Andrew Johnson is a two time US Olympian in Cross-country skiing and an assistant coach at the University of Utah. He recently launched a personal coaching service. For more information, visit http://www.xccoachaj.com or email Andrew at info@xccoahaj.com When should I start doing intervals? When should I start adding level 4 intervals? How often should I do intervals? These are all questions I hear fairly often and they are questions that don’t have simple answers. Intensity,...
Roller-skiing is one of the best forms of ski training — and also one of the most dangerous. Unlike on snow, where a controlled fall can salvage many situations and a skilled skier can stop on a dime, skiing on the road can be unforgiving in the extreme, and bailing out should be used only as a last resort. But you should not feel as if you are putting your life on the line every...
Crested Butte, Colorado With over 1000 inches of snow falling in the mountains above Crested Butte, Colorado this winter, a blizzard was a fitting start to the June Ski Camp that opened today. The new snow cleaned up the trails and made for great skiing during the morning’s classic ski session on Kebler Pass. The four-day camp continued through Sunday with a focus on skiing and technique development. Afternoon dryland training and touring the town’s...
Andrew Johnson is a two-time US Olympian, skis for the Fischer/Craft Race Team, and runs a personal coaching business – http://www.xccoachaj.com. Roller-skiing is by far and away the most important training tool Nordic skiers have at their disposal. However, it’s important to remember that more does not always mean better. My take on the early summer specificity question is that it’s not necessary and in many cases counter productive to start regular roller-skiing workouts in...
This is only a partial list of camps around the country. If you have a camp to add, please email us at info@fasterskier.com and post it on the FasterSkier Calendar. Maine Winter Sports Center Training for Success Summer Camp Come join the coach of Maine’s newest college ski program, Petr Jakl, University of Maine Presque Isle head coach, to get a jump-start on your ski season with other high school skiers from around the state....
Dick Taylor presents some some very interesting and potentially controversial ideas about skate technique, especially in relation to the current conventional wisdom. Feel free to discuss Dick's ideas using the comment form at the end of the article. Please keep comments on topic and related to the article content. Jack Sassvilles article in Master Skier, “Skating and Weight Shiftâ€(p.5), needs to be continued. His second-to-last paragraph is a good place to start. “With the increased...
Central Cross Country Ski Association is pleased to announce the 2008 Coaches Conference organized in conjunction with the CXC Regional Elite Camp on June 30 — July 2, 2008. “This is a great opportunity for coaches at all levels to learn and observe how US National Team coaches work on technique with top athletes. Presentations will be focused on planning the training process, progress identification and training adaptation analysis as well as presentations by US...
Welcome to a special edition of the Nordic Dave Adventure Series. It's been a cold wet spring on top of an epic winter. Today 'ol nordic wanted to check out the High Unita's up on the Mirror Lake Hwy. A possible launching point for a multi day adventure from Mirror Lake to Kings Peak and just how much snow as there? (Mirror Lake Hwy jpg) Finding the highway giving up to snow at Trial Lake,...
Pepa Miloucheva is the head coach at the Craftsbury Nordic Ski Club. Over the past years she has coached some of the fastest skiers in the country. A World Champion in Ski Orienteering, she is also an experienced Masters coach. This article isn’t about what the right technique is; it’s about how to get there. There are many articles about cross-country ski technique. Most are very good, with emphasis on important technique points and drills...
Monday morning was sunny. Temps overnight got into the upper 20's in the high country and the crust cruising was excellent. Things started to get a little slow around 9:30 due to the fresh snow that had fallen over the past couple of days. The trailhead picture where we started skiing is 3.5 miles up a good road from Crested Butte! It is sure great to still be skiing this close to town. This is...
As the summer training season kicks into high gear, FasterSkier will be presenting a series of articles revolving around different aspects of roller-skiing. Today we start with a look at when to start roller-skiing in the spring. Upcoming highlights include a piece by Pepa Miloucheva on technique and the transition from snow to dryland and vice versa, and a critique of skate technique by Dick Taylor. June is almost upon us, and if you haven’t...
The San Diego Union-Tribune reports that UCSD biology professor, Randy Johnson, has demonstrated that exposing the skin to various conditions – including low oxygen conditions – can stimulate the production of EPO in the body of mice. The researchers exposed the heads and bodies of mice to different levels of oxygen, leading to the conclusion that the skin, not just the internal organs, was triggering an increase in natural EPO. A spike in EPO production...
James Southam reports on a late season ski adventure with Lars Flora in Alaska For Lars' last day in Alaska this spring, we had planned a big adventure sea kayaking out of Whittier to get some unbelievable crust skiing out in Prince William sound. We loaded up and headed off down the road, only to get a call from the rental shop saying that it was too windy and they wouldn't let us take out...
Editors note: This is the last Coaches Around the Country feature for the winter. We hope you've enjoyed them! Ben Arians is a coach for Alaska Winter Stars in Anchorage Alaska. He's been involved with Team Alaska JO Team for 7 years and has been coaching for 10 years. He also is the manager at Alaska Mountaineering and Hiking (AMH), a popular store in Anchorage. What is your personal advice for a high school senior...
This is the latest installment of Kevin Brooker’s journey into the land of Biathlon. Kevin has documented his experience over the course of his first summer of training and has now finally gotten up the good part – getting on snow…. Season Wrap-up The end of the season is always bittersweet. Warm sunshine and soft snow make skiing fun but the desire to “train†has faded away. A bit of effort was needed to keep...
Skifire along with its Argentine partners, the Club Andino Ushuaia and Nunatak Adventure/Centro Invernal Tierra Mayor, announce the first ever Tierra del Fuego Nordic Ski Festival. 40+km of cross-country trails in the Valley of Tierra Mayor and at the Francisco Jerman Nordic Ski Area will get daily, Pisten Bully grooming for both classic and skate techniques. Starting on July 30th and lasting until August 18th, 2008, the festival will last twenty days. Tierra del Fuego...
This is the latest installment of Kevin Brooker’s journey into the land of Biathlon. Kevin has documented his experience over the course of his first summer of training and has now finally gotten up the good part – getting on snow…. The best way to place the level of competition for the NorAm Cup races is to think of it a double A baseball. The athletes in the elite divisions are vying for a spot...
Fasterskier.com caught up with Boulder Nordic Junior Racing Team (BNJRT) J3-J6 coach Adam St.Pierre between his daily training/coaching sessions. Adam tries to stay in top shape to keep up with the J4s and J5s from Boulder at ski practice and to be the most dominant ski/soccer player in the world. 4. How about outside skiing? Other things you're into? Wait, you mean there's life outside of skiing?! That's news to me. I never thought I'd...
Trond Flagstad has been coaching for the University of Alaska-Anchorage (UAA) since 2001. He and his wife Lindsey, 8 month old VeBjorn, and dog Burra live in the hills above Anchorage. Racing at Senior Nat'ls in Soldier Hollow (Krista Radar photo) Do you think being a coach that 'races and trains' with your athletes makes you a better coach? Not necessarily, but I do believe that if you as a coach can show or demonstrate...
Wouldn’t it be neat if you could ski across your state? That’s assuming it snows in your state. If it does, what about a winter travel corridor that patches together existing ski and snow mobile trails, unplowed roads, power line cuts, private property, lakes, and farmers’ fields to allow continuous travel on ski all the way from one end to the other? Add a few good places to stay along the route so that camping...