fasterskier — U.S. biathlete Tim Burke (far left) cleaning his targets in Saturday's pursuit. Photo: NordicFocus/USBA.It’s hard to say which biathlete faced more pressure before the start of Saturday’s 12.5 k pursuit in Oslo, Norway: Evgeniy Garanichev of Russia, or the country’s own Emil Hegle Svendsen.23-year-old Garanichev was coming off the first...
fasterskier — Less than a month into her first World Cup season, the Jessie Diggins story-line has become old news.With a World Cup podium (in the Team Sprint) on her first weekend, and points in four of her first five individual races, Diggins has surpassed all reasonable expectations.And now after following up...
fasterskier — Drew Goldsack (center) after hard crash just before the finish of the NorAm freestyle sprints in Whistler, British Columbia, on Jan. 14. He broke his ski, suffered a mild concussion and pulled his rotator cuff, and was sidelined for nearly three weeks. Photo courtesy of Angus Cockney.When you start skiing...
fasterskier — With frigid temperatures predicted for the weekend, the World Cup races in Rybinsk, Russia have been questionable all week, though current forecasts appear favorable.Earlier in the week, highs for the two-race set on Saturday and Sunday were forecast below the International Ski Federation (FIS) legal limit of -4F (-20C).But Weather...
tetonat — Everyone has heard of old Punxsutawney Phil over there in Pennsylvania. That little guy can make most skier’s smile by seeing his shadow on Groundhog Day, which means 6 more weeks of winter. However, 6 more weeks of winter ends in mid-March, which is about mid-season when it comes to...
fasterskier — Jessie Diggins (USA), shown skiing in Milan, finished a personal-best sixth in the Moscow World Cup city sprints on Thursday.Just when it didn’t seem possible for Jessie Diggins (USA) to perform any better than she already has on the World Cup this winter, she went ahead and set another career...
fasterskier — Devon Kershaw (CAN) en route to placing third in the World Cup 1.5 k freestyle sprint in Moscow on Thursday. (Photo: Fischer/Nordic Focus)Maybe it was the frigid temperatures that scarcely rose above 2 degrees Fahrenheit, -17 degrees Celsius, on Thursday. Maybe it was Moscow. Maybe it was Canadian head coach...
fasterskier — Guri Hetland (l) at the 2012 Tour de SkiDuring the 2012 Tour de Ski, FasterSkier sat down with the head coach of the Swiss National Team, Guri Hetland.A native Norwegian, Hetland had 45 World Cup starts of her own between 1995 and 2001. She earned four top-10 results, all in...
tetonat — Paging Ptor Spricenieks…Ptor Spricenieks to the courtesy phone please. If you’ve followed this blog and the comments at all over the years, you know that on most weather related posts, Ptor Spricenieks usually chimes in about solar flares and other weather anomalies that I can’t even pronounce, never mind understand....
skiing.about — Taking the time to prepare for skiing with kids can go a long way in ensuring that everyone has fun on the mountain. Here's advice on when and where to take your children skiing, skiing gear for kids, kids' lesson programs, and more information and advice on skiing with kids....Read Full...
fasterskier — Clare Egan (CGRP) bringing it home in the 44 k. Photo: Kris Dobie. Koons, Egan Win on Modified Course At CraftsburyCRAFTSBURY, Vermont – A warm and wet New England winter was not able to put a damper on the Craftsbury Marathon, even with one last burst of rain in the week...
fasterskier — Dylan McGuffin (CGRP) during the mass start classic at U.S. Nationals. He collected his first win on Saturday at Green Acres. Photo: Flying Point Road.At the beginning of every mass start classic race, there are several points when the number of available lanes diminishes, and racers must scramble to find a...
parkcitymountain — Jupiter Snow Stake, January 27, 2012 Now that Jupiter is open for the season this is the perfect opportunity to talk a bit about snow reporting. There are two snow stakes at Park City Mountain Resort, one at the Summit Mountain Patrol and one at the top of Jupiter Lift. At...
fasterskier — With the conclusion of the second World Cup period following last weekend’s races in Oteppa, Estonia, the International Ski Federation (FIS) has released updated Red Group rankings.The Red Group consists of the top-30 skiers from the past calendar year, ranked by World Cup points in both sprint and distance.Inclusion in...
tetonat — If you are looking for a distraction from that-other-post, this is a pretty good one.
fasterskier — Devon Kershaw, striding during the Tour de Ski. He finished third in the 15 k on Sunday.It was one heck of a weekend on the World Cup in Otepää, Estonia. Dario Cologna (SUI) and Justyna Kowalczyk (POL) each swept both the sprint and distance classic races. Devon Kershaw (CAN) came back...
tetonat — Taylor Mountain avalanche, January 24, 2012. Today, a highly experienced local avalanche guru caused a stir on Taylor Mountain and the Coal Creek region on the west side of Teton Pass when an intentionally triggered avalanche resulted in more than he bargained for. The slide grew in size quickly, pulling...
parkcitymountain — Seriously, no King’s Crown? We know it’s hard to hear. It wasn’t an easy decision, nor was it made lightly, but we wanted to give some insight on the decision-making process. Lower than normal natural snowfall means we've made snow on several runs where we typically don't. That has put us...
tetonat — I’ve been pretty busy with work and life-planning since coming back from the trade show, but dawn patrols have been paying off big. Today there was a pretty sunrise and the Carbon Megawatts mounted at +2.5cm treated my right. The tips are huge on these things and darn near impossible...
skiing.about — I was as stunned as everyone else to hear that Sarah Burke had passed away. We all knew her injury was serious, but not that it was so severe that all modern medical care and procedures wouldn't be enough to save this vibrant, beautiful and happy woman who was an...
fasterskier — Two weeks after claiming her third Tour de Ski title, Justyna Kowalczyk (POL) shows no signs of slowing down. A day after winning the classic sprint, Kowalczyk, racing in her preferred classic technique, took a page out of Axel Teichmann’s book, mirroring the notoriously slow starter’s strategy and dominating the...
fasterskier — Lowell Bailey finished 21st in today's 15 k mass start in Antholz, Italy. Photo: NordicFocus/USBA.Both Tim Burke and Lowell Bailey had their moments in Saturday’s mass start race in Antholz-Anterselva, Italy.After two shooting stages, Burke was in the top ten. After three, Bailey was 11th. But in the end, after...
fasterskier — Alex Harvey (CAN) double poling the final climb of the Tour de Ski. Harvey led the way for North America in fourth in the Otepää classic sprint on Saturday.After winning the Tour de Ski, Dario Cologna (SUI) took a much-needed break from racing and skipped last weekend’s city sprints in...
fasterskier — Justyna Kowalczyk (POL) (l) and Marit Bjoergen (NOR) (r) hugging it out after the 9 k freestyle pursuit final climb of this year's Tour de Ski at Alpe Cermis, Italy. Kowalczyk was second in the stage, and Bjorgen was third after teammate Therese Johaug, who won the climb.Justyna Kowalczyk didn’t...