Dachstein = done

Well, it’s time… Time to bag up those sweaty, stinky training clothes. Time to polish off those leftovers. Time to ~~download~~ legally acquire some movies to pass the time. Time to clean up those klistery skis. Time to dig out that travel itinerary… It’s time to pack things up and head home.

The past few weeks here in Austria have absolutely blown by. It’s amazing what a change in scenery can do for you. In the past, I’ve spent the summer months training from home, just doing my own thing, hitting up the occasional team training session, or mini-camp, swinging a part time job… pretty normal junior skier lifestyle. So in terms of one year to the next, it’s been a big change for me – a good change.

Before this camp I didn’t have any firsthand experience for why these extended onsnow training camps are so great. Now that it’s all said and done I think I get it. Being able to get away from the day-to-day routines and chores of living at home takes a huge load off your shoulders. Without those little distractions I found I was able to focus more energy on getting the most out of the entire training camp, team environment, and cultural experience. That said, by the end of the trip I was looking forward to getting home and taking a break from the constant close quarters with the team and heavy training load that came with the camp. As Mae West would have said “Too much of a good thing can be taxing,”.

Taking a three week trip to Europe to train probably isn’t in the cards for most people – heck, I didn’t think it was in the cards for me until about a couple months ago. It was a phenomenal experience and there were also a lot of firsts; namely my first time to Europe, first summer on snow camp, first glacier… I don’t know about you, but for me that’s cause for a lot of excitement. It took quite a bit of self-restraint (and stern looks from Timo) to make sure I didn’t get carried away and completely ski myself into the ground. What can I say?… I’m a complete sucker when it comes to blue bird skies, stunning views, and snow.

Anyways, apologies for the rather repetitive, vague, starry eyed recap of the trip, too many good things to write about… but they say a picture says a thousand words, and I have 10 pictures here so that makes this a 10000+ word blog post? – I think that’s a record!

Big thanks to the Barrie Honda and to Dungate Windows and Doors for helping to make this trip possible, and to my parents and Aunt Judy for their steady support.

I’ll be in Southern Ontario for the next little while before bouncing up to Thunder Bay for a couple weeks then back home again for the SOD camp at the end of the month before school starts. Stay golden, ski on.

JacksonOUT

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