The Norwegian connection to the Williams College Ski Team is stronger than ever with Head Coach Bud Fisher imbued with the message: Train harder!
Fisher, his wife, Barbara, and daughter Andrea spent the past academic year in Lillehammer, the cradle of Nordic skiing, and now Fisher is putting his cross-country skiers through a more intense but shorter form of training.
Ed Grees, who heads the Alpine program, has also trained and coached in Norway, whose World Cup racers are among the best on the international and Olympic circuit. Fisher made the initial Norwegian connection when he exchanged positions with Peder Einar Slind, coach of the Upper Secondary School in Oppdal for 1995-96 winter program. Slind and his wife and three children came to Williamstown, while the Fishers moved to Norway.
Last winter was near perfect for the Fishers.
“There was great snow from Oct. 24 to April 24 and it was all natural,†exclaimed Fisher, who personally recorded more than 1,000 miles on the skis.
Andrea’s classmates just had to step out the door of her school and find an abundance of lighted XC rails, five ski jumps, an ice rink, an Alpine lift and trails, as well as an indoor swimming pool. She is now in the sixth grade at the new Williamstown Elementary School, where pupils have access to a few pair of battered skis for touring around the school yard. Andrea is also a member of the Bill Koch League at Prospect Mountain, where the Williams team trains and holds its winter carnival races.
Barbara Fisher, with a background in the field of music, improved her skiing greatly in Lillehammer, her husband reported. Andrea also excelled in speaking the Norwegian language, better than her parents.
“English is spoken fluently by most Norwegians,†said Fisher, “and it is hard to converse in limited Norwegian when the natives do so well with English.â€
Fisher’s chief assignment at the Lillehammer school was to head the XC program, but he was in daily contact with the older Norwegians and participated in their training programs. He works with the Williams skiers on the latest techniques, but was most impressed with the rigor of the Norwegian training programs.
“We stepped up the intensity of our training but cut back on the amount of time, as the skiers have so much classroom work,’ he explained.
Preseason training includes roller skiing, running and interval training.
Former Williams Coach Ralph Townsend (who died several years ago) instituted a running race up the Appalachian Trail from the North Adams filtration plant to the summit of Mount Greylock 32 years ago. Fisher and assistant Nordic Coach Paul Stone held the latest version a few weeks ago. The men’s winning time for the rugged 5.2-mile course was 54 minutes and 59 seconds, with the fastest female clocked in one hour, 9 minutes and 19 seconds. Tough training!
Usually the Williams skiers get on the snow before Christmas at Prospect, which has seen little snow so far, but the team will again train at Mont-Sainte-Anne in Quebec Dec. 16 - 22.
Fisher and Grees will undoubtedly maintain the Norwegian connection, and the Assistant Alpine coach is Norwegian Espen Cedell, a regional GS champion with a certificate as a Level II National Coach. (The Alpine connection will be covered in a later column.)
Lillehammer, some four hours north of Oslo, is the historic capitol of Norwegian skiing and the starting point for the Berkebeiner Race, which dates back to 1206, when two men crossed the mountains on skis, carrying the king’s son to protect him from insurrectionists in Oslo.
The historic Holmenkollen jumping competitions are a highlight of the Norwegian Nordic World, also in Lillehammer.
Not only were there great snow conditions in Norway, the cost of living also set a new high for the Fishers.
“The costs were twice as much as in the U.S., if not more,†said Fisher. “It cost us $60 to fill our gas tank.â€
But I am sure there will be return trips to that Scandinavian country.
Fisher grew up in perhaps the capitol of Nordic skiing in New England. He was born in Rumford, Maine, 55 years ago and has been on skis for half a century. He was a four-event skier at Stevens High School there, and he helped build the Black Mountain Ski Area as a kid, blasting rocks and erecting lifts. Earlier there was only a rope tow slope and a small jump. But little Black Mountain became the site for the 1950 world Nordic Championships when the original resort, Lake Placid, was snowless. Now Black Mountain offers complete Alpine and Nordic facilities and has hosted several national competitions.
Fisher was also a four-event skier at St. Lawrence, where he received a B.S. degree in 1970 and a master’s in 1971. He came to Williams as a four-event coach in 1974 with his then wife, Karen Fisher Parker, who coached the women’s team. In 1979-80 he was on leave to serve as assistant national team coach for the 1980 Olympics at Lake Placid, when he made his first trip to Norway.
Fisher, like Townsend, saw cross-country skiing at the Savoy State Forest and jumping and Alpine events at the college’s Berlin Mountain facility. Jumping and downhill racing were eliminated in college and high school competitions, and lack of snow forced the team to the machine-made product at Brodie Mountain and to Brodie’s cross-country center.
