News paper story

Chris Bolster of the Powell River Peak recently sat down with me for an interview and put together a great article. Chris has done a fantastic job telling my World Cup story this year. Check out the article here.

http://www.prpeak.com/articles/2013/04/12/news/doc51659b7884fe0985048924.txt

and that's a wrap..

Well my season is officially over and I get to have a much needed break. A break from training, a break from traveling, racing, and from the nonsense/stress that surrounds the back end of the sport.

We just finished a fantastic National Championship event. A lot of work went into this event from BC Telemark but the event was pulled together by the incredibly skilled and dedicated volunteers through the weekend. Fabio, Mike, Guy, Norm, Tim, Linda, Jill all did a fantastic job taking on jobs to make the event run smooth and removing additional items off my plate so I could try to focus on the race.

We had a great turnout, many great racers from all over BC, Alberta and the US. Additionally we had an Australian racer and a racer from Denmark. Unfortunately the Quebec program did not attend and therefore could not race for National Champion. The first race on Saturday was a Telemark GS and in my first run I had the best time of the day, I crashed in my second run and did not finish the race. It was great to see Olivier take the top of the podium. Considering he has not been able to train much in the last few months, he skied great and is an incredible asset to the Tele program in Canada.

The Sprint was exciting with the Loom of Doom. (Loom = 360, Rap, Donut, Roundabout). The loom ate me both times. Tim set a great course, fast, turny in sections and perfect for me to ski. After the first run I was 3 seconds ahead. In the second run I felt much faster but had a small problem in the loom, I went down. Almost giving up on my chance to be National Champion, I decided to get up and keep going. I finished the skate portion and because of my first strong run I was still able to win the race, a great feeling amongst many of the best racers in North America. .

It's a bittersweet feeling that I could win National Championships with so many factors against me. A sprained (possibly torn) MCL, a crash which I lost at least 6 second, and stress  of the overall race logistics and planning. To me it means I skied very well but also that there is much work for the other racers.

Next steps for me: See a knee doctor about my knee and figure out what I must do. Get to work and try to recover some of the money spent to race this year. In July we will do a training Camp on the glacier which will be my next time on skis. Do my very best to recruit more racers for our team next year.

Now that I'm off skis is time to get to the admin side of Telemark. There are many new things I would like to begin work on for BC Telemark and many changes I would like to implement within TSCT. While traveling the world, meeting other teams and ski association bosses, I realize that the system we are working with in Canada is not nearly as strong as others. Our system is not broken, but I believe it is stuck and unable to successfully grow our sport, our team, and our programs.

Here are some pictures of National Championships.

Finale of the World Cup Season

After a few long travel days into Spain, we arrived in 19.5 degree weather of Barcelona. A small part of me wanted to stay in Barcelona, go running on the beach, swimming, paddling, and transfer into summer, but my goal of the season, a competition result at World Championships pushed me up to Espot, motivated and excited to push myself.

Despite the unfortunate end result, the start of my race in the Classic was the best skiing I've done all season. Maybe not the fastest, or the most technical, but mentally that was the best I raced, I was just racing, I was not thinking. I was pushing myself, skiing fast, and just going for it. It felt good. Unfortunately the soft snow conditions, a late start number and a small mistake ended my season.

Coming off the jump, I landed well, pushed around the first gate as the slope turned convex and over a roll onto the steepest race slope we have had all season. I was a little bit late to make my turn and in transition, when no ski was pressured, I hit a large bump, barallel rolled, slid, took out a gate, twisted and lost my ski. Initially, I knew I was out of the race because of the missed gate and I was felt fortunate that I was not hurt. When I stood up and put pressure on my right leg it began to hurt.

Doctor concluded (before an MRI) that I have a class 2 sprain of my MCL and may have possibly done some damage to my Meniscus as well. It was interesting because 2 days following, I tried to ski. Fore and aft movement was not bad but anything where I needed the stability of my knee, it was hopeless, I couldn't just muscle though.

I sat out for the Parallel Sprint Qualification hoping that I could rest enough to ski the Sprint race on the last day. I tried hard to push myself to race but the opinion from the doctor and the snow conditions turned me away from it. My last race of the season, my goal, I crashed and was not able to finish.

Overall I had some good results this year but it's not what I hoped for. Perhaps I am taking everything too seriously because it is only Telemark Racing. It's hard to explain my feelings, and I think it's very hard for people to understand. This has been my life, this has been all I've done, thought about, spend money on and to not meet expectations is very disappointing. I know I could be much more successful than I was, and to be so far from my goals is discouraging.

All this being said, I have had a lot of fun this year, learned a lot, and come a long way in my skiing. Saying goodbye to one of the americans at the airport, the last thing he said was 'and good skiing this year man, you were really fast'. That's a nice thing to hear. It's been touqh but I know I can compete with the top 15 and training and race goals are already set for next season.

Spain has not treated me well. Knee injury, food poisoning, flight mess up..., but I'm on the way to Canada now and although I will miss Germany, I am happy to be returning home.

National Championships are this weekend and I will once again try to race. Thanks to everyone who reads this for the support through this season. There have been many ups and downs, but in hindsight it really has been great.

