November 2023 Newsletter
A New Season Begins! It seems like just yesterday that we were rolling up the B-nets and putting storage wax on our skis and boards, but here we are. November has come to a close, our home venues are building their snow base, and we are on the brink of another exciting competition season for over 600 NYSEF athletes. November proved to be another busy month for NYSEF. Belleayre was the first of our home venues to open for skiing and riding on the 16th, with Whiteface, Gore, and Mount Van Hoevenberg opening after Thanksgiving. Many of our new and returning NYSEF members scored some great deals on gear at our annual ski and gear sale on the 6th at the Lake Placid Elementary School! Our U14-FIS alpine athletes spent time on snow this month in Colorado, Maine, and Hintertux, Austria. As the season begins, there is much to look forward to this winter. We anticipate lots of athlete development and personal bests throughout the season. The World Cup will return to the Lake Placid Olympic Jumping Complex in February, and our office staff is hard at work planning the Annual Chairman’s Holiday Party on December 28th to celebrate 50 years of NYSEF history; we hope you’ll join us for a night of memories and merriment! See you out there, Jonh Norton, Executive Director
November 2023 What's Next: Upcoming Camps & Events Warren Miller Ski Film - NYSEF Night December 9, 2023 @ 7PM Tannery Pond Education & Arts Center “Get ready to go deep into the stuff of which snowy dreams are made with Warren Miller’s ALL TIME. From the birth of ski towns to icons and innovators like the original hot doggers— and new footage with Maine’s finest athlete, Donny Pelletier, and the next generation of skiers and riders at Woodward Park City.“ Tickets: $10 More info: www.tannerypond.org
NYSEF’s Annual Holiday Chairman’s Party December 28, 2023 6:30PM-9:30PM Mount Van Hoevenberg Join NYSEF for our Annual Chairman's Holiday Party celebrating 50 years of storied snowsports history in our community. Well have food, drinks, live music from Larry Stone & the Silver Splinters, holiday cheer, and more! Wear your best GOLD attire and accessories to celebrate our Golden Anniversary!!! Tickets & Info: https://bit.ly/40EAtR1
Learn To Fly with NYSEF! December 13 & 20, 2023 3:15PM-5PM December 30, 2023 & January 6, 2024 9AM-11AM Lake Placid Olympic Jumping Complex Learn the fundamentals of ski jumping from world-class coaches on the iconic Lake Placid ski jumping hill! You'll get a gentle introduction to the sport on the 10 and 20 meter jumps before progressing from the landing hill to the jump; hitting milestones at each step to ensure safety and fun! https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeMQUyl8akFvuoET6j656pp_f81IT_XiPJg2Mn wqiz-Q8v54A/viewform
A Copper November
November 2023 NYSEF Northwood’s FIS Teams Head West Early on the morning of November 7th, NYSEF and Northwood’s FIS athletes and staff gathered at Northwood school to load into vans and begin their journey west to the snowy Rocky Mountains. After what seemed like a short travel day in comparison to this fall’s Valle Nevado trip, athletes arrived to Copper Mountain Village late in the afternoon ready to spend twelve days on snow preparing for the 23/24 season. Copper Mountain is one of the most sought-after fall training locations for alpine teams. With primarily northern and eastern-facing slopes, Copper’s base sits at 9,712 ft of elevation, with a summit at 12,313 ft, and offers over 2,490 acres, 2,600 ft. of vertical, and 150 trails. After significant early-season snowfall and expert snowmaking, it is typically one of the first resorts to open for the season. During this training project, NYSEF athletes were lucky enough to share training space and be able to watch many of the current World Cup athletes, including the Austrian Men's National team, Aleksander Aamodt Kilde, and some of the US men’s World Cup team including River Radamus.
