Colorado-based writer Matt Muir, who has spent the better part of the last decade summering in Argentina, studying the life and befriending local skiers, takes an inside look at the future of nordic in the Argentina and its quest for Worldloppet recognition.
There's a skiable groomed loop in Eastern Canada, and FS contributor Stephanie Drolet drove an hour north of Quebec City to check it out. This year, Laval University opened the 1.3 k manmade track at La Forêt Montmorency a couple weeks earlier than usual and expect to keep it open into April 2014. In English and French.
On Thursday, a classic-sprint showdown among some of the top Canadian and U.S. nordic skiers took place on Frozen Thunder. "Let’s be honest," men's winner Dakota Blackhorse-von Jess says. "Winning a race against [Andy Newell and Simi Hamilton], even in a tune up event, even with a relatively small field, even in October, it still makes a good time even better."
Traverse City Nordic Fest: America's biggest preseason XC party on a 350-foot loop. How do they do it? Lots of enthusiastic volunteers, long nights, and ice-rink shavings. The event kicks off Saturday.
A former VAMP, Nancy Fiddler takes a close look at one of the country's largest all-female masters nordic groups, Muffy Ritz's VAMPS program in Sun Valley, Idaho, which caps out at 130 participants each year.
Ever wonder how skiers from places like Argentina get to go to the Olympics? The meet qualifying standards just like everybody else, while also meeting their own nation's criteria. Even in a place like New Zealand, it's not easy. " I do not understand New Zealand's reluctance to support winter sport, other than those in the top 16 in the world,” national-team member Sarah Murphy says.
With a new head coach at the helm and a couple new athletes, CXC is rebuilding while setting tangible goals for the season ahead. "I think at first, they were skeptical to listen to me because they've heard this before and results have ebbed and flowed," Bill Pierce says. "But I think they’re willing to give it a chance."
XC Oregon's elite team roster is a bit smaller this year, but coach J.D. Downing is excited about the team's quality. "We'll have a bit of a 'factory team' feel with fewer full-time skiers than some years, but a whole lot of talented people involved," he explains.
Last weekend, Team Hardwood held its annual Midget Camp; it's goal: to get as many young kids as possible to fall in love with cross country skiing. With a total of 8 midget-aged athletes, 4 volunteers from Team Hardwood’s senior racing team and our Head Coach Ron Howden, one volunteer says mission accomplished.
The MOD grew by three with the addition of both Brian and Caitlin Gregg and junior Maya Seckinger. "The new additions have brought challenges but great rewards, too," coach Scott Johnston says. "At times were are going 4 different directions but all with the same ending destination."
Bend Endurance Academy head coach Ben Husaby has a good sense of humor when it comes to his one-man team. Dakota Blackhorse-von Jess is their guy, but luckily BEA has a roost of "ravenettes" pushing the 27 year old during summer training.
The Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation Gold Team is stressing quality over quantity this season, especially with three promising skiers out of college. Two-time NCAA champion Miles Havlik joins the team, along with Rose Kemp and Mary Rose. “Although we are a small squad, 3 men and 3 women, ambitions are high for this crew," Rodgers says.
With 24 athletes, APU is keeping its elite team pretty similar to years past, but there's definitely new blood in the training group with eight new men on the team.
In its second year, NANANordic reached three times the amount of villages and more than twice as many students in Northwest Alaska. And if you ask founder Lars Flora, they're not done with spreading cross-country skiing just yet.
Sorry, New Hampshire: the Vermont-based teams of Craftsbury, Stratton, and UVM had a lock on the podium at the Craftsbury Spring Tour after 10/15 k pursuits based on the previous two days' results. Sophie Caldwell consolidated her lead to win by a mile, while Pat O'Brien worked some slick skis through the sunny snow to edge out Eric Packer.
Recently back from Europe, Sophie Caldwell has dominated Craftsbury's mini-tour so far, winning the 3.6 k prologue by over 30 seconds and the sprint qualifier by ten. The men's field is tighter, after Pat O'Brien and Paddy Caldwell dueled it out in the prologue and then the sprint final came down to a drag race between SMST2 teammates Eric Packer and Skyler Davis.
Brian and Caitlin Gregg doubled up to sweep the men's and women's 10 k freestyle at the Vail Mountain Games on Friday. The pair have been training in the Rockies all week to get ready for the Aspen SuperTour this weekend and the altitude training clearly paid off. Click through for photos and video of the event.
In Bozeman earlier this season, bibs had to be redistributed for SuperTour sprint heats once starters were already on lining up. More recently and catastrophically in Craftsbury, an Eastern Cup had to cancel its sprint heats and hold a second qualifier after cascading hardware failures wreaked havoc on results. Here's why we can't expect these problems to go away.
Lake Placid-based biathletes are excited about the extension of their rollerski loop at the Olympic Jumping Complex, which cost $500,000 and took about 14 weeks to complete this fall.
There's only one nordic groomer in West Yellowstone and that's Doug Edgerton. Founder and president of the world-famous Yellowstone Track Systems, Edgerton let FasterSkier ride along while he groomed South Plateau early Wednesday morning.