Category: Camps

NENSA Elite Team Camp — “It’s not about Prettiness. It’s about Power-ness” Pete Vordenberg

July 10 (Hanover, NH): The NENSA Elite Team camp is over and now there are over 30 cross-country skiers headed back home, looking like Jesse James and dreaming of stealing some heavy medals on the World Cup circuit.

USSA coach, Pete Vordenberg was on hand to update the athletes and coaches on technique and training of the US athletes. Starting from the basic, ‘gunslinger’, BigFoot, Tiger Woods-headed-for-the-green, body position, to the hands-high, arms bent, crunch the belly button to the chin power pole, Vordenberg pointed out that technique is “not about Prettiness anymore. It’s about Power-ness”.

For visual confirmation, Andy Newell showed up for Wednesday’s freestyle sprint workout, where he showed everyone the power and focus of a world-class sprinter. Kris Freeman was on hand Thursday to demonstrate classic double pole technique in the morning, and skate technique in the afternoon. And Justin, Mr. Classic himself, was the image of ease and power, as he joined the juniors for Friday’s Spenst and Ski walk interval session.

The evening photo/slide and DVD presentations by Vordenberg captured the fun of being a world-class athlete — from skiing in New Zealand, to getting tested by WADA for the sixth time in the summer. “We clean, squeaky clean” pointed out Vordenberg. “If you want to get fast, like Marit Bjoergen, you have to train hard, Crazy Hard.”

Photos courtesy of Fischer:

July 12, 2005

The Western Regional Camp started last weekend and is now winding down after six days of training, instruction and fun. Twenty-seven top junior athletes from seven Western states as well as coaches from around the region and USST coach Pete Vordenberg were in attendance.

Morgan Arritola from Sun Valley and Glenn Randall from Colebrann, Colorado showed everyone that their training is coming along well by both setting new hill time-trial records on the famous Harpers Hill Climb. Morgan broke her own record and finished nearly two minutes ahead of the nearest competitor, Rosie Brennan of Park City, Utah. Glen took over a minute off the previous record held by Mike Sinnott. This was in a thirteen minute race!

July 5, 2005

Source: Langrenn.com

The Norwegian men’s team is experiencing good skiing conditions for their June camp at the Sognefjellet glacier.

June 16, 2005

APU Nordic Ski Center is offering a masters training camp at the Thomas Training Center on Eagle Glacier, August 8-13, 2005.

The camp includes six days at the center (Monday to Saturday) skiing on the groomed trails on Eagle Glacier, and full use of the Thomas Training Center facilities.

Coaching will be provided by the APUNSC staff, including technique sessions on snow, video feedback, and evening discussions regarding training.

The standard camp cost is $720 per person, all food, airlift, grooming, bedding, hot water showers, sauna included.

There are 12 openings being offered nationwide beginning the week of June 6. Camp capacity is 20.
Opening of the season work at TTC has been completed and the snow pack is looking very good. This is a tremendous opportunity for you to get a booster to your skiing, a welcome on-snow break from dry land training, and to experience the exceptional training opportunities provided by the Thomas Training Center on Eagle Glacier.

Thirty five minutes south of Anchorage by car, and a short ten minute flight or a three hour hike will get you to the best summer ski training opportunity in the world. The Thomas Training Center on Eagle Glacier is located on a high alpine ridge 5700 feet above Girdwood and the Turnagain Arm. The Training Center is built on a flat ridge top just a short walk from the ski tracks. The Eagle Glacier provides the best summer skiing available in the world, at an altitude of 5400-5800 feet, and with better snow conditions than can be found on the glaciers of Europe. The upper portion of the Eagle Glacier is in the accumulation zone; the portion of the glacier where the annual snowfall accumulates faster than it can melt away in the summer. Here the glacier is more of a snowfield and the topography of the glacier is ideal, allowing for long training loops with a variety of rolling terrain.

The view from the camp down the glacier is expansive-7000 foot peaks of the western Chucach Mountain ring the glacier. In the opposite direction, completing the 360 degree view, the rock massif falls away thousands of feet to reveal the headwaters of Glacier Creek, flowing through Girdwood and on into Turnagain Arm.

