Just as July arrived and it finally started to feel like the peak of summer was around the corner, our team had to put that aside and make the trip to the glacier in Zermatt, Switzerland, for the first training camp of our off-season. The long summer days were finally growing hotter at home which added a bittersweet feeling to the idea of being back on snow so soon. After our physical testing in the spring, we spent the next couple months training hard to close the gap in our identified goal areas. One thing we added more of this summer was running, and I can vouch for the growing pains that came with it after an entire winter with the calves locked up in ski boots. On the plus side, I found the perfect pass-time to give my legs some relief after our running workouts. I’m not sure what happened this summer, but I became a little bit obsessed with fly fishing in my spare time. Living in Whistler for the summer gave me super easy access to head down to the lake for a couple hours after my workouts and throw a line in. I quickly found that standing in the cold lake water was the perfect treatment for sore legs—yet another excuse to get out there. Alas, as mid-July rolled around, it came time to put away the rod and pull out the ski gear again.
I flew to Europe a couple days ahead of the rest of our team so that I could stop in at the Atomic factory and pick up some fresh boots. As a North American athlete, often one of the only good times to visit the factory is when we have a summer camp in Europe. I wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to see those guys in person, and get some fresh red plastic straight from the source. After a morning of preparing new boots there, the rest of the team landed in Europe and we made our way up to Zermatt.
A ski camp at this time of year has a very different feel than most others. With two trips to South America planned this fall where we will have the opportunity for high-quality speed training, this camp was really about warming up and setting a solid foundation for later. We planned for ten days of skiing, beginning with technical free-skiing, progressing into GS gates, and finishing off with a few days of super G training. Given that we are far from the first races, we decided not to use timing and add the pressure of the clock. We spoke about using the days to be as open-minded as possible, and being willing to experiment with different ways of moving. Instead of relying on drills and repetitions to build a perfect, disciplined technique, we experimented with some unconventional concepts with the goal of developing new skills. It was an interesting experience trying to look at the way we ski through a new lens once the objective measurement of the clock was removed. I did my best to jump on board with the concept but quickly ran into some sticking points. You may have picked up from previous writing that I tend to be someone who looks for concrete evidence of what’s good or bad, right or wrong, fast or slow. Through this exercise, I soon began to feel some tension between the things we were looking at in our skiing, and wanting to know whether it was the right path or not. It’s the same kind of tension I feel sometimes during the race season when I want a result badly, and it seems the way to get it is to find the “perfect line” or “perfect execution”. The reality is those things don’t really exist. So this exercise of letting go of the concrete evidence was a slightly uncomfortable thing for me at times, but something I hope will be a helpful practice for race season.
One of the hazards of glacier skiing in July is of course the unpredictable weather. The European teams certainly have an advantage over us when it comes to planning around the weather as they can pop in when it’s looking good and head home for a break when a storm system arrives. For us, we have our two weeks booked and have to make the best of what we get. Sure enough we had our weather challenges and only ended up being able to ski 7 days in that span. The conditions were quite soft at first, which wasn’t such a big deal considering we were mostly free-skiing on those days. After four days of training a small storm kept us in the valley for two days. Following that we had an epic three-day window of clear skies and hard snow just as we started to build up in the GS and super G gates. Unfortunately the camp came to an anticlimactic end as we spent each of the last three mornings on hold in the line-up at 6:30am only to get the message that the glacier was closed for the day. On the other hand, there’s nothing like a bunch of cancelled days in a row to make you feel ready to get out of there and head home.
The skiing portion of the trip was over, but we had one more stop to make before heading back to Canada. Following my teammate’s coronation as the 2025 Kitzbuhel downhill winner, there was the unfinished business of presenting Jack Crawford with his new Hahnenkammbahn gondola cabin. Jack organized the ceremony to take place in Kitzbuhel right after our camp, which allowed for some of us to stay a couple extra days in Europe and attend. The proceedings began with a reunion of sorts as everyone gathered at the bottom gondola station. Between our team, Jack’s family, and so many who have been involved in supporting us along the way, it already felt special to have all those people together. We met many of the Hahnenkamm organizers and supporters, listened to some introductory speeches, then made our way up to the top station for the reveal of Jack’s gondola. We were treated to a delicious Tyrolean-style lunch right above the start gate, and had the opportunity to mingle with many of the people who work from behind the scenes to make the race happen. It was certainly a very different vibe than what we normally experience while at the start house in January. Next time I’m there it will be time to risk it all once again, and to see if we can repeat the Canadian success story.
Next up: a three-week training block in the gym, squeezed in before our next camp in Chile. That also means I have three weeks to try and catch my first salmon on the fly rod before we leave again. Wish me luck, and as always leave a comment below if you would like to know anything more.
Cheers,
Brodie