Norway, bringing me to the top 20

Perhaps I'm getting soft with my time in Europe, but a drive from south of Munich, to North of Oslo, is a very long drive. 7 of us, crammed in a bus full of luggage, skis and motivation, the journey began at 1130PM. Driving through the night, we arrived in Hamburg in the late morning, continuing with the drive all through Denmark and up to Fredrikshaven where we boarded the ferry. The 12 hour boat ride into Oslo was through the night and thankfully we had an amazing sleeper cabin where I could catch up on my much needed rest.



 

Early afternoon the next day, we drove in to Rjukan (valley bottom) then climbed the side of the mountain up to the ski area where the largest mountain in Norway is. This was the view, all day, everyday, while racing in Norway.

After a good first day of training we did the qualification for the first Parallel Sprint. The Parallel Sprint has 2 people racing against eachother in parallel courses. Before the actual race, they do a qualification run, and take the best 16 times into the actual race. This was an ambitious goal for me, but I was confident I could make it.

 

There always seems to be something for me. I fell out the back side of the 360, but only loosing 4 or 5 seconds in this unnecessary detour, I finished the qualification run in 19th. Disappointing but motivating, my skiing and skating was very fast.

 

The following day was the Parallel race, won by a French man. After this race we did another qualification for the following day's parallel. They did the qualification a little bit different in this race. There took the top 32 in the points list, and ran a parallel but starting with 32 rather than 16. They pared number 1 in the points list, against number 32, number 2 against 31 and so on. So because my points were not so great this season, I was starting against the 6th best.

 

My First parallel race I was a little bit reserved at the start. After 3 gates I was pushing it. The first race he finished under 1 second in front of me. The second race (we switch courses) I was behind him going into the 360, my skis were between his, and as I tried to make a pass, my ski was caught and I couldn't get by. He took off to the skate while I tried to get my skis back straight. I pushed him in the skate and he finished once again he finished with under a second.

 

For those of you who have seen Star Wars Episode 5, Planet Hoth is just on the other side of these mountains. Really! The filming was done on the glacier just on the other side. I was so excited seeing this. There was a day when 2 fighter jets flew by and that just completed the picture for me.

 

The last race in Rjukan was the Team Parallel Sprint. To have a team, you must have 2 men and 1 women from a nation. At this series, it was only me racing so I was not able to compete, but they allowed me to forerun.

 

 

Next day we packed up the bus again and drove to Geilo for the World Cup Finals, the last race of the official World Cup Season. Another very cool place in Norway. The only thing that I couldn't quite get used to while in this country was the currency (see picture below). 1 beer costs 72kroner, 1 hotel night is 925 kroner, it's crazy!

 

Opening ceremonies were the best yet. A great big production, many local people out, many tourists, and a great show.

 

The first race, a night Sprint Classic on a very steep and icy hill. It was a difficult course, but I managed to do quite well. my first run was not as good, but the second run I pushed hard, I raced very smart, and managed to finish with a 16th place.

 

Norway is known for giving out more penalties than necessary. So once I finished the race and heard that I had 5 penalties, I was shocked. Then as others were coming down I heard 9 penalties, 8, 7, 9..Mine were not too bad. Overall the most difficult course on the World Cup this year, pure blue ice, steep, and a long skate.

 

Second run inspection looking down into the valley

 

The following day we raced a Classic. A long skate, a long course but once again the jump knocked me out of the top 20. This time I had such big problems that I could not even get the Telemark Landing so I had a 4 second penalty. 4 seconds on this course was a lot and I finished with a disappointing 23rd.

 

Final race in Norway was a Parallel Sprint and I was going to try so hard to qualify in the top 16. I pushed really hard on the jump but ended up landing at the next gate. I missed the telemark landing and had 1 penalty on the next gate. Once again, I finished 19th and did not qualify.

 

We are now off to Espot Spain for the World Championships. I am hoping to carry some of the good feeling down to Spain and be able to produce some good results.

 

Parallel 1 - 19th
Parallel 2 - 17th
Sprint - 16th
Classic - 23rd
Parallel 3 - 19th

Bene vs. Shane

So I realize I often say that I'm training better than I'm racing. Well this is proof. In the right screen is me skiing, and in the left is a German team racer who is almost always in the top 10. This is both of us skiing well.

Another race, and back at training.

Finally with some snow in our region we can begin training again. Prior to leaving for Slovenia (nearly 6 weeks ago now) we were setting 10 gates and calling that training. The week after I returned from Canada, the week before leaving for Chamonix, it snowed more than it has all winter. So no training. Returning from Chamonix we are back it.

Chamonix was another disappointing race series. I still cannot seem to identify why I am having so many problems in my racing, but it is very frustrating. Today after training I placed my video with a German team race (who is consistently top 10). 1 run I was .5 seconds behind, the next run I was almost 1 second ahead. I know I can ski well, I know I can be fast and I know where I should be in the races but I'm not getting there.

The first race in Chamonix was very cool. It was a night race, and almost like a "real" World Cup should be. We were right in the village of Chamonix, the lights were on us, and there was a very large crowd out cheering for us, it was very exciting. My first run I started really well. I was charging hard, I quite nearly made the jump line, I landed fast and was ripping for a few more gates before I made 1 small mistake and slid out on my hip. I was able to get back up, but all my speed was gone, immediately before the flatter section of the race. My 360 was excellent, I came out with a lot of speed and was in the skate pushing to the finish line.

