Howard Peterson - The Utah Nordic Alliance · The Utah Nordic Alliance Volume XXV No.1 November...

November 2014The Utah Nordic Alliance Volume XXV No.1

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Howard Peterson never set out towards the career path on which he landed. A Maine native, he was a rock climber and took a ski job at Bretton Woods, New Hampshire

to bring him closer to Mount Washington. But in a career that has so far spanned 40 years, he has had an immeasurable impact on skiing and snowboarding.

Peterson retired this summer from Soldier Hollow after 16 years, having introduced nearly 100,000 youngsters to cross country skiing and playing a pivotal role in shaping Utah’s Olympic legacy. Prior to that, he laid the groundwork for today’s U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association and had the vision and perseverance to convince the U.S. Olympic Committee that legacy was the most important element of an Olympic bid.

Growing up in Maine, rocks were his friend. He wrote three books on climbing and pioneered over a dozen first ascents in New England. In 1974 the girlfriend of a climbing buddy hooked him up with a job at Bretton Woods where he ran the ski center. Four years later, he was recruited to join USSA Enterprises, a newly established entity designed to match sponsors with USSA programs. There he founded the Bill Koch Youth Ski League, introduced the new Dannon Series and helped pioneer the fledgling Great American Ski Chase.

By 1981, Park City Ski Area owner Nick Badami tabbed Peterson to run the USSA. Through the 1980s, Peterson stabilized and grew the USSA, adding a national team program for adaptive skiing and pioneering the new sport of freestyle on its path to the Olympics. In 1988, he was the architect of an agreement that brought the U.S. Ski Team and USSA back together again, joining forces in Park City.

Earlier that year, the Calgary Olympics were devastating for the U.S. Ski Team — the only Olympics since 1968 where an American skier didn’t medal. The overall showing of Team USA caught the attention of New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, who worked with the USOC to head a study commission, generating a highly critical report on the state of

Howard Peterson

by Tom Kelly

Olympic sport in America.

Peterson read that report, absorbed it and established a vision that would forever change winter sport in America. The Steinbrenner Report highlighted many facets of sport, notably the need for a sharper focus on winning medals and increased support of athlete training. Peterson correlated those findings to legacy, setting his sights squarely on the 1989 selection of a U.S. Winter Olympic city. Anchorage had been the U.S. candi-date for two cycles and was heavily favored to vie for the 1998 Games. His message of legacy — building venues that would give back to communities for generations to come — started to resonate. Bids from Reno-Tahoe, Denver and Salt Lake City began to emphasize more on what they could do for future athletes.

At the USOC meeting in Des Moines in June, 1989, Peterson carried his message long into the night — seeking to convince the 86 members of the USOC Executive Committee the impor-tance of providing aspiring future Olympians with venues for generations to come. His work paid off. By the slimmest of margins, Salt Lake City received the nod on a second round ballot.

In the ensuing years, Peterson would work closely with Salt Lake City bid officials, meeting regularly with Salt Lake City mayor Palmer DePaulis, as well as bid leaders Dave Johnson and Tom Welch. His mission: ensure legacy for every skiing venue.

“It was important for us to look out for venue-starved sports,” said Peterson, who also brought athletes directly into the discussion to help support their own future and give expertise on what they actually needed. “It was a new concept to actually engage the athletes. If you look on the blueprints for the freestyle training pool, you see the signatures of our

U.S. Ski Team spokesperson Tom Kelly met Howard Peterson in 1978 at the Telemark Resort in northern Wisconsin. It was Peterson’s first day on the job with the U.S. Ski Association as marketing program manager. He was there to talk to the American Birkebeiner about joining the Great American Ski Chase. Eight years later, Peterson hired Kelly to join the USSA staff. A quiet, unassuming leader, Peterson had immense impact on cross coun-try skiing. In this article, Kelly takes a look back at Peterson’s career and the legacy he left for the sport and his community.

Former U.S. Nordic Combined Coach Bard Elden and Howard, 2005

November 2014

T U N A N E W S

Editor’s NoteI hope everyone had a good summer, it went by fast for me and I did some interesting things. I personally always like the fall, aside from winter it is my favorite season. This summer I spent a fair bit of time at Soldier Hollow walking my dogs, Gracie and Kramer and had the pleasure of talking extensively to Richard Hodges, the new Executive Director. Richard was President of TUNA for the last 8 years and relinquished that role to take the ED job at SOHO, replacing Howard Peterson who retired after a stellar career. You will hear more

from me and Richard about things SOHO as the season progresses, but rest assured the legacy that Howard built is in very good hands with Richard, with some great new things to come.

Twenty five years, where did the time go? Yes folks TUNA was founded twenty five years ago in Jerry Richardson’s living room and each issue this year is going to dredge up some long lost factoid of TUNA history. I think this is important since most of the original members are getting long in the tooth and may not be around too much longer, and I know some of them have already lost their minds. Thanks to Kurt Dudley for taking us down memory lane to the original Salmon Bake.

It might seem a bit early for TUNA News but West Yellowstone is going to be here before you know it. I heard that the Farmer’s Almanac is predicting a wetter than normal year which means — more snow! So while it might seem early now is the time to be getting in shape and honing that summer training (in my case, lack of summer training). TUNA has a number of adult and kids training programs to get yourself in shape so you won’t be too embarrassed at West. Check them out on the TUNA Website. And this is a good spot to plug making sure you have paid your membership dues for 2014-15. TUNA is a totally volunteer organization and mem-bership dues help offset the costs of running the club which I think everyone would agree, has some outstanding benefits and really gives us the best Nordic skiing close to a major metro center — anyone disagree with that? So please make sure your dues are current so we can continue to be a Nordic force to be reckoned with.

I hope you enjoy the first TUNA News of the 2014-15 season. As I often say, if you want to see something in TUNA News or if you have comments or suggestions, I need to hear from you. Please send me an email at [email protected]. And thanks to all the writers who put up with my deadlines and get me their articles. Without them, and the skill of Suzi Elmore who lays out the newsletter, it would be a rather dull newsletter.

Happy Trails — Bill

2014-2015 OfficErs

PresidentTom Bonacci . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 801-583-3449

secretaryDonna Wahoff-Stice . . . . . . . dwstice@gmail .com

treasurerLori Gates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 801-944-8016

tuna news editorBill Stenquist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 435-657-9546bstenquist4@gmail .com

Junior Parent LiasonLucy Jacob-Nichols . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 801-596-2702

otHer directorsGreg Adams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 501-536-1515Lisa Bruns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 801-363-8970Cassie Dippo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 801-277-8631Richard Hodges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 801-583-0220Mark Keeney . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 801-597-3973Chris Magerl . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 801-595-8293Jesse Stewart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 801-647-3602Stephanie Strohl . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 801-860-3136Eric Swanson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 801-550-8641Isaac Wilson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 435-503-6068

advisor & wcs directorDave Hanscom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 801-550-1777

advisor & JoQ directorDavid Susong . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 435-615-2726

advisor Tim Metos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 801-533-8671

Head coacH & Junior Program directorSteve Cook . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 801 647-0677

tuna news dePartmentsBack of the Pack . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . David SusongMembership . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lisa BrunsMountain Dell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Chris MagerlNordic Scene . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dave HanscomRace Photographer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Gary FladmoeSocial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Donna Wahoff-SticeYurt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Greg Adams

design & advertisingSuzi Elmore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 801-657-7977suzi@suzielmore .comGo to www .utahnordic .com and click on ADVERTISING for rates and deadlines .Articles, race listings, photographs and artwork are welcome, but TUNA News assumes no responsibility for loss or damage. www . utahnordic .com twitter:@Utah NordicTUNA News, PO Box 9008Salt Lake City, UT 84109-0008

The Utah Nordic Alliance (TUNA) is a nonprofit organi-zation which supports Nordic skiing in all its forms in the state of Utah . The club offers its members discounts on equipment and ski passes at participating local merchants, as well as discounts on races and social events . Members also receive TUNA News which is published six times a year . Annual membership runs July 1 thru June 30 .

