FasterSkier

Tag: schedule

  • Stone Grinding Schedule for Birkie and Masters World Cup

    Anna Haag skiing fast at the Tour de Ski
    Photo:  GEPA Pictures / Amir Beganovic

    There is still time to get your race skis prepped for the American Birkie or  Masters World Cup.    Fast skis can cut a few percent from your race time, which can mean finishing minutes earlier.
    Prepare all of your skis to run their best with a fresh grind and hotbox service. At Nordic Ultratune, a stone grinding batch starts every Thursday and those skis are ready for shipping on the following Monday — just 4 days later.
    Return shipping is FedEx Express Saver, which is 3rd day delivery. So, skis that are shipped out on Monday will arrive back to you on Thursday.
    Here’s the upcoming service schedule at Nordic Ultratune. Use these dates to make sure you get your skis ready before the Birkie or MWC2011.
    • Skis in by Feb 17th will ship out on Feb 21st and arrive to you by Feb 24th.
    • Skis in by Feb 24th will ship out on Feb 28th and arrive to you by March 3rd.
    There is still  time to get a fast grind on your skis before these events!     But don’t delay… …fast boards are a joy to ski on, and they’re a real advantage.
    Hey, if you’re driving to the Masters Championships at SilverStar Mtn from the south, you could stop at Nordic Ultratune on the way.   Ultratune is located in Winthrop, WA, about 4 hours south of the WMC location.
    New Skis?
    Need new racing skis?    Nordic Ultratune still has a great selection of new race ready skate and classic skis.   Call or email for details.

  • Wet weather fails to dampen the ski season

    The Mantec Ski Numericontrol 140 at Nordic Ultratune

    A warm wet “pineapple express” has brought rain and balmy weather to the inland Northwest, melting about 1/3 of our local snowpack.     Fortunately we have plenty of snow to survive this weekend warm-up, and the forecast is calling for cooler temps and a bit of fresh snow to return us to our regularly scheduled winter.      The sooner the better!

    Meanwhile, the ski service work continues to churn along – it’s the busiest season ever at Nordic Ultratune.    Gold, silver and bronze medals were won at the recent national championships on skis prepared on the Nordic Ultratune grinder.      The Technolami Mantec Ski Numericontrol 140 NC continues to turn out beautiful skis.

  • Wet weather fails to dampen the ski season

    The Mantec Ski Numericontrol 140 at Nordic Ultratune

    A warm wet “pineapple express” has brought rain and balmy weather to the inland Northwest, melting about 1/3 of our local snowpack.     Fortunately we have plenty of snow to survive this weekend warm-up, and the forecast is calling for cooler temps and a bit of fresh snow to return us to our regularly scheduled winter.      The sooner the better!

    Meanwhile, the ski service work continues to churn along – it’s the busiest season ever at Nordic Ultratune.    Gold, silver and bronze medals were won at the recent national championships on skis prepared on the Nordic Ultratune grinder.      The Technolami Mantec Ski Numericontrol 140 NC continues to turn out beautiful skis.

  • Wet weather fails to dampen the ski season

    The Mantec Ski Numericontrol 140 at Nordic Ultratune

    A warm wet “pineapple express” has brought rain and balmy weather to the inland Northwest, melting about 1/3 of our local snowpack.     Fortunately we have plenty of snow to survive this weekend warm-up, and the forecast is calling for cooler temps and a bit of fresh snow to return us to our regularly scheduled winter.      The sooner the better!

    Meanwhile, the ski service work continues to churn along – it’s the busiest season ever at Nordic Ultratune.    Gold, silver and bronze medals were won at the recent national championships on skis prepared on the Nordic Ultratune grinder.      The Technolami Mantec Ski Numericontrol 140 NC continues to turn out beautiful skis.

  • Maine, mainly

    The Technolami Mantec Ski Numericontrol 140 NC

    Sixty five pairs of skis showed up, in big clumps, during the 4 days before Christmas.    Primarily they were skis needing last minute grinds before US Nationals in Rumford.        It resulted in a week of long days, but all the skis were completed on time, and are on their way.        I have a hunch that some of those skis will be on the podium next week.       Good luck to all the skiers heading to Rumford!

