Pioneer Midwest Blogs

Cross-country skiing is one of those sports: folks who’ve done it seem comfortable for hours in little more than two layers. At races, folks strip off jackets and put on skin-tight suits. If you ar...

Our first ski-picking trips are underway, and this year we were able to go a bit earlier than the past few years, which is a good sign that manufacturing is returning to normal capacity. We always ...

Over my years of ski picking, one of the most misunderstood ski characteristics has been the closing flex—also referred to as FA or MF value—of skis. The stiffness measurement of a pair of skate or...

Full Layout by Brand Below Sign Up for Handpicked Skis Here Atomic: Skate: Atomic is implementing notable changes to its lineup this year, particularly with a significant alteration to the core m...

It has been just about a week since the great cross country ski gathering in the Northwoods of Wisconsin! All who participated in the Birkebeiner, whether racing, cheering from the sidelines, or su...

The midwest marathon season kicked off with the Pioneer Midwest Seeley Hills Classic on a modified course at the American Birkebeiner trailhead.  Fresh snow and cold temperatures made for perfect c...

We are in the midst of a very slow start to our winter season here in the midwest and many areas around the country are facing similar issues when it comes to a low snowpack early this season. If y...

We just wrapped up our second of two weekends to kick off the beginning of the JNQ race season at the Birkebeiner Trailhead in Cable. It was a repeat of last weekend in terms of conditions with som...

The first JNQ races of the year are finished up and I am going to try to continue the tradition of releasing our results from testing over the weekend. When we head up to these JNQ’s our main focus...

This past week, my team and I traveled to Canmore, Alberta for some on-snow skiing. Every fall, the Camore Nordic center creates a snow ribbon loop called “Frozen Thunder”. The snow from last year’...

Over the last thirty-plus years of ski marathon training, I have discovered several key pre-season workout sessions. My training at twenty years of age looked much different than in my fifties. As...

When our daughter was born I dove deeply into the various active kid gear available on the market. I either own or have used most of the different devices out there.  I have always enjoyed being ou...

For all my fellow skiers, runners, or active friends dealing with injury- this one is for you. I’ll preface this article by saying I am clearly not a doctor, PT, or sports therapist. However, I wan...

A few years ago I had the pleasure of co-coaching with Cara Battles for one of the Loppet Nordic Racing ski classes at Hyland Park. During the last few years, Cara has diagnosed and treated two d...

Learn four wisdom nuggets relating to injuries and prevention from coach Kim Rudd! Wisdom shared from over thirty years of ski and bike related injuries. Wisdom Nugget #1 Slow down and allow your b...

This summer has flown by. It seems like just yesterday I was clicking into my rollerskis for the first workout of the spring. My team and I have been busy putting in a lot of volume over the past f...

We just returned from our first ski picking trip of the season where we sorted through the best skis from Atomic, Salomon, and Fischer. We timed our ski picking this year around peak production and...

  Skis wear out. From our vantage point, ski lifespan has been shortening and this seems to be a trend starting since about mid to late 2000s. Whether this is a planned shortening of lifespan (i....