From the FasterSkier archive — posts syndicated from athletes’ and coaches’ own blogs between 2004 and 2012, kept online as published. Current coverage is at fasterskier.com.
Peter Wolter, of the Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation, racing to the fastest time up Agony Hill during the 2017 Western Regional Elite Group (REG) time trial in Salt Lake City, Utah. (Photo: Matt Whitcomb)
When it comes to U.S. Regional Elite Group (REG) training camps, there are a few running themes that remain consistent across the country and from year to year. In the East, West and Alaska, participants in the U.S. Ski Team’s development program are tested with an uphill run, agility course and a roughly half-mile double pole, all of which are timed and done individually.
Western REG coaches Mike Elliott and Bill Hokanson explained how the run is done at Agony Hill, adjacent to the University of Utah in Salt Lake City. The “hill”, on the 6,348-foot Mount Van Cott, has been an REG staple since 2006, according to Elliott, a three-time Olympian and former U.S. Ski Team (USST) member. It has been used since the 1990s by the USST, the University of Utah Ski Team, Wasatch Ski Academy, The Utah Nordic Alliance, Park City Nordic Ski Club, and Soldier Hollow Nordic Ski Club, Elliott wrote in an email.
The Agony Hill course records set more than a decade ago still stand, which Hokanson explained was partially due to trail construction since.
“We’re not 100% convinced the modern course is exactly equivalent to the historical one,” wrote Hokanson, head coach of the Wasatch Nordic Ski Academy in Park City and Salt Lake City.
For instance, Morgan Arritola set the junior women’s record of 16:55 minutes up the 1.7-kilometer climb in 2004. The rest of the course records were set before that by John Aalberg (12:46), Nancy Fiddler (15:46) and Rob Whitney (reportedly under 14:00) for senior men, senior women and junior men, respectively.
“Variations in the Agony Hill TT course over the past 3 – 4 decades may in part account for the difficulty contemporary athletes have faced in trying to set new records,” Hokanson wrote. “However the records are held by 4 of the toughest, fittest, most talented athletes of all time, which may fully account for the tenacity of their record efforts.”
Here’s how you can replicate the Agony Hill time trial in your own backyard:
“Agony Hill can be developed anywhere and it does not have to be all uphill,” wrote Elliott, now executive director of Rocky Mountain Nordic in Durango, Colo. “My coach, Dolph Kuss, used a course on the edge of Durango when I was in college a Fort Lewis college in 1965 & 1966. It was a loop next to the local cemetery. The area is still called test tracks.”
Elliott recommends a climb lasting 12 to 15 minutes for athletes 18 and older. He also suggested starting athletes individually (via interval starts).
“It can be all out for one lap or Level 3 below threshold intervals,” Elliott added. “Try and have around the same time each time. It can be a 15-minute run to see how far you can go. Like Agony Hill, it can be all uphill.”
He explained that these kind of time trials measure fitness, pacing and rate of improvement over time, and recommended doing this workout once every other week or once every three weeks.
The Workout: Agony Hill uphill time trial
1. Warmup: Light running and stretching for 30-40 minutes
2. Uphill Run: Interval-start recommended
Option 1: One time, all-out effort: see how far up the hill/mountain you can go
Option 2: Level 3 intervals: aim for consistent times
3. Cool down
Agony Hill specifics:
Where: Mount Van Cott, east of the University of Utah in Salt Lake City
All 34 Western REG participants and U.S. Ski Team Development Coach Bryan Fish after L3 intervals at Soldier Hollow in Midway, Utah. (All photos: Mike Elliott)
The following recap was written with the help of Mike Elliott, director for the Western Regional Elite Group (REG) camp, which took place June 17-24 in Park City, Utah. FasterSkier encourages coaches and athletes from any regional offseason camps (dryland or on-snow, in the U.S., Canada or abroad) to submit their own recaps and photos to info@fasterskier.com.
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For seven days in June, 34 athletes (17 women and 17 men) from five western U.S. divisions (Rocky Mountain, Intermountain, Far West, Pacific Northwest, and High Plains) came together in Park City, Utah, for the annual Western REG (Regional Elite Group) camp in Park City, Utah.
With the help of U.S. Ski Team coaches Matt Whitcomb and Bryan Fish, a staff of nine led the camp, including Gus Johnson (Auburn Ski Club), Dan Weiland (Ski and Snowboard Club Vail), Greta Anderson (Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club), Paul Smith (Sun Valley Ski Educational Foundation), Molly Susla (Crested Butte Nordic Team), Pierre Niess (Leavenworth Winter Sports Club), Bill Hokanson (Wasatch Nordic Ski Academy), Mike Elliott (Rocky Mountain Nordic), and camp chef Nancy Elliott (Durango Nordic Ski Club).
An over-distance classic ski from Pine Canyon to Empire Pass out of Midway, Utah. Inspired by the U.S. Ski Team women who wear matching socks for relays, the camp’s male athletes bought pink shorts at the outlets in Kimball Junction to show their unity. “Coaches, however, did not make the purchase of pink shorts,” camp director Mike Elliott explained. (Courtesy photo)
According to camp director Mike Elliott, athletes were selected based on two factors which were weighed equally, 50/50: their final USSA points at the end of last season and their best two out of three races at 2017 Junior Nationals.
