For the moment at least, the vacation is over. The 2010-11 Canadian Men’s Alpine Ski Team has descended on Calgary for dryland training. From veterans like Erik Guay, Manny Osborne-Paradis, and Robbie Dixon to up-and-comers like Kelby Halbert, Louis-Pierre Hélie and Tyler Nella, as well as racers John Kucera, Jan Hudec, and JP Roy who are looking to rehabilitate injuries and re-establish themselves on the world’s stage, it’s a gathering of personality and talent that occurs rarely even during the ski season.

The mood, for the most part, is light. But everyone here knows what’s at stake for the upcoming winter; a chance to improve on a successful 2009-10 season that was made even more impressive considering the adversity the team faced.

Through several injuries and the massive pressure of performing in a home Olympic Games, the Alpine team is coming off one of its most successful seasons in a quarter century on the World Cup circuit, including a Crystal Globe trophy awarded to Eric Guay as overall super-G champion – the first time a Canadian skier has received the honour in that discipline.

Besides the athletes, also gathered at Canada Olympic Park for training and testing is a cross-section of coaching and medical personnel any single skier is unlikely to see all together again over the course of the season. From sleep-specialists to dentists, sports psychologists to orthopedic surgeons, the team is under the microscope in almost every respect.

The training staff has taken fresh initiative this year, crafting a workout regimen that may be unique in the ski-racing world. With less focus on traditional extended weight room sessions and greater emphasis on multi-disciplinary full-body training, the men are adapting well to being pushed in different ways then they’re typically used to. While some team members were initially only lukewarm to the Bikram hot yoga regiment – the sessions conveniently scheduled to interfere with crucial playoff hockey-watching time – with joints loosening and muscle memory, well, remembering, the boys seem to be coming around to the hour and half, 40°C stretching sessions.

Of course, yoga is all about balance, and head conditioning coach Matt Price has chosen to balance this spring’s yoga program with alternating days of mixed martial arts training at Calgary’s BDB Martial Arts facility with Nick “The Promise” Ring of Spike TV’s reality program The Ultimate Fighter. While the kicks, punches, blocks and parries all being carried out in the name of conditioning, at least a couple of the boys were seen wobbling out of the session on Wednesday; Robbie Dixon’s foot at one point caught partner Trevor White’s elbow instead of his stomach padding during the extended kicking portion of the workout, with Stefan Guay similarly following suit only moments later while squaring off with Price. Both are tough boys, though, and were able to finish the session.

Following this camp, the majority of the team heads home for some time off before East Camp kicks off on May 24th. A few skiers will be returning to COP next week for some additional time in the gym. It is, of course, as early in the season as it could possibly be, but so far things are looking strong for these Cowboys.

Freelance writer Chad Buchholz is spending time with some members
of Canada’s Alpine Ski Team as they prepare for the upcoming season and
he’s agreed to send us a few updates and photos. Here’s the first installment of
“The Cowboy Chronicles.”