Hey everyone! Hope you’ve managed to stay warm during this polar vortex.

The cold weather came at just the right time for me. We had some of the best grooming/skiing/weather combinations on Thursday and Friday, so I did a few huge sessions those days. When the fresh snow arrived Saturday — along with frigid temps — I was planning to go easy anyway as I had to broadcast at the crack of dawn, write Vail Daily stories in the mid-morning, and watch the girls — SOLO!!!! — the rest of the afternoon. Christie got a girls day with some of her friends (speaking of tough: they went on like a 6-8 hour, 14 mile hike!…crazy).

I’m amazed with my wife’s athleticism. I’m more amazed at her work as a full-time stay at home mom, though. This is how I felt regarding my dad on-duty responsibilities:

@nonethewiserbros

Fighting for my life #humor #meme #marriage #dad #dadsoftiktok #momsoftiktok #mom #joke #dadtok

♬ original sound – None The Wiser

I was pleasantly surprised with how nice the skiing was on Sunday. Again, CMC provided excellent fresh grooming, which made the classic tracks pretty fast, even at 8-10 degrees. I didn’t push things very hard, but instead alternated across three different skis to do some testing and training.

On Monday, we drove into the Avon Rec Center so the kids could play in the pool. We thought the weather forecast would prevent us from playing in the snow. While the kids loved the pool — and I enjoyed a nice Pikes Peak, 11% grade treadmill session — I was stunned with how nice it was outside. So, sorry if this aggravates all of you Midwesterners who are suffering through snowless windchills at the moment. I hope the snow dances start to work in the coming weeks.

The point of me saying all of this is that sometimes I post about crazy training hours and workouts and people might wander if I ever back off. In the dad training plan, sometimes weather and work dictates when I go easier and shorter or harder and longer, and that was the case this week.

Ski News

• Les Rousses – hopefully I’ll get on the podcast to discuss some of the key takeaways. I feel like this was a dramatic weekend. For me, the big topics are probably: 1) Swedish resurgence, 2) Frida dominance, 3) Ebba rounding into form, 4) more Diggins talk — should we be worried about this whole injury thing? – 5) all-around/crystal globes shakeup discussion.
• I’ve reached out to get Ebba, Frida, Poromaa and Anger on the show. What should I ask them? Send me an email with some questions – or your own thoughts on the Les Rousses weekend at sederskier@gmail.com. (***update – looks like I might get 5 minutes with Edvin and Jonna as part of a press conference…we’ll keep you in the loop).
• In other news: Northug double-poles his way past four national team athletes — including Simen Hegstad Krüger, Erik Valnes, Iver Tildheim Andersen and Didrik Tønseth — and 8th overall….then has the most epic Diggins Collapse Index finish…..and then does Petter things in the press. Kind of crazy to read the comments from Eirik Myhr Nossum, national team coach, and Northug. Sounds like he wanted to come to Les Rousses (or would have gone, if given the chance). If you’re Nossum, either fill out the roster with guys who are giving their all on the Scando Cup for a World Cup shot …or send Northug! Imagine how great that would have been for the sport. Our Lindsey Vonn moment, wasted.
• Improved coverage. I have to give a shout out to Nordic Insights for the improved World Cup coverage. They had some journalists on-site this weekend, I believe, which helped with getting direct quotes and capturing the atmosphere of the venue. I do think there is room for improvement, though. …. {BREAKING NEWS: I typed out my thoughts…then decided to delete it….I’ll discuss on the next pod for those who are interested….}

Letters, we get your letters, we get your letters everyday!

SUBJECT: Keep it up

(1) You’ve had a great string of guests on the podcast. Best selection around.
(2) When is ski and snowboard going to get you back in the commentating booth? I’m getting sick of Chad.
(3) I’d politely disagree with Taco Bell Guy’s wax opinion from Seeley HIlls. I used VP40 and it lasted no problem, plus I had better glide than those around me. I think the key was a klister binder, like a true one, not the spray crap.
(4) I have a similar race calendar — Birkie and Pepsi (boy do I wish I could do Ulta North, but I can’t swing three long weekends in a row). I’m planning on skating at Pepsi to mix things up. I likely won’t see you during the races, as my training hours are about half of yours and I have only mediocre innate talent, but I’ll try to say hi afterward. Are your kids coming along to Pepsi? Two of mine are (6 and 1).
(5) Let me know if you need anything as you swing through Minneapolis. I’m sure you have plenty of friends here already, but reach out anytime.

Jamie

Jamie –

Thank you so much for the encouragement! I’m really glad you like the podcast! Hope you were able to listen to me on the call in Les Rousses. Also, glad to hear the wax worked! I love hearing stuff like this…I feel like I’m pretty bad at making skis fast, so it’s always good to hear about others’ race experiences – and experiments haha.

I know my kids will be coming to the Ski North Ultra event – not sure about Pepsi. I’d like them to; Novi came back in 2021 and had a good time. I’ll try and find you and say hi either way!

Warmest regards,

Ryan

….a letter from me…

Backstory: I reached out to Lager 157 to order some items from their website. Unfortunately, they don’t deliver to America! If we have any fans from Sweden who would be willing to order the items for me and deliver to the U.S., I’ll pay! (if it’s reasonable….)

Hello Ryan,

If you order from our website, we are currently unable to deliver to America.

It’s great to hear that you are interested in our products, but we at customer service are unable to help you with this. 

Önskar dig en fantastisk dag!

Med vänlig hälsning / Kind regards, 

Josefin

Customer Sales & Support

The World Famous Seder-Skier Podcast

***29,803 streams and counting!

Projects in the works:

I’m excited to announce a new podcast project. Every skier has a unique ski story, and with the American Birkie coming up, I thought it would be cool to try and highlight a unique individual from each of the waves. I connected with Shawn Connelly, marketing and communications director with the ABSF on Monday and he is excited to help out and connect me with skiers. Expect those shows to be dropping in early/mid February.

It also