Race camps
Summer Camps
Mt. Hood Camps
Mt. Hood Camps (temporary)
Fall Camps
Holiday Camps
There are multiple camp options over the course of the year that provide extra training to work on technique or tactics as well as get the athletes primed for the season.
SUMMER CAMPS
Timberline Lodge at Mt Hood in Oregon is open through August in most years and hosts many ski camps over the course of the summer. Thes racers at these camps typically have at least some racing experience but often consist of a wide spectrum of ability and ages. Nearly all of the camps are run independently of Timberline Lodge and rent “Lane Space” from the resort. There are often ten or more camps training at the same time (side by side) on the mountain. Most camps either have their own lodging facilities in Government Camp, OR, or rent space in one of the several resorts located in Government Camp. In addition, many camps provide a day camp option, in which the racer provides their own room and board but attends the camp during the day. It is not uncommon for a parent of younger athletes to stay at in Government Camp, near or with their children (depending on the camp).
Google “summer ski camps Mt Hood” and you will find many options. Nearly all the camps are structured as week long sessions, however, some racers stay for multiple sessions. There is usually a transition day each week when the camp drops off exiting campers and picks up new campers from the airport. For those staying over between sessions, there are many activities nearby including white water rafting and ziplining. Some camps will offer these activities for an extra fee or parents that have joined their campers in Mt Hood will often take a group of kids.
Generally speaking, most camps follow a similar format. Race training in the morning when the snow is firm. Starting as soon as the lifts open (usually 7AM) until midday (when the snow gets too soft). Then the campers return to their lodging facility for lunch, a little downtime, followed by “dryland training” (hikes, soccer games etc.), video review, dinner and wrapping up with a camp meeting. The daytime weather at the lodging facilities typically ranges from 60 to 80 degrees, while on the mountain temperatures often range from 30 to 50 degrees. Occasionally rain or fog can interrupt a day or two of training.
There tend to be two types of camps 1) those that run camps all summer long and have their own lodging facilities and 2) those that run camps for a few weeks each summer and lodge at local resorts, in many cases these are teams that come out to train for a few weeks but open their camps up to others. The permanent camps tend to be lower cost but as you might expect, the lodging facilities are not as nice as the camps that stay at the resorts. Several of the many camp options are outlined below:
CAMPS WITH PERMANENT BASE AT MT. HOOD
Mt Hood Summer Ski Camps has been operating ski camps at Mt Hood for three decades. Mt Hood Summer Ski Camp has its own lodging facilities and its camps run June through August. Former Wilmot head coach and program director, Bob Robicsek, often coaches at this camp.
Tichy has also had a long running camp at Mt Hood and has its own lodging facilities. Tichy runs from June through mid-August. Multiple Wilmot Ski Team members have attended this camp in past years and enjoyed it.
CAMPS THAT TEMPORARILY SET UP SHOP AT MT. HOOD
Erich Sailer is a hall of fame ski coach and the former program director of Buck Hill whose alumni includes former US Ski Team members Lindsay Vonn and Kristina Koznick. The camp is now primarily run by the Buck Hill coaching staff. Erich’s camp likes to be the first on the hill in the morning and the last off the hill in the afternoon. The camp’s philosophy is to teach through demonstration and in the past has hired Olympic and World Cup skiers to coach and demonstrate technique. The camp just has two one week sessions in mid-June. Multiple Wilmot team members have attended this camp in prior years.
Keely’s has multiple camps over the year including a summer camp at Mt Hood. It was founded in 2011 as the first ski racing camp for girls in North America.
National Alpine trains on a wave track, which the camp claims provides training advantages. The runs three ten day sessions from mid-June through mid-July.
Ligety Weibrecht Summer Ski Camp
The camp is led by two former world cup skiers, Ted Ligety and Andrew Weibrecht and often hires other current and former world cup skiers to coach at the camp. The camp has four one week sessions running from mid June through Mid July.
PVA Alpine is a camp run by the head coach of Mission Ridge Ski team in Washington State and his wife who coaches for the Steamboat Springs Ski Team. The two are former FIS racers from Michigan. The camp has three one week sessions from mid-June through early July.
Dan Janowiak is a well regarded coach from Michigan, whose daughter was on the US Ski Team. Dan previously ran the Northwestern Alpine Ski Team. He hosts a camp in Mt Hood each summer as well as a camp at Copper Mountain over Thanksgiving.
Win Alpine is a ski team based near Grand Rapids, MI that holds a summer camp at Mt Hood open to outside registration. The camp has three one week sessions from mid-June through early July.
FALL CAMPS
Many teams and camps offer training during the month of November with most occurring over the week of Thanksgiving. Most of the camps are run at Copper Mountain or Loveland. Nearly all of the camps highlighted in the Mt Hood section above, offer a fall camp option. In addition, many Midwest clubs host fall camps at Copper or Loveland that are open to racers outside the club including Buck Hill, Granite Peak, Lakers Alpine Ski Team, Dan Janowiak and WinAlpin. In addition to Copper Mountain, there are more local options highlighted below.
Each year, Ski Brule, in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, hosts a four-day race camp over Thanksgiving weekend. Ski Brule prides itself on being one of the first resorts to open in the Midwest every winter and starts making snow as early as October. The camp has historically been led by Pat Slattery, a highly regarding USSA coach for the Central Division. The remaining coaching staff is filled by coaches from teams in Wisconsin, Michigan, and sometimes Wilmot. The camp has been popular with Wilmot families in past years.
Granite Peak hosts a three-day ski camp over Thanksgiving weekend, Friday to Sunday. Camp focus is developing strong free skiing fundamentals, with directed free skiing drills with one of the GPST Coaches and/or visiting coaches and on early initiation of the turn, carving each turn, forward pressure and understanding dynamic balance.
HOLIDAY CAMPS
There are numerous camp options over the Christmas holidays both in the midwest and out west.
Wilmot
In some years, Wilmot will offer a holiday camp, the price of which is included with the Wilmot Ski Team registration. This is a completely voluntary camp and is dependent on the availability of coaches and conditions. The decision on whether or not to offer the camp is usually not made until a week or two before the holidays.
Regional Options
In the past, there have been several holiday race camp options at ski resorts in Michigan including
Crystal Mountain
Granite Peak
Nubs Nob
Schuss Mountain
USST
Lastly, USST puts on a great two day camp focused on giant slalom techniques and tactics. The camp is held at Mt Ripley every year sometime during the week after Christmas. Athletes must be USST members to attend.