The guys continued to improve today, tallying eight to nine runs in the session. The training venue was changed last minute by area management to a slope a little lower down on the glacier, starting with a moderate pitch then finishing with a long, high speed flat section. It was really good training for the guys, especially the flats, which take tons of practice to master.
One unique aspect of today's venue is how many teams are squeezed into a tight space. One team sets on the far end of the hill, and then the rest follow suit, shadowing its neighbor with a nearly identical course, with about 10-15 feet between courses horizontally. With all this happening on a wide open landscape of white, it literally looks like a high-speed jungle, easy to forget where you are. The pictures shows what it looks like. The only way to finish cleanly is to look ahead, an important aspect of the sport in general.
In the States, kids rarely if ever get to see this type of training. European skiers grow up in this setting. It is always a real treat to have the opportunity to train in an alien environment, and for our guys this was quite foreign. As was expected a few of the guys(mostly the older ones as a matter of fact) ended up in the wrong course halfway down in the first couple of runs. This is safe, as neighboring teams are always aware of each other's whereabouts and never "duel it out". See if you can figure out where Dylan accidentally switched courses in the video below.
After the first couple runs there were no more "incidents". The guys figured it out pretty quickly. They skied really well too, despite the added visual illusions. Tomorrow we will move back to yesterday's piste, Weltcup Strecke. Same program, eight to nine runs, 100%.
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