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Sophia Laukli Returns to Lysebotn Opp Hill Climb for Second Podium Finish

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.  7.5 kilometers, 27 hairpin turns, up a fjord. For the better part of two decades, the climb up the Lysebotn Opp has marked the high point, figurative and literal, of cross-country skiing’s summer calendar.  Last year, that point was...

Ben Ogden, In His Element:  Part II

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.  Ben Ogden was kind enough to spend a recent afternoon with FasterSkier assessing his 2022-2023 World Cup season, and discussing the sorts of plans he has for training in this off-season. We met in the barn at the Ogden...

Mammoth Junior Nordic Programs Seeking Head Coach

Mammoth Mountain Ski Area and Eastern Sierra Nordic Ski Association are seeking a qualified individual to run their junior program. Programs include CNISSF middle and high school teams, as well as a club junior competition team. The current teams are looking for an enthusiastic head coach, who will further develop our well established programs. Mammoth Lakes, CA offers a long ski season and many high quality dry land training venues. 10 month position, hours ranging...

Grand Mesa Nordic Council Seeks Operations Manager/Lead Groomer

  The Grand Mesa Nordic Council is a community-supported, nonprofit organization that operates the cross-country ski areas on the Grand Mesa in Western Colorado. We groom and maintain more than 50km of trails at three trailheads. The high elevation of our trail network provides for one of the longest ski seasons in the U.S. Find out more about our trails here: https://gmnc.org/trails/skitrails/ We are seeking an operations manager/lead groomer for the 2023-2024 season.  This position...

Injuries are Inevitable

Injuries are inevitable . . . As a physical therapist, I am often preaching prevention through maintenance exercises and training strategies; however, despite very well intended plans, injuries can still happen. Some of these will be short term, quite manageable, and maybe just a product of bad luck. Other injuries are longer lasting, will likely require some medical management, and are certain to impact training, whether from an acute trauma or from symptoms that have...

Ben Ogden, In His Element:  Part I

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.  Ben Ogden is in his element . . . in a secluded valley surrounded by tree-covered slopes of Vermont’s Green Mountains, in a barn by the side of a winding dirt road, only...

NYSEF Seeks Head Ski Jumping / Nordic Combined Coach

NYSEF seeks a well-rounded, experienced coach who understands nordic sport from both an athlete and program management perspective to add to our talented coaching team and fill the position of Head Ski Jumping / Nordic Combined Coach. This coach needs to understand the physical, technical and mental demands required for success in ski jumping and nordic combined. It is critical that this coach understands the development needs for high performing athletes from the development ages...

Strathcona Nordic Ski Club Seeks Head Coach

The Strathcona Nordic Ski Club is looking to recruit a Head Coach who shares our Club vision and values to support the development well-rounded athletes with a strong sense of self, a love of sport, and athletic excellence at their individual level. Our Club is based out of Mount Washington Alpine Resort on the East Coast of Vancouver Island where we have 50 km of groomed nordic trails with incredible views, a long ski season,...

Pineland Farms / FKOC Seeks Venue Manager/Nordic Skiing Coach

Job Description    Pineland Farms / FKOC have an immediate opening for a Venue Manager / Nordic Skiing Coach. This position will require 40 hrs/week and will require flexible hours including some nights and weekends. Essential Functions Working together with the Pineland Outdoor Recreation Director, FKOC Board of Directors and local volunteers, the Venue Manager will establish a consistent presence at FKOC welcoming and assisting users and in the community promoting the activities available. Duties to...

“What Makes a Champion” . . . US Ski Team Video Campaign

  U.S. Ski & Snowboard is launching a new campaign called, “What Makes a Champion” which will highlight an athlete from each of our teams, and focus on what makes them a champion. Jessie Diggins kicks it off. What Makes a Champion:  Jessie Diggins Leann Bentley—Stifel U.S. Cross Country Ski Team Press Officer—informs FasterSkier that a new “What Makes a Champion” video will be introduced each month leading into the 2023-2024 World Cup season. We’re...

National Nordic Foundation Summer Auction This Week!

