Finally the weather is good enough and we have a few days on skis in order to train some super g.
Very windy at the top, but no problem between the trees and map maker is a perfect hill for start off on Super G skis.
On day two we got to train on the steeper hill on a very fast track set by Alberta;
tomorrow the weather forecast is for snow……we take a day off and we will start again on wednesday with some SL
we now got three days in a row of good GS skiing in Nakiska and the weather is back to normal;
a bit windy (we were supposed to run super G with the Italian womens today but the speed lane was cancelled because of strong wind) we had great GS training on the the other hill ( more sheltered once you are between the trees)
Tomorrow the plan is the same: super G and gS skiis with us and if the weather (the wind) will cooperate we will run Super G with Sweden, if not we will train gS.
Here we are at nakiska again!
We got to canmore yesterday in the afternoon flying in to calgary in the morning and despite the very little snow around it all looked good.
Planned to train GS on red crow in the morning session we got to nakiska under the rain.
I got a ticket for myself to go up and check the slopes before to get the crew up and I found a 30cm heavy wet snow layer sitting on top of the groomed run.
Everyone was leaving; I went for a run to check it out myself and I got to the conclusion that it was not safe or good even to freeski.
Good news the new uniforms were dry inside!!
Back to canmore and just planned a good dryland session for the afternoon.
Let’s hope for tomorrow!
We have 2 days of training left here in Zermatt, before returning home on Wednesday.
We are getting spoiled with the weather and snow conditions that is for sure. We have had one month of excellent training conditions with only sunshine.
Since we have arrived here in Zermatt we have not seen a cloud, and the next few days will be the same. We are now seeing good and improved skiing from the athletes.
Last week the Swiss and the Austrian teams were training on the downhill lane. The Austrian women’s team was training GS beside the NSA. On the other side of us was the Swiss technical team training slalom, and beside them, the Italian men on GS. Today we had Swiss star Laura Gut training slalom with the NSA men and K2 team. It is so good to see and watch the best in the world train in great conditions.
With all the good weather and snow conditions, coaches feel that we all have had a very good and productive time here in Europe.
We will travel home on Wednesday October 5 from Zurich to Montreal on Swiss LX 86 arriving in Montreal at 3 PM.
From Montreal to Toronto on AC 421 arriving in Toronto at 6:15 P.M.
The Athletes traveling to Toronto will have their Ski Bag and Team equipment transported by Swiss on a Truck from Montreal to Toronto. On Thursday at 2 P.M. the Coaches will pick up all the Ski bags and team equipment in Toronto and bring it up to the Ski Academy.
If any of you need your Ski bag. you can pick it up at 2 P.M. from the Coaches on Thursday at Wendys west of the Airport on Airport Road. Please be on time as the Coaches need to get the rest back to the NSA.
All student/athletes will go home on Wednesday for a well deserved rest. Move in to the NSA on Sunday October 16 with school starting Monday October 17.
Jurg Gfeller
Hello everyone,
Due to poor weather we have had a day on Sunday day.
The previous few days we ran 2 days of GS and one day of PSL training. Again the snow was very hard and the training has been Awesome!
The day of PSL was maybe the most productive day of the week in a very productive week.
We got up the mountain yesterday but unfortunately conditions were not great, cold, with high winds but we managed a couple of good runs on the course.
We have recently purchased an electric edge sharpener. We use it on the girls skis for tomorrow.
This tool is a great addition to our equipment and will directly transfer to better performance for our athletes.
As always, “Arc em or park em”.
Best regards, Nick Kwasniak
Director of Conditioning and Injury Prevention
Women’s FIS Coach
We only have a week left here in Saas Fee, before we travel to Zermatt on Saturday for the last 10 days off the camp.
The teachers, Brian and Mark, are very pleased with the effort all Students are making and report that they will finish the English course in Saas Fee.
The day is very packed with school, ski training, dry land, ski tuning and video. Yesterday we did not ski because of the weather but the students’ made the switch quickly and met the teachers for morning and afternoon classes.
Sunday, winter arrived here in Saas Fee and we received 15 cm of snow. Today it was -12C on the glacier, with a wind-chill it of -20C. The weather looks good for the whole week, with lots of sunshine and it will warm up as well. Because Saas Fee and Zermatt are the only ski areas with good conditions, it is very busy on the glacier with many World Cup teams in the training lanes. Yesterday, the Canadian World Cup women’s technical team arrived for a 3 week camp before their season opener in Solden.
The athletes are showing good improvements in their skill development and the coaches are pleased with the progress. It is inspiring for our athletes to see world cup Skiers warming up and training beside us.
Tonight we will have Swiss Cheese Fondue for dinner and we are all excited. -Just had to mention it.
Jurg Gfeller
Hello Everyone,
Here is just a quick update on how are training is going in Saas Fee.
The team arrived back the other day from the excursion and we have just had two very good days of GS training.
Yesterday we had technical GS free skiing with a lot of excersise to get the feelings back after they had the previous 6 days off.
Today we skied GS gates on the top lane with the German SkiCross Men`s Team. The snow was rock solid for most of the session and the course set was fast, turney and very difficult. The set took a bit of getting used to but after a few runs the guys figured out the line and started to make some better turns. A great character building experience for everyone. Mel and I were happy with everyone’s improvements during the day.
Tomorrow we will train GS gates again with the German Team but set a longer course on the world cup lane.
The guys are looking forward to this and are more prepared after today.
In general we are asking a lot more from the team at this point in the camp. They have had 16 days on snow now and are aware of what they need to be doing and how they need to be prepared to focus on the hill. I am happy with the effort and focus all around.
They are also doing school everyday which makes for a very busy schedule. So far so good.
I will update you all again later next week.
Chris