    January Stone Grinding Schedule

    Your big ski events are coming up in the coming weeks, so make sure your skis are as ready as you are.
    Prepare all of your skis to run their best with a fresh grind and hotbox service. At Nordic Ultratune, a grind batch starts every Thursday and those skis are ready for shipping on the following Monday — just 4 days later.
    Return shipping is FedEx Express Saver, which is 3rd day delivery. So, skis that are shipped out on Monday will arrive back to you on Thursday.
    Here’s the upcoming service schedule at Nordic Ultratune. Use these dates to make sure you get your skis ready before your most important races.
    • Skis in by Dec 30th will ship out on Jan 3rd and arrive back to you by Jan 6th.
    • Skis in by Jan 6th will ship out on Jan 10th and arrive by the 13th.
    • Skis in by Jan 13th will ship out on Jan 17th and arrive by Jan 20th.
    • Skis in by Jan 20th will ship out on Jan 24th and arrive by Jan 27.
    • Skis in by Jan 27th will ship out on Jan 31st and arrive by the Feb 3rd.
    There is still plenty of time to get a fast grind on your skis before the season’s big marathon races kick off!     But don’t delay… …fast boards are a joy to ski on, and they’re a real advantage.

  • Maine, mainly

    The Technolami Mantec Ski Numericontrol 140 NC

    Sixty five pairs of skis showed up, in big clumps, during the 4 days before Christmas.    Primarily they were skis needing last minute grinds before US Nationals in Rumford.        It resulted in a week of long days, but all the skis were completed on time, and are on their way.        I have a hunch that some of those skis will be on the podium next week.       Good luck to all the skiers heading to Rumford!

    January Stone Grinding Schedule

    Your big ski events are coming up in the coming weeks, so make sure your skis are as ready as you are.
    Prepare all of your skis to run their best with a fresh grind and hotbox service. At Nordic Ultratune, a grind batch starts every Thursday and those skis are ready for shipping on the following Monday — just 4 days later.
    Return shipping is FedEx Express Saver, which is 3rd day delivery. So, skis that are shipped out on Monday will arrive back to you on Thursday.
    Here’s the upcoming service schedule at Nordic Ultratune. Use these dates to make sure you get your skis ready before your most important races.
    • Skis in by Dec 30th will ship out on Jan 3rd and arrive back to you by Jan 6th.
    • Skis in by Jan 6th will ship out on Jan 10th and arrive by the 13th.
    • Skis in by Jan 13th will ship out on Jan 17th and arrive by Jan 20th.
    • Skis in by Jan 20th will ship out on Jan 24th and arrive by Jan 27.
    • Skis in by Jan 27th will ship out on Jan 31st and arrive by the Feb 3rd.
    There is still plenty of time to get a fast grind on your skis before the season’s big marathon races kick off!     But don’t delay… …fast boards are a joy to ski on, and they’re a real advantage.

  • Maine, mainly

    The Technolami Mantec Ski Numericontrol 140 NC

    Sixty five pairs of skis showed up, in big clumps, during the 4 days before Christmas.    Primarily they were skis needing last minute grinds before US Nationals in Rumford.        It resulted in a week of long days, but all the skis were completed on time, and are on their way.        I have a hunch that some of those skis will be on the podium next week.       Good luck to all the skiers heading to Rumford!

    January Stone Grinding Schedule

    Your big ski events are coming up in the coming weeks, so make sure your skis are as ready as you are.
    Prepare all of your skis to run their best with a fresh grind and hotbox service. At Nordic Ultratune, a grind batch starts every Thursday and those skis are ready for shipping on the following Monday — just 4 days later.
    Return shipping is FedEx Express Saver, which is 3rd day delivery. So, skis that are shipped out on Monday will arrive back to you on Thursday.
    Here’s the upcoming service schedule at Nordic Ultratune. Use these dates to make sure you get your skis ready before your most important races.
    • Skis in by Dec 30th will ship out on Jan 3rd and arrive back to you by Jan 6th.
    • Skis in by Jan 6th will ship out on Jan 10th and arrive by the 13th.
    • Skis in by Jan 13th will ship out on Jan 17th and arrive by Jan 20th.
    • Skis in by Jan 20th will ship out on Jan 24th and arrive by Jan 27.
    • Skis in by Jan 27th will ship out on Jan 31st and arrive by the Feb 3rd.
    There is still plenty of time to get a fast grind on your skis before the season’s big marathon races kick off!     But don’t delay… …fast boards are a joy to ski on, and they’re a real advantage.

  • Moving Snow

    22 inches of new snow fell on Saturday night here in the upper Methow Valley.

