BC Ski Team in Europe: 2020 B-Tour (to Feb 20)
Ramsau, Austria, Tuesday, February 19th
February 19th was a very anticipated day for many of the athletes and coaches. Today we were extremely lucky to be able to tour the Salomon and Atomic ski factory in Altenmarkt, a short drive from Ramsau. The day started off relaxed, with a late 12:30 departure to the Salomon factory. Once we arrived, we were first in awe by the sheer size of the facility, later learning that it housed a staggering 900 workers. We were giving a private tour through the facility (which manufactures only the top model Salomon skis) by Jean Marc, a middle-aged, slightly overweight, goatee-adorned jolly fellow that knew everyone in the facility by fist name. Jean Marc had previously been a member of the Swiss National Cross Country Ski Team, and is one of the two people who pick Canada’s S-Lab race skis for Salomon’s Nordic Racer Program. The tour started with the raw materials all being kept in a humongous warehouse. Then the honeycomb core and poplar wood sidewalls are glued and pressed together. Next, this core piece as well as the base material, ski tips and tails, laminate, and top sheet are all carefully placed together then pressed precisely to the specifications given. During this process the ski is adjusted every 7cm to achieve the optimal flex. After this the ski is taken to another building where it goes through a rigorous cleaning and quality control process. During this time the ski is carefully shaved into its desired shape, the base is ground six times, and the groove is cut into the bottom of the ski. After this every ski is hand checked and matched to guarantee the highest quality, and to find an identical pair to match the ski perfectly. Once this is done, the completed skis are sent to another warehouse that can hold an amazing 10,000 pairs of skis at once. This experience was really eye opening for us, giving us a much deeper appreciation for our skis, how they are made, and why they cost as much as they do.
When we had entered the factory, it had been a nice sunny day with a few clouds building, but when we left it was a full-on snowstorm. The van carrying the team members was just barely able to make it back up to the hotel, battling the snow, wind, and worst of all traction control, giving little to no power to the van. This made it nearly impossible to make it around the steep and winding switchbacks with the ever-building snow accumulating. Five minutes later, star athlete Cole Turner and star head-coach Chris Manhard tried to tackle the hill in the ski van, but they had little chance with the bald tires on their vehicle. Miraculously they made it three quarters of the way up the road, but then got stuck and were forced to walk the rest of the way up the road in the snow storm with no winter jackets (actually, that should be singular, as only one younger member forgot to bring their jacket!) and 90kph winds to add to the struggle. Luckily, as these two poor souls started walking towards the hotel, they were rescued by a friendly Austrian couple (with a Comox , B.C. connection! – amazing how 6 degrees of separation works around the world) with snow chains, ending another adventurous day.
Ramsau, Austria, Tuesday, February 18th
On the morning of February 18th, we woke up and had breakfast at our regular time of 7:30. Shortly after this we prepared our skate skis and headed to the Nordic trail network, which is quite extensive here in Ramsau. There are numerous loops through town, into all the various subdivisions and crossing roads, which are covered with sections of carpet to allow the rec skiers to cross without taking their skis off! It was a gorgeous day out skiing, perfect for short group sprints followed by optional threshold that we did in preparation for our coming weekend race. To complement the intensity, we also had a fabulous technique session involving morning video and afternoon analysis. In the afternoon the group went for a short run down the mountain to a nearby historic village that offered amazing views and insight into the farming and lifestyle that started here years ago, and still continues in the summer months these days. All in all, we had a very productive and amazing day.
Ramsau am Dachstein, Monday, February 17th
Waking up to a pink morning sunrise while eating breakfast made up of toast and hot chocolate was quite the treat. Our hotel supplied a great breakfast with a great view of the valley below from the dining area. After Breakfast we drove down into Ramsau for a 2hr classic ski through the town and out on open fields with amazing vistas. Cole and I ended up skiing across the mountain in order to take T-bar up, where they accepted the “Winter Card” that the hotel we are staying at supplied. While having a nice lunch that consisted of broccoli soup, Ribena juice and spaghetti, we talked about our afternoon plans. Once we filled our bellies, we headed out to catch the afternoon gondola up to the Dachstein Glacier.
The views from the top of the glacier and the bridge walk that you can do along the side of the cliff was breathtaking, as you could see forever over the Alps and felt like you were on top of the world. The walk on the bridge lead into an ice cave/palace with spectacular ice sculptures and funky lighting. The cave is built within the actual glacier, with 6m of ice above the ceiling! The striations within the ice were really cool to see. After experiencing the tourist attractions at the top of the glacier we quickly put our skis on and skied down to where they groom cross country ski tracks alongside the T-bars for downhill skiing. The short but sweet ski on the glacier lead to us climbing back up the ski lift as we had missed the time cut-off for the ride up with the T-bar. It was much better to miss the timing on the T-bar then the ride down in the gondola (which we luckily didn’t – we caught the last gondola down from the top, which made for some great photos with the sun starting to set) and safely arrived back at the hotel ready for dinner.
