No groomed tracks at Teacup as yet. But this week’s freezing temperatures assures us that snow is coming. And this year - more than ever - many will have their fitness and ski sense ready! How? Rollerskiing. What has changed at Teacup? More opportunities for training & coaching this fall with the Fall Program and Camp.
Yes, we have been spending time working on power, agility & aerobic fitness via our Wednesday and weekend “on-foot” sessions. But this year, the expanded opportunities for preseason preparation included introducing many skiers to rollerskiing. And deepening skills and confidence for many others!
Too often rollerskiing has been perceived as an endeavor best left to the fanatics. And yet for years, when I’ve been out on my rollerskis I would hear enthusiastic comments – “that’s cool!”, “that looks like fun!”, and of course, “Awesome!”. These remarks are followed with questions, such as “how do you brake?”, or “are those hard to use?”.
These legitimate questions probably temper many folks desire to try out rollerskiing. After all, there is something that could euphemistically be called the “proximal error margin”. Meaning that, if one is going fast and doesn’t have control, the ground suddenly appears very close! But thanks to Coaches Karl, Kelly & Jason, safe and encouraging introduction to rollerskiing via our all ages Fall Training programs has kept the ground a bit further away from our Mt. Hood Nordic Members ( while earning enthusiastic comments from bystanders along the way!)
Including the rollerski workouts on Sundays the Fall Program has been busy doing strength workouts on Wednesday evenings at Mt Tabor, and an on-foot endurance workout on Saturdays. We started doing these at Mt Tabor but after getting down the basics of ski walking/bounding we starting exploring some of the exciting areas available between Portland and Mt Hood. Some highlights were definitely Tilly Jane up to CloudCap, Bennett Pass, and various Forest Park haunts.
The focus of all these workouts, (other than having some fun, staying motivated, and getting out there) has been building a strong stable base from feet to shoulders to be able to stand on one ski and allow complete and efficient weight transfer. One of the benefits of roller skiing is to be able to see the payoff of this work from week to week.
Best of all is, of course, the new rollerski participants will be delighted with fitness and skill improvements that get them ready for enjoying their first day on snow this season.
Think Snow!
Karl and Kelly
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