NovEmBER 2014 CoNTENTSHoward Peterson. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .by Tom Kelly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1Nordic News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .by Dave Hanscom . . . . . . . . . . .3The Keys to a Successful Ski Season: Dryland 101 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .by Barry makarewicz . . . . . . . . .6mountain Challenge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .by Bill Stenquist . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8John Aalberg Inducted into the Intermountain Ski Hall of Fame . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10Steve Cook Hired as TUNA’s Head Coach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11TUNA membership . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .by Lisa Bruns. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13The Salmon Bake and A Little Club History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .by Kurt Dudley . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14It’s Turkey Time Again . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .by Donna Wahoff-Stice . . . . 16TUNA Comp and Jr Comp Teams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .by Steve Cook . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18Team Soldier Hollow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .by morgan Smythe. . . . . . . . . 19Summer Recap 2014 Comp Team, PCNSC. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .by Gordon Lange . . . . . . . . . . 20 Wasatch Nordic Ski Academy Update. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .by Bill Hokanson . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Back of the Pack. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .by David Susong . . . . . . . . . . . 22

November 2014 page 3

THE UTAH NORD IC AL L IANCE

November 2014

It’s been a busy summer in Lake Wobegon. TUNA celebrated its 25th anniversary by electing a new President and hiring a new Program Director, Soldier Hollow has a new manager, the Winter School of Park City became a Utah Charter School, and my son Brett successfully defended his PhD dissertation in Biostatistics at the University of Washington.

The first two items are related. Former TUNA President Richard Hodges applied, and was selected, for the job of run-ning Soldier Hollow after Howard Peterson retired last spring. We’ve seen Richard in action for the past eight years as TUNA President, and are confident that he’ll do an equally great job running our Olympic cross country venue. And the best news for us is that he’ll continue to serve on our Board, though not as President.

Taking his place as President of TUNA is Tom Bonacci, who’s been a Board member and junior program coordinator for the past three years, as well as a Wasatch Citizens Series participant off and on for about a quarter century. Now he has three kids in our junior programs and a big stake in our success as an organization. Tom’s experience as an attorney will provide added benefit to the club.

We welcome Steve Cook as the new TUNA Program Director, replacing Matt Johnson, who decided to return to his home-land of Alaska after five years working with our juniors. Matt will be missed, but we’re confident that Steve will do a superb job and take the club to new levels. He has many years of experience as both a competitor and coach, including seven medals in three Paralympics and working with the Park City Nordic Ski Team for several years.

One other news item is that Carl Kjeldsberg, my nemesis in the 70+ division, was recently appointed as an Emeritus Professor of Pathology at the University of Utah. A prolific researcher and publisher in the area of hematopathology, Carl was also a founder of ARUP Laboratories. He’s been active in alpine ski and bicycle racing over the years, as well as cross country skiing. This was a well-deserved honor.

sMArTWOOL Wasatch citizens seriesA high note for the summer came when Smartwool informed us that they will once again be the WCS title sponsor, though at a slightly lower level.

This winter’s participation prize will be a beanie, rather than a shirt, so the Board decided to supplement that with one of the to-be-announced TUNA 25th anniversary T-shirts.

The series schedule is essentially the same this winter as last. We’ll start with our usual 10K classic event at Soldier Hollow on Dec 20, then the 15K skate at White Pine on Jan 3. A 10K classic at Mountain Dell on Jan 17 will be followed a week later by a 10K skate at SoHo. The 20K finale at the farm is scheduled for Feb 21. Be sure to go to www.utahnordic.

com and purchase your season pass. You can also sign up for individual WCS races on the TUNA website up to a couple of days beforehand.

Most of our generous sponsors have already agreed to rejoin us, and we’re working on some new possibilities as well. You can certainly count on lots of great prizes in the drawings, as well as three nice lunches and plenty of Clif products, but please do keep your eye out for companies that might like to make donations of any kind. Email me at [email protected] if you know of any possibilities.

There are no new Wasatch Centurions this year, but Ann Page is one step closer, having participated in her 97th WCS race last winter. Hopefully her back will let her finish the job this year. Barry Makarewicz, Todd Henneman, and Pat McEwen will need two more seasons to complete, with 94, 93, and 90, respectively.

Other 2014/15 NewsThe current version of the race calendar is included in this issue of TUNA News. Remember that there may be a change or two, as well as several additions, by the time winter rolls around, so be sure to keep an eye on the TUNA web site for current info.

And finally, don’t forget the Soup at Soldier Hollow fund raiser for their junior program on Friday, November 7. They’ll have the usual delicious soup options, plus a killer silent auc-tion. It’s also a chance to visit with skiing friends you haven’t seen since March. e

n o r d i c n e w s

by Dave Hanscom

soup and soldier Hollow

enjoy soup from the area’s best restaurants,

followed by silent and live auctions

Friday, november 7soup’s on at 6 pm

November 2014

T U N A N E W S

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athletes Maria Quintana and Jack Fleming who helped design the jumps.”

Of particular interest to Peterson was the location of the cross coun-try venue. It was widely known that Mountain Dell in Parley’s Canyon was problematic. Located in the Salt Lake City watershed, it offered little opportunity for development and that meant no legacy. A December, 1989 World Cup proved challenging (first World Cup win for Bjoern Daehlie). A new site needed to be found. But the bid committee wasn’t about to compromise its opportunity for international selection by changing a venue.

In 1991, Salt Lake City lost its bid for 1998 to Nagano. That slid the timeline to 1995, when Utah would be selected as the 2002 host city. In 1993, Peterson announced his retirement from the USSA, staying for a transi-tion to new leader Mike Jacki. In 1994 he walked from 20 years in skiing, traveling the world with his parents and wife Susan, who had long been at his side.

But back in Utah, there was work to be done. Salt Lake City had won the bid. The USSA had gone through a succession of CEOs, finally landing with Bill Marolt in 1996. And there was a desperate need for a meaningful legacy cross country venue. Sites from Sherwood Hills near Logan to Soldier Hollow were vying for nod. That’s when the call went out for Howard to return.

“It was perplexing why Soldier Hollow wasn’t included with other legacy venues,” said Alan Ashley, then the USSA athletic director (and today, the high performance director of the USOC). “Soldier Hollow got left off the map. So there needed to be a completely different structure.

“Howard was one of my mentors and reason I ended up at the USSA. There was no better person to create a vision and follow through on it to design and build something that would be a legacy facility. The facility is one thing, but the funding, structure, boards, collaboration with community, programs all had to be built from scratch. Howard was the one person who had experience in cross country and knew how to achieve something of that magnitude.

The bid for the rights to the cross country venue played out in 1997, during Peterson’s holiday from the sport. Soldier Hollow emerged as a favorite, thanks in a big part to the efforts of McKay Edwards, an enthusiastic cross country skier and regional business leader, and Courtland Nelson, director of the Utah Division of Parks and Recreation who had began his career at Wasatch State Park.

In October 1997, Soldier Hollow was selected as the cross country venue. Now, the work began.

As the new athletic director of the USSA, Ashley recruited Peterson to join the new Soldier Hollow Legacy Committee with a mission and seed money to build a world class cross country center. He became the group’s executive director, working for over a year to gain non-profit status and leading

Soldier Hollow for 16 years.

Peterson’s dreams, along with those of the Heber Valley who fought grassroots battles in the late ‘90s to gain the Olympic venue, played out like clockwork. It was a vision that was well thought out and executed through innovation and a continual search for new revenue streams to support its legacy mission.

“I met with Governor Norm Bangerter at the Governor’s mansion. I told him, ‘here’s what we need to do. The most important thing coming out of Olympics would be that there was a legacy. He was very open to that, as was (his successor) Michael Levitt.”