Please contact Jon Quinn-Hurst at APUNSC if you would like more information.
jqhurst@alaskapacific.edu
907-564-8328

June 11, 2005

Source: CXC


Central Cross Country Skiing is pleased to announce the addition of four-time Cross Country Skiing Olympian Nina Kemppel to the staff of the Central Regional Development Team Training Camp being held June 18-24 at Cresthill Resort, Hayward, WI. Nina will spend several days at the camp. She will lead a discussion group on goal setting as it worked for her, and discuss some of the highlights of her many years of national and international training and racing experience.

Staff coaches include US Ski Team Coach Pete Vordenberg, Fischer Nordic Race Director, and Minneapolis MN native, Eli Brown, NMU Head Coach Sten Fjeldheim, UWGB Head Coach Bryan Fish, and CXC Program Director Yuri Gusev.

The 20 athletes and their coaches who will be attending the camp either qualified based on meeting stringent criteria over the past competive season, or were added through a petition and selection process.

Athletes not attending the CXC Regional Development Camp will have a great opportunity to participate in the annual CXC/Birke Big Summer Camp at telemark Resort on August 1-4. This Open Camp will provide an excellent coaching staff of top level regional coachs and US Olympic athletes. It will offer athletes the opportunity to train with the athletes from different areas and participate in fun activities. There will be a coaches education opportunity at this camp as well. For more info and entry forms, please visit www.cxcskiing.org

Source: Langrenn.com — Translated by Torbjorn Karlsen

Lots of volume and intensity. Skating is still in focus at the first camp of the year for the Norwegian men’s team.

The Norwegian men’s team completed their first training camp of the year last week. Coach Soregard wraps up the camp:

– Lots of volume and intensity

This was a “get going camp”. The men did their first hard training week in their preparations towards next season. As last year the team will focus toward skating and the pursuit event.

– The pursuit is a skate event, says Soregard. Three out of their four time-trials at the dryland camps will for that reason be pursuit.

The men’s camps are on purpose designed to be the hardest training weeks for the athletes. Volume and intensity will therefore be the focus also on the next camp at Sognefjellet in the beginning of June. This camp will be on-snow and technique will for that reason also be focused more on than on the May camp.

This is how the men trained at their recent May camp:
5/19:
2 hours running intensity 1

5/20:
1. Moose-hoofs/skiwalking intervals, 6X4 minutes, intensity 4-5.

2. Rollerski classic 1.5 hours, intensity 1.

5/21:
1. 3 hours running, intensity 1.

2. Speed + strength

5/22:
1. Rollerski skating, 7 x 10 minutes intervals, intensity 3.

2. Easy run, intensity 1

5/23.
1. Rollerski classic, 3 hours, intensity 1-2

2. 2 hours biking, intensity 1.

5/24:
1. Pursuit rollerski time-trial 10km classic + 10km skating.

2. Strength

5/25: 3 hours rollerski skating

Here you can compare this year’s time-trial http://www.langrenn.com/index.php?id=249468 with last years http://www.langrenn.com/index.php?id=163005

By Langrenn.com — Translated by Torbjorn Karlsen

Almost 700 junior cross country and biathlon skiers have signed up for what might be the World’s largest and most popular training camp of the year, the Scandinavian summer ski school. Daily TV reports will be produced by the camp’s hired production crew.

Seven hundred skiers! These are numbers that the organizer Hans Jorgen Rena is very satisfied with. He is also excited about the names and quality of the instructors. Ole Einar Bjœrndalen, Bjœrn Dæhlie, Frode Estil, Kristen Skjeldal, Jens Arne Svartedal, Eldar Rœnning, Johan Kjœlstad, Jon Ã…ge Tyldum, Marit Bjœrgen og Kine Beate BjœrnÃ¥s are among the top skiers that have said yes to take part as guest coaches. The women’s coach Svein Tore Samdal will take part and so will two former national team coaches Erik Rœste and Ole Morten Iversen.

– Boys and girls are coming from the whole country to train with Bjorgen, Estil and Bjorndalen. The camps have seen a nice increase in participation the last couple years, but the interest has never been bigger than now. Our philosophy is that happy participants are the best goal. We are using a lot of energy in making good events. We are prioritizing both the social aspect and the training. We want to be best in that department. The help we are getting from the top skiers means a lot, says Rena. He is saying that about half of the participants are traveling by plane and that this is adding to the logistics.

