Festival, Reserve Fischer Demo equipment including  Twin Skin Ski, and Speedmax models for on-trail testing to learn how Fischer technology makes for a better on-snow experience. The 2018 West Yellowstone Ski Festival will take place November 20th -24th in West Yellowstone, MT. Demos will be available for reservation from Tuesday through Friday. Click here to...

World Cup Preview: #6 Switzerland

Welcome to FasterSkier’s World Cup Preview, where we check in with the top-10 teams from last year’s FIS Cross Country World Cup tour before the season starts with the Ruka weekend in Kuusamo, Finland, on Nov. 24 with a classic sprint. *** Switzerland Overall in Nations Cup Last Year: 6th Women’s Ranking 2017/2018: 7th Men’s Ranking 2017/2018: 4th However lopsided Switzerland World Cup profile appears – think Dario Cologna prime time all the time – the team...

World Cup Preview: #7 France

Welcome to FasterSkier’s World Cup Preview, where we check in with the top-10 teams from last year’s FIS Cross Country World Cup tour before the season starts. The World Cup begins with a classic sprint in Ruka, Finland on Nov. 24th. *** France Overall in Nations Cup Last Year: 7th Women’s Ranking 2017/2018: 12th Men’s Ranking 2017/2018: 3rd French to Watch: Subdued, understated, but right there when it counts. That would encapsulate France’s men’s team...

World Cup Preview: #8 Germany

  Welcome to FasterSkier’s World Cup Preview, where we check in with the top-10 teams from last year’s FIS Cross Country World Cup tour before the season starts with the Ruka weekend in Kuusamo, Finland, on Nov. 24 with a classic sprint. *** Germany Overall in Nations Cup Last Year: 8th Women’s Ranking 2017/2018:  Men’s Ranking 2017/2018: Germans to look out for: If there’s one woman returning to Germany’s national ski team from last season who is...

Biathlon Canada Selection Trials: Day 2 in Canmore

Thursday in Canmore, Alberta day two of Biathlon Canada’s selection trials featured a sprint, with the men racing a total of 10-kilometers, the women 7.5 k. Nathan Smith of Canada’s Senior National team placed first for the men in a time of 24:02.7 minutes. Smith missed one shot prone and cleaned standing. Christian Gow,  winner of the trial’s Tuesday sprint, placed a close second (+4.2). Gow missed a single shot shooting prone and shot clean...