It was a surpise to find out that as an option, a limited number of gondola patrons are actually permitted to ride on top of the gondola! This seems so dangerous, but this culture seems to be the norm here in Europe. Safety third!! Perhaps that is why coach Chris loves to come to Europe so often. This evenings super was made up of soup and pizza followed by chocolate cake. As most of the team has overcome the jet lag, spirits are high and looking forward to the rest of the trip.
Seefeld, Austria, Sunday, February 16th
Cole Turner (155) and Fred Albrechtson (148)
Today we woke up early for a 7:15am breakfast which the hotel kindly provided for us 15 minutes early so we could hit the road to Saint Ulrich am Pillersee, in time for an 11am start to our 3-person relay races. The drive was through Innsbruck and lots of little villages. The skiing in Saint Ulrich was rather flat, mainly on farmer’s fields, but did have some notable short steep hills. Racing was interesting as most of our teams started at the very back of the pack. Being visitors to the local races, we didn’t have great starting positions but we made up the places for both the senior men and women categories.
Athletes on the podium (from left to right) Cole Turner, Fred Albrechtson, Gregory Baxter, Gabe Gledhill, Torin Andrews, Marielle Ackermann, Emma Wong and Beth Granstrom
My team of Fred and Gregory ended up finishing 1st in a very local field of Austrians. After we received our goodie bags from the race (local milk, yoghurt and buttermilk – which made for an excellent recovery snack), we packed up quickly and drove on to “Ramsau am Dachstein”. Driving up and over mountains on a windy, sketchy road was interesting and fun which added to the excitement of the day. Thanks to the superb driving skills of our 2 coaches, we made it through those mountain passes without a hitch. The hotel is outside of Ramsau, at the base of the Dachstein Glacier. There are amazing views from our hotel rooms down into the valley and all around the mountain range. The hotel is right next to where the base of the gondola is so skiing tomorrow should be easily accessible.
Gregory Baxter (348)
Report on February 15th
Our time spent in Europe so far has been amazing and we have spent the last two days in Seefeld, Austria. Unfortunately, there isn’t a whole lot of snow in Europe, but Seefeld is nestled high on a plateau with plenty of snow for cross country skiing, and the skiing has been phenomenal. It’s no wonder the World Championships were chosen to be hosted here last year
The rolling trails through mountains and valleys are so entrancing that if you’re not careful, it’s very easy to ski longer than what’s prescribed on your training plan! Our first day here we got turned around trying to walk to the ski area from the hotel, so circumnavigated the town on foot prior to finding the trails, it didn’t help that it was snowing and a bit foggy! We didn’t include that 45 minute walk as part of our training.
On day 2 things started looking up when we woke up to beautiful blue skies and were able to find the ski area on our first try! Everyone has definitely been feeling the effects of jetlag these past few days, but hopefully soon we’ll all be feeling back to normal. The food has also been great, and the coaches are trying to best a previous weight-gain record for this trip.
Report on February 14th
Eight members of the BC Ski Team are currently taking part in a 20-day competitive tour in Europe (Austria, Italy and Switzerland).
The B-Tour team made it to Seefeld in time for dinner on Thursday.
The team arrived in Frankfurt (Germany) on Thursday and are now settled in at their accommodations at the hotel Zum Gourmet in Seefeld, Austria.
The snow situation in Europe is pretty dodgy this year, so there have been several last-minute changes to the schedule as races have been moved and cancelled. The current plan is for the team to take part in a local Team Sprint on Sunday.
Schedule Overview:
February 12 Depart Canada
February 13 Arrive in Frankfurt (Germany) and drive to Seefeld (Austria)
February 13-16 Training in Seefeld (Austria)
February 16 Competition in Saltzburg (Austria)
February 16-21 Training in Ramsau (Austria)
February 21-24 FIS race in St Jakob/Rosental (Austria)
February 24-27 Training in Toblach (Italy)
February 27-March 1 FIS race in Klosters/Davos (Switzerland)
March 1-2 Travel to Frankfurt (Germany); fly back home
Athletes:
Beth Granstrom (Revelstoke Nordic Ski Club, Revelstoke)
Cole Turner (Telemark Nordic Club, Williams Lake)
Emma Wong (Strathcona Nordic Ski Club, Courtenay)
Fred Albrechtson (Nickel Plate Cross Country Ski Club, Penticton)
Gabe Gledhill (Strathcona Nordic Ski Club, Cumberland)
Gregory Baxter (Bulkley Valley Cross Country Ski Club, Smithers)
Marielle Ackermann (Kimberley Nordic Club, Kimberley)
Torin Andrews (Sovereign Lake Nordic Club, Vernon)
Coaches:
Chris Manhard (Cross Country BC)
Frank Ackermann (Kimberley Nordic Club)