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Getting The Most From Your Skin Skis: Care and Maintenance

While new skin skis are factory-ready to be enjoyed right out of the box, three simple steps will help maintain the perfect kick and rocket glide on your skin skis: prep, clean and glide. And none of this is rocket science or time consuming. Curious about different types of skin skis and how skin skis work? Let’s go skin deep With a lineup of no less than 13 different skin ski models, there’s a Madshus skin...

(Press Release) NordicX Festival at Hilltop Ski Area in Anchorage on April 2nd

  Nordic-cross is coming to Anchorage! Come watch Olympic and World Cup skiers battle it out in an action-packed event with big air, wipeouts, high speeds, and good times! The spring sun will be out, the festival at the bottom will have fire-pits and gourmet food and drink, and the atmosphere will be fun for the whole family.  What: Nordic-cross event (extremely unique; cross-country skiing meets jumps and big air) When: April 2nd, 2022  Where:...

The Legends We All Are Living Out: “Winter’s Children: A Celebration of Nordic Skiing” Book Review

In a history of American skiing centered around the Upper Midwest, author Ryan Rodgers weaves together the stories of individuals who have found joy, love, and purpose in skiing with their heel detached, inspiring his readers to do so, too.  At the intersection of outdoors and pursuits, the street signs read “myth” and “heroes.” And we, those who spend our time outside, are here to patiently listen. That intersection has given rise to classics across...

(Press Release) Jake Adicoff Wins Second Paralympic Medal and Sydney Peterson Wins First in Paralympic Debut

ZHANGJIAKOU, China — Three-time Paralympian Jake Adicoff (Sun Valley, Idaho), alongside guide Sam Wood (Harpswell, Maine), won the silver medal in the men’s visually impaired long-distance cross-country race on Monday, while Paralympic newcomer Sydney Peterson (Lake Elmo, Minnesota) won the silver in the women’s long-distance cross-country race in another banner day for the U.S. Para Nordic team at the Paralympic Winter Games Beijing 2022. The U.S. Para Nordic team has now collected five medals through three days of cross-country skiing and...

Norway Sweeps Podium as Revelry Returns at Holmenkollen 50 k; Martin Leads US in 26th

This World Cup coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and the 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. In Oslo on Sunday, came another sign of the times. The Holmenkollen Ski Festival, the beating heart and center of the modern sport of skiing since Torjus Hemmestveit won...

(Press Release) Oksana Masters Adds to Medal Collection with Silver in Long-Distance Cross-Country

U.S. Para Nordic star Oksana Masters (Louisville, Kentucky) won silver in the women’s sitting long-distance cross-country race on Sunday, her second medal of the Paralympic Winter Games Beijing 2022. Masters, a cross-country skier and biathlete, also won gold in the women’s sitting biathlon sprint on Saturday and now has 12 career Paralympic medals between the winter and summer Paralympic Games. Sunday’s silver medal comes six months after winning double gold in Para-cycling at the Paralympic Games Tokyo...

Norway on Top But Medal Tally Drops in Beijing

The dust on the ice has settled and the best snow sports nations on earth are taking stock of their performances at the Beijing Winter Olympics. For many, the medal haul was as expected but, for other countries, it was a disappointing games overall. As the dominant force in Nordic skiing, Norway were expected to top the medal table and they duly headed the section by some distance. However, their overall tally of five golds...

(Press Release) Masters wins fifth gold, Gretsch takes bronze in biathlon sprint to begin 2022 Para Games

By Stephen Meyers | March 05, 2022, 7:27 a.m. (ET) Oksana Masters (Louisville, Kentucky) won the first gold medal for the U.S. at the Paralympic Winter Games Beijing 2022 on Saturday in the women’s sitting biathlon sprint while teammate Kendall Gretsch (Downers Grove, Illinois) earned bronze on a cold, breezy day that included racing in the men’s and women’s biathlon sprint in the sitting, standing and vision impaired categories.  Masters, a biathlete and cross-country skier, won...

Update: Falun, SWE to absorb World Cup Finals Mar 11 – 13th

After officially canceling the World Cup Finals scheduled for Tyumen, Russia on February 25th the International Ski Federation (FIS) announced in a brief press release today (see below) that no replacement venue has been found, and thus the upcoming three-day race weekend in Falun, Sweden will instead absorb the event, ending the season one week prematurely.  No schedule changes have been made to the event in Falun, leaving a classic sprint, a 10/15-kilometer skate, and...

