Three Masters cross country camps offered throughout the 2024-25 season.

What is PureXC?

PureXC is dedicated to the technical, tactical, physical and mental development of masters cross-country skiers with three days of sport-specific training and expert coaching in classic and skate techniques.
PureXC camps are a unique opportunity to receive individualized ski technique feedback from expert coaches, to increase fitness and mileage at a world-class ski venue, and foster new friendships in a fun, social and supportive environment.

What can you expect from our Masters Ski Camps?

An increased understanding and application of cross-country ski techniques in both skate and classic.
Individualized ski technique feedback with video analysis in each ski session.
An increase in skiing fitness with three on-snow days and six quality workouts.
An increased knowledge of masters-specific training; focus on physical training, recovery, nutrition and strength training appropriate to age and lifestyle.
Small group ratios (1:6).
The enjoyment of the social aspect of skiing and training with like-minded people and building new friendships.

So, is it for me?

Any adult cross-country skiers (age 35+) with at least one full season of cross-country skiing experience who want to develop their ski technique, enhance fitness and delve deeper into how to better train for cross-country skiing should sign up for our Masters Ski Camps! Read on for information on the venue, the coaches and a breakdown of all of the camps we offer.

The Venue

Trail Sports, Canmore Nordic Centre

PureXC masters ski camps run in partnership with Trail Sports at the Canmore Nordic Centre, a world-class ski venue five minutes from downtown Canmore, 20 minutes from Banff and one hour from Calgary. Situated at 1300 metres, the CNC (site of the 1988 Calgary Olympics) offers exceptional daily trail grooming and track setting for classic and skate skiing, and touts a trail system of 60-plus kilometres of varied terrain. Trail Sports offers a 10% discount to camp participants who are ski club members (Join a club!). Ski service is available for training glide wax and/or kick wax application. Please inquire at Trail Sports. (403) 678-6764.

Meet the Coaches

Roddy Ward

Roddy Ward is PureXC. Roddy has coached high-performance, development and masters athletes for 20-plus years. He has more than a decade of experience as a national team coach and as the director of high performance and athlete development with Biathlon Canada. Roddy has a master’s degree in coaching from the University of Victoria and has guided athletes to win medals at the World Cup and World Championships. Roddy’s goal with PureXC is to provide masters athletes an exceptional experience focused on the improvement of all aspects of athletic development in the sport of skiing.

Kelly Drager

Meet Kelly, Lead Performance Dietitian and an expert in the field of nutrition for high-level athletes. Kelly holds a Masters of Science in exercise physiology and biochemistry. Read Kelly's impressive bio here.

Masters Camps:

Camp 1 – In-Season Training and Nutrition

Friday–Sunday, December 6–8, 2024. Saturday team dinner with guest speaker (TBD).

Technical focus:

Body position and timing for one skate, offset, double pole and diagonal stride. Cornering and agility work. Extensive focus on individualized video feedback.

Nutrition:

Fueling for loppets, long-distance races and long-distance training. Sport drink and recovery product testing. Individualized pre-, during- and post-loppet fueling strategies.

Strength:

In-season strength routine #1.

Register here:

Camp 1: December 6-8, 2024

Camp 2 – Mid-Season Speed and Functional Strength

Friday–Sunday, January 31–February 2, 2025. Saturday team dinner with guest speaker (TBD).

Technical focus:

Body position and timing for two-skate, offset, kick double pole and diagonal stride. Downhill techniques. Extensive focus on individualized video feedback.

Nutrition:

Fueling as an active masters athlete. Individualized fueling strategies to match each person’s training program.

Strength:

In-season strength routine #2.

Register here:

Camp 2: January 31-Feb 2, 2025

Camp 3 – Spring-Specific Training

Friday–Sunday, March 7–9, 2025. Saturday team dinner with guest speaker (TBD).

Technical focus:

Technique review and commonalities among techniques. Technical and tactical adaptations for speed and terrain. Extensive focus on individualized video feedback.

Nutrition:

Hydration for the masters athlete. Hydration tests to individualize each person’s hydration strategy to match their training program. Camp add-on includes a USG test (see below).

Strength:

Building strength into the new training season.

USG Testing Camp Add-On (Camp 3 only):

Optional USG testing (urine-specific gravity) to analyse hydration.

Price: $30 CAD + GST.

Select this option during Camp 3 booking process.

Register here:

Camp 3: March 7-9, 2025

Pricing

$675 CAD + GST.

Price includes three days of ski training and three lunches.

Not included: Accommodation, CNC trail passes*, Kananaskis Conservation Pass, travel to and from Canmore, personal car rental or transportation to the Canmore Nordic Centre, breakfasts, dinners and snacks.

*Ski passes are available for purchase at the Day Lodge, 9am-5pm. Suggestion: For non-season pass holders, purchase three day passes on Friday morning to avoid weekend lineups.

Masters Cross-Country Ski Camp Handbook

For further information, including a detailed breakdown of the camp schedule, pricing, cancellation & weather policy, accomodation etc. please refer to our handbook.

Click here to view the Masters Cross-Country Ski Camp Handbook in PDF format.