snow. Bright sun, need lots of sunscreen. Endless free skiing, if you want it.
The SG hill is long and fun, need to take two Poma lifts and a quad to get
to the top, then adrenaline rush! My group is so much fun…about 10 guys
with Jenny (Badger) and me the only break in testosterone. The Canadians
are always in front of the line getting tons of runs, Stew (Marsh) and Krony
(Tom Kronthaler) always battling it out. Jenny can’t do upcoming FIS races;
she’s too young (enjoy it), so only forerunning to prepare for the season.
Not all about the skiing
Après ski time! Oh yeah, a bit
of TLC for the muscles at the
big outdoor Jacuzzi… nice! Pool
is surrounded by the beautiful views. Time to get to know
my teammates. People from
all walks of life coming to a ski
camp! Chilean National Day is
on Friday… we are going out.
This means walking 100 feet
to a big gym, now a big dance
floor… Chilean music is blasting
out and beer cans everywhere. Let’s dance! And the locals are joining us.
Not many blondes in Chile so we attract many stares — and then there’s
Scotty who’s having lots of fun, taking over the band’s microphone! We are
now next to the band rocking, everyone’s spinning, moving, singing… what
a night out!
Red hot Chile peppers.
Race prep:
Bill Skinner got us early morning
training on the GS race hill, to
add to our sweet full-course SG
afternoon course! That should
give us a leg up. Been working
on my technique so I’m looking forward to get some timing!
Goals? Put some of the feedback
to work and get a bit closer to
the Bobby (Skinner). He’s my
point of reference when we race
together back home. The girls’
race is a mystery; you never know who’ll show up. Intimidating.
One-on-one with coach Nate.
Bring it on
Race time! GS, SG, SG, SL. Can’t
wait to experience my first FIS
Masters race. Racers from Italy,
Brazil, Switzerland, Austria,
Canada… how cool! No idea
how everybody stacks up, you
just come out of the starting gate
and race! Great snow… grippy…
my kind of conditions…no ex-cuses… just stay forward, turn
early, and rip! Small mistakes
but overall, I’m happy… third
overall in GS behind Nate and Bob; fourth in SL with Bill getting to beat
his bro and getting second. What an adrenaline rush. Yeah, I love skiing!!!!
Ripping down the racecourse.
MASTERS
In the medals
Nate crushed all the races; could
he be the year’s fastest coach? Ð
Bill and Bob Skinner on top of
their games, as usual. How can
Bill still ski so fast? Maybe it’s
that extra freight that pulls him
down the hill. How about Anne
(Nordhoy)! Class 9 classy lady
gets top 6 in most races. I want
to ski like that when I grow up!
Good friend Dasha (Kadulova)
made a great appearance swiping her class. Kudos to tough girl Meritt (Hooper)who decided that she can
totally hang with her ex-racer bfriend Bob (Bennett) and raced for the first
time. Pam (Skinner) got a medal, and it’s gold! Brian, my roomie, finally
killed it in slalom for gold like we all knew he could! Yeah, also kudos to our
Canadian camp members who showed some great form with Mike Robins
leading the way in winning
his group in three races!
And our hero, Drury Cooper, took the South American Cup title in 80-84 category. Good job team!
Celebration time.
Missed Valle Nevado?
More Masters Training Camps
SCVA
Nov. 6–14, Loveland, Colo.
Ron Bonnevie; ronbonnevie@gmail.com
Peak Performance Fall Masters Camp
Nov. 7–14, Copper Mountain Colo.
Dave Gregory; peakperformancecamp.com
Copper Mountain Race Training
Nov. 15–20, Copper Mountain, Colo.
Gary Moss; 312-659-7772; mossman14@q.com
National Alpine Ski Camps (NASC)
Nov. 21–28, Copper Mountain, Colo.
skicamps.com; 800-453-6272
Stratton Mountain Masters Camp
Dec. 7–11, Stratton Mountain, Vt.
Jim Cardenali; cardenaliskicamps.com
ASRA Race Camp
Dec. 7–10, Killington, Vt.
Jim McKeon; asra@skiracer.com; 570-344-2722
Comets Race Camp
Dec. 14–18, Stowe, Vt.
Jesse Beck; jeskev@myfairpoint.net
Return to reality
After training, racing, great
dinners, celebrations, it’s
time to return to reality. The
dreaded day has come… just
another week please…I need
a bit more time to practice
what I’ve learned. The last
day of GS timed training before we get on the bus, some
of my best runs. As I was
skiing down to the hotel I
stopped to look around and
take it all in for one more
time. Jenny slid next to me
and we agreed… if you enjoy skiing, racing, and the
mountains like we do, this
is hands-down the best vacation ever! Bill Skinner and his crew put together an awesome camp! Even
though I’m not ready, I’m leaving Chile with one of the greatest experiences,
more friendships, better turns and knowing… I’LL BE BACK!
