Robbins Nest: Have U.S. passport, will travel

By Published On: November 18th, 2007Comments Off on Robbins Nest: Have U.S. passport, will travel

Let’s start off with a smile — a Canada-sized smile. Toronto’s Matt Christensen was sworn in last week as one of the newest Yanks in citizenship swearing-in ceremonies in Salt Lake City. It’s a terrific pickup for the U.S. of A.

LET'S START OFF
with a smile — a Canada-sized smile. Toronto’s Matt Christensen was sworn in last week as one of the newest Yanks in citizenship swearing-in ceremonies in Salt Lake City. It’s a terrific pickup for the U.S. of A.
    A World Cup aerialist for Canada for the better part of a decade, he coached with Nick Preston’s ace freestyle development program at Waterville Valley and then was plucked by then-head coach Wayne Hilterbrand to join the U.S. aerials staff. When “Wayno” retired, the pupil (Christensen) succeeded his mentor. “I’m stoked. It took a lot of patience, but it’s so worth it,” Christensen said. He’ll retain dual citizenship, but he proudly noted, “I can’t wait to start using my U.S. passport when we’re traveling.”
    GEAR ALREADY ON $ALE? The freefall of the greenback — and is anyone predicting that’s going to change soon? — means, according to one rock-solid industry source, “Ski equipment is already on sale. Even at retail prices, it’ll seem like a clearance sale a year from now. As the dollar drops, it’s going to force prices up because equipment comes in from overseas. There’s almost nothing made in the U.S. any more.” Translation: that $400 piece of (fill in name of equipment) probably will be $500 or a wee bit less next season. So, maybe that $400 pricetag looks a little better, a little more affordable now.
    GUESS WHO CAME TO DINNER? I always thought Torin Koos and I had an agreement — I didn’t race cross-country sprints and he didn’t produce ski journalism. Well, that deal is obviously unraveling. I barely run for crispy bacon any more and Koos is developing into a first-rate typist. He’s written occasionally for Ski Racing and one of his latest pieces for FasterSkier.com is a pearl describing dinner with Gunde (The Great) Svan, The Swede with Speed.
    Koos and Andy Newell were training under the watchful eye of coach Chris Grover last month at the ski tunnel in Torsby, Sweden, when Svan — who’s been brought in to quell a potential insurrection in the Swedish men’s team — unexpectedly sat down with them at dinner.
    Svan, whose first World Cup win came March 19, 1983 in Anchorage, Alaska — with Americans Tim Caldwell and Bill Koch second and third, respectively, dominated the 1980s as Bjorn Daehlie ruled the ’90s. But, as he told Koos, today’s Swedish athletes know him more as a TV personality than a racing icon. He retired after the 1991 World Championships at Val di Fiemme, Italy, so Bjoern Lind, Anders Soedergren and Mathias or Thobi Fredriksson, among others, were just getting started when Svan pulled it over. Bottom line: Svan is having the desired impact with the quasi-insurgents. And maybe he’s spread some additional inspiration to Koos and Newell.
    EAT HERE — GET GAS. It’s an old yuk, but if you get gas in many places throughout the European World Cup, maybe you won’t be able to afford to eat there. Or, as U.S. sprint coach Chris Grover noted, “It’s expensive. We filled our van with gas and it was $120.” In England and Scotland a couple of weeks ago — and fortunately neither is on any World Cup circuit this winter — gas was going for 1 pound sterling per liter: $8 a gallon (true story).
    Kudos are in order for Tracy McEwan, former U.S. Ski Team downhiller who battled injuries with the same ferocity she tackled speed runs. McEwan, who raced in a couple of World University Games while a student at Seattle U. after leaving the national team, is the new president and chief operating officer (and a tri-owner) of Dual Sports Inc. in Bellevue, Washington; the company is parent to Sturtevants Ski Shop, Ski Mart, SkiBonkers and Boarderline Snowboards.
    MIGHTY FINE, STEIN. Eternally stylish Stein Eriksen, the squire of Utah’s Deer Valley and Norway’s hometown hero who was a 1952 Olympic champion and silver medalist in Oslo (and 1954 World Championships triple gold medalist next door in Sweden) has added two more honors. Friday, the man with the flawless form was guest of honor at the incomparable ringmaster Bernie Weichsl’s media luncheon at the Boston Snow Show, and Saturday he was honored by the New England Ski Museum for lifetime contributions to skiing. FYI, this also marks the 25th anniversary of Eriksen’s induction as an member of the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame, class of 1982.
    OLD MAN REBIRTH: Federal highway engineers are expected to meet next week with the committee that is planning a memorial to the Old Man of the Mountains, the celebrated amalgam of granite ledges, which tumbled down in Franconia Notch at Cannon Mountain in 2003. The biggest question is how to transport the reported 130 tons of granite in five pieces from the Rock of Ages quarry in Barre, Vermont, to Cannon. A bridge over the Connecticut River will need to be reinforced to the tune of hundreds of thousands of dollars.
    U.S. coach Pete Vordenberg has relished the chance to have college or club programs train with the national squad. When the Yanks trained last month in Lake Placid, there were some interesting scrums during the workouts. Vordenberg smiled as everyone tried to sort out how to deal with the crowded conditions. “It’s sweet to work with those coaches and good to have athletes in the workouts, and good for our athletes, too,” he said. “They all need to learn how to ski in a group of people and get done what they need to get done. You can’t be a solo person out there any more — it’s a mass-start world.”

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About the Author: Pete Rugh