Just a couple weeks ago I was soaking up peak summer at home, and honestly, the idea of heading into winter in South America didn’t feel all that exciting. That’s part of the gig as a ski racer, though—when everyone else is in full summer mode, it’s time for us to get back to work. Now, on the other side of our two weeks in Chile, I’m stoked to say Portillo absolutely delivered one of the best pre-season camps I’ve had to date.
Portillo is without a doubt one of the best speed training venues in the world. Sitting at 2800m in the Andes right on the Argentinian border, the resort offers a mix of steeps and rolling terrain on both sides of the valley. Leading up to our trip, though, the big question was whether there would be enough snow. The downhill course normally starts with 6 or 7 turns down the steep “Roca Jack” pitch, but we were told it was unskiable this year due to rock slides and avalanches. That section is usually a highlight, but our staff was confident we’d find ways to adapt. Luckily, we arrived the day after an 80cm dump of snow, which did wonders to cover up the low-snow season. Conditions were a bit soft at first, so we opened camp with a couple days of giant slalom before moving onto speed skis as the surface firmed up.
With Roca Jack off-limits, we had to get creative. One solution was spending more time on the “dark side” of the valley, opposite the usual track. That run is shorter but features a steep pitch, a tricky fallaway corner, and low visibility in the early hours before the sun rises. To make it even more interesting, we worked with the mountain crew to install a grooming winch anchor high above the standard start, which gave us an entirely new upper section. Our head coach, John Kucera, was especially fired up—he was likely one of the last athletes to train from that high up more than a decade ago. That part of the hill hadn’t been groomed since.
When we used the lower portion of the downhill track below the closed Roca Jack pitch, we extended the course farther down the valley. That meant skiing past the snowmobile pickup point and instead hopping on a bus back to the hotel each run. I think it’s safe to say we squeezed every ounce of terrain and variety out of that mountain.
One of the long-standing Portillo traditions is the Condor Cup, a mock race series designed to sharpen our competitive edge before the season. It began long before our generation, but our team adopted the tradition and decided to make it a combined event with a downhill, super G, and GS. The original trophy was an ancient pair of rear-entry boots signed by past winners like Aleksander Aamodt Kilde and Aksel Lund Svindal. In recent years we’ve added trophies made from boulders that rolled down the Roca Jack pitch, carving the winners’ names into them with boot-grinding tools. As if we weren’t already competitive enough, the chance to have your name literally etched in stone takes things up another notch. I managed to win the downhill title for the second year in a row, add my first super G win, and snag third in the GS to take the overall. The prize money (a protein bar) wasn’t great, the field (three athletes) wasn’t exactly deep, but the bragging rights were priceless.
During our second week, the American women’s speed team joined us. We often overlap with them in Portillo, and they’re a fun group to have around. Whether we were sharing a course or playing games in the afternoon, the female presence was definitely a welcome addition to our otherwise all-male crew. Notably present was the great Lindsey Vonn, preparing for her second season since coming out of retirement. Training alongside her was cool enough, but I had another agenda. As many of you know, I’ve spent the last four years raising funds and awareness for ALS through my Helmet4Hope initiative. Three years ago Lindsey broke the news that she had lost her mom to ALS, and in doing so probably raised more awareness than I could in all my four years combined. I wanted to connect with her, share what I’ve been doing, and hopefully gain another ally in the fight. Not only was Lindsey open and supportive, but we had a really honest conversation about our experiences with ALS. I offered her some #endALS stickers without any expectation, and was touched when I spotted one on her helmet a couple days later. She’s an icon of our sport, and it was special to have such a down-to-earth connection with her as I prepare for year five of my fundraiser.
One of my personal goals for the camp was committing to daily mindfulness practice, ideally first thing in the morning to set the tone for my day. If you read my blog from last year’s Portillo camp, you likely picked up that I was totally burnt out by the end. The altitude and intensity take a toll, and after that experience I was determined to have a better strategy this time. Taking a few quiet minutes each morning—even with our early wake-ups—helped me start calm instead of rushing straight into the chaos. We broke the camp into two six-day blocks, which are long stints in a place like Portillo. The fitness from summer training was reassuring, but even more encouraging was how mentally fresh I felt through to the end. That was a major struggle for me through the second half of last season, so building these tools feels crucial.
Despite all the immense positives, the camp came to a close on a slightly sour note for me. On the last run of our final day—just hours before heading to the airport—I tweaked something in my back during a GS turn. At first it didn’t seem like much, but everything seized up as I cooled down, and suddenly I was moving like a geriatric. With only a ten-day turnaround before we fly back to Chile for the next camp, getting this (hopefully minor) injury sorted is now priority number one. Unfortunately, that bumps catching my first salmon on a fly rod down to priority number two—but not off the list entirely.
Thanks for reading—I hope you enjoyed the update. As always, feel free to leave a comment or question below.
Hey Brodie
Great reading about your Portillo experiences
Especially Lindsay Vonn. I think back at seeing here win at Whistler in 2010
Keep up the great work I am out fly fishing in Squamish Big salmon runs this year
Ski safe out there
Drew
Thanks for sharing, Meat-Hook. It sounds like you all pulled off a highly effective camp despite the low snow. Love the creativity and positive outlook. I remember training off the high start on the Condor side, dark and bumpy! Hope your back is getting sorted out.
Thanks for sharing, Meat-Hook. It sounds like you all pulled off a highly effective camp despite the low snow. Love the creativity and positive outlook. I remember training off the high start on the Condor side, dark and bumpy! Hope your back is getting sorted out.