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The days have gone by here in Geilo. So has the snow. Rain has never sounded so abysmal, pecking at the metal roof over my bedroom. With each day, the man-made snow that started as about four feet deep melts a little more. Yesterday, the sports club here decided it was a good time to start construction on a new trail bridge, so they drove a gigantic backhoe over the loop, through the shooting range, and over the loop again. 800 meters of man-made snow is now, in actuality, only about 400 meters of useable length.
Training has continued, however. The season draws nearer and there is not a day that goes by which I am not trying to improve.
The daily routine, besides training, schoolwork, recovery time, and eating, now includes multiple confirmations via the internet that snow conditions elsewhere are no better. In total, I have concluded that there are about 10-kilometers of ski trails in all of Europe, of course not including the trails on the glaciers.
Whereas “normal” people plan vacations during the winter to warm and exotic places, I am planning trips in search of snow:
Normal people: lying intoxicated on a beach in Mexico
Me: rock skiing in Kiruna, a dirty mining town in northern Sweden
Normal people: snorkeling off the coast of Florida
Me: skiing over the dark tundra of Levi, Finland, surrounded by mating reindeer
Normal people: hiking in the rainforest Oahu
Me: dodging the other 300 skiers with a rifle on my back in Muonio, Finland
After ten days of planning these “dream” trips from Norway in search of better snow, I have settled upon Beitostølen, which is just three hours away. I had planned to travel there a few days ago to do the opening races in biathlon, but they have been cancelled for obvious reasons. Now I am just hoping to be able to ski. Thanks to U.S. Biathlon coach Algis Shalna and the Norwegian coaches, who have been busily shoveling snow onto the trail, it might just be possible.
Peace,
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