“Like always Copper camp did not disappoint, as it provided the best training for our athletes to head into the competition season with great confidence. This was a special camp as we welcomed Women's Assistant Coach Scott Wilson to the team. Scott blended right in and it was like he has been with us for years. We are all ready and eager to get back to work on the East Coast.” Women’s Head Coach Jeremy Transue
“For me, [as the] newest coach, the FIS Copper Camp was a great opportunity to begin getting to know our athletes and program. For all of us, Copper was excellent training on the best lanes, super sweet conditions, and next to world-class racers. Thanks to everyone who helped arrange a terrific experience.” Women’s Assistant Coach Scott Wilson
“Copper camp has wrapped up for the FIS men's squad after a very productive two weeks of training. Our skiers trained eight days of GS and four days of slalom on a variety of training lanes including the US Ski Team speed venue. Weather was very good and snow was grippy providing a great environment for high volume preparatory work. Up next we are headed home for the Holidays followed by training at Whiteface and Killington.” Men’s Head Coach Seppi Stiegler
November 2023 “The 2023 FIS Men and Women’s fall training camp at Copper Mountain, Colorado was world-class! The highlight of the trip had to be how great the snow conditions were in a wide variety of environments. Our athletes were exposed to many different lanes and pieces of terrain all over the mountain, some I had never seen used before at the resort. Being able to ski and interact within the same space as some of the best skiers in the world was also SO cool! Just as those national team members from the US and many other countries around the globe are preparing to head out on the tour starting from Copper, the NYSEF/Northwood FIS teams are ready to rip it up at a mountain near you!” Men’s Assistant Coach Colden Mrak
US Biathlon names World Cup and IBU Cup Rosters On Monday, November 20th the United States Biathlon Association announced its World Cup and IBU Cup rosters for the first trimester of the 2023/2024 competition season. Included on the IBU Cup roster is NYSEF’s very own Lina Farra, with former teammate and NYSEF alumna Jackie Garso earning a coveted spot on the World Cup. “I’m proud to see Lina, a new NYSEF biathlete, making her way back onto the international race scene after dealing with an injury these past few seasons. It’ll be exciting to watch the season openers and cheer both ladies on!” said NYSEF’s Head Biathlon Coach Maddie Phaneuf. Both Farra and Garso performed well at selection races in October, and spent the early parts of November travelling with the national team to Finland, where they participated in an onsnow training camp. “It’s all super exciting.” said Garso. “I am really glad to be heading to Sweden. I feel really lucky to get this opportunity and race with my teammates that I have been training with all summer.” The 2023-24 World Cup season kicks off on November 25 in Oestersund, Sweden with the single mixed relay and mixed relay events. The IBU Cup begins only five days later in Kontiolahti, Finland on November 30 with the women’s 15km individual and men’s 20km individual races.
November 2023 U14-U18 Fundamentals Camp Departs for Colorado! A conglomerate of NYSEF athletes and staff spent their Thanksgiving a bit differently this year - with a late-morning rendezvous at the Albany International Airport! NYSEF’s U14-U18 Fall Fundamentals Camp began in Colorado on Friday November 24th after a day of travel. Athletes are staying in Summit County and will spend four days on snow at A Basin before taking to the terrain at Copper Mountain, where our FIS team just spent 12 days training. The group will return home on December 3rd, ready to carve up the East Coast terrain! Look for a bigger recap of this camp in our December Newsletter - this group has big plans to attend the Beaver Creek Men’s Alpine World Cup on Saturday, December 2nd!
In Jonah’s Memory “I think Jonah was happiest when he was skiing, It was his sport and he loved it.”
November 2023 In His Memory: Jonah’s Story When we lose someone we love, we look for signs of them everywhere. In the shape of clouds, in a bird soaring overhead, in the curve of a fallen feather. These signs feel sacred, proof that those we loved, lived. That their story is not over, and there are chapters still waiting to be told with their names writ large across the page. In the days after Rose Anderson Linfoot lost her beloved grandson, she saw signs of him everywhere. “He was really into hawk and eagle feathers,” Rose remembers. “One day we saw a beautiful hawk fly overhead and a little later found a huge, perfect feather on the trail.” She kept the feather. Jonah River Whiting loved to ski from the age of four years old. His winters were spent honing his skills in his “backyard” at Mt. Pisgah in Saranac Lake, on the slopes of Whiteface Mountain, at Bolton Valley, and at Jay Peak. His summers were spent exploring new places, sometimes Washington D.C., or the Western United States. He approached each new adventure, no matter how small, like he was going to Disneyworld, according to his grandmother Rose, and her husband John. When Jonah passed away at age 16 this past summer after battling for 11 days to regain consciousness following a car crash in Saranac Lake, his family told stories to honor the life he loved. Stories about his infectious laugh, his love for his family and friends, Nana and John’s cousin camp, family vacations, and how much he loved to ski.