My second run was difficult. The course was difficult and one small mistake ruined the next few gates. Overall it was a disappointing night...and a late night.

The next morning was the Classic, the same course that I broke my ankle on last year. I didn't feel any nervousness about this, I was excited to get back on course and redeem myself, and it is a course that I felt I could ski very well. The course set was hard and fast, and that would normally be good for me. I had a lot of practice on the jump, the 360 and I was excited.

It was not a good race.

I'm back in Germany and training hard for the next series of races. We are jumping, we are skating and we are skiing. Im feeling strong again, I'm skiing fast and Im getting some confidence back.

Next stop is in Norway. I'm currently having a hard time getting there because of the cost, but hope to figure something out. Otherwise I'll be waiting till World Championships later in March.

One of the coolest parts of the Chamonix weekend was having a teammate. Camille (a quebec racer) came over for the series and did quite well. Having another Canadian there was fun, having a team was a strange feeling, but it was really nice. Hoping she will come back for Spain.

TSCT Update, training in Canada, and what is next

I have just returned from a whirlwind trip to Canada, a holiday I suppose. It was really nice to get back into country for a break, to get away from the World Cup scene, the intense training, and just to relax a bit. By relax I mean skiing. I spent 5 days up at Silver Star Mountain resort, the first few days I was a part of, and teaching for the CANSI (Canada Association of Nordic Ski Instructors) National Seminar, then I had a few days of training with other members of the National Team, and a few local juniors interested in racing. It was a great few days of skiing in Canada.

The real holiday followed with a 3 day stop in Vancouver to visit 2 of my biggest supporters. It was nice to be off the skis for a few days and just relaxing.

Now, I'm back in Germany, training and getting prepared to travel to Chamonix next weekend for the next World Cup Stop. Here is a link to the official press release on the Training Camp at Silver Star last week. http://www.tsct.ca/telemark-canada-training-preps-national-team-for-world-cup-and-world-championships/

In the News

http://www.chbcnews.ca/video/top+telemarkers+in+okanagan/video.html?v=2328121927#stories

Global TV came out to Silver Star to do a story on our National Team Training.

Check it out.

Rauris Austria, slowly climbing the ladder

Following a rather disappointing time in Slovenia I was fortunate and excited to move onto Rauris Austria for the second series of World Cup races. Another new venue for me and a fresh start from the stress and expectations in Slovenia. The food in Austria was great, our hotel was great, and the best part of all, there was snow (and ice!).

 

Race skis were ready to go for the Sprint race on the first day. My first run was on a really icy course and I had a good feeling in the whole course. I made a few mistakes along the way which forced me to loose some time but after the first run I was 22. For second run, the flipped the first 30, so I started 8^th (after the women). There were not a lot of bumps on the course which was nice for me, but the course set was a disaster. At first I thought it was just me who struggled, then saw other skiers (best in the world) struggling their way down. At the end of the day I finished 24^th. An improvement of 10 from Slovenia but still not where I belong, or want to be.

The following day we started the first Classic of the season. I was very excited for this race. After the inspection in the morning, I decided it was not really a classic, it was a Super Classic. 55 gates later we hit the jump, 4 gates after that, we are in the loom (of doom). After the loom/360/rap we are meant to go into the skating, but instead they sent us through 4 rolls (ski cross section) into a long alpine turn before the LONG skating section.

In the 55 gates on course I skied the best I think I ever have. Fast, pushing it, hard on the ice, good angles, gaining speed and using good tactics. I was impressed with myself. Once I arrived at the jump, brought my skis back into an alpine position, I had nothing left in my body. I have trained a lot, I am strong, but I have not trained 55 gates and expected to skate after. I was done but pushed myself all the way through to the finish line. I finished 26^th, had a GS time which put me in 11^th. Im not too disappointed about this because I had such a good feeling while skiing.

 

After this grouping of races I know what I need to do. Jump. I need to train, to practice, and to learn to jump. Every sprint, I have been gaining 6 seconds, and on the classic I am gaining 3 seconds. This is huge, this is a really big time loss in each race. If I can learn to jump, I will easily be swung into the top 15 and closer to reaching my goal for the season of top 10.

I’m on my way to Canada now for a vacation. Well that’s strange to say. Anyway, I’m back for 9 days to attend and teach at the CANSI National Telemark seminar and then to train with the other on the team.

first 2 races

Just a quick update following the first two Sprint races in Slovenia. Unfortunately, they have not gone nearly as well as I expected or hoped.

Saturday's race had a variety of factors that contributed to the disaster. Early in the race I broke a pole, had to drop the pole, finish the race with only 1, lost time to get a new one for the skate and continued. The lack of snow in Slovenia also played a big factor. Because of my poor results last year, I was still starting near the back of the group and did not have ideal snow conditions, in fact, I was lucky to have snow. 5 of the first gates were grass..yes...I was skiing on grass. These factors plus the 'first race nerves' did not put me in a good place, disappointing, but not the end of the world.

Sunday's race was quite near to the end of the world. I'm still not sure what happened or why but I did not race like I should, I did not ski like I should. I was coming here with the expectation that I will finish around 15th, yesterday I was 33rd. My expectations are completely realistic and based on relative times racing and training exclusively with team Germany who is quite possibly the best team in the World. It was extremely disappointing seeing my times, seeing my result and knowing I'm better.