Come games time, venues in Park City, Snowbasin and Soldier Hollow captured the attention. Soldier Hollow was looked upon as somewhat of an outpost. But it was also the busiest. And being the venue furthest from Salt Lake City, venue managers worked to build a festive atmosphere built around the region’s western heritage. Cirque du Soleil director Phil Jordan helped produce the show. Noted cross country guru John Aalberg ran the events. And Peterson kept it all together with a keen sense of the legacy to follow. Soldier Hollow won the hearts of its visitors and went down in history as the friendliest and most innovative venue of the Games.

“We realized no one really cared what we did — we weren’t one of the ‘important’ venues,” said Peterson, known for his low key style and subtle humor. “We were given the flexibility to do what we wanted to do and they trusted us that it would be good. It was just a friendly atmosphere.”

When the Salt Lake City Olympic’s own legacy foundation didn’t find value in Soldier Hollow, Peterson charted his own course with the Soldier Hollow Legacy Foundation.

“The Soldier Hollow Legacy Foundation’s genesis was Howard Peterson’s genius,” said Lyle Nelson, an Olympian and head of U.S. Biathlon who served in a key role on the original Soldier Hollow committee. “Howard guided every step in creating the Foundation. He envisioned and believed in what Soldier Hollow could be post Olympics. His conviction in that vision pulled in resources to make it happen.”

Heading out post-2002 on its own, the Soldier Hollow plan was orchestrated by a masterful director in Peterson. He



developed sport programming that has introduced nearly 100,000 local kids to cross country skiing. He partnered with a fledgling charter school of 30 students in 2003 to create the Solder Hollow Charter School, which now has over 300. Elite skiers and biathletes from around the world continue to com-pete on the Olympic trails with international events.

The cross country legacy was supported by innovative activities that provided a continual revenue stream. Those included a tubing hill that has served nearly a half-million customers, plus tens of thousands participating in the Dirty Dash and Spartan Races. Thousands of visitors have attended the Soldier Hollow Pow Wow and close to 30,000 each year for the Sheepdog Classic.

Peterson’s leadership put Midway and the Heber Valley on the tourism map. It attracted thousands of kids in schools from Evanston to Tooele to Spanish Fork — all to support the Olympic legacy.

And while seeing kids on skis was gratifying, what really excited Peterson were the elite athletes who called Soldier Hollow home. “They’ve committed most of their adult life to preparation for competition,” he said. “They count on us to step up and provide the best type of environment possible for them.

“That’s what we do,” he added. “We do our job and don’t leave them short. Then it’s their job. It’s rewarding to know we helped with the preparation.”

Athletes were special for Howard. As secretary general of the USSA, he lobbied actively internationally for athlete rights and cash prizes. As longtime chair of the FIS Advertising Matters Committee, he fought for expanded commercial opportuni-ties for athletes and national ski associations. A quiet giant, athletes greatly respected him at events.

“My favorite time was when the day was done and there’s only a coach, maybe a spouse or relative and the athlete. Everyone else has gone home. It’s a special moment. I remem-ber it with Picabo (Street, combined silver) in Morioka (1993 World Championships), in Nagano (1998 Olympics) with Ross (Powers, halfpipe bronze) or the Nordic combined team event in Vancouver. Those were special moments.”

“It’s safe to say that without Howard, there would be no Soldier Hollow today,” said TUNA’s Dave Hanscom. “In fact, without him, there might never have been a Soldier Hollow in the first place.”

On his final day as a Soldier Hollow employee, Howard and Susan stood in the rain at the Utah Olympic Park watching as athletes took one final jump into the pool before the complex was closed for rebuilding. He reminisced on that July day 21 years ago when the pool opened. His mind dashed from venue to venue, thinking back on the vision he brought to the USOC 25 years ago that led to the 2002 Olympics and a legacy that continues to produce world class athletes. He thought about the passionate volunteers he recruited and the skiers he has come to know.

He thought about his future, too, not so much for himself but asking others what he could do to give back. Each of us who have clicked into a pair of skis, strapped onto a snow-board or watched Team USA win medals owes a debt of thanks to Howard Peterson. His pioneering spirit and his stamina to persevere have brought all of us a more enriched life through his work in our sport.

“Howard Peterson’s legacy to winter sport in America embodied fair play and opportunity for all,” added Nelson. “What he has done for sport and for the quality of life in Utah will last for generations.”

I could write a small book about Howard’s essential role in creating Soldier Hollow Legacy Foundation. The book would be full of humor, life lessons, and vision. Soldier Hollow is an example of what belief and vision can do.

Soldier Hollow was a show-stealing success during the Olympics. That success can be contributed to the volunteers, to Heber’s world welcoming spirit, and to those of us in leader-ship roles at Soldier Hollow. But I know first hand that Howard was constantly looking over our shoulders — giving wise advice and being extra hands and feet whenever and wher-ever that was most needed.

One of my favorite stories I still tell about the 2002 Olympics is when Howard, who was the manager of Soldier Hollow Olympic Village, came to me and said we are getting a lot of complaints about a seemingly small detail. I said “I hav-en’t heard any complaints.” Howard replied “That’s because people don’t know where to complain.” That was a humors life-lesson to me: React before small things become big things.

My life goal is to help other people flourish and to have a positive influence on my community. Howard embodies that and I am fortunate to have worked with him even for a brief period. e

Kristin EganPark City Realty Group

[email protected]

November 2014

T U N A N E W S

The days are getting shorter, the weather is cooling off and the season’s first snow graces the mountains. These are all signs that our beloved winter is just around the corner and we will soon be skiing. The

questions are: Are we ready to ski? Do we want to ski fast?

Hopefully we all have gotten in enough regular sessions of running, biking, swimming and hiking throughout the sum-mer to build a solid base of endurance fitness. Late summer and fall are the times to get more ski specific with our training and increase the intensity (twist the throttle a bit) as well as develop muscle strength and resistance. If you want to per-form better than you did last winter, this is the time to practice ski specific activities and stress your body with harder training sessions. Good dryland training is essential for a successful winter of ski racing.

Here are five key areas of training and skill development that need to be practiced during the preseason period in order to ski well and fast:

endurance training: This has long been the cornerstone and most important type of training for cross country skiers. The ability to maintain a moderate to hard steady effort for an hour is crucial for competitive skiers and up to 3 plus

hours if you are training for a marathon. This ability is devel-oped through weekly “over distance” sessions while running, biking, hiking and rollerskiing. The key is to keep the effort mostly easy to moderate for a long time and keep moving. A handful of short (15-20 second) sprints sprinkled throughout an over distance workout will develop your body’s speed and quickness and also break up the monotony of these types of long workouts.

specificity: Dryland training throughout the summer and fall should get more and more skiing specific the closer we get to winter. Rollerskiing is as close to snow skiing as dryland training gets and practically all high level skiers

rollerski often. Rollerskiing, both classic and skate style, should mimic the techniques and demands of snow skiing and can be very beneficial to some skiers, especially for those who have limited access to snow.

Rollerskiing certainly has its drawbacks. The potential for crashing and serious injury are undeniable. This potential danger often causes novice skiers to use poor technique while rollerskiing. The fear of falling causes some skiers to be tenta-tive and reluctant to completely shift their body weight from ski to ski causing ineffective and poor technique. Practicing poor technique only reinforces bad habits and this is why I do not recommend rollerskiing for novice skiers. The drawbacks of rollerskiing may outweigh the benefits for some skiers.

An excellent ski specific and safe training method is hill

bounding with and without poles. Hill bounding can help develop Quadra pedal fitness, power and explosiveness: all necessary elements of fast skiing. Good body position, spe-cifically keeping your hips high and forward, is of course very important during hill bounding. Poles for hill bounding are usually shorter than classic skiing poles and should come to about armpit height on the skier.

strength and Power: Good endurance will always be necessary for cross country ski racers, but strength and power have become extremely important for modern top level skiers. If you observe World Cup and Olympic level skiers

you can not help but notice how strong they look. Both the men and women are all powerfully built. Many of the men resemble football players: BIG and STRONG!

