For the American Birkebeiner Ski Foundation (the Birkie) it’s been a long time coming. The dedication ceremony held Saturday for the new projects that encompass the Mt. Telemark Village, the former site of the legendary Telemark Lodge, have been in the works for five years. All together, Mt. Telemark Village is “the biggest thing the American Birkebeiner has ever done.” Its $10.2 million dollar capital campaign, though, doesn’t capture what, for skiing, might just might...
Tony Wise could see 10,000 years at once. The last ice age had sent a glacier down over Wisconsin, and then tore it back. In the process, the landscape and lilt of a place emerged. Deep-pocketed kettles, ridges, gentle and subtle rolling hills, all draped in the needly green of the pines. Gaze at it, and time didn’t seem like something that moved forward, but instead danced within the bounds of a whole epoch. A...
A look at what’s ahead for the Birkebeiner, and its former home at the Telemark Lodge. When I reached out to American Birkebeiner Ski Foundation (ABSF) Executive Director Ben Popp before Christmas to set-up an interview discussing the Birkie’s plans for the now-defunct Telemark Lodge property, he was already putting plans into action. An interview would have to wait until after the holidays, because that weekend ,the Birkie was hosting a SuperTour race which would...
For the third time ever, the IPC World Championships are being held in the U.S. and kick off Friday with the opening ceremony in Cable, Wis. Team USA is ready, according to coach Eileen Carey. “We are thrilled to get another chance to test out some of our training and racing strategies," she says. "Having the opportunity to do that on home snow is a great bonus for us.”
The U.S. is hosting world championships this year -- specifically, Cable, Wis., where the American Birkebeiner starts annually, is gearing up to be the site of the 2015 International Paralympic Committee (IPC) World Championships from Jan. 22-Feb. 1.
Note: This is the fourth preview in a quick-and-dirty series on U.S. elite teams. 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: Central Cross Country, known as CXC Team Coaches: Igor Badamshin (head coach), Andy Keller (assistant) Roster: Karl Nygren, Brian Gregg, Doug Debold, Adam Martin, Eric Wolcott; Jennie Bender, Caitlin Gregg, Nichole Bathe...
From January 29 to February 3, cross-country skiers and biathletes on the U.S. Paralympic Team will have the opportunity to compete in a World Cup on home turf. The U.S. Olympic Committee announced earlier in October that Telemark Resort in Cable, Wisconsin is set to host the biggest international nordic event the U.S. has seen since 2005, when the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) Biathlon and Cross-Country World Championships were held in Fort Kent, ME. Central...
Brian Gregg picked up two podium finishes in this weekend’s SuperTour in Telemark, WI. Racing for CXC, Gregg placed third in yesterday’s classic race and then outsprinted teammate Matt Liebsch for the win in today’s mass start skate race. Gregg took a break from packing his bags (flying to the Canmore World Cups) to give the scoop on today’s race. How did the race play out – when did the field spread out and when...
Telemark, WI Team CXC dominated their home turf yesterday by taking 5 out of the 6 podium places in the 5/10km classic races of the Telemark SuperTour. In the women’s 5km race Rebecca Dussault won by a commanding 31 seconds over teammate Maria Stuber, mimicking their 1-2 placements in both of last weekend’s SuperTour races in Minneapolis. Third place went to Melissa Schwartz, who finished another 13 seconds behind Stuber, both previous teammates at NMU....