USSA Western Region August project wraps up on Mt. Hood

Palmer Glacier on Mt. Hood in August 2014.

TIMBERLINE LODGE, Ore. — Not to be outdone by the Eastern Region camp held at the end of July, USSA’s Western Region hosted a similar project from Aug. 1-6 on the Palmer Glacier at Mt. Hood. U16 through FIS-aged regional training group athletes attended the camp which focused on reinforcing fundamentals.

Former U.S. Ski Team women’s Europa Cup coach Jeff Pickering, who now works at Schweitzer Alpine Racing School, oversaw the U16 group along with Snowbird’s Fritz Wood, Brett Jacobson of Sun Valley, and Cole Grier. FIS athletes refined tactics and slalom inspection skills with coaches Roger Bay (Bridger Ski Foundation), Mike Prado (Squaw Valley), Karin Harjo (Western Region), Pat Savaria (Sun Valley), and former U.S. Ski Team head men’s speed coach Chris Brigham.

“It was really great to bring this group out to Mount Hood together,” remarked Western Region Alpine Manager Gwynn Watkins. “We were able to really evaluate the fundamentals of the younger kids and it was great to see them go head to head”.

Watkins noted that the conditions for this project were good and that great progress was made with the athletes.

“The older kids were really working on tactics and inspection skills. The project was slalom-specific for the older athletes with the goal of helping the kids to progress as much as possible with their slalom skiing for the upcoming season. For the U16s this is the beginning of the regional pipeline where the athletes get to know the regional coaches and learn about the emphasis of a cohesive western region. The older FIS athletes already know each other quite well and this was a great opportunity for them to see each other again,” added Watkins.

“The mix of genders and ages was awesome,” exclaimed Sugar Bowl Academy FIS athlete Lauren Dunn. “Being one of the older kids there, it was cool to be pushed by all the young guns. It was fun to meet all the kids moving into FIS. It was also cool to dual the boys. It really pushes you to be on the edge. I think the high level of competition made me progress quicker.”

The regional projects, including this summer session, fit into the full-year programing for Western Region athletes. Many of the skiers will be back on snow in late August or early September with their home programs. The next Western Region project is a small speed camp scheduled at La Parva, Chile in mid-September. Western Region programing returns to the Northern Hemisphere in November with a speed camp at Copper Mountain where athletes will work on a progression started at the Western Region flight school project held at Mt. Hood in June.

“The regional staff really enjoyed bringing the Western Region coaches together for this project,” remarked Watkins. “We all work together so well and the progress made in these projects can be clearly seen in the successful results of Western Region athletes.”