Some of the best up and coming skiers are also included in the coaching staff. Øystein Pettersen, Øyvind Sandbakk Stig Rune Kveen are skiers from this category. Between and after the workouts a number of fun activities including: Idol competition, adventure games, canoeing, climbing, go-cart, disco, Playstation Cup, barbeque and a lot more. A hired production company will make daily television programs from the camps.

The summer ski schools are spread over several weeks and each camp is one week long. The summer ski school stated up in 1986 and is celebrating its 20-year anniversary this summer. Each week traditionally has one or two sponsors like a ski and wax company.

North American summer camp organizers: Get some publicity for your camp/event. Send us a press release, camp report and some photos

Source: Norwegian SkiSport Magazine

June 3, 2005

Crested Butte On-Snow Camp June 17-19 with US Ski Team coach extended to
Seniors and Masters

The Rocky Mountain Division's 3rd Annual June On-Snow camp has been expanded
to include Seniors and Masters. Get a great start to the summer technique
work by joining us in Crested Butte, Colorado June 17-19 for three days of
on-snow skiing with some of the best coaching in the country. The camp is a
fundraiser for RMD to help fund the expansion of programs to include seniors
(age 20-35) and masters (35+).

The three-day camp will be led by US Ski Team Coach Peter Vordenberg and
Subaru Factory Team racer/coach Nathan Schultz. Several RMD coaches and
special guests will join the coaching staff to provide intermediate to
advanced skiers with technique coaching, video analysis, and lots of
information about topics ranging from training and racing advice to
technique clinics and dryland training. The camp is designed for
intermediate to advanced skiers and will combine significant technique work
with a good amount of skiing and afternoon dryland training.

Discount lodging packages will be available and will include free breakfasts
for those staying at Elk Mountain Lodge. A $30 trail grooming fee is
included in the camp fee.

Morning and afternoon coaching sessions will take place on Friday and
Saturday, with one longer morning session Sunday to allow for early
departures (see schedule). Skiers will be grouped according to ability with
no more than eight skiers per coach to provide the best coaching experience
possible.

Skiers are encouraged to be prepared to ski both classical and freestyle
techniques. Skiing will be in the morning with dryland sessions in the
afternoon.

During evening sessions on Friday and Saturday the coaches will lead
discussions and present videos taken during the daily coaching sessions.
Informal social activities are also planned.

Details and registration are available online at www.nsavage.com/sts or by
calling 800.380.5048. The coaching fee for the three-day camp is $195 for
those who register before the early deadline. Space is limited and
registration will close either when the camp fills or at the final deadline.

Central Cross Country Skiing is pleased to announce open positions for Central athletes for the Central Regional Elite Group Camp which will be on June 18-24, at Cresthill Resort, Hayward, WI. Interested athletes from Central must send a written request with their name, full contact information, coach’s name, name of the program and best three results from the last two years. Send information to Yuri Gusev, yuriy@rsss-usa.com by May 28th. Chosen athletes by coach’s discretion will be invited to train all together with the CREG. All costs of the camp are subsidized by CXC and its sponsors which make it absolutely free for the athletes. CXC will ask athletes to sign “Athlete Agreement” (attached) and expect a commitment to fully attend the camp. Some of the top coaches from Central Division coaching include Sten Fjeldheim-NMU, Bryan Fish-UWGB, Kevin Brochman-Mpls Ski Club and St Olaf, and Yuriy Gusev-RSSS. CXC is also bringing in Pete Vordenberg, U.S. Ski Team Assistant Coach, and Fischer Nordic Race Director Eli Brown (former NMU, U of Utah, Whitman College, and Maine Winter Sports Center coach) to work with athletes and provide professional expertise. Athletes are encouraged to bring their personal coaches to the camp free of charge as well (requests should indicate names of coaches if attending).