“I think Jonah was happiest when he was skiing,” Rose said. “It was his sport and he loved it.” For Jonah’s grandparents, his love of skiing is a story that will continue to be told through NYSEF’s Dare to Dream Scholarship Fund. In honor of what would have been Jonah’s 17th birthday on November 17, 2023, Rose and John made a significant contribution to the unrestricted scholarship fund so that another young NYSEF athlete’s dreams could move closer to becoming a reality. “If we can help NYSEF do the good things it's doing in Jonah’s memory, then we are happy,” John said. Although he was not a NYSEF athlete, he was a local Saranac Lake resident. “Jonah was just coming into his own and skiing really gave him confidence,” Rose said. “No matter your age, when you do physical things that you didn’t think you could do, it gives you the confidence to think ‘What else can I do?’” Jonah was an organ donor and will live on in helping many individuals live healthier and longer lives through his donations, Rose added. If you would like to donate to NYSEF’s Dare to Dream Scholarship Fund to support young athletes pursuing their snowsports dreams, visit: https://www.nysef.org/donate/ and select “Dare to Dream” from the drop-down menu.
November 2023 NYSEF Nordic Hosts Two Wax Clinics NYSEF Nordic Head Coach Paul Smith offered two free nordic ski waxing clinics and q & a sessions during the month of November. The first clinic took place at High Peaks Cyclery in Lake Placid on November 9th, and the second took place at the Dewey Mountain Recreation Center on November 14th. Both clinics were well-attended by members of the community, who were able to learn basic tuning skills for cross country ski racing and recreation. During the clinics, Smith focused on basic ski care, kick wax, and glide wax application of new “fluoro-free” solid and liquid sprays. Photos: Naj Wikoff & Julianne Stemp
STAFF GHT I L T O SP NYSEF Biathlon Head Coach Maddie Phaneuf is heading into her third season coaching with NYSEF Nordic. We asked her about her coaching philosophy, what makes a good coach, and what the future holds.
Maddie Phaneuf
November 2023 How do you prepare for the upcoming ski season? I like to review how last season went with the athletes and go from there. I like to create a general plan and map out how the season may look, knowing that things will likely come up and plans will have to change. Being well-prepared but flexible is key! Besides the online and written planning, coaches need to be able to keep up with their athletes, so I’m also physically trying to stay in shape and keep a good fitness base. What is it like for you as a coach when a racer has a breakthrough moment in their skiing, whether during a race or in training? It’s a huge rush of excitement and pride when an athlete has an ‘a-ha’ moment! With a sport like biathlon, these breakthroughs can come with their ski technique, race tactics, shooting technique, or accuracy. There’s always a feeling of satisfaction knowing an athlete has figured out a way to make something work for them. How has coaching and training changed since you were racing? I think at the core, it hasn’t changed much at all. The athletes have goals they want to achieve, and the coach is there to support and push them to be their best and reach those goals. That’s still the same now as it was when I was a kid. The biggest difference nowadays is that the technology and resources are never-ending. Back in the day, the coach had all of the knowledge, but nowadays the athletes have access to hundreds and thousands of resources at their fingertips. This can be a good thing, as athletes can become even bigger advocates for themselves and put more independence into their training. What does the future of training and coaching elite athletes look like? The future is bright! Biathlon, like many sports, has been quickly improving worldwide and we’re seeing athletes pushing the envelope and achieving things that have never been done before. It’s impressive to watch and exciting to be a small part of. I coach athletes the way I had hoped to be coached when I was their age. I have a ton of respect for them and know that if I foster a love for the sport, they may come back as a coach in the future. What is your favorite thing about being a coach for NYSEF? I love that I get to coach in the heart of the Adirondacks at world-class venues. It’s hard to find somewhere as beautiful as Lake Placid with the facilities we have access to. One of my favorite parts about biathlon is that you get to participate in so many different activities that count towards your training. What a privilege it is to live in the Adirondacks and be a part of this amazing community and organization. What makes a good coach? This is a hard question to answer because I think there are many good coaches out in the world who have very different qualities and personalities. Personally, I think it’s important for a coach to base their relationship with athletes and coworkers on respect. It’s impossible to coach or work with someone closely if you don’t respect each other. I also think the best coaches out there are people who value their athletes as whole person, not just an athlete producing results.