    I spent most of Sunday morning moving snow so that I could get to the shop, where I got the opportunity to shovel a couple feet off of the sidewalk and entryway to the building.

    Moving two feet of new snow.

    Needless to say, I didn’t get any skiing done on Sunday.    But all the outbound skis were ready for FedEx, and the Nordic Ultratune stone grinding schedule wasn’t affected by the big winter storm.

    The local trails association is hustling to get all the trails packed down and beautiful, and I’m hoping to get a really great long ski outing on my day off this week.

    Stone Grinding Schedule

    Here’s the upcoming service schedule at Nordic Ultratune. Use these dates to make sure you get your skis ready before your most important events.
    • Skis in by Dec 16th will ship out on Dec 20th and arrive by the 23rd.
    • Skis in by Dec 23rd will ship out on Dec 27th and arrive by Dec 30th.
    • Skis in by Dec 30th will ship out on Jan 3rd and arrive by Jan 6th.
    You can see that there are still a few service batches scheduled before Christmas and the post-holiday races (including Sr Nationals!).     There is still time to get a fast grind on your skis before your biggest events! But don’t delay… …fast boards are a joy to ski on, and they’re a real advantage.

  • Moving Snow

    22 inches of new snow fell on Saturday night here in the upper Methow Valley.

    I spent most of Sunday morning moving snow so that I could get to the shop, where I got the opportunity to shovel a couple feet off of the sidewalk and entryway to the building.

    Moving two feet of new snow.

    Needless to say, I didn’t get any skiing done on Sunday.    But all the outbound skis were ready for FedEx, and the Nordic Ultratune stone grinding schedule wasn’t affected by the big winter storm.

    The local trails association is hustling to get all the trails packed down and beautiful, and I’m hoping to get a really great long ski outing on my day off this week.

    Stone Grinding Schedule

    Here’s the upcoming service schedule at Nordic Ultratune. Use these dates to make sure you get your skis ready before your most important events.
    • Skis in by Dec 16th will ship out on Dec 20th and arrive by the 23rd.
    • Skis in by Dec 23rd will ship out on Dec 27th and arrive by Dec 30th.
    • Skis in by Dec 30th will ship out on Jan 3rd and arrive by Jan 6th.
    You can see that there are still a few service batches scheduled before Christmas and the post-holiday races (including Sr Nationals!).     There is still time to get a fast grind on your skis before your biggest events! But don’t delay… …fast boards are a joy to ski on, and they’re a real advantage.

  • December Stone Grinding Schedule

    James Southam has well prepared skis.  
    Photo: Ian Harvey / Toko

    You’ve been training to get the most from your skiing, so make sure your skis aren’t a limiter.

    Prepare all of your skis to run their best with a fresh stone grind and hotbox service. At Nordic Ultratune, a stone grinding batch starts every Thursday and those skis are ready for shipping on the following Monday — just 4 days later. Return shipping is FedEx Express Saver, which is 3rd day delivery. So, skis that are shipped out on Monday will arrive back to you on Thursday.
    Here’s the upcoming service schedule at Nordic Ultratune. Use these dates to make sure you get your skis ready before your most important events.
    • Skis in by Dec 4th will ship out on Dec 8th and arrive back to you by Dec 11th.
    • Skis in by Dec 11th will ship out on Dec 15th and arrive by the 18th.
    • Skis in by Dec 18th will ship out on Dec 22nd and arrive by the 26th (the 25th is a holiday).
    • Skis in by Dec 26th will ship out on Dec 29th and arrive by Jan 3rd.
    You can see that there are still a few service batches scheduled before Christmas and the post-holiday races (including Sr Nationals!).     There is still time to get a fast grind on your skis before your biggest events! But don’t delay… …fast boards are a joy to ski on, and they’re a real advantage.

  • USSA Releases 2011 Draft Schedule

    June is still a week away, but the 2011 ski season is already lurking just around the corner, ready to pounce on any who spend too much time relaxing this spring.  There are only 26 weeks (184 days) until the first SuperTour in West Yellowstone, and the season-opening Continental Cup races in Finland are even sooner – just 171 potential training days until these first FIS races.

    As the name would suggest, the calendar is not final, and some changes could be made.  The proposed eastern SuperTour is flagged with a question mark, and is not a sure thing.  But overall the new schedule provides a comprehensive outline of the 2011 season.