Download athlete agreement: http://cxcskiing.org/TrainingInfo/CXC%20Athlete%20Agreement%2005-06.pdf

Central Cross Country Skiing is the designated body for the development of cross country skiers in the 10 state Central Region of the United States. CXC Skiing oversees youth programs; supports the Junior Olympic Qualifying system, the Central Collegiate Ski Association, and Senior/Master skiing; provides athlete, coach's and official's education; coordinates competitions; and is the Midwest pipeline to the US Ski Team. CXC is a 501c3 non profit corporation and gratefully accepts tax deductible donations for program enhancement from all sources. For more info please visit www.cxcskiing.org

Source: CXC

Yuriy Gusev
Program Director & Regional Development Team Coordinator
Central Cross Country Skiing
Phone: (608) 385-8864
Fax: (608) 845-8254
P.O.Box 930442
Verona, WI 53593

Source: Langrenn.com — Translated by Torbjorn Karlsen

The Norwegian women’s team has their first camp for the season in Mysen on May 11-13. On the agenda is goal setting, planning, a sprint rollerski race and an interval session at what might become Norway’s first ever Formula-1 racetrack.

The meetings at the camp are important for the Olympic season.

– We might adjust the training as we go along, but are now laying out rules and goals, says the coach Svein Tore Samdal.

– The training for the 2006 season will roughly be done as last season. No big changes, but some adjustments. The peak is geared 100% towards the Olympics. This might involve that most of the skiers has a cynical prioritizing of the World Cup this season. It might be that we skip certain races in order to secure training periods toward the Olympics, adds Samdal

The camp agenda:
May 11
AM – travel
PM – Easy distance run and team meeting

May 12
08.15 – 9.30 — Meeting
09.45 – 11.30 — Classic rollerski including speed
12.45 – 14.30 — Optional climbing tower, rafting or off
18.00 – Public sprint rollerski race downtown with prolog and heats. Local talents are invited.

May 13.
09.00 – Rollerski freestyle at the town’s go-cart track, which soon might become Norway’s first ever Formula-1 racetrack. Lap times will be recorded and used to evaluate the current shape of each skier. The athletes will get a chance to try the track in go-carts afterwards.

Source: Langrenn.com

Norway was the best nation at the 2005 Oberstdorf Worlds. The 2006 Olympics in Torino, Italy is up next. A lot is at stake. Here is the Norwegian camp schedule for the upcoming season:

Men elite:
May 18.-24: Klekken – dryland
June 10.-17: Sognefjellet — on snow
June 18 : Kragerœ on-snow show race
July 3.-7: Stokke – dryland
August 4.-10 Kvitfjell
August 30 — to September 5: Stelvio, Italy — on snow – altitude
September: 16-18 Livignio, Italy — on snow – altitude
October 7.-3: Val Senales — on snow – altitude
November 4.- 9: GÃ¥lÃ¥ — on snow
November 10.-13: National opening weekend at Beitostœlen

Sprint elite:
May 10 – 11: Toppidrettsentret — Testing in Oslo
May 23 – 28: klekken — dryland
June 11- 7: Sognefjellet — on snow
June 18: Kragerœ — short on-snow show race
June 28 -3: Svolvær
July 27 – 31: Skogn – dryland
August 8 – 14: Kvitfjell
August 28 to September 3: Diablerets — on snow Switzerland
September 4 – 12: Livignio, Italy on-snow
September 26. – 29: Drammen – dryland
October. 3- 16: Val Senales — on snow
October 17 – 20: Willingen
November 4 Р9: G̴l̴
November 10 -13: National opening races Beitostœlen

Women elite:
May11. – 13: Mysen – dryland
May 23 – 28: klekken — dryland
June 7. – 8: Trondheim – dryland
June 9. – 11: Short break/travel
June 11 – 17: Sognefjellet — on snow
June 18: Kragerœ — short on-snow show race
June 19. – 25: Halden – dryland
August 8. – 14 Kvitfjell
August 25: September 3: Seiser Alm — on snow – altitude
September 4. – 12: Livignio — on snow — altitude
September 26. Р29: Mer̴ker Рdryland
October 3. – 20: Val Senales — on-snow – altitude
November 4 – 9 GÃ¥lÃ¥ — on snow
November 10 – 13: National opening weekend Beitostœlen

May 8, 2005

Dear Coaches and Athletes,
As the summer encroaches and the temptation to leave Nordic skiing behind in favor Playstation and sun lotion grows heavy, the Rocky Mountain Division will again offer a summer training trip to the Snowfarm Nordic Centre in Wanaka, New Zealand. Scheduled to depart on July 5th and return on July 22nd, the program for the trip to Kiwi land will attempt to improve on last years trip.

Who is elidgible?
Any Rocky Mountain Skier with a focused intent on training for high level cross country skiing. A short (250 word) essay that describes this intent is requested if you have never attended a Rocky Mountain Camp before.

