Austria racing camps or Switzerland for the summer?
Switzerland or Austria racing camps for this Summer?
When we think about Summer Ski Camps there is not that many options in Europe.
Austria racing camps mainly take place in Hintertux, Pitztal and Stubai. These glaciers offer good conditions in Spring and in late fall due to their height and exposition.
In France the main Summer ski resorts are Tignes and Les Deux Alps. During the last years the French glaciers struggled with snow conditions and huge crowds.
We run our Summer ski racing camps in Saas-Fee because conditions are PERFECT ALL SUMMER for ski racing.
The slopes offer a variety of gradients and lengths, and the snow is in great conditions during the whole Summer season. This choice of slopes make it ideal for racers of all levels and ages. Early mornings ensure firm conditions for gate training and free skiing until noon.
Starting at 4 PM the afternoon is full of different sports and activities. Racers benefit from video analysis, profesional condition training and sport psychologist.
Well prepared slopes adding to a car free town is the reason why Ski Zenit is based in Saas-Fee. National teams from all over the world chose Saas-Fee for the same reasons as us.
Ski Zenit has been running ski racing camps for the last decade.
We ensure the highest quality of training by enrolling a very profesional team of coaches following the guidelines of our Technical Director Mauro Pini (Former coach for several top athletes of the World Cup circuit).
Our coaching method is very personalized transmitting the most up to date technique.
Here is a short movie that shows the Summer skiing slopes of Saas-Fee, and Ski Zenit’s racers training hard to achieve their goals!
Enjoy!
Apart from the great slopes and snow conditions, another reason to chose Swiss rather than French or Austria racing camps is the magic of the town of Saas-Fee. You’re in a car free town surrounded by the some of the biggest peaks in the Alps. This is a really safe place to grant some freedom to your kids while keeping peace of mind.
Here is a short video we’ve made showing some of the incredible views we enjoy each day.
If you want more information about our Summer ski racing camps, or you want to visit Saas-Fee and need some assistance, don’t hesitate on sending us an email at info@skizenit.ch or click Here! and we will get back to you with all the detailed information you are seeking!
See you soon training with us this Summer and Autumn!
All the best
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Ski Racing Exercises training
Ski Racing Exercises: Getting strong for the upcoming Winter ski racing season!
The Ski Zenit power and skills test is a combination of quantifiable power and strength movements.
The development and progression of physical fitness is an important component of overall skiing and athletic ability.
Learning and perfecting these skills will add to continued skiing success and are imperative for young ski racers. Inability to perform these tasks can identify deficits that need to be addressed for future skiing success.
Without the implication of these skills high performance skiing can be limited and injury can occur. The test is designed to allow for feedback on young athletes current abilities across the following categories:
- Aerobic capacity.
- Aerobic endurance.
- Lower extremity strength (power, coordination, balance, skill and single leg strength).
- Acceleration and speed.
- Upper body strength (power, coordination, balance, skill and rotational strength upper to lower body).
These skills are easily quantifiable and replicated at home to chart progress. Coaches and parents can perform these tests suitable for ages 6-20 to determine an athlete’s entry point. Corresponding skills will be broken-down and worked on during Ski Zenit camps.
Before starting the test an adequate dynamic warm-up/activation series of around 20 minutes is recommended including jogging at 50-70% of effort to raise the heart rate.
Warm up activities could include total body stretching, lunges, squats, bridges, arm circles and shoulder stretching. Take adequate rest between skills tests.
Required Gear will consist of a flat surface, stopwatch, athletic tape measure, cones, a slight incline hill for practicing running uphill, boxes roughly 15 and 30cm high and a medicine ball weighted 3, 4 or 5 kg. (lighter for children under 12, heavier for older children).
1. Vertical Jump
- Test explosive power, flexibility, balance and indication of overall fitness level.
- Find a wall or goal post and give the athlete 2-3 tries to reach the highest point the athlete can reach from a standing jump.
- Mark and record the highest point the athlete reaches with his./her hand and measure from the ground up, best effort recorded.

