Ski Community News

The International Biathlon Union announced on Wednesday that as part of their Covid-19 testing protocols, several teams had athletes test positive for the virus. Those positive tests were from Russian, Latvian, and Moldovan biathletes. The IBU stated it was the first of a series of PCR tests to be administered in Kontiolahti, Finland, the first stop of the IBU World Cup. The IBU also claimed in their brief statement that teams have been notified and...

Depending on where you live, rollerskis may seem like a distant memory, retired to a storage closet not to be looked at again until next May. For others, sliding on snow might not be the agenda for another month. Perhaps you are foregoing Thanksgiving travel to snow this year due to the pandemic, or you are an urban-dwelling weekend warrior whose usual routine of traveling regularly to snow has come to a halt. Regardless of...

The FIS Season opener at Beitostølen was no less than a performance bonanza for the young and promising Team Madshus. With two podiums in two days, 19-year-old Helene Marie Fossesholm (above) is already named to the squad for the World Cup opener in Finland on November 27 to 29. On the men’s side, U23 World Champion Harald Østberg Amundsen crushed the established national team in the 15-kilometer skate race on Sunday and put his name...

We’ve listened to our smart, stylish customers and have just launched a new line of warm, sweat-wicking matching hats and neckbands! Our new DUO Line is design for warmth, protection and style. With great prints and versatile colors, you can create your own look or wear them as a matched set. These super soft items are constructed from our technical performance antimicrobial sweat-wicking fabric and the new DUO Neckband also provides mask protection. This new...

A brave new world awaits World Cup skiers for Period I on the cross-country World Cup. The scheduling is the easy part, three race weekends reduced from four for Period I. The racing in Lillehammer, Norway, has been postponed due to Covid-19 precautions.   In an email to FasterSkier, Cross-Country Program Director Chris Grover wrote the following when asked about the team’s protocols if an athlete tests positive for Covid-19. If someone in our group tests...

This episode of the Devon Kershaw Show is brought to you by The Craftsbury Outdoor Center. The Outdoor Center is excited to offer a Collegiate Winter Term training program in 2021.   Beitostølen, Norway and Bruksvallarna, Sweden hosted FIS Cup racing over the weekend. The news from Norway tells of a Johannes Høsflot Klæbo who might be back on form when it comes to his distance racing chops. He’s also keyed in for the sprints....

Weather, pandemic travel restrictions, and… a bunch of newbies on the trails? Anyone skiing in the Northeastern parts of the U.S. and Canada knows, as if by osmosis, we acquire a sort of obsessive (and annoying) fascination with the weather. This season adds the Coronavirus pandemic as a factor. The snowsports industry has been working all summer planning and revising practices for safe skiing this winter. Cross-country skiers are actually lucky in that touring centers...

FasterSkier Explains: Rodchenkov Anti-Doping Act Passes Senate A new anti-doping bill that criminalizes international doping conspiracies, while pointedly focusing on high-level organizers rather than on individual athletes, and that makes an expansive claim for U.S. jurisdiction over doping occurring at international competitions while excepting the most high-profile American professional sports leagues, is on the verge of becoming law. Here’s what you need to know: What it is: “An act to […]

We’ll keep this as simple as we can. This piece includes information about streaming the FIS Cross-Country World Cup on your computer or watching on cable TV through a U.S. based content provider. This is not a primer on acquiring a VPN and tapping into a European based broadcast network. We know of a single reliable option at this point for viewing the World Cup – that would be the subscription model offered by NBC...

Molly is a rare dog, although let’s go with this premise, all dogs are good. But some, like Molly, might be slightly better. Hailing from a working line of Springer Spaniels in Northern Ireland, Molly now resides in Sweden with her caretakers, Joanna and Michael Sjöö. Both are part-time doping control agents with the Swedish Sports Federation.  Molly is six years old and also works a part-time gig with the Swedish Sports Federation. With a...

Our new customer driven design is the perfect Neckband for warmth and protection. The dual layer construction provides the same breathable, moisture wicking features as our main Neckband line, but with an extra layer of spandex for protection. With a shorter depth of approximately 12” this neckband is perfect for slipping up and down over your mouth when faced with cold, windy conditions, or to protect yourself from breathing in unwanted germs. As always with...

Yesterday, RMOTODAY.com, reported 11 “active” cases of Covid-19 linked to Frozen Thunder, an early season on-snow event organized at the Canmore Nordic Centre. According to the news report, athletes, clubs, and national governing bodies like Nordiq Canada and Biathlon Canada were notified about the cases on November 17. RMOTODAY contacted Chris Dornan, Nordiq Canada’s communications director, who emailed, “These individuals are in quarantine and following all of the required protocols […]

Meet Håkan Nordbäck, head of the Madshus grinding department. While the geometry, flex, camber and materials that make up the construction of the ski are the most important factors determining the glide and properties of ski, grinds and structures contribute significantly to enhancing the speed of the ski, along with glide wax and topping products. Now that both the International Ski Federation (FIS) and the International Biathlon Union (IBU) are banning all fluorocarbon-based ski wax...

  Another mask to add to your wardrobe? These masks will not provide protection from Covid-19, however, they may be key to preventing breathing problems into the future for cross-country skiers. Whilst it may not be news to any of the readers here, but cross-country skiing as a winter sport exposes us to some quite extreme conditions both in training and competition. The FIS cut-off of -4°F (-20°C) was primarily established to prevent cold-based injuries...

Picture the scene: you have just spent a long day skiing on the slopes. Adrenaline is pumping through your veins, and you are happy but exhausted. The slopes are closing, and it is time to return to the lodge and wind down. But what do you do to pass the time after the slopes are closed? A skiing trip is not just about the actual skiing – after all, the slopes aren’t open 24/7! Having...

This article has been updated with additional information about the Birkie, about all races in Vermont, and about the current state of emergency orders in Anchorage. FasterSkier has previously reported on the significance of FIS points, points earned in races sanctioned by the International Ski Federation that can be used to compare skiers to one another even when they did not engage in head-to-head competition. Under normal circumstances, an athlete’s FIS points are used for...

The cyclic nature of the U.S. Ski Team can be described as a slow churn. The team, most often, invests considerable time and resources on developing promising skiers. Roster turnover, from year to year, is rare. Among those rarefied athletes we take for granted as nearly always being part of the elite of elite is Sadie Bjornsen. Originally from the Methow Valley and now a resident of Anchorage, Alaska where she trains with APU, the...

The Craftsbury Outdoor Center is excited to offer a Collegiate Winter Term training program in 2021. Designed for college ski racers affected by the pandemic, our Winter Term is a residential program that will provide structured training and racing opportunities within the bounds of COVID regulations. Candidates include students who are either learning remotely or taking time off from school and can therefore commit to living full-time in Craftsbury. These athletes will live and train...

  This morning the International Ski Federation (FIS) announced the postponement of the Lillehammer, Norway World Cup events. President of the Norwegian Ski Federation, Erik Røste, told FIS, “Based on the difficult time we are in, the uncertainty and the consequences associated with Covid-19, the Norwegian Ski Association believes that it is not right to arrange the World Cup in Lillehammer now. We would rather work on finding new dates in consultation with FIS and...

A lack of on-snow opportunities. Although a major first-world problem, that’s been on the mind of some this offseason. Here and there, we’ve published stories about a strict dryland diet for elite skiers this season. Meaning, no on-snow training. Mostly, that strict diet has applied to North Americans who normally access snow in late spring and summer at a variety of venues. The Haig Glacier and its Beckie Scott High Altitude Training Center have been...