Most citizen racers will never match the strength of World Cup skiers, but it is not very difficult to make modest improve-ments in muscle strength and resistance for the average skier. The best way to do this is to get in the weight room on a regu-lar basis. After you have spent a few weeks in the weight room working on basics and strengthening ligaments and tendons it is possible to make significant gains in strength with as little as two 30-45 minute sessions per week. Concentrate on core exercises like planks, side planks, sit ups and back extensions. Do other exercises that mimic skiing motions like leg press, calf raises, lat pull downs, triceps dips and box jumps. There are plenty of body weight exercises you can do at home to create an effective strength routine without going to a gym. The important thing to remember about strength training is: No Strain, No Gain. You have to push hard sometimes and overload your muscles to develop better strength and power. There are no effective short cuts when it comes to strength training, but it can pay off with major benefits.

interval training: All competitive endurance athletes practice some type of interval training and this is how the biggest performance gains can be made. Interval training is simply doing repeated bouts of short to medium (30 seconds

to 10 minutes) length efforts at a moderate to very hard pace coupled with a rest and recovery period. Intervals can be done in many different modes. Running, biking, skiing, rollerski-ing, swimming and strength training intervals are all very common. WARNING! Full Disclosure: Interval training is not meant to be pleasant or enjoyable. Interval training is often times excruciatingly painful and this is why it can be such an effective method of training. It overloads your muscles and cardiovascular system and forces them to adapt to a higher level of stress and exertion.

Common interval workouts for skiing are 4 x 4:00, 10 x 3:00 or 3 x 8:00 at 80-100% of maximum effort, but the possibilities

The Keys to a successful ski season: Dryland 101

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by Barry makarewicz



are endless. The rest period between intervals can be any-where from half to two times the length of the work interval depending on what you are trying to accomplish. At least one interval session per week is recommended during the dryland preseason period for cross country skiers.

Balance, Body Position and technique: Proper ski technique should be on the mind of every cross country skier during all dryland training sessions. Practically every body motion used during ski specific and strength training

should try to mimic good skiing technique. Balance is a much overlooked aspect of dryland training yet it is so important to good and efficient skiing.

Balancing on one ski while gliding over snow is hard to replicate. Rollerskiing offers the best alternative to train our body’s ability to do this. However, there are benefits and ample opportunity to practice balancing on one leg while

5

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stationary so take advantage of this as often as possible. The important thing is to use proper body position while practicing one legged balance.

Practice squaring your shoulder to the foot you are standing on, flex your ankle and keep your weight mostly on the front half of your foot while holding your other leg out to the side for balance. Bend the knee slightly on your standing leg, get your center of body mass over your toes while push-

ing your chest forward and find that “relaxed” and upright “gliding” position. This is the position you want to ingrain into your muscle memory for efficient skiing. The opportuni-ties to practice holding this position throughout the day are endless. Practice while waiting in line, talking with someone, washing dishes or watching TV.

There are many props available to practice and challenge your balance skills. Standing on a BOSU ball (a half round air filled ball), a slack line or even a pillow can help perfect your one legged balance.

The coming winter appears ripe for early and ample snow (perhaps I am just imagining this). The Farmer’s Almanac can’t be wrong. Practice these methods of training and skill development now so you will be ready to ski like a pro when the snow starts piling up this winter. e

November 2014

T U N A N E W S

TUNA Mountain challengeoctober 4, 2014 soldier Hollow

It was the best of times and also something of the worst of times. The Board decided to move the TUNA Mountain Challenge up a week after last fall’s weather fiasco, and to move it to a Saturday in hopes that more people could come. It turned out to be the best of times weather-wise, and the course was probably the best ever. The turnout, on the other hand, was one of the worst. There are just too many fun things to do on the first Saturday (actually the first weekend) in October.

For the folks who did come out, this year’s race was lots of fun, as usual. For the first time the race started and ended at the lodge, rather than the stadium. It was great to have all the facilities available before and after. Chris Magerl and Richard Hodges laid out a new course on the upper loops of the SOHO trail system to avoid any collisions with all the roller skiers training there at this time of year.

The stars of the event were the not quite 5-year-old Trachtenberg twins. Both competed as individuals, battling each other in both the run and bike. No teams necessary for these guys! Ben led by 14 seconds after the run, but Max came within one second of catching him on the bike. We’ll be keep-ing our eye on them in future cross country ski races.

And you have to hand it to Wil Nichols who consistently shows up at this event with his unicycle. Soldier Hollow trails are challenging enough on two wheels, let alone one. Kudos to Wil for an incredible one-wheel performance.

This year the race was moved from its usual Sunday spot in mid-October to the first Saturday of the month. Given the turnout, the Board will reconsider this decision, and probably opt to return the race to the second Sunday in October. We would like to see more of our TUNA friends and their families able to come out, and now realize that there are just too many conflicting activities on Saturdays at this time of year. If you have strong opinions about this, please let one of the Board members know your feelings.

Thanks to everyone who showed up and raced, and thanks to the volunteers who helped out. It’s always fun to get together with skiing friends early in the fall. e

by Bill Stenquist

Drew Doll is still having fun out there

Tyler Knudsen looks strong after the run

Keenan Peters

mary Strohl sprints past Kenten Peters

Lucas Fasio



TUNA MOUNTAIN CHALLENGESoldier Hollow

Saturday October 4, 2014 Long course 5K run, 10K bikeShort course 1.5K run, 3K bike Adult 2-gender team 1 Tonya Fassio RUN 0 : 28 : 18 John Fassio BIKE 0 : 30 : 24 - - - - - 0 : 58 : 42 2 Mary Strohl RUN 0 : 28 : 7 Will Nichols BIKE 0 : 45 : 43 - - - - - 1 : 13 : 50 Adult/junior 2-gender team 1 Katy Bonacci RUN 0 : 27 : 11 Joseph Bonacci BIKE 0 : 10 : 14 - - - - - 0 : 37 : 25 Adult men solo 1 Keenan Peters RUN 0 : 22 : 39 BIKE 0 : 16 : 16 - - - - - 0 : 38 : 55 2 Kenten Peters RUN 0 : 28 : 21 BIKE 0 : 30 : 47 - - - - - 0 : 59 : 8 3 Drew Doll RUN 0 : 28 : 7 BIKE 0 : 39 : 18 - - - - - 1 : 7 : 25 Adult women solo 1 Trece Swanson RUN 0 : 28 : 8 BIKE 0 : 39 : 21 - - - - - 1 : 7 : 29 2 Angie McArthur RUN 0 : 28 : 9 BIKE 0 : 39 : 23 - - - - - 1 : 7 : 32 3 Caroline Keeney RUN 0 : 28 : 11 BIKE 0 : 42 : 22 - - - - - 1 : 10 : 33 Junior boy solo - short course 1 Tyler Knudsen RUN 0 : 7 : 32 BIKE 0 : 12 : 1 - - - - - 0 : 19 : 33 2 Tragun Shaw RUN 0 : 7 : 31 BIKE 0 : 13 : 13 - - - - - 0 : 20 : 44 3 Lucas Fassio RUN 0 : 8 : 36 BIKE 0 : 15 : 16 - - - - - 0 : 23 : 52 4 Ben Trachtenberg RUN 0 : 7 : 44 BIKE 0 : 20 : 12 - - - - - 0 : 27 : 56 5 Max Trachtenberg RUN 0 : 7 : 58 BIKE 0 : 19 : 59 - - - - - 0 : 27 : 57 Junior girl team - short course 1 Quinn Keeney RUN 0 : 8 : 40 Grace Swanson BIKE 0 : 9 : 53 - - - - - 0 : 18 : 33 2 Mikenzie McIntyre RUN 0 : 7 : 42 Mikaika McIntyre BIKE 0 : 15 : 4 - - - - - 0 : 22 : 46

Katie Bonacci Wil Nichols focuses on the downhill

Trece Swanson nips Angie mcArthur at the finish

mcKenzie mcIntyre leads the pack out of the start

Caroline Keeney cruises over the top

Ben Trachtenberg cranks the last corner

November 2014

T U N A N E W S

Former TUNA President, 1992 and 1994 Olympian, director of the cross country events at the 2002 Salt Lake Winter Olympics, and Director of Nordic Sports at Whistler Olympic Park for the 2010 Games (amongst many other stellar orga-nizational and athletic achievements), John Aalberg was inducted as part of the 2014 class of the Intermountain Ski Hall of Fame on September 25.