We have a day off today, and 1 more race in Slovenia tomorrow before traveling to Austria for a new series. After a roller coaster ride of emotions, my chin is up and I'm focused on tomorrow's race. There will be more to report tomorrow, and some better results.

Approaching Race Day

As the holiday season comes to an end, I'm looking forward to my first race. Less than 2 weeks away, I'm preparing myself for the start gate.

The holiday season has been nice. Many new experiences to go through the holidays' in Europe, lots of time spend in my ski boots, lots of time eating, not enough time sleeping, and meeting many new people for the first time. I have taken in a few exciting World Cup and FIS events (not Telemark), skied at 10 new ski areas, and experienced new Christmas and New Year traditions in Germany.

It's a strange feeling knowing that the World Cup is approaching so quickly. A large part of me is beyond excited to see my international friends again, to travel to new places, to put on the race bib and stand in the starting gate. There is also a part of me that does not yet feel prepared, feels like I have not yet trained enough. I suppose I will always be able to say I haven't trained enough, but in this case, I have trained a lot, made many runs through many different race courses, and have made huge improvements in my skiing.

Paralleling my gate training, I have also been Cross Country skiing a lot, skiing intervals, and getting prepared for the skate sections of our races. Unfortunately I have still had no jump training, which is a bit concerning as I could potentially loose 3 seconds for not making the jump line. All in all, I have put in a lot of time and feel like I can do well in the first series of races.

As we slide into the new year, I'd like to thank everyone who has helped me in the last year to put me where I am. Directly, indirectly, large, or small, I appreciate everything. Chances are, if you're reading this blog you are one of those people. Wish all the best to you in 2013.

Bohinj, Slovenia January 12.

What feels like the top of the World. Large peaks, lots of snow, and so much to ski.

 Sunrise training in the treeline. Hard snow and good visibility

Viershanzen Tournee - 4 Hills Ski Jumping Tournament. FIS Sanctioned World Cup event. Record, 134.5 M

 

 

The crowd around for the Jumping Tournament.  Still not sure how, but I received a ticket with my name on it, labeled Special Guest. I walked past the line up, into a special entrance and directly to the bottom of the landing. Pretty cool

Happy New Year

Still Training

Apologies for the delay between blog posts. My lists seem to be getting bigger and not smaller, and my hours of training per day also seems to be increasing. It's difficult to find enough hours in the day to do everything.

Training has been going well. There is enough snow regionally now that we have begun to train close to home. I have been cross country skiing a few days a week, still working on my mileage. After Christmas I will start with sprints and hills to get the power built up before my first race.

All the new snow has produced some great powder skiing and I have to be very disciplined to get out training. The last few days I have been training gates in much less than ideal conditions. The snow has been soft, the others skiing the course turn at the wrong place (which puts bumps in the wrong spot), and the piste has been a side hill (need 2 different types of turn techniques), and I have been battling some knee pain. Overall though, it's been great training to have a terrible course and still ski it strong and fast.

This weekend we will start jumping. We have access to a small Ski Jumping practice jump (K point of 20M) to practice our technique, timing, and get a lot of repetitions in.

The first race is approaching quickly approaching. The race Calendar is up on this blog under "Calendar".

Some pictures to follow

Powder Day and no one skiing but me?

the calm between the storm...BLISS!

Cross Country Training,(thanks to Leki).

powder, sunshine, -25, gates, timing, and high standards

Waking up at 4:50 AM, tired but excited to hit the road and get onto my skis walking out the door and realizing that it had snowed overnight. The first real snowfall to the valley bottom and the first snow that is likely to stay. What is beginning to become a rather boring 3hr drive from here to the glacier, was followed by the deepest powder I've skied in a few years. Skiing with one of the German team members we made some great runs on some of the steep and gnarly chutes and cliff bands. Chocking on blower powder and having it flying far over my head was well worth the early morning and drive. I wish we received World Cup points for powder skiing, I might even be on the podium.

 

chair ride. 10AM and still fresh snow to find

What a perfect way to start the weekend. My energy was high and I couldn't stop smiling. The following day we set a course despite the extremely soft conditions. For those who may not know, soft snow and skiing racing = disaster and possibly dangerous. Fortunately we were on the longer but flatter hill so it was easier to ski the soft conditions, I spent a long time in my course inspection figuring out my tactics for the course. The top 2/3 was great. My first 4 runs (until the course turned into deadly trap) were great up until 1 gate that ruined the rest of the run for me, every time. Each run I tried something new but just couldn't get it. I finished each run, but that gate caused huge mistakes and loss of speed for me. We had a timing system running and my best time of the day was just under 2 seconds slower than the best skier.

Above the clouds, blue bird powder day

Of the three best German skiers who are consistently in the top 10 results, there was only 1 skiing with us on the weekend. The other German racers are certainly not weak and on a good day could likely achieve top 15.

On Sunday we set again on the same piste and ran into the same barrier with soft snow (it's ski racing.. there is always something), but this day I got myself together and skied the best I have all season. Timing on us again, I finished the day with the fastest time (just over 1 second). In the words of Austin Powers, "I've got my mojo back". It felt really great and it was the best way to end the weekend. I've been putting everything I can into every training run I do and it has finally started to pay off.

