Regional / Local Archives - FasterSkier.com

Why Skiing and How I Survived the Summer: Part IV

In March of 2016, we published an article penned by Scott “Bjorn” Cummings, a Postbaccalaureate student working towards his Academic Behavorial Strategist K-12 (ABS) Special Education License at the University of...

2018 Birkie: A Newbie’s Tale

The following was written by Katie Miller, a former University of New Hampshire (UNH) ski racer who recently completed her first American Birkebeiner and 50-kilometer ski marathon, after registering for the race last...

Novak, Rudd Take Tour of Anchorage Wins

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Hannah Rudd had never raced a 50 k before. Jack Novak was doing his second one in as many weekends. They took different paths to get there, but both ended up in the same place on Sunday afternoon:...

Why Skiing (and Am I in the Right Birkie Wave?): Part III

Alaska Racing Returns with Scenic Race to the Outhouse

HATCHER PASS, above Palmer, Alaska — Thank you Ullr for the early-season weather and snow! The 2017/2018 ski season started for me on Sept. 30 with an overnight trip to the Snowbird Glacier in the Talkeetna...

Alaskans Revel in October Skiing at Hatcher Pass, Birch Hill

Note: We're seeking submissions for this year's "Where The (Skiable) White Stuff Is" early snow report. If you know where there’s November or even October skiing in the U.S. or Canada, please write us with details...

Don’t Overfill Your Cup: APU Coach Erik Flora and the Complete Athlete

This week's featured articles are made possible thanks to the generous support of The Loppet Foundation, host of the Masters World Cup 2018. Registration opens in October. *** RIDING IN A PISTENBULLY ON EAGLE GLACIER,...

Craftsbury Outdoor Center’s Economic ‘Ecosystem’ at Risk

A critical issue looms in Craftsbury, Vt. — home to what nordic skiers know as the Craftsbury Outdoor Center (COC). The COC runs sculling camps on the adjacent Great Hosmer Pond. Currently, motorboats and scullers...

Wirth’s Big Facelift: Loppet Foundation Breaks Ground on Trailhead

After six years, the end is in sight: construction is underway for The Loppet Foundation's Trailhead. The Trailhead is an ambitious project to improve skiing infrastructure at Theodore Wirth Regional Park in...

Race of Truth: Husain, Lawson Win App Gap Challenge

FAYSTON, Vt. -- This past Sunday, July 23, Kam Husain and Alex Lawson won the 2017 App Gap Challenge and set some of the fastest times on the grueling course in the process. Husain, a 19-year-old Vermont native and former...

Over Before It Really Began: Burke and Sweetser Part Ways

A recently promised revival of the nordic program at Vermont’s Burke Mountain Academy (BMA) now seems to be on hold, following a recent change in leadership and what appears to be the school’s subsequent decision to...

Q&A: Beckwith’s Return to Skiing as NENSA Competitive Program Director

About a year and a half after leaving his post as nordic director at the Green Mountain Valley School (GMVS), Justin Beckwith is once again involved with New England skiing at full throttle as competitive program...

Q&A: Burke New Head Coach Will Sweetser

If you are from New England, you've probably heard of Will Sweetser. Originally from Auburn, Maine, Sweetser, 47, has been coaching nordic for the last 25 years. He skied for Dartmouth and coached at Bates College, the...

Mt. Van Hoevenberg’s Snow Factory a ‘Game Changer’

When it came to investing in snowmaking, New York State's Olympic Regional Development Authority (ORDA) went with the go-big mentality, leasing a TechnoAlpin Snow Factory for the Mount Van Hoevenberg nordic center and...

O’Harra, Frankowski Claim Solo Victories in Tour of Anchorage

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — There are several strategies for winning the Tour of Anchorage, the annual 50-kilometer freestyle marathon from one side of town to the other that is the unofficial citizens’ race championship for...

Besh Cup Series Wraps up in Fairbanks as Team Alaska is Named

When is a race-time temperature of 2 above not so bad? When it's 16 below at the airport. Team Alaska was named as the Besh Cup series wrapped up in Fairbanks over the weekend, in conditions that one local skier described as "not too cold."

Globetrotting Fritz & Kovacs Take Titles, Cash in Snowy Qaniq Challenge

Qaniq Challenge 2017 by the numbers: Two days, 35 kilometers, three feet of fresh snow. 33 racers. $10,000 purse. Why the country's second-richest cross-country ski race is in Valdez, Alaska, in mid-January.

Americans Abroad: APU Skiers Take on China Tour de Ski

Jack Novak has never been to Asia before. Lauren Fritz has skied on five continents. Both Alaska Pacific University skiers are crossing the Pacific Ocean this week to race in the tenth annual China Tour de Ski, which begins in Changbaishan on January 1. Expect camels, long bus rides, communal poop shacks – oh, and a $36,000 purse.

Dublin Prep School Homologates Trails for the Love of XC

Note: In addition to the Dublin School, at least one other private school in New Hampshire has FIS-homologated trails. Proctor Academy, with 360...

Craftsbury and Caldwell Top Tough Weather at Eastern Cup Openers

Note: Photos from this story are courtesy of John Lazenby. Many more photos from the Eastern Cup weekend are available at his website. The New England Nordic Ski Association (NENSA) tried out an old format for the...