The first training session of the week was held at the infamous Agony Hill next to the University of Utah Hospital in Salt Lake City. Peter Wolter of Sun Valley posted the winning time for the men and Novie McCabe (Methow Valley Nordic Ski Club) was the fastest woman to the top.
In the agility sprint, Sarah Morgan, of Park City’s Wasatch Nordic Ski Academy, claimed first for the women and James Schoonmaker (Auburn Ski Club) was the fastest man. Another Wasatch skier, Madison “Maddie” Morgan won the double-pole time trial, along with Evan Barbier of Steamboat Springs.
“Working with such talented young skiers is so much fun and rewarding,” Elliott wrote in an email. “We often left the lodging facility at 6:30am or 7am to beat the heat. The athletes were always on time and motivated and organized with the proper training equipment. There was a high degree of Esprit de Corps among all the participants. They competed in the three events that were timed, and they supported each other in the other training sessions. Some of the skiers had a goal to qualify for the National Elite Group training camp scheduled later in Park City.”
Of the skiers that attended this year’s camp, several were Junior National medalists, including Wolter, McCabe, Maddie Morgan, Haydn Halvorsen, Sydney Palmer-Leger, Sofia Shomento, and Marin Coletta. Another multiple medalist, Johnny Hagenbuch was scheduled to attend this year’s Western REG, but broke his leg the weekend before the camp, Elliott explained.
An over-distance classic ski from Pine Canyon to Empire Pass out of Midway, Utah, at the 2017 Western REG camp in June. (Photo: Mike Elliott)
Dozens of junior skiers raced up Agony Hill on June 25 in Salt Lake City as part of the Western REG Camp. (Photo by Dan Simoneau/MBSEF Nordic)
The Western Regional Elite Group (REG) Camp kicked off in earnest at 6 a.m. Monday, June 25, with a trail-run time trial up Agony Hill. On the training schedule, instructions read: “Bring your ‘A’ game.”
Dozens of teenage athletes tackled the 1,200-foot, 0.9-mile climb in Salt Lake City, tucked behind the University of Utah and often used as a measuring stick for pain tolerance. By the afternoon, the group was back in Park City – the home base of the weeklong camp – for core and strength exercises with U.S. Ski Team assistant coach Jason Cork.
Throughout the seven-day camp, 36 athletes from five divisions (Rocky Mountain, Intermountain, High Plains, Pacific Northwest and Far West) worked with 10 coaches for a total of 20 training hours. They hiked, ran, rollerskied, lifted, played volleyball and went to a waterslide park.
A junior racer at the Eastern REG Camp in Craftsbury charges up Elmore Hill in Elmore, Vt., on June 27. (Photo by Liz Kantack/SMS Nordic)
Meanwhile 2,300 miles east in Craftsbury, Vt., the New England Nordic Ski Association (NENSA) hosted a the Eastern REG Camp, with a total of 33 skiers (19 J1s and OJs in the elite group and 14 in the J2 camp).
They also raced uphill, ran and rollerskied last week. They worked on strength and agility, hill bounding and intervals, and attended presentations at night.
Several U.S. Ski Team (USST) members from around the country made it to the camps as well. Out West, elite juniors chased Simi Hamilton, Noah Hoffman and Tad Elliott up Big Cottonwood Canyon during an over-distance classic rollerski. Miles Havlick, an NCAA champion and Ski Racing Magazine’s two-time Collegiate Skier of the Year, also joined them on the 3 ½-hour trek to the top of Guardsman Pass.
In Craftsbury, national-team skiers Andy Newell, Ida Sargent and Skyler Davis participated, along with elite skiers from the Craftsbury Green Racing Program and Stratton Mountain School.
FasterSkier caught up with Western REG director Mike Elliott and Eastern REG coordinator Janice Sibilia via email for details on last week’s camps.
Western REG
Where: Park City, Utah (Canyons Ski Resort townhomes)
Coaches making their way to the top of Agony Hill in Salt Lake City on June 25 for the Western REG Camp time trial. (Photo by Dan Simoneau)
When: June 24-July 1
Weather: Hot (most workouts started at 7 a.m., with the exception of Agony Hill, so they were able to complete each)
Workouts: Four intense training sessions (including rollerski time trials at Soldier Hollow, Canadian strength tests at the USSA Center of Excellence); two over-distance rollerskis
Extras: Several presentations, including Tad Elliott’s talk about goals
Highlights: “The USST was a tremendous amount of help,” Elliott wrote. “We had Jason Cork at everytraining session. We had USST members Simi Hamilton, Tad Elliott, and NoahHoffman joining us on the over distance days and a time trial day. MilesHavlick with the University of Utah and a NCAA winner last year skied withus on Big Cottonwood Canyon.
“We had a couple of days of Strength with Alexand Michael in the Center of Excellence that they were awesome. Greatinformation and some light hearted teasing. Alex strongly recommends NOspandex on Dudes in the Strength Training at the COE.”