-25 morning, soft snow, and gate training

Back in Germany, the snow is on the ground and regional ski areas are starting to open. We will soon be training here in Germany and I will progressively be building up to 6 days/week skiing and training.

Trail running season is officially over

A mountain run a few weeks ago. Looking over the village of Oberstdorf

Top of the mountain

cold, tired, but so happy!

 

watch where you're skiing, crevass' everywhere

Telemark Canada needs some help

Telemark in Canada has accomplished many exciting projects in the last year and has several new initiatives on the go. Working with only a Board of Directors, we are beginning to exceed our operating capacity and need help.

A National Team Committee will soon be approved to manage the operations and administration of the National Team and we are looking for people to be a part of this committee. It should not be an unreasonable time commitment and will contribute to the further development and success of the Canadian Team.

We are also looking for someone to be the Telemark Canada Communications Manager. This person will write press releases on the operations of Telemark Canada and the National Team, produce updates for www.tsct.ca and the Facebook page, and contribute to the overall exposure of Telemark in Canada. Once again, this will not be an unreasonable time commitment.

Anyone interested in helping with any of the positions can email me directly; shane.landreville@gmail.com

starting to feel good.

After several days in the gates so far this season, I am starting to get a good feeling back on my skis. I am feeling more in control, more comfortable adjusting to all terrain, and more able to push myself each run. I have slowly been working up to this level by working on technique and skiing a strong but safe always run. Just this last weekend I stepped outside of that box and was able to push myself really hard.

Unfortunately we were training with a team of Alpine racers who were not the best racers and so the line they set in the course, and where they made the bumps was really terrible. On Sunday, myself and the 3 best German racers (the 4 best on the course) only finished 2 runs during the day - the first run in the morning, and the first run after the re set when the course was smooth. I try to train with a rough course knowing that I will experience it on the World Cup, but it will absolutely never be as bad as it was on the weekend.

Although only 2 complete runs were finished, I made a lot of strong turns and felt like I was starting to get the skills I have been working on for a few weeks. That being said, there is still a rather large "to accomplish" list for my technique. For example, my right foot turn is very strong, but on my left foot turn I often drift into the gate with too much inclination and am too late to drop my hip into the hill and therefor I slip away. I have been trying many different strategies to help with this and it's getting better.

I will be back on the snow for 2 days this week, and then again this weekend where I will continue to hammer down the skills and push myself every run and every turn.

A cool series of photo's from one of my turns to leave you with.

 

 

 

 

Support and Thanks

I suppose I knew very well before I began my journey into Telemark racing that the financial support for my journey would not be easy. This has indeed been the way. I work hard in the off season so I can afford to pay for the opportunity to represent Canada on the National Telemark Team.

It’s often frustrating and humbling when I see other National Team athletes and the support and services they receive and resources they have. I look at my running shoes which have holes, training shorts which are ripped in many places, miss matched skate poles and so on…

I hate to complain and I don’t expect the journey to the top of the podium to be easy. When I manage to find the support I am grateful. Just recently I have received extremely generous financial contributions from a few sources.

Steve Hedberg, a friend, Telemark skier, and strong supporter has worked to pool some funds together from friends of his and other snow sport enthusiasts. Steve had set an ambitious fundraising goal and gathered enough support to see that goal through.

A special thanks to the following people

-          Steve Hedberg
-          Jan Gerits
-          Al Martin
-          Dave Merrick
-          Nick Enos
-          Rod B
-          Ginny C
-          Brent Mooder
-          Randi Thompson
-          Brent Gilmore

The contributions of these individuals will help to finance my race fees for this season. Thank you to everyone listed above. You have gone above and beyond to support my desire to compete for Team Canada and I will do my best to return home having reached my goals for this season.

Someone else that I need to thank is Tim Boden of Boden Mountain Architecture. Tim is also a passionate Telemark skier who I was fortunate enough to meet last year at a race. Tim has also taken the initiative to support my goals of competing on the World Cup and his contributions are appreciated and used to help support my travel expenses for training and competing.

Despite this generous support, I am still required to live and train as cheap as possible sticking to a very tight budget. It is okay, but it is certainly not ideal. The support from everyone mentioned above will make my journey easier and I appreciate every contribution, large or small, that you have made.

Wish you all a great season and thanks again!

many great days at work

October 28 – Powder Day in October 

In the last few days while I’ve been up on the glacier I have met many people, and told the story about what I’m doing this winter. I am from Canada (Canadia as they say), and I am here for the whole season to train with the German team. “Oh that’s great, will you work while you’re here?” Nope I am only here to ski, train, and work to be the best in the world. “Well that’s a pretty great life you have”. Ahhhh it is, it really is, but I’m not sure people realize that it really isn’t as easy as it may seem. Working hard in my summers to save money to pay for my winters while training full time, being completely unfamiliar to a new world where I must re learn every thing, being away from the things and people in Canada that support me, and knowing that I will have to work all next summer to pay for my training this year, it’s great, I am so lucky, but the feeling is bittersweet.

the snow begins to fall

 

That being said, October 28^th and 29^th were probably the best days I’ve had in Europe this year. Why? Because they were powder days!! There was a moment while I was skiing that I stopped, looking around me, watched as it was puking snow, noted to myself that I was skiing, and also realized it was OCTOBER! That was a very cool moment – never before have I had a powder day in October. I may have mentioned in a previous post that I am fortunate enough to train with the Germans because they are the best team in the world. Well, if it’s any compensation for World Cup standings, I was kickin the Germans butt while powder skiing. Maybe it was all the “training” I was able to do in Revelstoke that makes me a better powder skier, BUT, now that I have the powder turns down, I will be training to kick their butt on the race course too.