Pat Miller, who recruited John to ski for University of Utah, credited his influence as being one of the prime motivators behind the success of Nordic skiing in North America and especially in the Intermountain area. Speaking from personal experience I could not agree more, remembering John’s work on the Cross Country World Cup in 1998, his extensive efforts before and after Salt Lake won the bid for the 2002 Winter Games, and then his oversight of the cross country events at Soldier Hollow during the Games. He has definitely impacted Nordic skiing in North America, and especially here in Utah.

John was a five time national champion, and he is the only University of Utah athlete to be named an NCAA All American in two different sports (nordic skiing and cross country run-ning). And in one year, John won every college race he partici-pated in. This is all the more amazing when you consider that during the same period of time, he successfully completed one of the most challenging majors at the U, Computer Science.

After graduating in 1988, John continued to train while holding down a full time job as a computer programmer at Unisys. He was able to gain a position on the US Ski Team, and became a US citizen just in time to be selected to compete in the 1992 Olympics in Albertville, France. In 1994 he again represented the US when the Olympic Games took place in his home area of Lillehammer, Norway.

After completing his competitive career, John decided to give back to the local cross country ski community that had supported him over the years. He joined the Board of TUNA in the fall of 1995, and served as its President from September 1997 to May 2001. Those of us who were around in those days remember his insights and contributions to building TUNA into the organization it is today. David Susong, another past president of our club, wrote in 2001,“Under John’s leadership TUNA began setting track at Mountain Dell, started adult/

John Aalberg inducted into the intermountain ski Hall of fame

masters training programs, expanded support for and devel-oped new junior ski programs, and became heavily involved with the preparation for the Nordic competitions at the upcoming Olympics.”

We owe a huge debt to John, and his legacy lives on in the many racers he coached and taught how to ski in the early years. Leading up to the 2002 Winter Games, he also set up clinics to help local skiers become certified cross country officials so they could be an integral part of the events. Many of these individuals continue to be involved in cross country ski events around the country and the world. Nordic skiing is in a much better place in the Intermountain West because of his influence. e

Accepting the Award

John Aalberg and Dave Hanscom Petie Peterson, Dave Hanscom, Richard Hodges

John and Katherine

Lori Gates, Dave Hanscom, marit Glenne, Bill Stenquist,

Giggi Burns, Richard Hodges

Annalisa, John, Katherine Aalberg

Petie Peterson, John Aalberg, Dave Hanscom, Richard Hodges,

Luke Bodensteiner

snapshots from the award ceremony



steve cook Hired as TUNA’s Head coach

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Steve Cook has been hired as Head Coach to lead TUNA’s Nordic skiing program. Steve is the most decorated TUNA Olympic athlete and TUNA President Tom Bonacci commented; “TUNA is excited to have Steve Cook stepping into the leader-ship position with our long-running and successful Nordic skiing programs. Steve’s experience in coaching junior skiers and his personal experience and success at the highest levels of interna-tional competition will be a tremendous asset to our programs.”

“I am really excited to take over as TUNA’s Head Coach,” Steve said upon accepting the position. “I have been a TUNA member since before I started racing on the World Cup circuit and have always felt that TUNA is a big part of why I love Nordic skiing. As I am given the reins of this solid program, it is a home-coming of sorts. I feel privileged to be able to coach for TUNA, not only to help every athlete succeed, but also to help skiers at all levels develop a lifelong passion for this sport and the Wasatch Front Nordic community.”

Steve will be directing TUNA’s Winter and Summer training and racing pro-grams for Comp and Junior Comp skiers as well as helping to guide TUNA’s Recreational, Learn-to-Ski, and Masters (adult) programs.

Steve comes to TUNA after having served most recently as Head Coach for the Park City Nordic Development Program. e

Paralympics Italy 2006

November 2014

T U N A N E W S

Event and Membership Details at mountaintrails.org

Make Plans to Race Now!Save-The-Date: 2015 Round-Up is February 14th!

You don’t want to miss this years Round Valley Round-Up. The race will be a one or two lap event for the 20k and 40k with easy uphill grades, fun downhills, and totally spectator friendly. Elevation change per lap is approximately1,200 ft., with no hill exceeding 200 feet of gain. The 5k race is held on a course near the start/finish area and is perfect for those just getting into Nordic racing or not wanting the longer distances. There is a wonderful vibe to this annual Park City event and it includes a post-race lunch and award party. See you in February!

Soldier Hollow Trail running SerieSSoldier Hollow is excited to announce its NEW Trail Running Series. This is an opportunity for runners of all ages to come participate with others in the community before the winter ski season is upon us.Everyone is invited to come race, run, jog or walk Tuesday evenings — September 9th through October 28th 1-2 km kids races start at 5:00 pm 5k and 10km races start at 5:30 pmThere are 1-2 km kids’ races for those 14 and under only, and 5 km or 10 km events for all others. There will be a post-race raffle each week and awards by Salomon for the best of 6 of 8 in the series! The 1-2 km kids races begins at 5:00 pm with the 5 and 10km races starting at 5:30 pm.

Registration is at 4:15 to 5:15, the kids’ race is free and the 5 km or 10km races are $10. Registration, start and finish, will be at the Soldier Hollow Lodge.

All proceeds benefit the Soldier Hollow Scholarship and Financial Aid fund. For more information, visit www.Teamsoldierhollow.com/trail-series.html.

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Your membership in TUNA sup-ports a multitude of programs and activities that you and your family can participate in: groomed skiing at Mountain Dell, youth programs for young skiers, a newsletter, so-

cial events, fall and summer conditioning classes, and volun-teer opportunities for local and international races. All of this would not be possible without the good graces of our volun-teers and the support we get from our membership. TUNA membership costs $30 for individuals and $40 for families for one year.

To join TUNA, or renew your membership, please visit: http://www.utahnordic.com/membership. If you are renewing your membership, and can’t remember your password, click the ‘Request New Password’ link on the login page and follow the instructions to have your password emailed to you. Please give this a try even if you aren’t sure you have a login or not. If you are new to TUNA, or know you don’t have a login, click the “Create new account” link and enter the information requested.

Once you are logged into the site, you can purchase mem-berships and ski passes using the TUNA online store. You can pay by check, credit card, or with a Pay Pal account. (Note — a Pay Pal account is not required to pay by credit card, see www.utahnordic.com/store_help for details). If you have any trouble with the site, please send email to [email protected]. e

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November 2014

T U N A N E W S

by Kurt Dudley

The very first “Salmon Bake and Barn Dance” stomped its way into the Outback restaurant at the Park West Ski resort on December 12, 1987. Kathy McCarthy, the newly appointed “News for Nords” newsletter editor, wrote in a fall 1987 promotional article, “It’s a Christmas Party! It’s a Super Series Party! It’s a welcome to Winter Party! And all the proceeds go to

our Park City Junior Nordic Ski Team!!”

Pete Phillips, a Kastle sales representative was the first Alaskan salmon provider of this event. The “grade A” baking potatoes were provided by Ken and Kathy McCarthy’s parents. Great Harvest Bread Company, Leger’s Produce, Shirf Brewing and the Yarrow hotel in Park City provided sponsor support. The cost was $13 for members and $15 for non-members. Fifty people showed up to that first dinner. Marsha Groth, Mary Dern, Steve and Jenny Erickson and the Wagner family were all mentioned in the post event article as being active partici-pants. Dave Jessup was the square dance caller for the evening.

The second Salmon Bake and Square dance brought Lori Clark-Erickson to the forefront of organizing and pulling off the next dinner party on January 21 1989 at the Jeremy Ranch Clubhouse. Kent Bowen provided the Alaskan Salmon for this event and the ensuing several years as I recall.

