June 04, 2013 – Check out the latest news from US and Canadian National Team skiers following their first training camp in Bend, OR. Liz Stephen reports from Norway, while Ivan Babikov is back in Canmore, Kikkan Randall and Noah Hoffman are in Park City, Perianne Jones is on pink roller skis, Ida Sargent reports from Craftsbury and Sadie Bjornsen does a Bend wrap up….

Liz Stephen
Sognefjell Norway:
I have successfully made it to the Sognefjell snowfield for another week of training on snow! I flew after our Bend camp ended and met up with Astrid Jacobsen who picked me up from the bus station and brought me to her house to spend the night. It was really nice to stay with Astrid, as she made me feel right at home immediately, and after going to a run in the forest we went to her parents home for a delicious dinner of salmon, potatoes and salad followed by Norwegian ice cream and “American” blueberries.
Read more HERE.

Ivan Babikov
Back to training, or to Bend and Back:
Another month pass,  and for me that means there is one month less of training left till Sochi. One month less to get ready, to get faster, to get stronger. Ever since I recovered from last season, and started my summer training, I’m trying to cherish every single work out, knowing that every minute, of every training is important, that’s all going to count in about 8 month, out there in Russian mountains, not too far from Sochi.
Few days ago I returned from Bend OR. Our team love that place. We spent 10 days of good quality training, getting back to some hard intensity, heavy weights in the gym but most importantly skiing up at the Mt. Bachelor. We got lucky with some fresh snow and days with temp around 0C. So it was perfect and probably the best skiing condition in the World for the end of May, at least that’s how I felt. For the fun we escaped to the Oregon coast for our day off, to enjoy some surfing.  Bend is one of the best places for training I know and we’ll be going back there for an altitude training camp in July.
Read more HERE.

Kikkan Randall
Daily Training Rap:
Check out Kikkan Randall’s Daily Training Rap on SkiTrax.com for an inside look at how a superstar skier makes it happen, how she trains with some inside scoops…
Took the leisure of sleeping in all the way until 7:30am! Went for a short and easy jog on a cool but beautiful morning. Managed to get quite productive on my computer for a couple hours before hoping on the shuttle to the Redmond airport. A quick and easy direct flight brought us to Park City and we spent the rest of the afternoon and evening getting settled in. Stopping by the US Ski Team COE felt a little like coming home.
Read more HERE.

Noah Hoffman
Salt Lake Bees:
Today was the busiest day I’ve ever seen at the U.S. Ski Team’s Center of Excellence. The parking lot was completely full. The alpine women are required to live in Park City this summer (except for the A team). They all arrived over the weekend. My teammates were also all in the gym treadmill testing. The alpine ladies (and halfpipe skier Tucker Perkins) pulled the spin bikes outside to enjoy the beautiful day. I don’t quite understand why they don’t just go for a ride.
I had a busy day beginning with a blood test at 7:30 a.m. The U.S. Ski Team has us do the test to check important measures. I’m not sure what they are looking for, but I know iron levels are one important metric. Every time I have had my blood drawn everything has been normal. I would be surprised if this test shows anything different.
Read more HERE.

Perianne Jones
Pink Skis? Yes Please!:
Today I was testing out the new pink rollerskis thanks to CCC supplier Peter Rozmovits at Canada Winter Sports!
Not even the rain could dampen my spirits with these boards on my feet! Is there such a thing as too much pink?… probably.
Read more HERE.

Ida Sargent
Springtime!:
Rabbit Rabbit, it’s June 1st!  While summer may not officially begin until the summer solstice later this month, it’s sunny and warm, everything is lush and green (even in Park City), training has ramped back up to big levels, and I’m feeling the excitement which comes with the start of a new season.  But first here’s a look back at my spring.

This was the first year which I wasn’t in school for the spring so after a week in Hawaii, a settled into the routine at home in Craftsbury.  There were lots of projects going on so even as I was just building into training, I felt busier than ever and loved it.  We had a beautiful stretch of perfect weather and rushed to get the gardens planted during the burst of blooming.  Alex Howe taught Emily Dreissigacker and I how to drive the tractor so we could rototil the gardens at Elinor’s.
Read more HERE.

Sadie Bjornsen
A New Season:
May marks the beginning of a new season… the Olympic Season. This year the racing ran a little further into the spring than normal- so the start of the new training year began a little later as well. This meant that the “start” landed during Bend, Oregon for the past two weeks.

For all three years I have been on the National Team, our first camp has been in Bend – where we spend the mornings skiing on Mt. Bachelor, and the afternoons dryland training in town. It is the ideal training condition, like we are living half summer and half winter. Unfortunately the sun didn’t shine as much as usual this camp which sometimes left me feeling like it was the middle of the winter in some situations… but it was still fun!
Read more HERE.