Now the Alpine races and training are at Jiminy Peak and XC at Prospect and there are four coaches. Williams does pretty well on the Eastern college circuit, usually fifth behind UVM, Dartmouth, Middlebury and New Hampshire (where Fisher’s adopted son, Woon Chul Fisher, is a freshman), but those schools feature national junior champs and European and Scandinavian stars.
Area skiing conditions should be improved for Thanksgiving, with Jiminy and Killington among the resorts offering skiing on somewhat limited terrain earlier this month. Call ahead! Be careful!
John Hitchcock of Williamstown writes frequently about the area sports scene.
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State Fire Marshal Offers Cold Snap Heating Safety Tips
STOW, Mass. —With temperatures expected to dip into the teens overnight this week, Massachusetts State Fire Marshal Jon M. Davine is reminding residents to stay warm safely and protect their loved ones from some of the most common home heating fires.
"We're expecting very cold weather in the nights ahead, and home heating appliances will be working overtime," said State Fire Marshal Jon M. Davine. "Heating equipment is the leading cause of carbon monoxide at home and the second leading cause of residential fires. Whether you're using gas, oil, solid fuel, or space heaters to keep warm, be sure you keep safe, too."
State Fire Marshal Davine said there were nearly 6,000 heating fires in Massachusetts from 2019 to 2023. These fires claimed eight lives, caused 139 injuries to firefighters and residents, and contributed to over $42 million in damage. And in 2023 alone, Massachusetts fire departments reported finding carbon monoxide at nearly 5,000 non-fire incidents.
Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarms
Every household needs working smoke and carbon monoxide alarms on every level of their home. Check the manufacturing date on the back of your alarms so you know when to replace them: smoke alarms should be replaced after 10 years, and carbon monoxide alarms should be replaced after 5 to 10 years depending on the model. If your alarms take alkaline batteries, put in fresh batteries twice a year when you change your clocks. If it's time to replace your alarms, choose new ones from a well-known, national brand. Select smoke alarms with a sealed, long-life battery and a hush feature.
Natural Gas and Oil Heat
If you have a furnace, water heater, or oil burner, have it professionally checked and serviced each year. This will help it run more efficiently, which will save you money and could save your life. Always keep a three-foot "circle of safety" around the appliance clear of anything that could catch fire. Never store painting supplies, aerosol cans, or other flammable items near these appliances. If you smell gas, don't use any electrical switches or devices: get out, stay out, and call 9-1-1 right away.
Residents struggling to pay for heating bills or maintenance may be eligible for assistance through the Massachusetts home energy assistance program (HEAP). No matter what type of heating equipment you use, HEAP may be able to help you pay your winter heating bills or maintain your heating system. All Massachusetts residents are encouraged to explore eligibility for this free program and apply for assistance.
Solid Fuel Heating
If you use a fireplace or a stove that burns wood, pellets, or coal, always keep the area around it clear for three feet in all directions. This circle of safety should be free of furniture, drapery, rugs, books and papers, fuel, and any other flammable items. To prevent sparks and embers from escaping, use a fireplace screen or keep the stove door closed while burning. Use only dry, seasoned hardwood and don't use flammable liquids to start the fire. To dispose of ashes, wait until they are cool and shovel them into a metal bucket with a lid and place it outside at least 10 feet away from the building.
Have your chimney and flue professionally inspected and cleaned each year. Most chimney fires are caused by burning creosote, a tarry substance that builds up as the fireplace, wood stove, or pellet stove is used. If burning creosote, sparks, embers, or hot gases escape through cracks in the flue or chimney, they can cause a fire that spreads to the rest of the structure. Annual cleaning and inspection can minimize this risk. Contact the Massachusetts Chimney Sweep Guild or Chimney Safety Institute of America to identify reputable local companies.
Space Heaters
Keep space heaters at least three feet from curtains, bedding, and anything else that can burn. Plug them directly into a wall socket, not an extension cord or a power strip, and remember that they're for temporary use. Always turn a space heater off when you leave the room or go to sleep.
When purchasing a space heater, select one that's been tested and labeled by a nationally recognized testing company, such as Underwriters Laboratories (UL) or Intertek (ETL). Newer space heaters should have an automatic shut-off switch that turns the device off if it tips over. Unvented kerosene space heaters and portable propane space heaters are not permitted for residential use in Massachusetts, State Fire Marshal Davine said: the risk of fire and carbon monoxide poisoning that they pose is too great.
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