The third dinner and dance was again at Jeremy Ranch; it raised over $900 and 105 people showed up to partake in the festivities to benefit the kids ski team. In 1988 the Park City

The salmon Bake and A Little club History

healthcare.utah.edu

healthcare.utah.edu

WITH YOUALL THE WAY.PROUD SPONSOR OF THE UTAH NORDICALLIANCE.

Nordic Ski Club (predecessor of TUNA) noted an increased membership from 10 members to 80, an 800% increase in one season.

The Utah Nordic Alliance, a named coined by Chris Erickson, came into being for the 1990-91 season and the rest is history. The Salmon Bake has grown to around 150 people per year over the past 28 years or so, we still have great quality music and it still raises money for the junior ski program. Donna Stice has been doing a phenomenal job organizing the gig for what seems like at least a decade or two. We still have a dedicated group of volunteers and an ever expanding need for member participation in all aspects of club organization and events. Please, get involved, give a little time, support, money or kind words whenever you can. We are a great group of folks with a weird passion for cross country skiing. Let’s just keep that up, at least until Hell freezes over! Have great winter. e

Good food Good music TUNA Newsmakers

Good company

November 2014

T U N A N E W S

The word; West Yellowstone has the best early season skiing to be found. Thanksgiving is the last week of November again this year, giving another week for snow to accumulate and give us a nice base

for skiing. We certainly had fabulous skiing last November. I hope that many TUNA members are planning to be in West again, or for the first time, this Thanksgiving. Get your hotel reservations early and then, send me an RSVP. Our dinner grows each year as we have more and more junior skiers and of course, our stalwart senior skiers continue to come.

I have reserved the Community Protestant Church social hall for our annual dinner and it is time to start planning. The church is located at 505 North Electric Street. We start with set up around 4pm and plan to sit down to a fabulous pot luck dinner at 6 pm.

This event only happens with the help of many volunteers. It takes 8-10 turkeys to feed our group, depending upon the number of RSVPs. The church only has 2 ovens. If you are staying in a room that has an oven or if you have a roaster oven, please consider picking up a turkey from me and baking it for us. I order the turkeys in West Yellowstone and pick them up on Wednesday. I can deliver a turkey to you or you can pick it up from me Wednesday evening.

I will be keeping an RSVP list to get an idea of how many will attend and to assure that we have all of the tasty foods we love to eat on Thanksgiving. You can RSVP at [email protected]. I need to know how many adults, how many children, and what you would like to bring to the potluck. I would like to get your RSVP by November 23 to help me in purchasing food. When you RSVP, please consider volunteering to help in the kitchen, setting up or cleaning up. The clean up is usually over by 9:30 pm and more hands make it faster. After all, we all want to be on the trails early Friday morning.

Come join in the camaraderie at one of the biggest TUNA events of the year.

Think Snow! e

it is Turkey Time Againby Donna Wahoff-Stice

For over 30 years, cross country skiers from across North America and around the world have traveled to West Yellowstone, Montana’s Yellowstone Ski Festival to begin their Nordic ski season on the Rendezvous Ski Trails. The Yellowstone Ski Festival takes place during Thanksgiving week. The event’s highlights include a series of Nordic skiing clinics, SuperTour races, Biathlon races, the On Snow Gear Demo, an Indoor Ski Show, and a variety of presentations, clinics, and classes.

Whether you are a beginning skier or an experienced racer, West Yellowstone is THE place to start your ski season. Each year, up to 3,500 skiers from around the United States and Canada travel to West Yellowstone for the Yellowstone Ski Festival. Where else can you participate in ski clinics coached by former Olympic athletes and lifelong Nordic skiers, try out and purchase the latest ski gear and accessories, and share the Rendezvous Trails with so

many great skiers? The Yellowstone Ski Festival offers all of that and more!

We hope that we will see you at the 2014 Yellowstone Ski Festival. Stay tuned to our website —

www.yellowstoneskifestival.com for regular updates. Please support our local sponsors and the equipment manufacturers who come to West Yellowstone for Thanksgiving. e

first Tracks — November 25-29

Cred

it: F

aste

r Ski

er

November 2014

T U N A N E W S

The Comp Team had a challenging summer; their beloved coach, Matt Johnson left for a coaching oppor-tunity with the club he grew up skiing for, the Alaska Winter Stars. The team was left in the able hands of interim coach, Dana Tower, while the TUNA Board conducted a world-wide search for a suitable replace-

ment. They realized the right person was under their noses and I was offered the job. By August, I was hired and the Team had their third coach of the summer. That meant three coaches, three sets of expectations, three different training programs, and three coaching philosophies, all in one summer! But I couldn’t be more excited to have the job and have had a great time working with the team members. We are set to do some great things.

The Team had another loss as Caden Macfarlane, the team leader and all around fun guy, went off to University of Colorado to become a Buff. But we’ve been making up for all of these losses and upheavals by getting in great shape and focusing on the upcoming season.

To that end, we’ve been burning up the road around Sugarhouse Park on our roller skis. We’ve been doing huge interval sessions at Red Butte. We even checked out the compe-tition by heading to Park City to do a classic roller ski session with the Park City Nordic Ski Club. We assessed our fitness with a strength test to get a baseline measure of our end of summer muscle formation. Then, we got our competitive juices flow-ing with a skate roller ski time trial. We just started 8 weeks of Pilates, specially designed by Sandy Vojik and Amy Broekemeier at Pinnacle Performance, to improve our balance, strengthen our core, and help with our explosive power. We are also taking in the natural beauty of the Wasatch Front and Back to get some of Mother Nature’s inspiration for our training sessions. So far, we did a long run on the ridge south of Big Mountain Pass with the Junior Comp Team and a skate ski up Weber Canyon towards Smith-Morehouse Canyon.

But winning ski races takes more than just strong lungs and good balance, it takes racers who are focused on their goals and who can tap into their passions to ski. Each racer has different motivations and goals, and the TUNA coaching staff is commit-ted to figuring out what makes each Comp Team member tick! We are meeting with each racer to determine how to help them achieve their 2014-15 ski season expectations. And maybe, more importantly for this set of Comp Team members, we are getting to know each other so they are clear that their coaches are pres-ent to support them, wax for them, cheer for them, and have fun with them all season long.

Plenty of dryland training remains before the snow flies and we can wax up our skis. We are planning a roller ski race series for all of Utah’s Nordic ski teams. There will be three races; one in Sugarhouse Park, one at the Utah Olympic Park and one at Soldier Hollow. We will also hold a training camp in Moab for late October, which will include roller skiing, mountain biking, and team building around the campfire. Of course, there will be more roller ski laps around good ol’ Sugarhouse Park. With the color of the changing leaves in the mountains and the nip in the

by Steve Cook

TUNA comp and Jr comp Teams

morning air, anticipation is building for West Yellowstone and the start of the race season.

The Jr. Comp team had an exciting and productive set of three week long training camps. There was a good mix of fun activities with plenty of ski specific training. One of the Comp team training sessions lost half of it’s participants as they wanted to join the Jr. Comp camp for their trip to Flow Rider in Ogden. The Jr. Comp team is getting their time in at Sugarhouse Park and the Fall Dryland training has started. They are also spend-ing some time in the Red Butte area hiking and running. The coaches are keeping the kids engaged by including lots of games while making sure their ski technique and fitness are improving. Everyone is excited for winter. e

Comp and Jr. Comp Team on Big mtn

mary Strohl and Ben Slawson hill bounding intervals above the zoo

Classic Roller skiing up UoP roadHorny toad caught on Big mtn



Team soldier Hollow

by morgan Smythe

Team Soldier Hollow had an action packed summer! The Comp Team grew in size with 7 new members moving up from Devo. We kicked the summer off with the annual Bend Oregon on snow camp. Team SoHo had never made it out to Bend but after a week of skiing and sunshine I think we will be back! Next up was the mid summer camp. We did some great group

workouts with TUNA and wrapped up the training camp with a camping trip out to Deseret Peak, an 11,000 peak outside of Grantsville, UT. The final training camp of the summer was a trip up to the Wood River Valley and Sawtooth Mountains. We camped just outside of Ketchum and met up with the Sun Valley Ski Team for a variety of group workouts including roller ski speed, bounding, games, and strength. For our final night we headed up to Stanley. Red Fish Lake impressed us with sun-shine, clear waters and a paddle boat that fit the entire crew. In the morning our run/hike took us to Sawtooth Lake — what an amazing place!!!