News from Northwood School The Northwood Ski Team is celebrating a successful fall training block, during which our Freestyle, Nordic, Ski Jumping, and Alpine teams demonstrated exceptional dedication and pushed themselves to new heights. Our physical testing led to record scores, setting a high standard for the upcoming on-snow training and competition season. It's a testament to our team's hard work and commitment, showcasing the development of a culture centered on teamwork, determination, and leadership. As we look ahead, Northwood & NYSEF are thrilled to announce the Holiday Performance Camp scheduled for December 19-22. We have invited U16-U18 athletes from New York State and the Northeast, providing access to our Olympic infrastructure and strong coaching staff. With a limited capacity of 30 participants, we are excited to provide this opportunity to share our knowledge and excitement. Additionally, we're privileged to have Northwood Alum and former Division I racer Brad Harden and 2 X NCAA Champion Claire Abbe Biesemeyer as guest coaches. Their invaluable experience will provide our camp with the energy that fuels our love for the sport. Our commitment to developing aspiring student-athletes remains high, and this camp marks another step in our journey to expand and enhance our program. We are excited about the continued growth and success of the Northwood Ski Team in conjunction with the NYSEF program. - Tommy Biesemeyer, Olympian, Director of Skiing - Northwood School
Northwood School is a coeducational, independent boarding school in Lake Placid, New York offering a trimester-based college preparatory curriculum for students in grades 9 through 12, plus a post-graduate year. Through Northwood School and NYSEF’s long-standing partnership, we share experienced coaching staff and work together on dryland programs and on-snow training camps. NYSEF also provides the Northwood Ski Team with lodge facilities and training opportunities at the venues in partnership with the Olympic Regional Development Authority (ORDA). Learn more at northwoodschool.org and on Instagram @northwoodnysef
November 2023
Dispatches From Hintertux
November 2023 NYSEF and Northwood School’s U16 alpine athletes departed for Austria on the morning of November 15th for eleven days of on-snow training at the Hintertux Glacier. Below are excerpts from Head Coach Patrick Purcell’s daily training log.
Update #1: Travel Day Quick update on the Hintertux project - as always it’s a long travel haul but very satisfying when everyone’s eyes lay glaze on the Tyrol Region!! Plenty of snow awaits!! We arrived at the Hochsteg around 1 pm, the rooms were ready, a quick hike to get the blood flowing and then binding mounting, dinner, a meeting, and then bed! So all fantastic thus far!!
Update #2: We’re on Snow! The big snows brought the international crowds,.. Given that today was Saturday, it was evident how large Hintertux really is, I would go out on a limb and say we experienced 58,000 people and I could be off by thousands! With that said there was still plenty of room for everyone to find miles of terrain. We brought the GS skis out and had every opportunity to ski on all types of surfaces - This is exactly why we call ourselves “Surface Managers”! There were many challenges but nothing overwhelming, just enough to keep their mind sharp and attentive. Our theme circled around stance, turn entry, and pressure control all the while skiing on hard pack as well as bump! Sometimes the ride was wild, unpredictable, and responsive, much like the athlete's experience while racing. A true Big Mountain experience.
Update #3: If You Don’t Like the Weather, Wait 5 minutes! Breakfast was at 6:15am, departing for the Glacier at 7:10am. So up we went, raining down in the Valley, however the snowline would be caught soon after we drove through Finkenberg... or maybe Tux... or maybe Madseit... or maybe not at all! We arrived in the parking lot with the same rain we left down in Mayrhofen, eeeek ! The reports we were getting from boots on the ground are exactly what we thought, wetness, unrelenting moisture spitting out of the sky, impenetrable fog and higher up the lifts were iced over! We got out of there, and took advantage of a rainy morning study hall session! Meanwhile the staff studied the day's weather, and it appeared that a break would come around 11:30, the rain would cease and the window of opportunity could be had. This is one of the excellent aspects that Hintertux provides, just wait a bit and it will all change one way or the other... We packed up and headed for the big hills. First however was lunch, we set up a reservation at the Hintertux Pizza palace also owned by the Hochsteg hotel. The staff went up to survey the piste while the kids chowed. Benighted & blessed by the Mountain Gods, all was perfect! Most lifts had just opened and the skies cleared and most of all it was warm. The kids joined us by 12:30 and we skied all over until 4pm! Ba-bam! an excellent day logging nearly 18,000 vertical feet. The kids went crazy, enjoying each other and all the mountain had to offer, not to mention the views!