I am up at the Stubai Glacier for 11 days and after day 4 I’m exhausted. I skied hard, and pushed myself the first 3 days and by day 4 (when we finally got into a course) I was done. What started as a blue bird day quickly turned into a day of strong winds, -20, and snow falling. We had a soft course, a dirty euro set, and no visibility. Between myself and 2 of the best Germans (the 3 better skiers on the course) we never finished one run. Being eaten by ruts, soft snow, or skiing of course because of the visibility, I think it was a bad day for us, and every other World Cup Alpine team up on the snow. It was quite funny (funny=scary) with the flat light, simply going from blue to red to blue to red and really not being able to see where I was turning, what I was turning on or what I was going to be skiing on. There were 3 gates at the start of the steep pitch that were solid ice, those surprisingly were the easiest, I could pressure hard, turn around the gate and not worry about being thrown off my skis. After 6 DNF runs, I called it quits for the day. Tomorrow, I go back up and forget about today.

Valley bottom the next morning, no better sight than fresh snow

It’s pretty cool being up on the glacier with thousands of other racers, but unfortunately there are only 20 Telemark racers. Seeing the skill level of all the young Alpine racers and the discipline they have for ski racing, is incredible. Also, the coaching, the training, the resources, and the pressure that they have is something that might even be illegal in Canada. Nevertheless, it’s cool to see such a National focus on ski racing, also something that is nearly un heard of in Canada.

Sunday Nov 4^th

After 10 days of skiing and training hard at 3000m I am exhausted. Progressively increasing the intensity every day, and getting stronger physically, mentally, and technically day by day has given me a new high point to leave on. Already 25 days on snow this season I am so motivated for the rest of the year. Of course, this is ski racing and there are good days, bad days, good runs, terrible runs, great turns, and ugly turns. The last few days I have been able to ski many different courses, on a variety of terrain, in different conditions.

ice, soft snow, hard snow, rocks, ruts, bumps, all in one run

On a few days when the rest of the team left, I stayed around to keep skiing the course knowing that the course is bumpy and in rough shape. Unfortunately because of my injuries last season, I will be starting races this year near the back of the group and so training on a rough course will give me practice with tactics of navigation, and strength to keep myself together and ski well. It should only take 2 races finishing in the top 15 to start the next races in the top 15.

Unfortunately I cannot say that during the last 10 days I have stayed on my feet. There have been some nasty crashes and ice on the body at the end of the day. No serious injuries but a few aches and pains at that I will deal with on the next few days off skiing. I’m usually one to go to bed early, but during this week there was a day I realized I was in bed at 7:35pm. After a ski day the program was pretty consistent from day to day. Light run and stretching, shower, hangout/computer work/nap, video analysis from the day, eat, bed.

powder turns in October

This week I was not the only international training with the Germans. Telemark Team Hungary, and Team Slovenia came for 5 days and we all trained together. The comradery in Telemark is very cool, and refreshing to other disciplines. We are all friends, we all support each other and want to push each other to be better racers. Also, having the ability to compare myself and my skiing to the racers of other nations is motivating and provides some pre world cup information on where I fit on the skill spectrum. I still have work to do to reach my goals, but I’m on the right pathway and have already accomplished some steps for the season.

30cm overnight makes me very happy

Enjoy the videos and photos. Comments, and questions are welcome as always.   

 

 

Stubai Training Weekend #2

It has been exactly 3 weeks since I left Canada and with that, an interesting opportunity to reflect on the last few weeks. A week in Zurich attending the FIS (International Ski Federation) meeting, 2 weekends skiing up on the glacier in Austria, 2 weeks training in Oberstdorf, Germany, 2 weeks learning to speak some German, helping high level alpine racers at the local boarding school with their english school work, lots of new food, many new people I have met (many whose name's I do not remember), and still trying to keep up with all my work in the World of Telemark. 

I am living in Oberstdorf Germany where several members of the German Telemark team live. Because there is no snow here yet, we travel 2 hours every weekend to the Stubai Glacier in Austria for training, near Innsbruck.

 

Training has gone well. Pretty typical training where there are good things, good days, easy things to learn, and then bad days, and difficult things. In the last few years of racing I have had many different coaches, with several different experience levels and backgrounds. Everytime I have come to train with a new coach, they have always broke down every part of my skiing to rebuild it the way they think it should be. This time it is no different, the German coach is trying to rebuild my skiing which is, at times, very frustrating. However, I know that his coaching produces results, and what I want are results. The first weekend  was almost stressfull, but with proper mental training between weekends skiing, I had the proper image and attitude for the way he is trying to have me ski. I had a lot more fun, and skied significantly better.

