Sunday September 20th APU’s Elite Team wrapped up period 6 competing in the 3rd Annual Kincaid Stampede. Conditions were perfect with dry roads and beautiful fall colors.

The team looked strong with both the women’s and men’s race won by APU Elite team members Kikkan Randall and Anders Haugen. Results are posted on the Results link found on the left of this page.

Here are a few pictures:

APU's J1 boys. Great to see them training hard and getting faster!

Celia Haering APU J2 skiing strong.

Next time we race at Kincaid…We trade roller skis for the real thing! APU coaches at US Nationals.

Today we had our first snow flake! It did not stay long, but it is coming…

September is APU’s one month a year off snow.  We use September to balance training and get ready for race season. This summer we used our time on Eagle Glacier at the Thomas Training Center to build aerobic base and focus on technique. To date this is the best we have prepped as a team. I am really proud of the work my team of athletes and coaches have done. As a group we have put in 50-90 hours of ski time this summer. Here is a recap of our last camp. In a few weeks we will be back on snow at Hatcher Pass. Enjoy.

US Ski Team and APU member Kikkan Randall putting in a lot of time this summer building base. She is on track for a great season.

09 WC Team member James Southam builds aerobic base. Time, patience, and training is important. James base is stronger than I have seen it.

Glacier snow is very similar to spring snow conditions, here Katie Ronsse takes advantage of some sweet-fast skating.

The coaches dream vehicle was donated to our program…The new APU lactate and video machine full with gun racks and heated handle bars.

US Ski Team and APU member Tazlina Mannix building speed and power.

Last years volcanic eruption spread ash to Distance Nationals and on top of our glacier. At first we were curious how it would be. We scraped the snow clean and the skiing was excellent. Erika Klaar of APU taking advantage of the clean snow.

09 WJC member Becca Rorrabaugh improving skate power. Becca's third year on the glacier and easily 200 hours of summer skiing. It makes a big difference.

Kate Arduser of APU gliding it out. Kate just passed by the coaches taking countless hours of valuable video. The summer is the ideal time to refine technique.

Klister and soft tracks…Eagle is a great place to refine classic technique…Maybe the best! APU Women's team hitting some classic drills.

Anders Haugen and Mike Hinckley lead the mens team in a double pole strength session.

This year we designed the course to resemble the courses in Vancouver. Here Taz, Katie, and Anders skiing the 7.5 km loop that focuses on gradual climbs.

Camp Championships…A hearty game of speed ball, just when I thought everyone was tired, out comes the killer competitive instinct. Game on.

Erik Flora and Casey Fagerquist install a new PB motor with a little help from a helicopter…Team work at its best. Very cool.

Fueled up and ready for battle. Casey Fagerquist ready to groom.

We give it everything we have to bring US skiing to the top. Even if it takes coaches rebuilding the groomer. Erik Flora, Casey Fagerquist, and Dylan Watts modify a new-used motor for the Piston Bully. 2 AM and camp starts in a few days.

Another great summer of training on Eagle. The more we ski, the more we learn about skiing. This year we definitely learned what klister works well for the next volcanic eruption:)

This week is our third testing sequence of the summer. We typically run 4 tests to review the training effects of the last period. Test one is Skate power, test 2 is double pole power, test 3 is aerobic measure, and test 4 is body status and overall fitness with pole bounding. We started this sequence a few years ago and it is proving to be a great way to monitor and balance training. The test sequence enables our staff to closely monitor each athlete with lab style accuracy. The test is all done in the field on specific courses so testing is accomplished without having to make a break in training. Training is always the most important. Our goal for July was to improve base fitness. Testing and observation show early summer training to be a success!

Kikkan training hard and setting her third PR of the summer!

Laura Valaas attacking the women's double pole course and setting a new PR by over 4.5 percent!

At the end of the day, vital information is collected including time, temperature, lactate, heart rate, and any other fun data. Athletes Becca "The Wrecka" Rorabaugh and Kate "Fitz" Fitzergerald wait for collection from Coaches Eric Strabel and Casey Fagerquist.

Ah yes, a great day for both athletes and coaches!

To polish off the week APUNSC is co-hosting the traditional “Potter Hill Climb”. Nearly every elite skier who has traveled through Anchorage has put a time on the course, so it is always a good measuring stick heading into the fall.

Next week the APU Elite Team is back to our Summer ski facility on Eagle Glacier for another round of volume and Swix KR60. Stay tuned!

At the core of our philosophy…We train hard and ski a lot! We start on the spring crust, spend the summer on APU’s glacier facility, then take advantage of early snow in October at Hatcher Pass….11 months out of the year. Our average dry land season includes over 2000 kilometers of on snow time.

May Crust Skiing: Women’s Team led by World Champion Silver Medalist Kikkan Randall and Men’s Team led by Olympic-World Championship skier James Southam.

June Glacier Skiing on Eagle: We started a tradition of the first camp being “Classic Only”! The camp was a success with 18-25 hours of classic skiing, 2 interval sessions, 4 speed sessions, and countless hours of video review. Our technique focus is dynamic movement.

July Glacier Skiing on Eagle: Our second camp was focused on building base. Ski volumes increased slightly, but more important is that the number of kilometers in the week increased. Again 18-15 hours with 2 interval sessions, 4 speed sessions, and extensive review of proper recovery method. We are definitely skiing faster everyday!

Train hard. Enjoy