Welcome to FasterSkier.com!
We started this site because we saw a need for an informative resource for cross country racers, run by cross country racers. We train just like you do. We do many of the same races you do. We hope to use our years of experience to help you reach your nordic goals. Here is a sampling of what sets us apart from other ski resources on the web.

Quality Articles
We want to offer high quality training articles and other information to ambitious skiers and coaches. We want to present straight-forward training and technique articles by knowledgable experts. The theories we present have been tested on a sufficient number of skiers to make us confident in recommending them to you. We will avoid presenting information that we feel is written only to create headlines, and therefore might be misleading and confusing.

A Place for You to be Heard
We will try to be a place where you, the racer, can have a voice. If your favorite race deserves more publicity or if you just got home from an amazing backcountry tour, tell us about it! Conversely, if the grooming at a certain ski area was sub-par, or you couldn't find parking 30 minutes before the start of an important race, or the bus that was supposed to take you to the start didn't show up - we want you be heard! Send us your thoughts on anything ski-related. We want the people who are directing the ski movement in this country to hear the voices of skiers out there like you.

An International Site for Everyone
We are based out of Park City, Utah, USA, a 25 minutes drive from the 2002 Olympic cross country venue at Soldier Hollow. However, we are not trying to make this a "Western USA Site," but rather a place where XC skiers of all ages from around the World are welcome to read our stuff, seek inspiration, or present and discuss their viewpoints. Sure, the site will be influenced by the fact that we live in "The West" and go to many races here, but our friends in other part of the country, as well as a great international contact net, should make it a balanced site. And you can help us acheive this balance. We want to hear your stories: how you are training, how you view your lifestyle, what you are getting out of doing this sport. Whether you live in America, Australia, Europe, Asia, or some other place, share your story with us!

Camps
We live in a beautiful, inspirational mountain town at an altitude of 6000 feet (1800 meters) and enjoy beautiful, sunny weather year-round. We enjoy this ideal training area almost everyday, and we love to have company. We would like to offer the readers a chance to come and do some training with us. Go to Camps in the Training section to read more.

Thank you for checking out our site. We hope you find it to be a useful resource that you will use often. And of course, please tell us what we can do to help you.

About Us

Torbjørn Karlsen
Age 45

TorbjÀrn studied cross-country skiing at the Norwegian Sport College of Oslo, Norway. He holds the highest coaching degree available in Norway and is a former US Ski Team and two time Olympic coach. He has coached skiers to more than 40 US National Championship titles and is currently coaching Beckie Scott of Canada and US National Team member Justin Wadsworth. Beckie and Justin have both recently posted the best international results by North Americans in a decade.

TorbjÀrns best results this past season:
� Skied on the winning relay team at US masters Nationals
� 2nd in the 30 kilometer classic and 2nd in the 15 km pursuit at the same event.
� 3rd place overall in a 10K classic race in Park City beaten only by Olympian John Aalberg and top nationally ranked Cory Smith.
� 70th overall at this years Birkie (his first ever race over 50 km)

Cory Smith
Age 28
Hometown: Littleton, NH

Cory has been one of the top skiers in the United States for the past six years. He has numerous top ten finishes at US Nationals. He was an All-American and Captain of the ski team at Dartmouth College. All you would ever care to know about Cory (and much more) can be found on his personal website: www.xcskiracer.com

Erik Stange
Age 29
Hometown: Shoreview,MN
Erik moved to Park City to work with Torbjorn in 1996, following graduation from St. Olaf College. Before graduating he spent two years in Norway, competing for both IL Viljar and Strindheim IL ski clubs. During the past five years that Erik has trained full time, he could also be found working at Nordic Equipment, Inc. and has become an expert on all aspects of ski equipment and waxes. Although his most recent seasons have been hampered by injuries, Erik intends to continue racing at a high level for years to come.