The schedule is as follows.

7/ 5 Meet at 2:00 pm on July 5th at DIA in Denver

Fly to Queenstown New Zealand.

7 /5 — 7/13 Lodge at the Snowfarm centre near Wanaka, a short walk to skiing. This will eliminate the need for long driving and allow us two ski workouts per day for the first week. This week will also include, lactate testing, time trials, strength testing, daily video analysis, summer-long training plan reviews, product testing and demos (Fischer, Swix, Alpina- Madshus). This is the hardest training portion of the trip.

7/ 14- 7/21 We will lodge in downtown Wanaka (TBA) taking in the sights for one day and alpine / telemark skiing at local area Treblecone Mountain. We will drive the final four days to Snowfarm for the remaining training days.

We will return on July 21st to DIA.

The coaching staff will be Andrew Gardner, Eileen Carey and Eric Pepper.

The costs this year have been the most difficult part of the trip. Due to rising fuel costs and especially a weakening dollar. There has been a significant increase in our costs. We are running this trip for no profit and in some cases at a loss. This is the cost breakdown:

Flights: 1680.00 has been the lowest bid on a group flight. Compare it to a single flight and it tends to be 30% less expensive.

Lodging: At today’s current dollar rate, our lodging fee is roughly $785.00

Food: The first week’s food is rolled into the lodging fee. The second week looks to be about $120 per athlete.

Coaching Fees: This covers most of the coaches costs with no stipend for payment and taking into account a small grant for coaching. $545.00

Total Cost: $3035.00

Cost Defrayment: We recognize that this is an enormous cost to ask. However, please understand that we are trying only to offer a similar trip for last year and efforts continue to defray the costs. We currently have prospective grants on line that may cover some coaching costs. In addition to this we would encourage athletes and clubs to fundraise for this trip. These costs are similar to other programs visiting over seas. (Burke Mountain Academy, Outward Bound, etc.) Questions are encouraged:

Cheers,

Andrew Gardner agardner@crms.org 970 963 8456

April 24, 2005

Many people have been wondering about the snow conditions in West Yellowstone. We received the following report and photos today from Andy Canniff of Fischer Skis:

There is plenty of snow in West Yellowstone. 3 inches of new snow as of Wed morning. We are skiing in town and the races are on. More snow for tonight and Thursday.

November 24, 2004

The US Cross Country Team is currently in Muonio, Finland preparing for the regular World Cup opener in Ostersund Sweden on November 20-21. FIS races are on the agenda already this weekend and coach Trond Nystad reports that they currently have great training conditions.

Trond, can you give us a quick situation report from Finland?

– We are now in Muonio, northern Finland. The skiing is great. We have about 12-kilometers of great skiing and about 30km of OK skiing. 16-kilometers of lighted trails make for good night skiing. Lots of skiers from other nations here: Norway, Belarus, Poland, Korea, Japan, Germany, Estonia, Ukraine, Czech Republic and others.

Our training is going great and the skiers are looking great.  It’s good for our athletes to see that we are right there with technique and training. We have two FIS races on the plan for this weekend: 10-kilometer (women) and 15-kilometer (men) classic on Saturday and 5-kilometer (women) 10-kilometer skate on Sunday. We’ll be leaving for Ostersund on the 16th and then get ready for the World Cup race there. All in all, life is good and we are exited to get the season underway, reports Trond Nystad

www.TeamToday.org, USST member Andrew Johnson also says that things are going well in Finland:

– Daylight here in Munio (a couple hundred kilometers north of the arctic circle, right on the Finland/Sweden border) is a little on the short end but not as bad as I was expecting. Starting the morning workouts at nine ensures that we have good light, although a little dusky to start. Our four o’clock afternoon sessions are totally dark, but with more trails around here with lights than most American ski areas even have trails, we really don’t have a problem.

To read more of Andrew's take on Muonio, go to: http://www.teamtoday.org/news.php?id=143
  

CHULA VISTA, Calif. (Sept. 29) – U.S. cross country skiers are finishing an intensive two-week training camp at – and around – the U.S. Olympic Training Center outside San Diego. Training at sea level for more than a week “is just what we were looking for,” said Coach Trond Nystad.

