B-Tour News: BC Ski Team in Europe 2019
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Thursday, Day 10:
The team left Riale on Thursday morning to travel to Bessans, France. After a long drive we just had enough time to fit in a short ski before it started to get dark.
Friday, Day 11:
Friday we were able to get out and ski our course for Saturday's race. We were all racing the same 15km course which meant we could all explore the course together. We went out on a course preview that ended up being as successful as the Dieppe raid. We failed to find our course as the marking was not complete. Once we finished our ski we got a better description of the course and felt much more confident going into the race. We ended our Friday with a lovely pizza dinner at an authentic French restaurant.
Saturday, Day 12:
Saturday morning was the 15km classic race and the team got the real loppet experience. Even with the large amount of people racing, we were able to pull together some pretty fine results. Marielle Ackermann took 1st place, Paige Latta took 2nd, Benita Peiffer 3rd, and Mila Wittenberg 4th. The boys also had a great showing with Michael Murdoch taking 1st place and Joe Davies in 3rd while still feeling quite under the weather. Not only were the wooden plaques a nice touch, the cheques we took home were pretty nice too.
Joe Davies
Making the newspaper
15 km classic race.
21/42 skate race with amazing backdrop.
10 km skate race.
Podium after 15km classic race with 4 of 6 athletes from BC.
Sunday, Day 13:
With an early rise to some freshly fallen snow, the group was ready to tackle the much bigger and faster crowd of skiers for the days skate race. With a starting position very far back Michael had to make a speedy compilation of maneuvers to reach the front pact. Finishing with a time of 1:01:45, he placed 5th overall in the 23km. The ladies showed their true fierceness once again as they fought all the way in the 10km. All though there were some screw ups with the timing, it was still very clear that the BC girls rained dominance upon the rest of the field. With Benita taking home top spot, Marielle 2nd, Paige 3rd, and Mila 4th. After we were all packed up to go and had received our prizes it was off to our next destination, Annecy.
Monday, Day 14:
With a good night sleep, the team was ready to go for a quick look around the fascinating streets of Annecy before heading over to the airport to drop off two of our Athletes, Marielle and Mila. After a sad goodbye, it was time for some more traveling as we headed up the snowy mountains to reach our final accommodation in Zweisimmen, Switzerland. Time to find some Chocolate… I mean go skiing!
Michael Murdoch
Canal in Anessy.
Michael touring through Annecy.
B-Tour News: BC Ski Team in Europe 2019 (Jan 13)
Six members of the BC Ski Team are currently taking part in a 20-day competitive tour in Europe (Switzerland, France, Italy).
Ski trails in Riale, Italy.
Monday, Day 7:
Today was a travel day. We were going from Les Rousses to Riale, Val Formazza in Italy. Along the way we stopped in Switzerland at Le Chateau De Chillon, a medieval fortress. We explored the castle with its many rooms and catacombs, learning along the way about the history of the area and the castle itself. In the second part of our drive we went over a mountain pass on our way into Italy. The picturesque fields of snow and peaks far above us made for a pleasant and scenic drive. The amount of snow up there also gave us hope that Europe still had good skiing venues that weren’t all man made snow. Finally we mounted a winding, narrow road into the Val Formazza. An oddly expensive feature of the road was a circular tunnel that spiralled upwards through the mountain to get you to another level of the valley. Finally we arrived in Riale, and we were welcomed with a four course meal and warm beds.
Tuesday, Day 8:
We awoke to clear yet dark skies and fresh bread for breakfast. In the morning we did a long ski that allowed us to explore the trails and the town. We realized during the ski that Riale is literally the end of the road, with a large dam right above it. The town itself consisted of our hotel, roughly 10 houses and one church on a hill. Most of this appeared to be abandoned. Because we were so deep in the mountains, the sun did not actually crest the peaks and reach the town until just before noon. Our morning ski allowed us to see the sights but without the shining sun to really accentuate the landscapes. Lunch was another four course meal and the afternoon ski was required to burn off all the extra food we had been eating. The day finished with yet another four course meal that lasted so long there was nothing left to do but go straight to bed.
The town of Riale, Italy, which has maybe one person living in it,
Wednesday, Day 9:
Happy Birthday Michael! As a special treat for Michael’s birthday, the weather was difficult… We went out for our morning ski only to be greeted by gale force winds and snow. Whenever the wind gusted, we were forced to stop, bow our heads, and grit our teeth against the glacier winds and crippling brain freezes. To top it all off we had intervals! Fun! After a mere 1.5 hours we were frozen to the bone and rushed inside. In the afternoon the weather had yet to calm down and the snow was still swirling around like a snow globe. We decided it would be best to descend back into civilization for a Thermal Baths experience. These baths turned out to simply be pools with jets. There were also steam rooms and saunas if you wanted. We returned to our lonely town to eat yet another, you guessed it, four course meal. To everyone’s delight, dessert was a delicious strawberry gelato that made up for the lunch meal of sheep tripe (literally a stomach) that the birthday boy had the pleasure of ordering.
Thursday, Day 10:
Another travel day. While we enjoyed the unique experience of the mountain village, everyone was ready to return to society, which in this case was Bessans, France. Our trip was adventurous to say the least, as our GPS led us up a mountain only for us to realize that the very top of the road was closed for winter. The cinder blocks did not seem like they would be going anywhere soon so we descended the mountain and searched for another way through the Alps. Luckily the detour cost us less than two hours and we reached Bessans just after lunch. Unfortunately the other van that had our skis also had issues. They’re GPS took them on a route that avoided all tolls, and which was considerably longer. In the end we only got about an hour ski before it became dark. We went out for pizza to properly celebrate Michael turning 19, and we enjoyed the best sundaes ever, courtesy of Coach Paul.
Marielle Ackermann and Mila Wittenberg
The King’s Cake, which is tradition once a year. There are one or two surprises in the cake, and if you get the surprise you are king for a day. (The supper with a French family that was reported on earlier).
Schedule Overview
January 1 Arrive in Geneva (Switzerland) and drive to Les Rousses (France)
January 2 – 4 Training at Prémanom and Les Rousses
January 5 – 6 U17 Championnats de France and Tour de Ski at Prémanom
January 7 – 9 Training in Riale, Val di Formazza (Italy)
January 10 – 11 Training in Bessans (France)
January 12 – 13 Bessans Marathon du Ski
January 15 – 18 Training in Sparenmoos (Switzerland)
January 19 – 20 FIS race in Sparenmoos (Switzerland)
January 21 Travel to Geneva to fly back home
Athletes
Benita Peiffer (Whistler Nordic Ski Club)
Joe Davies (Whistler Nordic Ski Club)
Marielle Ackermann (Kimberly Nordic Ski Club)
Michael Murdoch (Whistler Nordic Ski Club)
Mila Wittenberg (Whistler Nordic Ski Club)
Paige Latta (Sovereign Lake Nordic Club, Vernon)
Coaches
Chris Manhard (Cross Country BC)
Paul Shipley (Telemark Nordic Club, Kelowna)