2. Broad Jump – Single and Double-Footed
- Test explosive power, hip/lower body strength, balance and efficient movement.
- Utilize a pit in a local track if possible or determine a well marked starting point on a flat, not-slip surface.
- Athlete will start in a standing position and jump as far forward as possible.
- Have an assistant mark where the back of the foot lands and take measurement.
- Repeat exercise with left and right feet separately to determine difference in leg strength and recruitment.
- Athlete will have 2/3 tries for both exercises and best effort will be recorded.

3. Push ups
- To determine an athlete’s upper body strength.
- Begin in a push-up position on a flat surface either feet or knees and count how many push-ups done with elbows hitting 90 degrees.
- If an athlete is not capable of a full push-up then he/she can perform a plank for as long as possible.

4. Medicine Ball Throw – Static, Squat/Throw and Rotation
- To test upper body power, strength and explosive movement. Will also determine output of transfer of power from lower to upper body.
- Two weights can be used, 3 kilograms for children under 12, and 4 to 5 kilograms for children over 12.
- Athletes get 2-3 attempts and best effort recorded.
- Static Throw – athlete will stand with back against a wall or another solid object, tuck elbows into the sides with ball against the chest in a basketball chest pass position and push/throw forward as far as possible while someone marks landing and measures.
- Squat and Throw – same concept as above holding the ball into the chest, however the athlete begins in a squat and using hip extension and power transfer throws the ball forward to be measured.
- Rotational Throw – athlete starts standing with ball at his/her side and with planted feet and throws the ball diagonally across the body from low to high over the shoulder in a chopping motion.

5. Box Step-ups or Jumps
- This test focuses on explosive power, agility and endurance. The exercise choice is up to the coach/parent. Children above 12 years of age can attempt the box jumps while younger children may want to use the step-up, step down method.
- Box should be no higher than the athlete’s knee, 30 cm is a good starting point, 20 for smaller children.
- Box Step-ups – find and measure a step that is 20 or 30 cm. Athletes will stand in front of the box and step on to the box with the entire foot and step down alternating feet as many times as possible in a correct fashion in a 1-2 minute period.
- Box Jumps – with either box height depending on the athlete, have the child begin standing in front of the box and jumping up with both feet solidly landing on the box with minimal noise stepping down between each jump. Amount of jumps will be timed in a 1-2 minute period. Score will be recorded.

6. 20 Meter Sprint
- Testing speed and acceleration.
- Measure out 20 meters on a non-slip surface preferably a track with clear indications of start/finish.
- Have the athlete start behind the start line and ensure good footwear is used.
- Athletes get 2-3 trials and the fastest time is recorded.
7. Shuttle Run Drill
- The shuttle run tests power, agility, speed and endurance.
- Place two cones about 25 metres apart on a flat, non-slip surface.
- For children under 12 do 4 repetitions to each cone or a total of 200 metres timed.
- For children over 12 do 6 repetitions to each cone for a total of 600 metres.
- Athletes get 2 attempts and average time will be taken.

8. Uphill Run
- To determine cardiovascular endurance as well as application of all skills above.
- Choose an uphill slope medium gradient around 10-15 minutes in length for practice.
- Ski Zenit test will utilize the Kapelle Weg from Saas Grund to Saas Fee which is approximately 1.7 km up 214 meters of elevation gain with an average slope of 14%.
- Children will line up behind the coach and will be given a time at the top of the climb.

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Ski camps in Mt. Hood or should you go to Switzerland?

