Back to Europe and into the New Year!

After a short but sweet break at home, we returned back to Lienz, Austria where we have spent a fair amount of time over the past 4 weeks. 

(Sunrise in Lienz)

(View from our farmhouse above Lienz)

 

A ski cross track has been built at Zettersfeld, so we have been training there with the German Ski Cross Team. The "Himmelfahrt" (meaning 'to the heavens' in German) was a table jump with a massive 25m+ clearance. It was intimidating at first due to the fact that you have to tuck down a steep pitch directly into the jump without turning in order to get enough speed to clear it. If you stood up out of your tuck or put in a speed check, then you would definitely not make it and land on the flat. Ouch! Straight after the jump was a large double which came quickly, so you had to be ready for it!


After I hit the jump once, I loved it and wanted to go back for more! There's something about overcoming your fears that gives me such a sense of satisfaction in this sport.


Over the past two days we have been training at Hinter Reit / Maria Alm, which is a 1.5 hours drive away, in Salzburg region, the racing capital of Austria. We have been training on ice-injected snow to get used to what is to be expected in St Johann later this week. St Johann World Cup is renowned for being double-injected and super icy, almost to the point where just standing up during course inspection becomes extremely difficult! My skis are tuned to 85 degrees (as opposed to the regular 88 degrees), meaning that they're absolute razors. It's the only way to get a grip on the blue ice, which is basically like a sheet of glass.

We have two more days of training here in Lienz, then we head to St. Johann for the World Cup.

Will keep you posted! Plus I have a video blog on it's way shortly, just need better internet to upload it!

(Sam and I at New Years Eve dinner)

(Chopper Reid and I)

(Packing the van once again)

(What my December 2010 looked like... A photo from each day)