As the saying goes, skiers are made in the summer. If that is the case, then many are forging their way to success in Stratton, Vermont this season. Depending on the year, various clubs around the country may play host to an increased number of athletes for a summer; from Bend, Oregon, to Anchorage, Alaska, to Stratton, the “hot spot” shifts periodically. This year, as SMS T2 Team Head Coach Perry Thomas put it, “we’ve...
After eight years at the helm of the Stratton Mountain School (SMS) T2 team, head coach Pat O’Brien is in the process of taking a few steps back, passing the reins to Perry Thomas, who has spent the last five years as the assistant coach at the University of Vermont. Perhaps highlighting this transition and the sharing of responsibilities the two are in the process of navigating, FasterSkier connected with Thomas in mid-May while he...
For this week’s workout, we feature the Stratton Mountain School T2 Team, also known as the Elite Team, out of Stratton, Vermont. The team’s full-time athletes live near the base of the alpine resort and take advantage of the following Level 3 (L3) ski-walking workout right out their front door. In an email, coach Patrick O’Brien explained why they often repeat this workout during the summer: “We can safely have a large number of people training...
It wasn’t until recently that Erika Flowers learned the meaning of her middle name. At the time of her birth, her father had been cutting around Montana’s mountain slopes on Elan alpine skis. Though the brand’s company is based out of Slovenia, the definition of élan, according to Webster’s dictionary, is a vigorous spirit or enthusiasm. Whether Flower’s father, Pat, had researched the word’s meaning or whether the name had simply struck him, the skis...
Stratton Mountain School (SMS) in Stratton, Vt., is looking for a coach to help with their junior program this winter. Coach will work with SMS Nordic staff and junior team. Job will start in early November and run through late March. We are looking for an energetic person who enjoys working with high school age skiers. We have the flexibility to tweak the job to fit applicants strengths. Attitude, knowledge of sport and waxing are...
In an effort to showcase the North Americans competing at this week’s International Ski Federation (FIS) 2017 USANA Nordic Junior World Championships and U23 Cross Country World Championships at Soldier Hollow in Midway, Utah, we asked those qualifying athletes several questions about themselves — actually, we had them fill in the blanks. Here we have 22-year-old Paddy Caldwell, of the Stratton Mountain School (SMS) Elite Team/U.S. Ski Team D-team, representing the U.S. at his third...
In an effort to showcase the North Americans competing at this week’s International Ski Federation (FIS) 2017 USANA Nordic Junior World Championships and U23 Cross Country World Championships at Soldier Hollow in Midway, Utah, we asked those qualifying athletes several questions about themselves — actually, we had them fill in the blanks. Here we have 19-year-old Kam Husain, of the Stratton Mountain School, who’s representing the U.S. at his first Junior Worlds. *** “My full name is Kamran...
Having joined the SMST2 Elite Team this year as well as enrolling at Dartmouth College, Kern has made some changes and is looking forward to another big year. "I think there isn’t one specific area where I have seen improvement over the past few months, but actually in every area," she wrote.
After her first SuperTour podium and junior national titles last season, Sugar Bowl Academy's Hannah Halvorsen snagged a U.S. Ski Team nomination. Now she's making the most of her first training season without school.
Now that you know the eating habits of some of APU's top skiers in Anchorage, Alaska, we posed the question to Stratton Mountain School skiers based in southern Vermont. Their responses (and accompanying photos) will make your taste buds tingle.
Want to fine tune your V1, skate climbing, or the amount your legs can tolerate in a given ski workout? This year's Climb to the Castle champion Mary Rose has the workout for you: a Level 4 uphill rollerski interval session she did while training at low altitudes on the East Coast.
The Stratton Mountain School (SMS) high-school team recently wrapped up a mini camp, with the Vertical Challenge as its pinnacle workout. Program director Sverre Caldwell picked a "gnarly" combo of biking, rollerskiing and running with a lot of vertical gain. "We said, we want you to go hard," he explains.
This week’s workout comes from USSA's Domestic Coach of the Year, Sverre Caldwell of the Stratton Mountain School (SMS) in Stratton, Vt. Caldwell shares a typical day in the life of a Stratton athlete in May, including general strength followed by an easy distance workout.
(Press release) What do Matt Whitcomb (USST), Chris Hall (Swix), Sverre Caldwell (SMS), Patrick O’Brien (SMS T2), and the Stratton T2 Team all have in common? Other than being huge contributors to our sport and to our New England Nordic community, they’ll all be at Stratton Mtn. School for the 2015 NENSA Coaching Symposium November 15-16. Join NENSA for two days in Vermont with presentations from USST Women’s Head Coach, Matt Whitcomb, Swix’s Chris Hall (yeah,...
With the help of U.S. Ski Team head coach Chris Grover and Canadian National Team Head Coach Justin Wadsworth, Tor-Arne Hetland and the Canadian World Cup Team ended up in Vermont last month. "Andy Newell can train here for many years … That’s the reason we are here," Hetland explained.
FasterSkier tagged along with the Canadian World Cup Team and Stratton Mountain School T2 squad for a morning over-distance rollerski on Aug. 15 in Stratton, Vt.
SMST2 and U.S. Ski Team D-team member Ben Saxton describes a workout his Stratton team does almost every other week in the summer. "It is perfect for building a strong base as we move forward into higher intensity intervals later on in the training year," he explains.
A swimming prodigy in his younger days, Andy Newell, 29, still goes back to the water for workouts a couple times a month. "I always do open-water swimming because it's way more exciting," he says of one of his go-to aquatic activities. The others? Surfing and stand-up paddling.
During their recent trip to Bozeman, Mont., FasterSkier sat down with Sophie and Isabel Caldwell to reflect on Sophie's breakthrough season with the U.S. Ski Team, the sisters' future plans, and what it means to be a Caldwell.
Anyone who follows U.S. racing closely knows the name Patrick O'Brien. He's been a staple at Craftsbury for the last four years, captained the Dartmouth ski team, and is now delving into a career as head coach of the Stratton T2 Team -- something he didn't necessarily anticipate but sees as a good fit and ideal transition.