SSWSC in Norway

We just wrapped up an amazing 3 day block of speed training with the women and older men.  Tomorrow the younger men and U16 women will start to tackle the elements and eventually link our incredible speed track into one run.  Timing on the run was 1 minute 20-30 seconds!  We have three huge rolls at the top of the hill, two big jumps, and an intimidating steep section.  The track we built (I spent hours and hours in the snowcat) is more than twice as long as the lift goes.  Ty has been an absolute animal.  He drives a snowmobile with a rope behind it with which he hauls 5 athletes at at time to the top of the course.  He makes laps ALL DAY LONG.  We can’t thank him enough for his efforts and expertise with a snowmobile.  Anna Marno, an 8 year veteran of the US Ski Team, has lead our jumping progressions.  She is an invaluable asset and we are so fortunate to have her here leading our athletes through some important skills and helping them build confidence in themselves.  The German national team is here and are jealous that they can’t train on our lanes.  In fact, they tried to leverage their caliber in order to kick us off of the terrain.  It didn’t work.  We are simply crushing it.  On the tech side the athletes worked through 2 more days of Giant Slalom and then went into tall pole slalom for the first time in the prep period today.  We have enjoyed 3 super lanes; all with unique elements, challenges, and exceptional learning opportunities.  The level of skiing is impressive.  It is so nice to hear from other coaches that our athletes handle themselves with professionalism.  Coaches here from other programs whom I have known for years are complimenting the level of skiing and depth of talent.  That feels so good to hear.  It is genuine.  The weather continues to be hot and sunny. Right now the athletes are in the ocean doing a recovery session lead by our sport science expert and head women’s coach Amber McHugh.  In two days we will have our second day off.  On one of our days off we will explore Bergen.  It is a solid 2 hours each way, so we’re not sure yet if we will go on this day off, or on the last day off in 6 more days.  At any rate, it will be a wonderful cultural experience.  Bergen is a special city with so much to explore.

Culturally we have been immersed in the daily life of a Norwegian from day one.  The town of Herand has adopted us, quite literally.  They help us, share with us endlessly, look out for us, and are just genuinely wonderful people. We have learned much about the food, the lifestyle, living without clothes dryers, and how to operate funny looking toilets.  We have also explored the local area endlessly (which happens to be a huge national park).  From beautiful hikes, to personal relationships with the locals, we are starting to feel one with this incredible country.  Shortly we will visit a museum that tells the history of Norway, and specifically of the area where we live.  We have arranged an English speaking tour guide.  We will divide into small groups so that we may have a more intimate experience where we can ask questions, hear legends, and just further immerse ourselves in this country’s culture.

On the team front, a few days ago we had a wonderful, hour long meeting regarding just who we want to be and how we want to get there.  It was impressive to listen to your children define and commit to a lifestyle, support network, and work ethos that is highly admirable.  I believe fully in this tremendous team of young men and women and their ability to support one another through the season to come.  I won’t get into the details of what we came up with now, but commitments were made, and I truly believe that your children will live up to those agreements.

The “wonderful” weather that we’ve experienced has consisted largely of record breaking heat.  It was somewhat heartbreaking to go back to the glacier today only to find much of the great snow melted down to a 10,000 year old base layer of blue ice and water.  Despite the challenges we were still able to train over one minute long Super G through big rollers and a solid jump on good snow, skip over the blue patches, and work through the elements on the lower part of the course (including the biggest jump).  It was impossible to link the whole track together safely, so our second group never had the chance to run the full length track that we worked so hard to build.  It is unfortunate, but it was still a highly productive day.  Despite my personal frustration the upper track is still enticing enough that the Germans are taking over our snowmobile in order to train on the top section where we worked so hard from the beginning through today.  On the tech side the athletes enjoyed full length Giant Slalom over extremely challenging terrain.  It wasn’t easy.  The snow was hard and bumpy and the course was painfully long.  Sadly, we are done with speed for the camp.  It just simply isn’t feasible or safe anymore.

On the upside we have highest priority on lane space.  We have two great lanes tomorrow without glacial ice.  We will train Giant Slalom on both venues.  As we move forward and the training space becomes ever more precious we will move to Slalom.  It is actually a great and highly productive progression that we had planned from the beginning (with the exception of shooting for more speed training).

Apparently the news media have been following us closely.  I will send links to the articles as soon as I get them from mountain management.  They are celebrating the volume of foreigners (specifically us), training on their Norwegian slope.  There was even a television crew filming us today.  I thought that they were there to cover the German National Team, but it turns out that they were there to film and report on us.  Again, I will send links once I get them.

Keep checking the google drive for more pictures.

There is a bit of fog and perhaps even some rain in the forecast for tomorrow.  We’re ready, and all are prepared to shift gears to SL at a moment’s notice should visibility preclude us from training GS.  If luck continues we will have another day of bright sunshine above the clouds.  We shall see.

-Adam Chadbourne

SSWSC Welcomes New Head U10 Coach

We are pleased to announce the hiring of Alex Shorter as SSWSC’s new U10 Development Head Coach. Alex joins the SSWSC from the Mission Ridge Ski Team in Wenatchee, WA, where she has spent the last seven years as its Youth Director, quickly growing the youth program from 25 athletes to over 100. Prior to that she spent five successful years as the Head J3 (U16) Coach at Mission Ridge.

“I love working with U10s and I truly believe that the younger age groups are the base to every program and each athlete’s development,” says Alex. “I am dedicated to cultivating a quality and positive training environment where athletes thrive. I take pride in the process of developing athletes into leaders and model citizens by teaching them grit, sportsmanship, and dedication.”

According to Claudia Yamamoto, long-time coach and former program director at Mission Ridge, “Alex has exhibited great awareness of what it takes to help young kids to become really good skiers and even more, really good young people. She emphasizes kindness, sportsmanship and caring as huge parts of the development of athletes.”

Alex was named Coach of the Year for the Pacific Northwest Division of U.S. Ski & Snowboard in 2015, and was recognized in Wenatchee last year in the “Class of 30 under 35”, recognizing the up and coming leaders of tomorrow. She has also worked as a guest coach for various U.S. Ski Team projects.

“The U10 program is a keystone program of the pipeline for all our ski disciplines, and I believe we rightly place a considerable amount of focus on how this program is put together,” commented SSWSC Athletic Director Jon Nolting. “We have a great group of U10 coaches in place, and Alex is a perfect fit to lead this group with her focus on staff development and teamwork, coupled with her obvious enthusiasm toward kids.” Adds SSWSC Director of Youth Development Blair Seymour, “We are thrilled with Alex’s experience, knowledge and dedication to snow sports. She is a firm believer in the multi-discipline philosophy of our U10 program.”

Alex is moving to Steamboat with her husband, Ryan, and 6 year old son, Carl. She will start with the SSWSC in her new role in September. Please join us in welcoming Alex and her family to the community.