With so much hype over the Yellowstone “Skiapalooza” Thanksgiving Camp, I figured a story about one of the “other” Thanksgiving camps might be of interest. Since I'm not really among the nation's elite level of Nordic skiers, I just couldn't justify making a long trip from my home in Los Alamos, NM, all the way up to West Yellowstone. It may only be two states away, but that is some serious geography (and in this...
Mystery Alaska? Pretty close. Not everyone attends West Yellowstone in the fall. Up in Anchorage, Alaska, many skiers did not travel to Montana on Thanksgiving weekend. And even though there is skiable snow on the ground in Anchorage, many didn't ski at all. Instead, they took advantage of prime ice skating conditions created by a recent cold snap. On Thanksgiving morning a large group of skiers played hockey on Portage Lake, in front of the...
Kuusamo (FIN) — Following the Olympic Winter Games in Turin, a study was carried out this summer and autumn to evaluate the possible causes for variation in the haemoglobin (Hb) values in elite Cross-Country skiers. Based on the initial findings of the WADA supported study, conducted by Professor Bengt Saltin in cooperation with the German, Swedish and French National Ski Associations, the Hb level is a robust and highly reproduceable variable on the individual level....
Petter Northug is sick but doesn’t know what’s wrong.
Kristin Murer Stemland (25) believes that the road to success is through stability
Finally — a world-class Nordic training camp in the High Sierra. For years Nordic skiers have made the early ski season pilgrimage to West Yellowstone. The High Sierra Nordic Camp is the alternative to this long travel and its high gas prices for the early season shake out the summer-cobwebs ski camp. It is ideally timed, in between holidays, yet still early in the season to provide that all-important jump start to your ski season....
3-day cross-country program designed for all ability levels A huge snow storm has delivered winter to the Colorado Mountains before Haloween this year and things are looking great for the Boulder Nordic Sport Thanksgiving Camp Nov 24-26. Devil’s Thumb has begun grooming trails in preparation for an early opening and conditions look excellent for Thanksgiving week. WHAT: 2006 Boulder Nordic Sport Thanksgiving Cross-Country Ski Camp WHEN: November 24-26, 2006 CAMP COST: $239 per person before...
Petter Northug has to slow down his training toward the Norwegian opening races at Beitostolen since he is coming down from high altitude. The altitude effect makes everything easier at sea-level. The danger of training too hard at sea-level and risking overtraining is therefore high. Northug has been told to be extra careful in the phase that he now approaches. – Focus will be on training easy, and I just have to put the brakes...
TORSBY, Sweden (Oct. 21) – Training by skiing in a tunnel can get boring, but it's usually better than pounding away outside in rain. “The snow in the tunnel is good…and it's even better when it's been raining outside every day,” said Chris Grover, sprint head coach for the U.S. Cross Country Ski Team. U.S. sprinters Andy Newell (Shaftsbury, VT), Torin Koos (Leavenworth, WA) and Chris Cook (Rhinelander, WI) are training in Torsby – in...
Sweden’s head coach Inge BrÃ¥ten doesn’t believe in Swedish sprint-dominance this season.
Øysteinâ€The Sausage†Pettersen is training alone in the Ramsau valley while the rest of the team is training at high altitude.
This past week I learned to bobsled when I joined the U.S. National Bobsledding Team for one week of their training camp at the Lake Placid, NY Olympic Training Center. Somehow, through serendipitous circumstances and the help of bobsled driver Sara Sprung, whom I pushed for, I arranged my own fantasy bobsledding camp during a low-volume training week. I learned how to move the 400 lb sleds around; sharpen and care for the runners; how...
Just as rollerskiing simulates skiing, physiology testing replicates, in isolated fashion, the demands of ski racing. For the third and final time this season the US National Sprint, Distance and Continental Cup teams came to Utah for poking, prodding and measurement. According to the USST sport science and coaching staff, fitness, speed and strength continue a positive trajectory. Pete Vordenberg getting his golf on at Lake Placid’s Bushwood Country Club. (Andrew Johnson photo). Day one...
Results and two pictures from an APU/UAA Time Trial last Saturday up Potter Hill in Anchorage, Alaska. APU coach Holly Brooks commented: “Overall times were slower than one month ago but we had a very strong headwind and rain – this let us see who could tough it out in crummy conditions! (Sometimes a very useful and applicable part of training!) Many of the APU athletes were out of town but a good time nonetheless!...
An injured and frustrated Frode Estil has to stay home while the rest of the Norwegian team is preparing for the seasonopener in Val Senales, Italy. – The 34-year old is still struggling with an infection that started a month ago with an innocent small cut in a finger on his left hand. The Olympic and World Champion is now very concerned about the outlook for the upcoming season. – I have to start a...
For more camp info see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zion_National_Park At this time of year you pretty much have the trails to yourself, but we ran into a few Dutch and German tourists. 8:45 PM: Pasta dinner (we passed on Polygamy Porter with the catchy slogan “why just have oneâ€) in Springdale, the little cozy town next to the park was a good ending to a long day. Here are some photos:
The double Olympic gold medal winner Bjorn Lind of Sweden is missing having a sprint coach. Ola Rawald who quit the team to coach Chinese skiers has left a big void. As of now the Swedish national team is without a designated sprint coach. – We miss having someone guiding us regarding the sprint part. At this point we have to take care of everything on our own, says Bjorn Lind But the team’s head...
Rollerski photos from a (James Southam and Anders Haugen) training camp in Southern Utah After about two weeks of medium high altitude training in and around Park City, Utah at 5500- 7500 feet (1600-2300 meter) altitude, James Southam, Anders Haugen and myself (coach) decided to travel down for a short week of lower elevation training in Southern Utah. The forecast for Northern Utah was rain, windy and cold so the idea of cacti, palm-trees and...
Elite skiers doing hard rollerski workouts at Soldier Hollow Olympic stadium in Heber, Utah is a sure sign that we are getting close to a new race season. A new season is just around the corner and intervals and time-trials are frequently on the agenda for elite, juniors and masters around the globe. Here are a few photos of Alaskans Anders Haugen and James Southam from a hard skate rollerski workout at Soldier Hollow last...
Last years overall World Cup second place finisher Jens Arne Svartedal wraps up his summer training and gives advice for altitude training. I’m getting on snow at the Dachstein glacier at 2600 meter altitude in Ramsau, Austria this month [editor’s note: this camp has already taken place]. The focus at this camp will be volume training on snow. I want to write a little about positive and negative factors regarding this type of training camp....