Western REG campers during a 3 1/2-hour classic rollerski up Big Cottonwood Canyon to the top of Guardsman Pass near Park City, Utah. U.S. Ski Team members Simi Hamilton, Tad Elliott and Noah Hoffman joined the juniors for the workout. (Photo by Dan Simoneau)
Additional comments: Elliott was impressed by the amount of “highly motivated and very talented skiers,” which consistently showed up early with all of their equipment before workouts. They didn’t have to wait on stragglers, and some days the vans departed ahead of schedule.
“All of the skiers showed up in fairly good condition and had been training for a couple of months before the REG,” Elliot wrote. “When the skiers introduced themselves we learned … that one is going to Harvard, two to Dartmouth, one to Middlebury, one to Colorado University, three are taking a Post Graduate year to train specifically for cross-country skiing.
Juniors learn the meaning of “rest and recovery” at the weeklong Western REG Camp in Park City, Utah. (Photo by Dan Simoneau)
The J2s did extremely well throughout the week, he continued. Two local juniors from the Wasatch Nordic Ski Club and Park City Nordic joined them at Agony Hill and for the two over-distance days.
“The classic roller ski up Big Cottonwood canyon to the top of Guardsmen Pass was the last training session and it was long and steep. Camp attendees got to observe what year round training is like at the next level by being able to roller ski with Simi Hamilton, Tad Elliott, Noah Hoffman, and Miles Havlick. Even with all the training, the skiers reported that they were having fun.”
Eastern REG
Where: Craftsbury, Vt. (Craftsbury Outdoor Center at Hosmer Point)
When: June 24-July 1
Weather: Rainy at first, then hot (especially during the final workout, Saturday’s rollerski-run combo)
Skyler Davis (l) setting the pace during an interval double-pole session at the Eastern REG Camp June 24-July 1 in Craftsbury, Vt. (Photo by Liz Kantack)
Workouts: 11 in seven days, six of which were intensity or speed.
Three testing phases (rollerski agility, strength and Elmore Uphill run (on which Nils Koons set a course record), to determine which skiers would be invite to the National Elite Group camp in September in Lake Placid, N.Y.)
There were also two interval sessions consisting of DP intervals and hill bounding, recovery runs, rollerski sessions and one over-distance combo run/rollerski.
Extras: Presentations by Sargent, Newell, U.S. Ski Team assistant coach Bryan Fish and Burke Mountain Academy coach Kate Barton on the J1 Scando/U18 trip last winter.
Highlights: “The camp went very well,” Sibilia wrote. “It was hard, but gave the athletes lots of head-to-head time. They also had the opportunity to jump in with Olympian Andy Newell, and [other] USST members … Ida Sargent, and Skyler Davis. Most members of the CGRP and newly formed Stratton Elite team also joined us. For the uphill run we had the [Green Mountain Valley School] join in the fun! There was also an Olympic Day celebration that some of the REG athletes took part in, and a competitive game of mini golf!”
Craftsbury’s own Hannah Dreissigacker, who was recently named to the US Biathlon team, racing up Elmore Hill in Vermont at the Eastern REG Camp last week. (Photo by Liz Kantack)
Additional comments: “Everyone came to camp prepared, and absorbed the training well,” Sibilia continued. “The clubs are doing a really good job of keeping the training focused and the motivation up. Regional coaches came in to help run the camp, as did the folks from Craftsbury and Hosmer Point. The energy level was high!”
On the NENSA website, Sibilia wrote that the athletes had been mindful throughout the week with details concerning nutrition, hydration and recovery.
“They are getting more dialed in to this every time this camp is run,” she wrote. “I witnessed campers taking advantage of the rainer first days by settling into the cabins with their feet propped up for recovery. Without access to internet and cell phones, rest came easier!”
Eastern REG Camp juniors during the rollerski portion of a combo over-distance workout near Craftsbury, Vt., on June 30. (Photo by Liz Kantack)
Can’t get enough of these photos? Neither could we. See more on the MBSEF (for Western REG) and SMS (Eastern REG) Facebook pages.
![](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2017/07/Peter-running-agony.png")
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![](http://images.fasterskier.com/2012/07/540766_446974885321344_1130994765_n.jpg" "Agony Hill climb, Western REG")
![](http://images.fasterskier.com/2012/07/482073_463766276969361_933426792_n.jpg" "Eastern REG Camp, Elmore Uphill run")
![](http://images.fasterskier.com/2012/07/hike.jpg" "Agony Hill, Salt Lake City")
![](http://images.fasterskier.com/2012/07/rollerski.jpg" "Western REG camp rollerski Big Cottonwood Canyon")
![](http://images.fasterskier.com/2012/07/293777_450812531604246_247371249_n.jpg" "Western REG Camp")
![](http://images.fasterskier.com/2012/07/282667_464523260226996_1011068619_n.jpg" "Skyler Davis, Eastern REG Camp")
![](http://images.fasterskier.com/2012/07/409584_463763660302956_565483622_n.jpg" "Hannah Dreissigacker, Elmore Hill, REG camp")
![](http://images.fasterskier.com/2012/07/603514_465099983502657_641312348_n.jpg" "Combo OD at Eastern REG camp in Craftsbury")