Jit's Journal: Ahhh … Europe in October

U.S. Ski Teamer Tim Jitloff writes of the triumphs and travails of October race training on an Austrian glacier

{mosimage}IT SEEMS TO ME that it was just yesterday when I stepped off the plane returning from New Zealand, and yet now I somehow find myself in Europe doing what else but skiing. It’s a tough job, I know. However, most people envision skiing in Europe as a glamorous occasion filled with beautiful scenery, chalets and epic powder skiing. This dream might be real if you’re on the Club Med trip in January, but in October it’s a completely different world. When you’re not trying to dodge rocks, the occasional tourist and glacier coverings, you’re definitely crammed in a train or gondola with more people from different countries than Baskin-Robbins has flavors of ice cream. The problem here is that the gondola usually doesn’t smell as nice as Baskin-Robbins ice cream.
    Currently I’m in Pitztal, Austria, with the Europa Cup men’s squad trying to get some training in before we can go to Colorado to prepare for the early season races. When we first arrived here I could have sworn that it was the middle of summer. The mountains around Innsbruck, which are usually dusted with snow this time of year, were bare and I had both windows rolled down in the car I was driving on the autobahn en route to the hotel. But things changed quickly as snow fell that night while my teammates and I tried to beat back the jet lag. The next morning we awoke slightly relieved to find the surrounding mountains coated with snow. I’ve always been a firm believer that you bring the weather with you when you travel, and this was the first time I was glad we brought some bad weather.
    After you’ve taken one train and two legs of a gondola ride to reach the top of the Pitztal glacier, the fresh air and views are spectacular and a huge relief. The training is as crammed as the gondolas this time of year. With the shortage of snow in Europe, there is a serious lack of training areas for the various national teams, so the places that are open are packed. All of the training lanes on the glacier at Pitztal end at the midstation of the gondola I previously mentioned, which I have decided to call “The Funnel.”
    “The Funnel” is the Europeans’ idea of organized lift loading. What it really is is a shoving match to see how many Americans they can irritate in the process of overloading a gondola. Just the other day I found myself getting stiff-armed by a 10-year-old Norwegian trying to get on the gondola before it left. I couldn’t believe it! After that I changed my whole attitude: Little kids are definitely fair game. I’m not kidding. I won’t hesitate to use my 100 pounds and several inches of advantage to put a block on a little kid anymore.
    The midstation area is the one place where you get a chance to relax after a lung-burner of a run on the glacier. Take a look around and you’ll see a couple of World Cup stars hidden among the mess of bags and skis. I had a chance to talk to Kalle Palander about his new helmet situation for slalom. This year FIS is making it mandatory to wear helmets in all events, which is a bit of a disappointment for the few slalom stars like Palander, Manfred Pranger and Cody Marshall who are used to sporting a hat when they’re slapping plastic. Palander said he was bummed out that FIS made a big deal about it since only four or five guys on the World Cup still use a hat anyway. I think it’s sad to see some of the flair from the old days slowly disappearing from ski racing. Then again, I’ve always been glad to have my helmet on when I ended up on my head.
    Later in the day we find ourselves back at the Hotel Wildspitze tired and hungry. Most of us stuff our faces with as much food as we can before getting hit with the afternoon sleepiness from food coma and jet lag. Sleeping in Europe can be complicated for many reasons. First off, you have to pick your roommate wisely. Choose the wrong roommate and you might end up being kept awake by hefty snoring.
    Secondly, in Europe the beds are essentially two twin beds connected to each other, so if a teammate likes to toss and turn all night, you might find yourself in an awkward position come the wee hours of the morning. I like to call this “encroachment,” but unlike football I don’t throw a yellow flag. Generally, an aggressive love tap works well to stop this. There is a six-inch DMZ buffer zone that you just don’t cross when Euro-bunking. Lastly, when traveling to a time zone that’s nine hours ahead of your own, you may find yourself wide awake at four in the morning staring at the ceiling listening to your roommate mutter strange words in his sleep. This is about the time you realize that you had better win a World Cup race as soon as possible so you can get your own room. People may ask what the motivation is for an athlete to win on the big stage. Is it the money? Is it the fame? No, I just want my own bedroom so when I’m lying wide awake at four in the morning, I can turn on the light in the room and just accept the fact that I’m not going back to sleep.
    I know the picture I have painted might seem a little grim, but the truth is that “The Life” isn’t always terribly fun. That said, as a group we make the best out of all tough situations. Look around the lobbies, lodges and lift areas of Europe and the people who are usually laughing and cracking jokes the most are the Americans. That’s not to say that we’re the only ones who laugh, we just know how to make things fun. Not a day goes by when I’m not able to see the good that outweighs the bad, even if it’s just the free little chocolates that are by the front door of our hotel.
    Till next time … Jit.

    P.S. — When I sat down to write this journal for Ski Racing, I thought about what it is that you, the reader, would like to hear about. So I asked my teammates for their “valuable” opinions on what I should tell you about. About five minutes into that decision, I realized that there was no way I could censor that much stuff, so I moved on. If you do have any questions about life as a ski racer or just questions relating to skiing, I encourage you to send those to jitskiracing@yahoo.com. Just keep in mind that I’m no Dr. Phil.