November 2023 Update #4: Sun Burns & Smiles The smiles on the kids faces along with the high altitude sun burn speaks for the quality of the day. Today is that type of day that we travel across the Atlantic for! Bright sun, groomed fresh snow to hero perfection. We were freeskiing controlled SG by 9:am.The easy free ski trail is about a mile long, 7 trips down working on stance, balance and glide properties prepared the athletes well for their GS gate session, we broke for lunch and ate at the Glacierhutte, one of the highest restaurants in all of Europe - full service with an Austrian atmosphere and a view straight into Italy and the Dolomites. The second session was elementary Gate GS with still lots of snow/trail to the T-Bar. We pulled the plug around 3:30 and then free skied down to the Fernerhaus Tram on some of the best snow on the planet. Lots of happy faces!!!
Update #5: More Good Luck It's crazy that we keep getting the window of opportunity. It is the great Karma of this group! We scheduled a pm session for today so we could tackle some needed rest/downtime and for others academics. The upper mountain was soaked with fog and drenched with snow, however we have all learned now that this is no deterrent to any European Team. We took the opportunity to discuss the culture that exists here and the fact that Ski Racing is of National Pride and kids as young as 5 or younger grow up skiing on the glacier no matter what the conditions are like. We free skiied, drilled and exercised on our SL skis in and out of the fog until the cows came home to the barn. we out skied all the teams and ended up having the slope and lift to ourselves and to top that off the fog lifted and the visibility all around us became as crystal as a world cup globe!
Update #6: Happy Thanksgiving! The glacier was bathed in bright sun, no clouds to be found! Today we had a double session of SG Training, We trained on the Operer piste on a 40 gate SG course, a few smaller teams joined in, A polish Visually impaired couple, 1 athlete and 1 guide, another Polish academy Team and two Masters! All said in done the kids had 11-12 runs in total, the snow was soft but fast, the course shape was mellow which meant suppleness, and to have the skis in a parallel/smooth position in and parallel/smooth position out of every turn, as well as to stay compact, these were the lessons of the day! Tonight the Hochsteg Chef has prepared a full American Traditional Dinner! If it is anything like last year we all will weigh 5 more pounds!
November 2023 Update #7: Lots of Vert Our 8th day on the Glacier! The weather has shifted and currently as I write this it is snowing, super cold and windy, and we are on our first off day. Our day was dedicated to GS free skiing as the upper Glacier T-Bars were on a wind hold. We started skiing on the Tuxerjoch at the top of the first tram, low wind, good visibility and rock hard snow. The crew eventually migrated up onto the Glacier via the higher trams and skied the entire mountain minus the Operer, which remained closed. We needed hard snow so it was another score for us, we skied upwards to 5 hours logging some 17,000 vertical feet. Ta Da!
Update #8: Weather Warriors The skies unleashed today their full glorious fury upon the Gefrorene-Wand Glacier. We made every attempt to battle back, be like the Euro Teams, and confront all adversity like it did not exist, or recognize that it does, and simply warrior up! Some started with free skiing on their SG's by brail, others charged it with their GS skis. We attempted some pole based technique training on lane 15. We achieved about 4-6 runs then ran for cover, some to the Fernerhaus, and others to the Glacierhutte. We met back up at the GS course in hopes nature would relax, bring some warm sun and diminished winds... Hardly!! We battled blindly, hucked ourselves down the mountain like gladiators until we were overcome by blinding winds, flat light, and gates that lay flat to the surface (that's after we butterflied them). We simply ran for cover... and lived to play another day. We are excited to head home and get back on our home trails!
