Mt. Denali, flat tire, ski season is on. Read More »

Funny Austrian guys in Seattle Read More »

Catching up with MTV. Tickets to Turbonegro. NFL Cheerleaders and... nordic ski training. Read More »

I have bad luck in Minneapolis this year. Read More »

The end of October is a strange time for those who will soon travel to ski. While here in Bend I still train in short-sleeves and under bluebird skies, a week from now I will be in the cold and dark of Fairbanks, AK. I know I’m looking forward to skiing, but I don’t want to leave behind Bend weather. I have only trained in the rain once since moving to Bend in May, and a cloudy day is looked on as bad weather here. I hope I haven’t gotten soft! Whenever I get on line I check out the web-cam at Birch Hills ski area in Fairbanks for the latest look at the snow conditions. Last time I looked there was a couple of inches of rolled snow on the ground and flurries in the air. I even saw some one ski by in one of the frames. Check it out if you get a chance at www.nscfairbanks.org/gallery/webcam.html. This Friday, I start the trip up to Fairbanks. Along the way the whole FSx team will be attending Fischer product meetings in Seattle. Fischer has sent over two of the top ski and boot designers to edu ... Read More »

Grüß Gott von Dachstein

First off if anyone gets the chance to come visit
Austria whether it be for skiing or pure enjoyment
jump at the opportunity.  This country is
unbelievable. When I first arrived I took the train
from Münich and as soon as we crossed the Austrian
boarder mountains just seemed to grow from the ground,
valleys formed and ice blue streams bubbled down from
the hillsides.  The train ride alone got me excited to
be in a different land. 
  The reason I got to come over here was because
earlier this summer MWSC hosted a Swedish athlete
named Jerry Ahrlin.  He is not only a great guy and
sick athlete, but also one of the best double polers I
have ever seen. As he was getting ready to leave in
the middle of July I was asking him about training
opportunities in the fall and h ... Read More »

Yo

Just got back from Austria.  Lots of rain in VT and southern NH.  Sounds like some roads got totally whipped out by 12 inches of rain in something like 36 hours.  I thought it was wet in Austria but 12 inches here is a lot of rain. 

Anyway, feeling beat after the trip, but my second week was pretty nice over there.  The conditions were better, less rain and more sun, but more skiers.  Just guessing but I think there were something like 350- 400 skiers going around the bigge ... Read More »

The past two days have brought more rain than I have seen all year.  A mild drizzle turned into a steady stream yesterday morning just before I was scheduled to meet up with Carl Swenson, Sigrid Aas and Eric Meyer for a long classical rollerski up one of the nearby canyons.  Carl and Sigrid were in town for a wedding Saturday night and I convinced them to tag along the following morning. 

Mostly I wanted to see Carl drive up in his rented PT Cruiser, but I was also looking forward to catching up with Carl when there were not so many distractions.  The DJ at the wedding had the volume so high that conversation was pretty much impossible and the bride was causing a commotion due to her overzealous alcohol consumption.  Damn endurance athletes; can't take them anywhere.

Anyway, so Sunday morning rolls around and Eric and I head out to Left Hand Canyon and sit waiting for Carl and Sigrid.  Neither of u ... Read More »

FSx. Supporting American skiing. A new team. A new approach. It is a partnership between exceptional sponsors, a non-profit organization, and a group of committed athletes: Fischer Skis and Swix are the founding sponsors, grounding the team with the very best equipment, organization, and leadership; Think Racing, a non-profit organization working to have a positive impact on American skiing, stands behind the team as an integral partner in fundraising and support; and the athletes, committed not only to there own success, but to this new team, taking an ownership in the team it is success. It’s been an exciting process to see the development of a racing team from a crazy idea and some thoughts on how to do it differently, to a group of six athletes, with race suits, uniforms, sponsors, and a race schedule. Eli Brown, head of Fischer race service, and the director of FSx brings a lot to the table, with extensive experience in skiing as an top American athlete in the late ‘90’s, a college assistant and ... Read More »

Training has been solid since returning from a Lake Placid camp that could not have gone any better than it did.

Sun Valley is cold now. In our deluxe accomidations, I feel as though I am on a camping trip that will not end. The mornings are dark now. When we wake the only lights in our house are a half functioning Lava Lamp and the ambient glow of my computer screen.  The temperature difference inside to out is less than twenty degrees in the morning. Outside there is frost on the grass and ice hanging from tree branches. Our house is no more than 50 degrees. I can see my breath.

 The dark silhouette of Mt. Baldy is highlighted a patchwork of snow remaining from two-days-ago's storm.

When football players feel the temperatures drop in late summer they talk of 'hittin weather'. A time to put the pads on and get aggressive.

Skiing is no different. When I feel the sharp air that a ... Read More »