 

Telemark Team Germany (group of old traditional Telemark skiers)

 

Throughout the weekend we also had the opportunity to use the Start Gate for the ski cross course to practice our starts for the Telemark Parallel Sprint. A very cool video of the Parallel Sprint, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MYepU-T_nfQ&feature=plcp . Working with some of the ski cross coaches from the Austrian and German teams, we worked on what was in fact a rather complicated technique

 

 

Canada (in blue) a full second ahead of Germany (green) out of the start

 

almost at the first gate



 

 It might almost seem like I was training for Alpine skiing with how well things are going and the resources that I have. Nothing here is as easy as it seems, especially not financially. "Things" in Europe are significantly cheaper than North America, however, with everything I'm trying to do the expenses add up. I am training Telemark and there is unfortunately not the financial support similar to other disciplines. I have had one financial sponsor pull out of a sponsorship because they have already gone over budget. Some gear promised to me, still has not arrived and I'm not sure if it ever will. I'm so fortunate to have received everything I have but unfortunately there is still stress for things I need (not want), and do not have, or cannot afford to have.

If only money came to me in the form of sunshine..I'd be rich!

 



The World Cup schedule for this season is still coming together and as soon as I get it I will post on the Calendar section of this blog. I have enough information on the calendar to have set my World Cup goals.

We head back up to Stubai this weekend and spend all of next week there as well. Saturday will be our first day in gates and I am very excited for that (the last few weekends we have only been freeskiing and working on tecnique). I will post some video and pictures from the gates in a few weeks.

I'm excited to hear the snow is flying in BC.

Herzlich Grüße aus Deutschland

Stubai Glacier - weekend 1

our bed&breakfast. 18euros a night and very cozy

 

The group on the glacier. Some members from Team Germany, others trying out for the team.

 



Telemark Team Canada?

Looking down into the valley

The training piste

the wind picked up around noon. blew in some snow overnight

Village where we stayed



A week in Europe and no disasters

I'm sure I'm not the only one that has had the feeling when they suddenly realize they don't remember where they are, and it takes a good few seconds to actually realize it. Several times during the week I have seemed to forget that I actually am in Europe...in Europe, living, in Europe. When I landed in Zurich last week the feeling definitely came to me that I was landing in a different world, and I suppose in some way I was.

I had a pretty moderate transition to this "new world". Landing in Zurich, I was attending the FIS (International Ski Federation) meetings as the Canada representative for the Telemark Committee. Furthermore, I took part in the seminar for Youth, Children and Snow. I had meetings with experienced professionals who work in the snow sports industry, had meetings with the Olympic working group for Telemark, and of course the FIS Telemark Committee. All good expereinces and I left with quite a large "to do" list.

Following the meetings in Zurich, I had the car of the German Telemark representative to drive back to Germany (where I was going to be living - he drove with someone else to Italy). This was an Audi A4. Ripping with it on the Autobahn was exciting. I was going..well... fast (my mom will read this so I will just put fast) and there were cars zoooming past me. The best part was the feeling of going from 5th gear..to 6th. That was cool.

Arriving in Oberstdorf, Germany, I was kindly greeted by my host family. The 3 "kids" not much younger than me are very competitive in snow sports. The youngest son is on the German Alpine Development team, the daughter is on the German Telemark team and won Junior World Championships last year, and the oldest son (a year younger than me) is on the German Telemark Team and Top 5 in the world. I am already starting to learn to speak German but am very thankful that their English is also good.

Oberstdorf is quite a big community of XC skiers and Ski jumpers.

View of the Ski Jumps from "my" house

 

Not only do they have ski jumps, but they have a track specifically for roller skiing. It's about 12km long with 2 lanes. Lots of hills, sprint markings, and corners. I believe I mentioned that I landed in a new world. Went down there day 1 and spent 1.5 hr training and had a lot of fun. The manager thinks I was the the first person to ski there will telemark bindings and boots on roller gear.

 

The training continues. At the gym with the German team and their trainer, and working on my own program as well. Had a great run yesterday on a very nice fall day through the trails. Glacier training was cancelled last weekend because there was not enough snow, but we are hoping to get up there on Friday.

 

I will end with a few pictures.

 

The house where I live. It is a threeplex and we live in the left complex

 



The view from my deck

 





Run along the river

September 1st – The First Day of Winter

Well I suppose as I post this it is no longer September 1^st, but the feeling continues to build day by day as we approach the official first day of winter. Feeling the temperature get noticeably colder, seeing the wildlife and nature shift, and the focus of seasonals shift towards making winter plans, the small percentage of brain space I allowed for summer has now been given up to the dominating focus on winter.

As the seasons change so has my training. After 16 motivated weeks of “base” training for cardio, core, and endurance, my training has switched to concentrate on strength and power. While  still retaining all the cardio endurance I have build, during the next 4 weeks my muscles and my body should feel flat following demanding strength and weight exercises.

Roller skis used for skate training

Telemark racing is interesting in that it requires the racer to have well developed fast and slow twitch muscles. Slow twitch muscles are often found in endurance runners who are “on” for longer periods of time. Fast twitch muscles would be found in a sprinter who only put their body through stress for seconds. In Telemark racing we require the power found in fast twitch muscles to power through a rough course, gain momentum from pressure on the ski, or skate up a hill. We need to do that sometimes for 3 minutes, so the science is essentially to create slow twitch muscles from the fast twitch fibres. The proper balance of endurance and strength is what my trainers and I are working on to create a successful season.