Nordic Thanksgiving
NYSEF Nordic’s Thanksgiving Camp A Success by Head Coach Paul Smith The week of Thanksgiving for a cross country ski racer has as much cultural significance as athletic importance. Over the years ski programs across the country have organized themselves around key destinations with predictable early season skiing. Some of these places have actual festivals built around the informal event of teams coming to one place to ski train lots on snow. In North America West Yellowstone, Montana was one of these first gatherings. Now there is Silver Star, BC, Craftsbury VT, Nakkertok Ottawa, and "La Foret" North of Quebec City. For me, like many other coaches in the sport, there are as many fairy tale stories and experiences at 'Yellowstone' camps to fill a multi-season fictional TV series.
November 2023 For the NYSEF Nordic crew the goal of an athletically and culturally productive thanksgiving camp in Lake Placid, NY was the same. While home, there were neither the Costner and wolf patrolled ranches of Southwestern Montana, nor was there any skiing! Whoops. Included in our local crew of regulars we had nine additional ski racers from around the state participate in the camp. Each athlete brought a good energy and unique perspective from the school programs where they originated. In general, lots of progress was made, the group stayed engaged despite not skiing everyday and added life to our home crew in a big way. Despite the lack of snow the coaching staff stuck to the script and put together a schedule that provided both high quality training sessions and a learning arena where camp participants could take some things home with them. We had dryland sessions utilizing ski-imitation techniques, indoor strength sessions at Northwood campus, Biathlon for those skiers that were interested in trying, and some good old fashioned ADK High Peak hike/runs. One of the days we made the journey to Rikert Outdoor center in Ripton, Vermont for a long productive day on snow. Fun drills such as partnered "sprint past and follow the leader" helped cope with the boredom of skiing hundreds of laps on the track at Rikert. Snuck in-between and after training; skating on the olympic oval, polar plunge into Mirror Lake right from our rental, Thanksgiving dinner, Harry Potter marathon, and watching every World Cup XC and Biathlon season opening race on TV. Thanks everyone for a successful Thanksgiving camp! Look for more local NYSEF Nordic training opportunities in the future.
Prepping for Skimeisters! Thanks to grants from the Killington World Cup Foundation and the Cloudsplitter Foundation, NYSEF is excited to launch the inaugural season of our Skimeister Program in December. Skimeisters are athletes ages 7-9 who will train in the sports of ski jumping, cross country skiing, and alpine skiing three days a week. Grant money was used this fall to purchase a fleet of nordic skis, bindings, boots, and poles for our developing athletes to utilize during training and competition. The skis have been freshly tuned by NYSEF’s Head XC Coach Paul Smith, and are awaiting the first day on snow with our athletes at Mt. Van Hoevenberg!
November 2023 LEAF Grant Supports NYSEF Nordic’s Ski Jumping Quiver This summer, NYSEF was awarded over $60,000 from the North Elba Local Enhancement and Advancement Fund to purchase youth ski jumping equipment in over 40 different sizes, which has begun to arrive at our headquarters in Lake Placid this month! “We’re especially excited to be able to offer athletes the opportunity to grow in equipment as they grow in the program,” said Head Ski Jumping Coach Colin Delaney. “This is a game changer for us.”
Belleayre Mountain Lodging Partnership for NYSEF Families NYSEF and the Catskill Seasons Inn are partnering to bring to families fun and reasonably priced accommodations within 10 minutes of Belleayre Mountain. NYSEF families will receive 10% off our published rates with extra amenities, and flexible checkin and check-out times. The Catskill Seasons Inn features a pub with a family-friendly menu, a game room for skiers and their families to relax after a successful day on the slopes and space for tuning skis. Rooms have been recently updated and many of them have kitchenettes, and NYSEF families can check in as early as noon and check out as late as 7 p.m. Rooms are on a first-come, first-served basis so if you want to secure yours for the season now, visit: www.catskillseasonsinn.com/NYSEF/ Use the code “NYSEF2024” at checkout to receive your discount.
November 2023 Get your tickets here!
Thank You! Thank you to our sponsors: Merrill L. Thomas, Long Run Wealth, Lake Placid Family Dental, Black Rock Foundation, and the Donald C. McGraw Foundation.
Do you have news or photos to share with us? Contact us at media@nysef.org @nysefsnowsports @nysefnordic @nysefbelleayre @nysefwhiteface @nysefgore @nysef_fis