Save the Date: Skiing for Scullers, January 2-5, 2019

GRP rower Wes Vear getting in some quality cross-training time on skis

Last Updated: 12.Jun.2019

Are you a sculler looking to expand your outdoor winter training options? Nordic skiing might just be the best way for rowers to cross-train while the liquid water is frozen – we certainly believe it is – and to that end, we’re hosting a “Skiing for Scullers” weekend January 2-5. 

It may surprise you to know that our GRP rowers spend more hours on skis from November through March than they do on the erg, and that they return to the water with even greater enthusiasm having given their bodies and their brains something new and different to work at. If anything, they find that not only have they not lost speed from the hiatus, they’ve gained greater readiness to put in more quality miles when they get back to liquid water. With equal measures of instruction, patience, and time, you can do the same, and this weekend will show you how.

Craftsbury in winter is just as spectacular as Craftsbury in summer, with the focus shifted to gliding over snow instead of water. Following the same formula you know from sculling camps, we'll teach you how to ski (or how to improve your skiing) and how skiing will benefit your sculling next summer. Drills, video, training talks, a low student-to-coach ratio, our usual delicious food, and more will fill your weekend as you learn from our sculling staff who have become proficient skiers, as well as our full-time skiing staff. 

The program will have a focus on skate technique and is geared toward scullers who are beginning/intermediate skiers and would like to make Nordic skiing a viable cross-training option, gain a new athletic skill set, or simply find a new way to enjoy winter. Familiarity with some form of skiing or skating winter sports is a prerequisite, but vast Nordic-specific experience is not.

The program includes three nights of lodging, full meals in our newly renovated dining hall, equipment rentals, trail passes, ski instruction, videotaping sessions and review, use of the Center’s facilities including fitness center, sauna, snowshoe trails, and more.  

Questions about the program should be emailed to sculling director Troy Howell.

More details to come, but keep this on your radar.