A picture from last months glacier training in Whistler

 

When I’m not abusing my body I have found myself spending time with Dan Keane, of Malaspina Massage. Dan has been working with me on several chronic but minor injuries that he feels may provide an unnecessary barrier for my success. Something so easy to overlook such as the buildup of scar tissue can reduce my range of motion in certain important areas of my body. Dan put it this way “when you have to work twice as hard to rotate your torso because of scar tissue blocking, that’s just not fair when other guys do not have that problem and are using significantly less energy every turn”. Working with Dan has given me an incredibly more conscious perspective on the micro details of my body and it’s needs to be successful..of course while also inducing pain to eventually “feel better”.

So it’s not long now until I will find myself living in Germany, training on the Stubai Glacier in Austria 3 days a week, and continuing with my off season training plan the other 4 days. October 1^st I fly from Vancouver to begin stage 2 of my adventure to the top 10..in the world! I think it’s fair to say that I am 94% excited and 6% absolutely nervous. Everything is going to be new for me over there; language, culture, the ability to train with a team of the best racers in the World, the ability to train with a coach, and the ability to train with resources at no personal expense.

I suppose it is not completely fair to say I will be training at no personal expense, however, the resources provided for training (jumps, grooming, gates..etc) I do not have to pay out of pocket for. This savings is incredible for my ominous budget. However, the number of expenses I’m being hit with before I even leave is depressing and un-motivating. Insurance, flights, registration, and gear has already consumed nearly half of my minimal budget.

Nevertheless, I’m off on an adventure very soon where I anticipate there will be many ups and downs (as most real adventures are). Please leave comment and feedback if you would like!

A winter champion is made in the summer

I was asked a few days ago if I am still training and if I am still planning on racing this season. Shocked by the question, the friend who had asked was recently on my blog and saw no posts since the spring. I suppose I have indeed neglected to share my plans and ambitions, my training, and what I’ve been up to.

Regrettably I haven’t had a lot of time to be social or share these things with a lot of people. I have been so self absorbed and goal oriented in the last few months that all I find myself thinking about is the next time I can get out training, the next sponsorship proposal to send, the next strength work out, the next physio appointment, the next time I will be on snow and the other steps I need to take to accomplish my goals.

I am indeed training and have the full intentions of competing this year. I am taking this so seriously that my goals are high but absolutely realistic and achievable.

I have been working on my off season training program put together by Fraser Sprigings of Helios Physiotherapy in Revelstoke. This is a Meso Cycle training program meant to strengthen the base cardio fitness, overall core strength, and general flexibility. The next Meso Cycle will be moving onto sport specific strength, power, and explosive exercises while also retaining the base. This is an incredible program -  I am already stronger than I have ever been! The first few weeks of this training program were kickin my butt, but now I try to avoid other commitments so I can get out training.

I have unfortunately still been having minor pain with my ankle. Luckily, it is only pain. There is no strength barrier that I cannot get past. In fact, I have been pushing my ankle hard on balance boards, on the exercise balls and running through the forest. Every week it seems to be getting another step closer to 100%! I can put up with the pain knowing that it is only because of scar tissue breakdown.

Last week I spent 5 days up at Whistler training on the glacier. What an amazing week! With the support of coach Tim (who spend last season working with me from the Revelstoke Ski Club), and 3 other racers from the USA, the cohort was very diverse with its skills and intentions.

The first day was pounding down with rain (and even a bit of fresh now) and we spent the day free skiing; working on some free ski drills, getting the legs back, the rust off, and working on the basics of technique. The following day, with the sun shining bright, we set a 24m GS course, and I skied 27 runs. 27 runs at 22 gates means 594 turns!! Working a little bit on technique, but mostly getting the groove back inside a course. By the end of the day I was exhausted but so motivated.

The following 3 days were much the same as Tuesday with a variation of turn radius within the course, different focus, and a different tipping point which my body said “That’s enough” for today.

This was an incredible opportunity for focused training. With our own gate lane we only had 4 skiers in our course, we had a coach to set, maintain the course, and do the dirty work. I was in fact beginning to feel like a real athlete with someone there working for me! Tim went as far as to send me to bed early and he spent hours tuning and preparing my skis for the following day. I gained access to the athletes center which has a gym, spinning center, ice&hot bath, and services exclusively for athletes. The coaching, the focus, and all the support made this an incredible opportunity.

Following this great week up on the glacier I have returned home with a refreshed focus, confidence, and motivation. I realize my goals for the season may be ambitious, however, after this last week skiing I believe I have the strength and skills to accomplish these benchmarks.

On top of continuing my off snow training, a huge focus will also be on sponsorship. It is unfortunate that amongst all my hard work, I may not even be able to leave the country due to lack of funds. This is a huge burden and absolutely takes important time out of my daily training regime. There have been some generous offers already from gear providers and this absolutely helps with lowering my expenses.  Regrettably, however, my financial needs still far exceed my current and incredibly small budget.

Nevertheless, my focus is on Telemark. Whether it is training on or off snow, doing video analysis, mental imagery, or searching for sponsorship, Telemark and my short and long term goals is constantly dominating my train of though.

Comments are welcomed and encouraged below! Hope you’re all having a great summer.