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On Snow in New Zealand with the U.S. Ski Team
Published: Thu Aug 09, 2007 2:00 AM MDT Updated: Mon Aug 13, 2007 11:07 AM MDT Testing is just that – a means of measuring fitness, rate of force production and economy. Testing gives an indication to how training is going. Training, though, is where the work gets done that makes skiers faster. With this on their mind, four American women and five U.S. men currently are in a three week on-snow altitude camp, putting in the kilometers, testing equipment and refining technique at the SnowFarm on New Zealand’s South Island.  The view from the back of the train during the morning workout The emphasis on equipment testing drives the need for having a professional serviceman. Going into his second year with the U.S. Team, Randy Gibbs has been a fixture in the wax cabin in New Zealand. “The conditions here are better than I thought they’d be,” said Gibbs. “This is my first time down here. The tracks and trails are excellent. This is an ideal place for a national team to be for the August training. Living on top of the mountain makes for a team building experience as well. This work helps me, as getting to know not only the new skis but the athletes as well is a must to have the best skis on race day. We have some athletes testing new skis for the upcoming season. We also have some athletes switching companies. To get them used to how the new brands feel and how to wax them for that particular athlete is a priority. “The last three, four days have been very consistent, with air temperatures hovering around zero celsius, so you can from your feelings and opinions over a period of days, not just one or two workouts. A storm is expected this weekend. This would allow us to test some of the softer and colder skis. There are all the conditions a serviceman could want.” Classic Skis Easier to Kick These Days  Morgan Arritola out testing the race boards With all the hours spent working with athletes and their skis, Gibbs has found that the ski technology advances are more than marketing hype. “In the new classic boards I’ve seen the biggest changes coming in the ski’s camber. With today’s skis it’s easier to get a kick than it was in the past – most have a longer pocket that makes it easier to ski the steeper uphills without having to force it. I’ve found you don’t need to use as warm a wax as we did even a couple years ago because of these better camber characteristics. For sure, this new technology is really helping our sport.” “With skating skis, companies are messing around with side-cut profiles. They went wide, then narrow, and then they tried the skate cut and the parabolic stuff. I think they’re finding that narrower skis generally work best in harder packed snow and wider - not really wide, but medium wide - generally ski best in softer and new snow conditions where they track better, have a little more float and don’t dig in. I’ve been hearing there’s some new base technology that’s in the works. I imagine we’ll be seeing some big changes with this in the next two years – having skis that can hold structure and wax better, that kind of stuff.” Two Key Goals: Fitness and Team Harmony  An overexposed Whitcomb out patrolling the trails even when the troops have called it a day The words coming from the U.S. coaches center around two themes – One, making aerobic improvements as skiers are perhaps the fittest athletes in the world. And two, making a team environment that has the fifteen national and continental cup team members psyched to train and live together for months at a time. “Team harmony, it’s not just one of the most important goals. It’s the number one goal,” said Whitcomb. “Building this within the ranks has been going really smoothly. I think we’re getting closer and closer, week by week, month by month. Pete (Vordenberg) sets the tone with this. But every athlete on the World Cup team has a welcoming stance for the newcomers. We’re in a good place. For sure we’re going to have pitfalls here and there over the season, but so does every team.” The U.S. group has suffered from some of the team being anywhere but at the team’s three training camps this year. Whitcomb says this - while not ideal – is manageable. “Certainly it’s better when we have all the athletes together. To be a true professional team, though, we have to cater to the needs of the athletes we share. “In regards to training and coming out of a two-week testing and training camp, we’re focused almost exclusively on volume, with a heavy emphasis on technique. Everyday we’re breaking out the video camera. Everyday we’re also monitoring the intensity of volume with our Lactate Pro’s (portable lactate analyzer). A couple athletes will be doing a smaller intensity block down here but due to the constraints of so much travel, we’ve decided for most of our athletes that emphasizing endurance packs the biggest gains with the least risk. It’s tough to travel to New Zealand and get right into really, really hammering. Some Continental athletes will continue with this volume approach for another eight to twelve weeks. Others will go into Helgerud style interval blocks. We have a whole eclectic mix of training programs.” Along with Gibbs and USST coaches, the team employed the skills of physiologist Justin Carlstrom for the first week of camp to test morning lactates, hemoglobin, resting heart rates, oxygen saturation, glucose levels, along with more lactate testing in morning and afternoon workouts. United in Getting Faster  Kevin Hochtl getting after it on the Operation Dominate Kuusamo uphill speed drills Kevin Hochtl, a Rossignol Elite Team member from Vail, Colorado, came to New Zealand with the men’s sprint team. “This has been a great change of pace instead of just training alone in Vail. Down here it’s so sweet. The skiing is phenomenal. The SnowFarm is right up there with the best. There’s plenty of rolling terrain, fast snow, really cool views and vistas. “Also, everyone is so professional – they all know what there doing and why they’re doing it. Getting together with a group of guys like the U.S. Sprint Team and Leif (Zimmerman) with having one goal – getting better – along with perfect snow conditions makes this an ideal environment to get faster. Really, what more could you want?”  Torin Koos is a member of the National A Team for the United States. A World Cup, World Championship and Olympic competitor, Koos brings this experience to the FasterSkier sportscasting arena for the 2007/2008 season. Equipment: Rossignol Skis, Boots and Bindings, Toko gloves and wax, Marwe, Exel poles, Rudy Project Eyewear, Powerbar Home Ski Club: Leavenworth Winter Sports Club (www.skileavenworth.com) Headgear Sponsor: USA Pears (www.usapears.com) Best Western Icicle Inn (www.icicleinn.com) BioSports NorthWest Physical Therapy (www.biosports.net)
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