    The domestic racing scene kicks off in West Yellowstone as usual, though in a new twist, there will be four scored races.  Last year, the sprint race was held as just a qualifier, allowing for two distance races.  The concept is taken a step further, and the plan is now to have two qualifiers, one classic and one skate, on the 24th, before a 10/15km freestyle and a 5/10km classic on the 26th and 27th respectively.

    In the past, the SuperTour then moved two hours north to Bozeman, but the calendar is blank for the December 4th and 5th dates. According to USSA Nordic Director, John Farra, there is currently no organizing committee willing to host the event.  Farra notes that this is a challenging time of year to take on a major event because of snow concerns.  Sun Valley did express interest, but ended up with the SuperTour Finals.  Farra mentioned that there might be a Canadian option and that a US host is not completely out of the question.

    Top racers will head to Canada for the first Nor-Am events in mid-December.  In 2010, increased cooperation between the US and Canada led to coordinated scheduling for the early season races, meaning elite skiers from both countries could match up during the fall.  This was deemed a success and the North American race scene shifts to Vernon, BC for two races, and then on to Rossland for a mini-tour.

    Following the late December break, US Nationals crosses the country and returns to Rumford, Maine for the next two seasons, with the four race set to start on January 2nd.  Nationals were last held in Rumford in 2004.  The race schedule will again feature two sprints and two distance races as USSA tries to keep the National Championship events in-line with international formats.

    The next SuperTour is tentatively scheduled for Lake Placid a week after the end of Nationals, but that is still up in the air.  If the eastern event does not happen, the series could return to the Methow Valley.  The advantage of the eastern event is the efficient travel.

    From that point on the schedule is very similar to last year with the now traditional Midwest tour broken up by a weekend of racing, including the Owl Creek Chase, in Aspen, Colorado.

    The spring shapes up in relatively standard fashion.  Junior Olympics head to the midwest, NCAA Championships return to Stowe, Vermont, and long distance nationals and the SuperTour Finals take place in Sun Valley, the location of the original Spring Series.

    The SuperTour Finals have been dubbed the “Tour of the Sawtooths.”  The series features four events – a 2.5/3.5km freestyle prologue, a 7.5/10km classic mass start, and then after a day off, a classic sprint, and a 6km hill climb.

    There is a new SuperTour location just prior to the Finals.  A classic sprint in Truckee, CA is scheduled for two days before the annual California Gold Rush.  The Gold Rush is not a SuperTour.

    The other big addition to the schedule is the 7-week OPA trip that is a new priority for USSA.  The trip does conflict with the second half of the SuperTour as it is listed from February 5th to March 20th.

    2011 USSA XC Calendar – Draft (PDF)

  • New Ski Picks

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  • RMISA Releases 2010 Ski Schedule

    The Rocky Mountain Intercollegiate Ski Association released the 2010 schedule of its member institutions. The western schools will not have to travel east as the University of Colorado will host the 2010 NCAA Ski Championships in Steamboat Springs, Colo., on March 10-13, following four regular season invitational meets and the RMISA Championships.

    The season will begin January 11-12 in Park City, Utah, with the University of Utah hosting the alpine portion of its meet. Montana State will then host an invitational January 15-17 with alpine events taking place at the Bridger Bowl and nordic events at Bohart Ranch. Montana State will also host an extra giant slalom qualifier race during its invitational, as well.

    Action will then return to Utah for the nordic portion of its invitational, hosted in Soldier Hollow on January 22-23. New Mexico will host an invitational in Taos and Red River on February 5-6 before the regular season concludes at Nevada on February 19-20 with nordic slated for Auburn and slalom events taking place at Sugar Bowl and North Star. Nevada will also host an extra slalom qualifier on February 21 at North Star.

    The RMISA season will conclude with the RMISA Championships, which double as the NCAA Western Regional, hosted by Colorado on February 26-27 in Steamboat Springs, Colo., before the season concludes at the NCAA Championships, two weeks later at the same site.