The Devo Team also had their fair share of adventures! Devo Camp #1 was a day camp filled with running, hik-ing, mountain biking, swim-ming, roller skiing, biathlon, climbing and games. TUNA joined us for many of the workouts making for a really big fun group! Throughout the summer the Devo Team practiced twice a week. One day was a longer run/hike and the other day a roller ski. By the end of the summer, the group was ready for the annual Timp Hike! This year the Timp Hike was part of the end of summer camp so we camped at the Timpanokee campground and then hiked the Timpanokee Trail to the summit and back. The group made it in record time — only 3:30 to the summit!

We also had our second annual Youth Adventure Camp for kids age 8-12 from all athletic backgrounds (not just skiers). We do a variety of fun activities including swimming, games, running, hiking, ropes course, trampoline, bouldering, scaven-ger hunts and more!

During the fall, Team Soldier Hollow has a variety of pro-grams including fall training for Comp Team and Devo Team. A trail running series and a late fall masters group. For photos, stories and information on all of our programs visit www.teamsoldierhollow.com e

SoHo & TUNA Devo Camp

Youth Adventure Camp

Sawtooth Lake

Devo on Timp

Paddle Boating

November 2014

T U N A N E W S

Given the short summer the PCNSC was able to pack about as much fun, travel, and training into our summer break as physically possible. It all started in June when school finished and we traveled to Bend Oregon for a week on snow training. The snow Gods were happy and provided us with a cool wet spring and the conditions couldn’t have been much better. We were able to get some great technical training with great progress identifying and establishing training zones with heart rates and lactate thresholds.

In July we headed out to California to get in some intensity training with the Tahoe and Truckee clubs. It’s always good to test yourself against other clubs to gauge your status. It also helps inspirationally to get out of town and train in a new environment. We were lucky to have Noah Brautigam with us on this camp. Noah lived and worked in the area so we really felt we were getting first hand local knowledge of the sweet spots for training and running. With that insight almost all our workouts ended with a cool swim in the beautiful waters of Lake Tahoe.

In August we went on a backpacking trip into the Wind River Mountains. This has become an annual trip with a lot of off trail route finding. It’s never my intent to go into the mountains and get turned around, but it sure adds to the adventure when you wake up in the morning on the oppo-site side of the continental divide you thought you were on. Figuring out where you are and rerouting into an unplanned area while staying on schedule not only lends to the adven-ture but builds tremendous character. Patience, stamina, teamwork, are just a few of the traits brought to the surface during trying times. Some of the kids thought we were lost. I reminded them that although we are sometimes confused we were never lost. I was super impressed with this group. Not only were they killer hikers but fun to be with in the mountains.

In between the away camps the team was involved in daily training, some with the high school cross country running team, others with the mountain bike team. If that weren’t enough five of the group were invited to, and attended the Regional Elite Group camp which was held the end of June. This camp included the best skiers from the Western Region and allowed the kids to go head to head and train at a very high standard. A couple others were invited to the U16 National Camp in Jackson Wyoming.

Training is in full swing for us now. For more information go to www.utaholympiclegacy.com e

summer recap 2014 comp Team, PcNsc

by Gordon Lange

Golden Lakes — Wind Rivers

Brenna Egan and mia AndersonLactate Testing



Wasatch Nordic ski Academy Update

by Bill Hokanson

As the 2014-15 ski season approaches, Wasatch Nordic Ski Academy junior skiers are fully engaged in their pre-competition preparation. Team members set significant personal and team goals last spring and have been follow-ing a fun and very active training schedule through the spring,

summer, and fall. Daily training workouts consist of distance or intensity sessions on rollerskis or on foot, complimented by strength training, agility training, and various cross-training activities. Technique development is woven into all team training sessions. Everyone has made excellent gains leading up to race season.

Galena Pass on-snow mini-camp, May 2 - 4: In early May, team members began preparing in earnest for the 2014 - 15 ski season by joining several other regional teams for an on-snow mini-camp on Galena Pass near Ketchum, Idaho.

Bend, OR on-snow and dryland camp, May 18 - 28: Several weeks later, the team traveled to Bend, OR for an out-standing ten-day on-snow and dryland training camp. Team members shared the Mount Bachelor Nordic trails with the US Ski Team and the US Biathlon Team.

USSA National U16 Training Camp, July 22 – Aug 3: Each summer, the top ranked U16 (under 16 years old) girls and boys in the country are invited to the National U16 Training Camp, held this year in Jackson, Wyoming. Maddie Morgan represented us at this prestigious training opportunity.

Western REG Camp, June 21 - 28: The USST Western Regional Elite Group brings together the top twelve male and top twelve female junior skiers from the five western USSA Divisions. Five Wasatch Nordic race team skiers -- Henry Gorman, Karsten Hokanson, Riis Wilbrecht, Ben

Grodner and Olivia Ekblad -- met the challenging criteria for inclusion in the 2014 USST Western REG.

USST National Elite Group Camp, Oct 3 - 12: From the five Regional Elite Groups, a total of twelve of the most prom-ising young athletes in the United States are invited to join the National Elite Group (NEG), the nations top tier training group for developing junior skiers. For the second year in a row, the Wasatch Nordic Ski Academy is well represented on the USST NEG. The Wasatch Nordic community is very proud of the three team members -- more than any other program in the country -- who were honored to accept NEG invitations this year: teammates Olivia Ekblad, Karsten Hokanson, and Henry Gorman.

Western Regional Biathlon Camp, Oct 3 - 7: Wasatch team members Maddie Morgan and Jenae Rasmussen will compliment their cross country ski training with some biathlon training.

West Yellowstone SuperTour race camp: the competi-tion season will begin for us at the SuperTour races, we join many competitive skiers and enthusiasts from the US Nordic community for on-snow training and racing.

2014-15 Junior Race Team Members: Henry Gorman, Sierra Foster, Karsten Hokanson, Olivia Ekblad, Lindsay Richards, Maddie Morgan, Jenae Rasmussen, Savanna Fassio, Sarah Morgan, Grace Richards, Aidan Rasmussen.

Senior / Master Athlete: Thomas Seidel.

Wasatch Nordic summer training group (collegiate athletes training with Wasatch Nordic): Akeo Maifeld-Carucci, Tyler Smith, Ben Grodner, Riis Wilbrecht.

The Wasatch Nordic Ski Academy is a cross country ski race team and junior development program serving the Wasatch Front and Back of Utah. Contact head coach Bill Hokanson for program information ([email protected])

Karsten Hokanson tops out on Guardsman Pass 2:23 from the

mouth of Big Cottonwood

U16 skier Jenae Rasmussen striding beautifully as she tops

out on Big mountain

National Elite Group athlete olivia Ekblad nears the summit of Big mountain, distance classic roll

maddie morgan, skate intervals, Silver-Quinns bike trail

November 2014

T U N A N E W S

Annual fundraisersb a c k o f t h e p a c k

by David Susong

The TUNA community gathers each spring for the annual Salmon Bake. It is a time to get together with ski friends as the snow fades off the mountains and to raise funds to support TUNA programs for the next year. It is good to see everyone relaxing in shorts rather than Lycra and taking out their competitive urges in the silent auction. At the silent auction you can bid on skis, wax, clothing, art, a ski grind or maybe a massage. Bidding can be intense, just ask my wife. She sees silent auctions as a form of competition as serious as any ski race and she doesn’t like to get beat. We have come home with some surprising stuff over the years. When I have asked her why she bid on an item she would reply, “Because no one else was!”. But when I pointed out that she didn’t need to make multiple bids against herself, I got the look that means an end to any and all questions.