The Devon Kershaw Show: Distract yourself with Drammen

There’s a war going on in Ukraine, and we touch on its impacts on the World Cup. But ski racing is also continuing, so we’re forging on, with respect for and acknowledgment of the tragedy that’s unfolding in Europe. For a few hours at least, on Thursday, the classic Drammen city sprint provided one heck of a distraction, and Devon and Nat are back to break down some performances for the ages by Norway’s Maiken...

After a week of upheavals, the World Cup sprint show goes on in Drammen; France’s Jouve wins, while China gets its first podium

This World Cup coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and the 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.   Cross country skiing’s most ancient, classic, weekend of racing in Norway (the Holmenkollen ski festival) began with a sprint through the center of Drammen, about 45-kilometers (30 mi)...

Falla Earns Sixth Drammen Victory on Home-ground; Kern leads Americans in 7th, Three in Top-20

This World Cup coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and the 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. Returning to Norway after last year’s coronavirus induced hiatus, the World Cup picked up with a 1.2-kilometer classic city sprint in Drammen. With the Russian and Belarusian athletes banned from...

Entire Norwegian sprint team tests positive for COVID following Lahti World Cup

Corresponding with a social media post from Johannes Høsflot Klæbo, the Norwegian news outlet NRK reported yesterday that each of the men’s national team sprinters who competed in Lahti last weekend has tested positive for COVID-19. Head sprint coach Arild Monsen told NRK that Håvard Solås Taugbøl was the first to test positive on Monday, followed by Erik Valnes, Pål Golberg, Sindre Bjørnestad Skar and Johannes Høsflot Klæbo on Tuesday. According to Trondheim regional newspaper...

Best Things to do While Skiing

  One of the most popular winter sports, skiing is popular the world over. It’s not just in countries that get a good deal of snowfall, people often incorporate skiing into their holiday.   It’s estimated that almost 15 million people ski in the United States, and Germany almost matches with 14.6 million. Though skiing is traditional in these countries, it’s also growing in the Asia Pacific region.   The most common demographic for skiers...

5 ways to treat your skin after a day in the snow

After a day on the trails, your skin can feel dry, sensitive and irritated. Chapped or dry skin is typical among cross-country skiers. The cold, dry temps can take a toll on your skin, and cracking and dehydration are common. Here are some tips for how to soothe and protect your skin after a day in the snow. Skin Prep is Key First, prevention is key! Before you boot up and take to the trails...

FasterSkier Needs Your Help: Consider a Voluntary Subscription

As the 2022 Olympic Winter Games draw to a close – we hope you’ve been enjoying our coverage – we need your help. FasterSkier is celebrating its 20th year and we are committed to doing what we do best in the years ahead. That means publishing robust journalism and real-time news about all things cross-country skiing. That means bringing international racing to life with athlete interviews, podcasts, high-quality photos and in-depth analysis. That means helping...

What are the Best Ski-Themed Video Games?

Skiing has been used as a way for people in cold climates to get around for thousands of years. Preserved skis and rock paintings show that skis were used by hunters and trappers in pre-historic times in Asia’s Altai region. Slowly, the use of skis migrated to Eurasian arctic regions and then to Scandinavian regions. In 1938 the Winter Olympics featured ski competitions for the first time. Later, during WWII, the Finns’ expertise in moving...

“So close, yet so far”: This international Olympic Covid romance is a story for our times

U.S. cross-country skier Kevin Bolger and Swedish racer Maja Dahlqvist met during the COVID-19 pandemic. The virus kept them six feet apart during the Olympics — except one celebratory hug. ZHANGJIAKOU, CHINA — American Olympic cross-country skier Kevin Bolger grew up in Wisconsin. His girlfriend, Olympian Maja Dahlqvist, is from Sweden. During the Olympics, in China, they got to spend a couple of weeks in the same place. Among their options for dates: • Go cross-country...

Russian athletes expected to compete in Norway despite Norwegian Ski Association message that they are not welcome

On February 26th, the Norwegian Ski Association (NSA) released a statement indicating that in light of the nation’s recent invasion of the Ukraine, Russian participation was not welcome at the upcoming World Cup sprint races in Dramman or the storied Holmenkollen distance races outside of Oslo. In addition to these cross country events, Norway is scheduled to host competitions in alpine, nordic combined, and ski jumping, including the World Ski Flying Championships in Vikersund.  A...

Niskanen Strides for 15 k Classic Victory on Home Turf; Cyr leads North American Men in 23rd

This World Cup coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and the 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. Racing continued in Lahti, FIN with the men’s 15-kilometer classic individual start. The field was smaller than usual, with just 68 starters contrasting the 104 racers in the 15 k...