    2010 RMISA Schedule

    Date Event Site/Location Event(s) Host
    Jan. 11 Utah Invitational Park City, Utah Giant Slalom Utah
    Jan. 12 Utah Invitational Park City, Utah Slalom Utah

    Jan. 15 MSU Invite/RMISA Q. Bridger/Bohart, Mont. GS / Classical (5/10-M) Montana State
    Jan. 16 Montana State Invitational Bridger/Bohart, Mont. GS / Freestyle (10/15-M) Montana State
    Jan. 17 Montana State Invitational Bridger, Mont. Slalom Montana State

    Jan. 22 Utah Invitational Soldier Hollow, Utah Classical (5/10-I) Utah
    Jan. 23 Utah Invitational Soldier Hollow, Utah Freestyle (15/20-M) Utah

    Feb. 5 New Mexico Invitational Taos/Red River, N.M. GS / Classical (5/10-I) New Mexico
    Feb. 6 New Mexico Invitational Taos/Red River, N.M. SL / Freestyle (10/10-I) New Mexico

    Feb. 19 Nevada Invitational Auburn/Sugar Bowl, Nev. GS / Classical (5/10-I) Nevada
    Feb. 20 Nevada Invitational Auburn/North Star, Nev. SL / Freestyle (15/20-M) Nevada
    Feb. 21 RMISA Alpine Qualifier North Star, Nev. Slalom Nevada

    Feb. 26 RMISA Championships Steamboat Springs, Colo. GS / Classical (5/10-I) Colorado
    Feb. 27 RMISA Championships Steamboat Springs, Colo. SL / Freestyle (15/20-M) Colorado

    Mar. 10 NCAA Championships Steamboat Springs, Colo. Giant Slalom Colorado
    Mar. 11 NCAA Championships Steamboat Springs, Colo. Classical (5/10-I) Colorado
    Mar. 12 NCAA Championships Steamboat Springs, Colo. Slalom (night) Colorado
    Mar. 13 NCAA Championships Steamboat Springs, Colo. Freestyle (15/20-M) Colorado

    Note: Information in parenthesis after nordic races indicate length of race in kilometers, women’s listed first, then men’s, followed by the type of start, either (I)nterval or (M)ass.

  • FIS Announces 2009-2010 World Cup Schedule

    The FIS has issued a draft of the 2009-2010 Cross-Country World Cup Schedule.  The schedule will be sent to the FIS Council for approval in its next meeting in mid-June.

    Including the Olympics, there are 40 races on the calendar.  The breakdown is as follows:

    Relays: 3

    Individual Sprints: 13

    Team Sprints: 3

    Distance Races: 21

    Individual Start Distance Races: 8

    Mass Start Races: 8

    Handicap Starts: 4

    Freestyle Races: 17 (does not include relays or pursuits)

    Classic Races: 16 (does not include relays or pursuits)

    The season starts on November 21st in Beitostolen, Norway with an individual start 10/15km Freestyle. Overall the schedule is fairly similar to last year, with early seaosn stops in Kuusamo, Finland, Düsseldorf , Germany and Davos, Switzerland.

    A new addition is Rogla, Slovenia, the host of the last races before the Christmas break.  Rogla has never held a World Cup race before, and Slovenia has not had an event since Bohinj in 1993.

    As was previously announced, the Tour de Ski is starting later, on January 1st in Oberhof, Germany.  Toblach, Italy has replaced Nove Mesto, Czech Republic for the middle stages of the Tour.

    Following the Tour, the World Cup will again stop in Otepaa, Estonia and Rybinsk, Russia, before heading to Canada.

    The final World Cup races prior to the Vancouver Olympics are scheduled for Canmore – 10/15km freestyle and a classic sprint on the 6th and 7th of February.  With just one week before the Olympics, it will be interesting to see what the fields will be like.  With only the one individual sprint in Vancouver, the Canmore sprint will likely be well attended, and if the pre-World Championship World Cups in Italy this year are any indication, the distance race should also feature a strong field.

    The season concludes with the usual tour through Scandinavia.  The traditional Holmenkolen race in Oslo is back on the calendar in preparation for the 2011 World Championships.  This past season the races were held in Trondheim due to construction on the stadium in Oslo.

    The season concludes with the the World Cup Finals in Falun, Sweden, following the same four race format as this year.

    Complete 2009-2010 World Cup Schedule (PDF)FIS Logo

  • May 2009 Nordic Ultratune Newsletter

    A lot more than I can post here… …it’s a twelve page newsletter with lots of good information.

  • If it’s Wednesday, this must be Slovenia

  • European Shopping Trip

    As noted in the March newsletter, I’m shopping for a new grinder in Italy amp; Austria.br /br /We arrived on Saturday in Pisa, Italy, and spent the weekend recovering,

  • Whistler Revisited

  • Changing Seasons

    On Saint Patrick’s Day, two weeks ago, I was skiing on perfect corduroy in

  • March 2009 Nordic Ultratune Newsletter

    A lot more than I can post here… …it’s a fourteen page newsletter with lots of good information.