Many nonprofit organizations have these types of events where members of the community gather for an evening of fine food, conversation and music and for raising funds for the organization. We have attended events for other organiza-tions and it is remarkable how similar and how different they are. We attended a dinner/auction event for my daughter’s college rodeo team in Montana. It was a window into another community.

The moment I walked in the hall I knew I was in a different place. To start off, I was one of the few men in the room with-out a cowboy hat on. I have lived all my life in the west but I have never been in a room with that many cowboy hats. There were short ones, tall ones, fat ones, black ones, white ones and a lot of grey ones. There were about 800 people attending this event so there were a lot of hats. Drinks were served by the girls on the rodeo team, most of whom could not legally buy the drinks that they were serving. No silly rules about shel-tering minors or Zion Curtains. These were obviously a more practical oriented group without some of the hang-ups we have here in Utah. Dinner was beef (surprise, surprise). A large slab of prime rib was unceremoniously dropped on your plate leaving little room for potatoes, salad or veggies. This didn’t seem to bother the guys with the hats. They seemed to like their beef almost raw and unadorned to be washed down with a can of Bud or Coors Lite.

The silent auction was huge consisting of several hundred items most of which were western themed. There were cowboy art, metal work, rope vases, ropes, halters, reins, belts, buckles, booze, and even guns. Not a pair of roller skis or block of wax anywhere in sight. This event also had a live auction complete with a real auctioneer with the big hat, pointy boots and rap-id-fire delivery. The boys (most of them pretty big) of the rodeo team were spread throughout the audience as spotters for the auction so you didn’t want to be waving your hands or gestur-ing or you could get held to a bid you didn’t want to make.

The live auction for me was interesting from a number of

aspects. The items were unusual and the amount of money bid considerable and it provided a window into the culture and the community. Bidding got serious quickly for a month’s stay at an Arizona RV-park and equestrian center (some of ranch folks have gotten tired of Montana winters but you can take your horse). Next was half a pig, cut and wrapped, that went for $1,150. That is a lot of bacon and chops. You could have bid on 10 hours on a new 100 hp John Deere tractor ($600) or for a 100X custom made cowboy hat ($750). There was some artwork including a large stained glass elk bugling in the moonlight. I commented to the spotter who was standing by my table that I didn’t really like it. He didn’t either. Much to both our surprise my wife’s name was called out as the win-ning bidder. (It is now hanging in our house and I like it very much). There were a number of very practical things to bid on like a year’s worth of diesel oil changes ($950) or 10-yards of gravel (delivered within 20 miles). Interestingly, you could have bid on large round bales of hay weighing 3,000 pounds ($800). The asterisk next to this item on the program indicated that you had to come out to the ranch 50 miles+ from town and pick it up; delivery was not included.

The most intense bidding of the evening was reserved for the lots of straws of bull semen. Ten straws were donated by All West Sire ($600). I am not sure if that was the name of the company or the bull. This item brought some interesting ques-tions to my inquiring mind. First, what kind of unit of mea-sure is a straw? Immediately, plastic Dixie straws you can buy in the grocery store came to mind but I don’t think these are the kinds of straws they are talking about. Secondly, anthropo-morphizing a little, I wondered what the bull thought of his donation? Rodeo cowboys and bulls don’t have what I would call a friendly relationship. Was the bull proud to be a sponsor of the University of Montana Western rodeo team?

The live auction finished up on the cute side with a Border Collie puppy ($475). By this time I was exhausted from all the excitement and was the proud half owner of a stained glass elk. However, the band was setting up and dancing was next. This was a tough crowd. It was an interesting evening on multiple levels. I did come away with appreciation for the possibilities of a live auction and have some new ideas for the Salmon Bake. Anyone need any hay? As we were leaving the hall I noticed a flyer for the southwest Montana Friends of the National Rifle Association annual banquet and silent auction coming up the following month. That could be an event you wouldn’t want to miss. e



DATE RACE TECHNIQUE (DIST) LOCATION STARTDECEMBER Fri-Sun 12-14 Nordic Combined Continental Cup free Soldier Hollow13 Sat White Pine/TUNA Relay both (3 x 5k) White Pine 10:00 (1 lap classic and 2 laps free) 19 Fri IMD Junior Opener Jackson, WY 20 Sat IMD Junior Opener Jackson, WY 20 Sat Smartwool Wasatch Citizens Series classic (10k) Soldier Hollow 10:00 JANUARY 3 Sat Smartwool Wasatch Citizens Series free (15k) White Pine 10:00Sat-Wed3-7 US Paralympic Nationals Soldier Hollow 7 Wed Wild Rose Fun Race any (5k) Mountain Dell 4:3010 Sat Teton Ridge Classic classic (6/14/28k) Driggs, ID 10:0011 Sun University of Utah Invitational free (5/10k) Soldier Hollow 12 Mon University of Utah Invitational classic (10/15k) Soldier Hollow 14 Wed Wild Rose Fun Race any (5k) Mountain Dell 4:3017 Sat Smartwool Wasatch Citizens Series classic (10k) Mountain Dell 10:0017 Sat JN Qualifier W.Yellowstone, MT 18 Sun JN Qualifier W.Yellowstone, MT 21 Wed Wild Rose Fun Race any (5k) Mountain Dell 4:3024 Sat Smartwool Wasatch Citizens Series free (10k) Soldier Hollow 10:0028 Wed Wild Rose Fun Race any (5k) Mountain Dell 4:3030 Fri JN Super Qualifier Soldier Hollow 31 Sat JN Super Qualifier Soldier Hollow 31 Sat Potato Cup pursuit (4/10/20k) Mink Creek, ID 10:00 FEBRUARY 7 Sat Boulder Mountain Tour free (30k) Sun Valley, ID 10:0014 Sat Round Valley Roundup free (5/20/40k) Park City 9:0014 Sat Moose Chase free (25k) Jackson Hole, WY 10:0015 Sun Silver Ski Tour any (5/10k) White Pine 10:0015 Sun Bryce Canyon Archery Biathlon free (6k) Ruby’s Inn 11:0015 Sun King of the Mountain free (10k) Utah Olympic Park 1:0016 Mon Bryce Canyon Ski Festival free (10k) Ruby’s Inn 9:0021 Sat Smartwool Wasatch Citizens Series free (20k) White Pine Farm 10:0021 Sat JN Qualifier McCall, ID 22 Sun JN Qualifier McCall, ID 28 Sat Intermountain Division Youth Festival Soldier Hollow MARCH 1 Sun Intermountain Division Youth Festival Soldier Hollow 7 Sat Yellowstone Rendezvous classic (25k) W.Yellowstone, MT 8:457 Sat Yellowstone Rendezvous free (25/50k) W.Yellowstone, MT 9:00 Fri-Sun6-8 Wasatch Powder Keg Mountaineering Brighton

This race schedule is published and distributed compliments of Smartwool and TUNA

2014/2015 Utah cross country ski race schedule

For more up-to-date information check the TUNA web page at www.utahnordic.com 702 Third Avenue

Salt Lake City801/533-8671Visit our Websitewww.wildrosesports.com

FACTORY FLEX NIGHT

Monday November 3

5:00 to 8:30 P.M.

SPECIAL DISCOUNT PRICINGRossi Team and Product Managers

on hand to assist you.

PACKAGE DISCOUNTEven better prices on complete

Rossignol systems

JUNIOR SKIER FIT SESSIONDiscounts on Rossi Junior packages

5:30 to 7:00 P.M.

T U N ACELEBRATING25 YEARS

The Utah Nordic AlliancePo Box 9008Salt Lake City, UT 84109-008

Non-Profit Org .U S Postage

PA I DSalt Lake City, UTPermit No . 6348

2014-2015 season passA Season Pass entitles the holder to enter all 5 races

REGISTER online www.utahnordic.com

Howard Peterson - The Utah Nordic Alliance · The Utah Nordic Alliance Volume XXV No.1 November...

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