In late May, weeks after Nina Silitch finished her last race of the season, loads of her ski-mountaineering equipment still occupied more than half the space in her bedroom. Her husband, Michael, couldn’t understand why, after six months on the World Cup and international circuit, she wasn’t ready put it away. At 39, Silitch was coming off a career-best season in most respects – she became the first American to earn World Cup gold in...
FasterSkier is starting a new, once-a-month series looking at new research in the field of sports science. Periodically, we’ll flip through some of the world’s best peer-reviewed medical journals and summarize, in plain English, studies that we think will be of interest to skiers. Here’s our first installment – enjoy! * Those dopers who claim that their blood measurements were funny because they just did a really hard workout might actually have a point. A...
WILMINGTON, N.Y. — The view from partially up Whiteface Mountain on Wednesday morning was about as picturesque as they get. From the trail, one could see that the leaves had started to turn shades of red and yellow — just in time for the U.S. Ski Team’s fall training camp in Lake Placid, N.Y. Way down below, a few small dots proceeded up the dirt access road: first to warm up, then to get after...
Just over two weeks ago, the Canadian men’s cross-country ski team made the long journey to New Zealand in search of some low-altitude, on-snow volume training. According to head coach Justin Wadsworth, they Snow Farm – New Zealand – August 2012” to sum up their time there, which was mostly a laughing matter. In one scene, the four men stand stand on a treeless trail high above the landscape while taking a break during training....
This is the fourth and final preview in a quick-and-dirty series about Canadian national-training centres. We asked coaches to send their 2012/2013 rosters and tell us what’s new for the coming season. Teams were presented in no particular order. Team: Callaghan Valley Training Centre (roster and five junior males, this team doesn’t have a single woman, and Manhard explained why. “With one coach for a centre, it was very difficult balancing the boys training and social...
For the past couple weeks, I have been training in Germany with the USBA national A team. We have spent time at some of the winter World Cup venues and shared the ranges with European national teams and club teams. The first couple weeks were in Bavaria, training at Ruhpolding. This week we are training [...]
Thousands of miles from the U.S. mainland on the northern island of Hawaii, Sylvan Ellefson tweeted photos from his honeymoon in Kauai. He University of New Hampshire skier – is from. Then they went to Boulder, where Sarah lives while studying physical therapy, to watch the USA Pro Am Cycling Challenge last weekend. “I’m jazzed to be moving around again,” Ellefson said. “The wedding week was pretty crazy and then the honeymoon was nice and...
Members of the U.S. Ski Team’s National Training Group (NTG) spent last week in Park City, Utah, for a training camp centered on group training and exposure to the resources at the Center of Excellence. Athletes joined interval sessions with the national team on the rollerski track at Soldier Hollow and underwent a series of physiological tests for assessment and feedback on their development. The camp was a new addition over last year’s schedule; the...
Note: This story accompanies came to life under SMS Nordic Program Director Sverre Caldwell. Sophie’s father, Sverre dreamed up the team years ago, but seriously revisited the idea in a conversation with Kaeding last summer. Earlier this year, the two laid the framework to make it happen. Several months later in June, four SMS skiers and Sinnott strapped on their rollerski gear for a three- to four-hour skate in upstate New York. It was the...
Last summer I was able to join APU and Sun Valley skiing at the Thomas training center on Eagle glacier. (http://www.craftsbury.com/blogs/grp/?p=1910). Getting quality on snow time during the summer months is a huge asset to any nordic racer, and something still quite novel to life long Eastern skier. This year I was again hoping get [...]
Since its six-skier strong elite club based in the resort town of Stratton, Vt. Stratton Mountain School (SMS) graduates Andy Newell and Skyler Davis were originally part of the program. This year, the two U.S. Ski Team (USST) members are joined by three Dartmouth graduates — Eric Packer, Sophie Caldwell and Erika Flowers — and USST member Jessie Diggins, formerly of Central Cross Country (CXC). Head coach Gus Kaeding also came from CXC, where he was an...
Noah Hoffman has been all over the world this summer in search of snow, and in less than a week the U.S. Ski Team member will be jetting off again to find more. This time he’s headed to the Southern Hemisphere along with teammate Kris Freeman to train at the Snow Farm, New Zealand’s premier cross-country ski field and, until this year, a regular U.S. training destination. It won’t be the first time this summer...
Last week was the second week-long BKL camp of the summer, and I’m happy to announce we escaped without any casualties. In fact, one of the rollerski groups completed their session without any bloodshed! — a landmark accomplishment. Add to that the good weather, enthusiastic campers, and fun activities, and you can imagine that we [...]
It’s almost September, and let’s be honest, you’re in great shape. Or you’re almost there. Just a little longer distances, some slightly harder efforts and bam! You suddenly feel a tickle in your throat. Your head’s pounding, your legs are shot and your heart races when you start working out. You’re having trouble sleeping and this head cold is something you hadn’t bargained for. What gives? Probably overtraining. “Pish-posh,” you think. “I’m not an elite...
Scattered throughout Canada on Sunday, four World Cup team members and their coaching and support staff started their long journey to the land down under – that is, New Zealand. Alex Harvey ate handmade chocolates and sipped a steamed drink while waiting for his 16-hour flight out of Québec International Airport, then got upgraded to business class, according to first time in 10 years, the U.S. Ski Team will not be training in New Zealand...
Welcome the land of fried chicken. That’s what Alberta World Cup Academy and Canadian development team skier Kevin Sandau saw on his drive down to Whitefish, Mont., when he tweeted a photo of a license plate: Montana. Treasure State. FRDCHKN. The entire World Cup Academy (AWCA), with two weeks in Sweden, where she trained with the U.S. and Swedish national women’s teams in Sälen and Torsby. She’s taking a little breather in Canada first. In...
NYSEF CLIMB TO THE CASTLE ROLLERSKI RACE Saturday, September 15, 2012 WILMINGTON, N.Y. — The New York Ski Educational Foundation and the Olympic Regional Development Authority announce the 6th annual NYSEF Whiteface Climb to the Castle Rollerski Race on Saturday, September 15 at 8:00 am. The course starts at the Whiteface Toll Booth, climbing for 5 miles with an average 8% grade up the Whiteface Memorial Highway to the castle on the summit of Whiteface...
This is the third preview in a quick-and-dirty series about Canadian national-training centres. We asked coaches to send their 2012/2013 rosters and tell us what’s new for the coming season. We will be publishing additional reports over the next few weeks. Teams are presented in no particular order. Team: Alberta World Cup Academy (AWCA) Coaches: Chris Jeffries (head coach/women’s coach), Mike Cavaliere (racing director/men’s coach), George Grey (women’s assistant coach), Stefan Kuhn (universal coach/men’s assistant), Jeremy Hecker (summer intern), Rob Soffer (strength...
Like most athletic children of a certain era in Putney, Vt., Alicia Dana grew up cross-country skiing. She learned the ropes from the legendary John Caldwell, a Putney School coach who went on to lead the U.S. Ski Team, and took up racing at an early age. It wasn’t long until Dana, formerly Brelsford, developed an affinity for other sports as well. By the time she was 16, she had competed at two cycling nationals...
Just over a week ago, five U.S. Ski Team women and one Canadian packed their bags in various parts of the world and set off to meet in Sweden. Usually faced with the task of preparing for months of overseas travel, some might have scratched their heads. What do you bring for just two weeks? Americans Kikkan Randall and Liz Stephen had already been in Europe for nearly a month, first competing in the Blink...