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1-25-2018 In Seefeld XC skiing

January 25th, 2018 · No Comments

Seefeld is definitely a Mecca for XC and we are front and center looking (or at least I am) at the Olympic arena. The hotel is tired and the room is in desperate need of a renovation, but location and view is A+++.

The Day Begins

Anyway, I joined the group for about 5K and then it seemed like everyone was going a different speed or working on Technique, so I just went skiing. What was really cool was that the World Cup guys and girls were skiing around so first two Austrian team members came by, skiing really slowly, so I just skied behind them making sure I didn’t crowd. They were very nice and I just watched the technique and tried to emulate. They are smooth, are perfectly balanced and they really glide. Anyway, they stopped, and went a different way from me but said “Servus,” which is sort of “Aloha” in southern Germany and Austria. Very nice.

I’ve been on my skate skis the entire time here and have not taken the classic skis out. The conditions are just too variable (too hard to wax for kick) and I haven’t classic skied at all this year (I would be super sore the first time out) so those skis and poles may stay in my giant Rossignol ski bag.

I skied on and two Germans passed me, going faster. Their speed was too fast so off they went. The weather was beautiful. Here’s a short video to see the trails:

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A saw a bunch of other team uniforms including Czechoslovakia and the US (I saw Simi Hamilton at the end of my ski). I continued to ski to a cabin that seemed like a good place to meet the group at Neuleutasch but was so early, I skied the 5K loop a second time, then called Garrett only to find out I was past the actual meeting spot near Wildmoos, so I skied an extra 10K or so, which really wasn’t a big deal since I’m here to ski.

The runs here are far easier than what I’m used to, mainly because of the low altitude and what the high altitude does to your aerobic capacity. The skiing is good and seems like early March conditions in Aspen (hard in the mornings, soft and slushy by 1:00 or so. Garrett met me at the refuge, and we spoke with a nice Austrian couple who walked there with their dog. People are usually surprised that Americans can speak even a word of German.

You can walk or ski, sit down and get a nice lunch served; it’s really a great way to be outside and I see the attraction. Alcohol is served, often as a freebie, it seems all the time. I don’t partake since I don’t want to ski under the influence, particularly.

I skied back to the hotel with Garrott and it’s great to ski with someone with fantastic skills; he gave me a couple of tips, gently. Hold my hands closer to my body. I skied a total of about 25K or so.

At 2:30 we walked over to the US XC Ski Team wax truck to see what goes on behind the scenes. The US has a new waxing truck and we got a tour from the coach, Matt Whitcomb, and the waxing team, which looks like at least five guys. Each wax tech has two ski team members (one guy, one girl) they look after. The truck is really amazing and everything is state of the art. It cost over $1 million. They have over 600 pairs of skis they carry around, plus some very well-equipped waxing benches.

The group (and me) were really into this stuff and everyone had pretty good and relevant questions about waxing, race support and the American team. We talked about the doping Russians a bit, since there truck was next door. It seems like everyone pretty much remains friends and lets the national bodies (IOC, …) figure it out.

After that, which took 1.5 hours, the members of the group who volunteered to forerun the course (which Garrett had arranged. He’s got some pull! ) got credentials, which is super cool. Now I feel really important. The idea is they send some skiers off before the actual race begins to give the TV cameras a reference to set up their shots, then again to close the course, then again before and after each run.

Because I’m writing this, I don’t have the time for the next arranged activity: yodeling. That’s too bad for me or should I say think you.

Dinners are set with many courses and for Americans very overdone. This evening there were five courses, maybe more, as I counted them. Dinners last a long time and are a production here. Tonight there were five courses and everything is cooked with tubs of butter, tastes good and is rich! I assume if you cook mud in enough butter, it would taste wonderful.

 

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