XC Ski Team trains at Mt. Bachelor

Sat, May  29, 2010 - By US Ski Team

BEND, OR (May 28) - With the 2011 World Championship season on the horizon, the U.S. Cross Country Ski Team athletes are spending their Memorial Day weekend at Mt. Bachelor in Oregon training for the upcoming year.

"The primary goal of the camp for the Team is time spent on snow. Since we still have such excellent skiing this time of year so close to home, it would be a shame not to take advantage of it," U.S. Cross Country Head Coach Chris Grover said. "The athletes are now over four weeks into their new training year, so it is a great time to get back into a camp situation where they have quality training partners after training by themselves."

Among those training at the camp are Andy Newell (Shaftsburry, VT), Kris Freeman (Andover, NH), Morgan Arritola (Ketchum, ID), Liz Stephen (East Montpelier, VT), Simi Hamilton (Aspen, CO) and Noah Hoffman (Aspen, CO). World Championship silver medalist Kikkan Randall (Anchorage) was unable to attend as she headed to the annual FIS Congress meetings in Turkey as one of two international cross country athlete representatives.

According to Hoffman, thus far the camp has been valuable, as well as a lot of fun.

"Our first camp of the year in Bend has been great. Our smaller team is a really fun group to travel with, and everyone respects each other," Hoffman said. "The snow is awesome, everyone is healthy, and the training has been high quality. Our accommodations are great, and Bend is a fun place to be. Basically, this camp is sweet."

The U.S. Team is not alone in its training endeavors, however, as athletes from the Canadian national team, as well as club athletes from across the U.S. join them in Bend for the valuable on-snow time.

"A secondary goal of the camp is our training partnership with the Canadian National Team, as well as with key U.S. club teams such as the Sun Valley Olympic Development Team," Grover said. "Having these high caliber athletes at the venue each day gives the U.S. Cross Country Ski Team athletes great training partners and provides all of our teams with excellent depth-of-field that can be hard to find outside of Europe."

The camp, which blends both sprint and distance training, is also an opportunity for athletes to get to acclimate to a fresh approach to their Team leadership.

"Another important camp goal is establishing a cohesive team unit. We are starting into a new Olympic cycle with some changes in the group, including a modified staff," Grover said. "We are working to identify our goals as a Team and to build a positive team atmosphere where each athlete feels completely supported in attempting to reach his or her absolute potential."

Grover also noted that being able to have such a great camp experience would not have been possible without the help of a partner like Mt. Bachelor.

"Mt. Bachelor is a key partner for us in creating this camp and has graciously agreed to once again prepare the cross country trails at the venue each day for us," Grover said. "They re-open the cross country trails specifically for our camp, and we greatly appreciate it. There is a massive amount of snow up there this spring and the skiing is excellent."

The team remains at Mt. Bachelor through the weekend, and will close up its on-snow time on June 4.