Current Issue
#45.2 | 2026 Photo Annual
USA Nordic skiing just had its best Olympic showing in a generation, and the Spring 2026 issue of Cross Country Skier documents a winter that delivered on nearly every front: Olympic glory, extraordinary photography, unforgettable characters and a sport that keeps finding new ways to surprise you.
On the cover: Ben Ogden, right, and Gus Schumacher, left, of the United States, celebrate after winning the silver medal in the cross-country skiing men’s team sprint at the 2026 Winter Olympics. AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth
Inside the Issue ›
Features
Page 46
The 2026 Olympics in Pictures
Image by Maxim Thoré/AP Photo
Page 56
Peter Ashley Profile
Growing up in Jackson, Wyoming, in the 1960’s was all about doing it all. Hunting, fishing, alpine and Nordic. Then Peter Ashley began to specialize in cross country which took him to collegiate racing, coaching on the U.S. Ski Team and a long career at Fischer, where he influenced the no-wax wave.
Words by Tim Gibbons, MS / Image by Lori Adamski-Peek
Page 64
2026 Photo Annual
Image by Nicolas Joly
Page 78
Cochran’s Nordic Cross
Each April, when all the competitive racing is done, Cochran’s Ski Area hosts it’s one and only Nordic race. From Olympians to NCAA racers to high school standouts to moms and dads, everyone dresses up and lets their hair down for a rollicking rip through rollers and jumps, all devised by the inimitable Pennie Rand.
As told by Pennie Rand, founder of Cochran’s Nordic Cross / Images By Carter Clark
Mass Start
Page 13
Editor’s Note
Track Changes
Page 14
Wax Box
Page 16
Essays
Paul Tolme reflects on the trail of late film director David Lynch, and Ellen Hollinshead gets creative in the winter that wasn’t.
The Skinny
Page 22
Beneath the Sheets
A European company is changing the face of manmade snow.
Page 28
Kids Birkie
The biggest ski race in America for the littlest skiers.
Page 32
Grooming Ambitions
Lisa Maloney chases the best and most innovative grooming practices and practitioners in North America to get the latest on what’s working in a changing climate.
Destination
Page 40
Nevada’s Lone Nordic Center
Tim Hausermann shares how 20 little kilometers means so much to Nevada’s Nords.
Words by Tim Hausermann / Image courtesy of Nevada Nordic
The Final Stretch
Page 86
Perspective
Sue Wemyss has done it all in skiing. From alpine racing in college, to the U.S. Ski Team as a Nordic skier in the 1984 Olympics, to a book about America’s female Olympians.
Page 98
Photo Finish
A dogged finish.
The Journal of Nordic Skiing