When the Summer season starts, skiing in North America becomes a bit of a challenge.
The only two places you can ski during the Summer are Mt. Hood and Whistler Blackomb.
Ski camps in Mt. Hood can be great, but the glacier has really struggled during the last years.
There is really big queues in the lifts and the snow condition is very often not optimal for alpine race training. Whistler is another option if you want to travel to British Columbia, but the terrain is really limited if you compare it to the bigger glaciers in Europe.
To summarize, if you want to get good quality ski race training during the Summer season you have two options:
- Flying to the Southern Hemisphere in search of an endless Winter
- Or going to the bigger European glaciers.
Both options are unique and offer completely different things.
- In the Southern Hemisphere you will have a real Winter, with short days, bigger skiable areas and variable Winter skiing conditions.
- In the Swiss Saas-Fee glacier you will be able to fully focus on your race training while having a great time. You can fully devote yourself to improve your skiing performance and physical condition. The long days offer the possibility of 3-4 hours ski sessions and after lunch (and some rest) attend our many activities working along with our professional condition trainers and sport psychologist. Many evenings include personalized video analysis with the ski coaches.
Taking into account all the factors mentioned above, Ski Zenit has based itself in Saas-Fee to deliver the highest quality ski racing camps available.
The glacier has perfect slopes for free skiing, slalom, giant slalom and super giant slalom training. The car free town and sport facilities offer the ideal environment for racers to focus on their personal and technical development.
We help with the organization of your whole ski trip, doesn’t matter if you want to send your kids on their own, want to travel to Switzerland as a family or you’re a Master ski racer that’s seeking private training or ski camps. We run our own athletes hotel, but we can also offer a variety of hotels, chalets and apartments, as well as ski passes and airport shuttles.
Ski Zenit has developed a very unique and thoughtful coaching method, which ensures full adaptation to each athlete.
Under the guidelines of Head Coach Mauro Pini (former World Cup coach of some of the best ski racers) our professional team of coaches is teaching the most up to date ski racing techniques and tactics.
I have attached a short movie from Summer 2016 with a group of Swedish and Swiss racers that were training with Ski Zenit in Saas-Fee. Enjoy!
Skiing in Europe, apart from the quality of the skiing in Saas-Fee, there is a great cultural component.
In the small ski villages the culture is completely different from North America. Many people that come from the U.S.A. to our ski racing camp also combine their trip with cultural visits to the nearby cities and countries.
The video is a short edit of the town where we develop our ski racing camps, Saas-Fee. This will give you an idea of the great environment you’re constantly surrounded by.
For more information about our Summer, Fall or year long ski racing programs, send us an email at info@skizenit.ch or click Here!
When you think about ski camps in Mt. Hood, think outside the box!
See you soon skiing with us in Saas-Fee!
Peace and love
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Mikaela Shiffrin in the Saas-Fee glacier!
Last years slalom world cup champion, Mikaela Shiffrin, was skiing in the Saas-Fee summer ski resort. We had the chance to train right next to her, and get to now her, and many more World cup racers from the USA ski team.
This is a great motivation for our athletes to push themselves to their limits.
Hope you enjoy this short video from Zenit ski racing camps.
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Saas-Fee dry land training
Ski race training doesn’t just happen in the slopes. Physical conditioning is one of the most important parts in a solid ski race training program.
In Zenit ski racing we take really seriously the physical condition training of all of our athletes. When skiing with us, they all have dry land training sessions in the afternoon. We can organize or recommend specific exercises for physical conditioning related to race training throughout the whole year.
Here is a short video of some of our strength and coordination drills.
For more information about our ski racing camps, and our private ski race training programs, check our website: www.skiracingcamps.ch or send us an email at: info@skienit.ch
Have a great day
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Freestyle slalom!
Here is a little reminder of one the funniest moments of this season’s World Cup Tour. Julien Lizeroux, French ski racer, does a hilarious start off in Meribel, Alps. After a long season, and summer training in the alpine glaciers, he seems a little tired, but he did make us laugh!
Thanks Julien for this precious moment, see you in summer with some more training!
Peace and love from the Skizenit team!
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Julia Mancuso Saas-Fee Summer ski traning
Here is a great video talking about Julia Mancuso’s Alpine Ski Racing trajectory, and showing us how she prepares her winter season training in Saas-Fee.
Saas-Fee is the best place to ski during the Summer in the Northern Hemisphere, that’s the reason why so many national teams from all over the World come here for race training.
Enjoy this video!
If you want to prepare your winter season during the Summer and Fall, check our website where you will find all the information about our ski racing camps.
For more information send us an email at: info@skienit.ch
Have a great day!
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Racers freestyle session!
Ski racers can also go to the Snowpark!
Today we had an incredible day in the Saas-Fee summer snowpark, we got some spins done, some flips, some crashes… A bit of it all.
Here is a short video of today. Hope you like it as much as me!
For more information about or ski racing camps in The Alps, send us an email at: info@skizenit.ch. Have a great day. 😉
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