The National Nordic Foundation’s (NNF) annual online summer auction is open! NNF’s summer auction is an opportunity for skiers and supporters across the country to contribute to US Skiing’s success while taking a piece of it home. The auction runs this week until Friday, July 14th at 8pm EST. All proceeds from the NNF summer auction go directly towards funding Pillar Projects next winter, including Junior World Championships, the U18 Nordic Nation’s Cup, and the...

Sophia Laukli—Pro Skier or Pro Trail Runner? Both!

  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...

Racing to Save a Ski Season . . . Adaptations and Impacts of Virtual Racing: Part II

White-knuckled, we caravanned down I-94 from St. Cloud to Minneapolis in the midst of a bomb cyclone of wind, snow, and ice. Braving the conditions, we crawled toward our destination: the 2021, hybrid City of Lakes Loppet at Theodore Wirth Park. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic—and a hearty desire to stay healthy for the remainder of the ski season—we decided to drive separately. Now, we were inching our way to a late start for our...

Tradition and Transformation: The Birkie Plans its 50th Anniversary

Tony Wise could see 10,000 years at once. The last ice age had sent a glacier down over Wisconsin, and then tore it back. In the process, the landscape and lilt of a place emerged. Deep-pocketed kettles, ridges, gentle and subtle rolling hills, all draped in the needly green of the pines. Gaze at it, and time didn’t seem like something that moved forward, but instead danced within the bounds of a whole epoch. A...

Salomon Trail Athlete Sophia Laukli Joins Salomon Nordic Ski Team

  This weekend, Laukli toes the starting line at the Marathon du Mont Blanc in Chamonix, stop No. 2 on the Golden Trail World Series Salomon is proud to announce that professional trail runner, US Nordic Ski Team athlete and 2022 Olympian Sophia Laukli is now an “all-season” Salomon athlete. Already a rising star for Salomon’s global trail running team, the 23-year-old from Yarmouth, Maine, has decided to use Salomon ski equipment when she puts...

Training When There’s Nothing to Train For

Most conversations regarding training for endurance sports center on competition: the training schedule is built around the races. But what if you don’t compete? What if you’re out there on the ski trails, bike trails, and hiking trails without a race number? What if your objective is not to podium but to simply enjoy the opportunity to push your body? Is there still a reason to “train” when there isn’t a competition to train for?...

FIS: “Equal distances has taken another step”

In a recent Instagram post (June 21, 2023), the International Ski Federation (FIS) announced that permanent changes have been made to the “equality” in race distances for men and women in both FIS sanctioned races and those races set to be staged at the upcoming Olympic Winter Games in 2026. The post included the following wording: BIG NEWS: Equal distances has taken another step, a step that involves the Olympics in Milano Cortina 2026!🙌🏼 The...

US Ski Team Seeks World Cup Wax/Ski Technician

  CLASSIFICATION  Seasonal, Part-time, Exempt REPORTS TO Cross Country Program Director and XC Head of Service LOCATION  Remote TRAVEL  Approximately 3-4/months a year (November – March) SUMMARY / OBJECTIVE  The XC World Cup Wax/Ski Technician is a travel-intensive position supporting athletes competing on the World Cup and at the Winter Olympics and Nordic World Championships. The XC World Cup Wax/Ski Technician is responsible for providing world-class wax and ski service to the World Cup team...

Magic Mountain, Indeed:  SMST2 and West River Nordic Party on Vermont’s Very Last Snow.

June 3, Magic Mountain Ski Area, Londonderry Vermont It’s full summer in the Green Mountains of Vermont: high temperatures and summer thunderstorms, every tree leaf-covered, every meadow knee-deep in new grass, and the entire world the richest shade of green. Even those New England resorts that pride themselves on being the very last to keep their chairlifts turning had packed it in a week ago. But there’s still snow at Magic Mountain, stored for just...

The College of St. Scholastica Seeks Skiing Head Coach 

  The College of St. Scholastica is seeking a head coach for its Women’s and Men’s NCAA Nordic Skiing program.  The Saints ski program begins its 18th season in 2023-24, as 2 of the 22 varsity NCAA Division III athletics programs the college offers.  The St. Scholastica Saints are a member institution of the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletics Conference (MIAC) in all sports except Skiing.  The ski team is a member of Central Collegiate Ski Association...