The camp closely follows a nearly one-month camp on snow in New Zealand (at The Snow Farm outside Wanaka) and a summer of daily sessions at the residence program in Park City, Utah (elev. 7,000 feet). Everyone but Carl Swenson (Park City, UT), a pro mountain biker in summer who was competing in the U.S. championships, is at the camp although Olympians Kikkan Randall (Anchorage, AK) and Lindsey Weier (Mahtomedi, MN), members of the Development Team, left early because of college classes. At the same time, up-and-comers Zach Simons (also Park City) and Hilary Patzer (Ketchum, ID) are part of the camp, which concludes Sunday.

“Carl's going to rejoin the Team when we get back to Park City,” Nystad said. “He's going to take a little time off and then get back at it with us. I've got no concerns about him being in shape.”

Meanwhile, Nystad said the dryland workouts are showing athletes to be continuing to improve. “We're excited about what's going on. We've had nice weather and the training's been very good. This is a great place for intensity work…

“We've had a lot of intensity at sea-level…five to seven sessions in the first four or five days, and we'll have more. It's been a lot of hard intensity,” the coach said. “It's our first time in San Diego and it's definitely been exactly what we wanted.”

He preferred not to single-out any one or two athletes, noting, “Everyone's on the right track…and getting better. I'm really impressed with their technique and the strength workouts.”

The cross country World Cup season opens Oct. 23-24 with sprints along the Rhine River in Dusseldorf, Germany, but U.S. skiers will skip the openers.

Source: USSA

It’s time to sign up for the popular annual Fasterskier.com on-snow December 9-12 training camp in Park City, Utah. This is a great opportunity for anyone that is planning on racing this season to improve their race results.

The coaches
Our on snow camp is run by coaches Torbjorn Karlsen and John Aalberg. Torbjorn is 2002 Olympic gold medal winner Beckie Scott’s personal coach and 10-time Master’s national champion. John Aalberg is a former NCAA champion, US National champion, American Marathon Ski Chase overall winner and 2-time Olympian.

October 3, 2004

The Yellowstone Ski Festival
November 23, 24, 25, 26 and 27, 2004
West Yellowstone, Montana

It’s late September in West Yellowstone, Montana and judging by the snow on the mountains and the chill in the air, it’s almost time to put away the mountain bike and dig out the skis. And that means it’s time to make your plans to attend the Yellowstone Ski Festival! This year the Yellowstone Ski Festival dates are November 23, 24, 25, 26 and 27, 2004.

Here are the latest additions to or happenings with the Yellowstone Ski Festival:

1) Junior Racer’s Clinic: The two day Junior Racer’s clinic, for ages 11 to 15, will take place on November 26th and 27th. The fee is $140. We need a minimum of 8 participants to conduct this clinic. The clinic is full when we reach 16 participants. This is a terrific opportunity to help your junior skier improve his or her racing technique.

2) Adventures in Winter Ecology for Grades 1 — 6: The Adventures in Winter Ecology clinic, for Grades 1 — 6, will take place on November 26th and 27th. This clinic is brought to you by the Montana Outdoor Science School and the fee is $45 per day or $85 for both days. We need a minimum of 6 participants to conduct this clinic. The clinic is full when we reach 12 participants. This is not a babysitting service — though that will be available elsewhere — but a chance to get your young ones out on the snow to learn and have fun.

3) Rendezvous Trailhead Facility construction: Construction is underway and is scheduled to be finished before the start of the Ski Festival. The new building will include bathrooms, changing areas and a moderately sized meeting room. Anyone who has used the Rendezvous Ski Trails in the past (and changed out of sweaty ski clothes in a compact car) will be able to understand what a welcome addition the new building will be to the West Yellowstone skiing experience.

4) Trail pass prices: Pass prices for the Yellowstone Ski Festival are unchanged from last year: $45.00 for the month of November, $20.00 for three days and $8.00 for one day. Passes will be available at Freeheel and Wheel, the Yellowstone Conference Hotel, the West Yellowstone Chamber of Commerce and at the trailhead.
There is a lot going on here in West Yellowstone as we prepare to welcome skiers from around the country back to this little mountain town. We hope that you will join us – make your plans now!

If you have any questions or if you would like more information about the Yellowstone Ski Festival, visit www.yellowstoneskifestival.com , email info@yellowstoneskifestival.com or call 406-646-9427.

September 26, 2004