Jit's Journal: La Parva, Chile

Jit’s Journal: La Parva, ChileAfter a long flight into Santiago, Chile, and a two hour drive into the mountains, I was at last in La Parva, a ski resort that provides not only some of the best powder skiing in the world, but sunsets that are by far the best I have ever seen in all my travels. With views that allow you to look all the way down to Santiago, it reminds me of the Grinch looking down on Whoville. This is not my first time here, but each time you come here it’s like opening a new can of worms. You never know what’s going to happen.

Currently I am sitting inside the house that is home base for all 11 Europa Cup and Development team athletes that are down here. Movies are always playing because we have no television, and ski equipment and clothes are strewn about the entire house. Our dinning area is full of spinner bikes and the kitchen is stuffed full of carbohydrates, dirty dishes, and tired, hungry guys. Imagine shopping for food for eleven athletes for two weeks. We cleaned the deli out at the Jumbo Mart in Santiago, while taking forty loafs of bread and more milk than I can remember. The women at the check out counter just looked at us as if we were out of our minds, which a few just might be.

The other day as we were all eating lunch two stray dogs forced their way into our house (the front door was left open), and a dog’s version of a cockfight soon took place. We would have loved to have booted the dogs out right away but one of the dogs was a mean St. Bernard that weighed over two hundred pounds. Our dinning room soon became the battleground for the two dogs as they started biting and fighting each other. As athletes scattered for safety and the dogs fought each other, it looked as if we were going to be burying a dead dog in a snow bank. If the fight had continued any longer I think a round of betting would have most likely taken place. Finally in the midst of chaos, yelps, and shouts, the dogs ran out of our house down the street and guys that had taken cover, re-emerged and finished eating their lunch with something new to talk about.

As far skiing goes, yeah we been doing that too, things are great! There is more snow than I have ever seen here, and we have unlimited access to the whole mountain which means we can set any kind of course anywhere. We have been training both SL and GS in the mornings when it is as cold as mid-winter, and by the afternoon it warms up to spring conditions.

Well the shower is free so I have to leave you now. Can you believe we have six toilets and no plunger? What kind of house is this? We’ll just add that to the shopping list for our trip into Santiago tomorrow. Until next time, train hard and have fun.

-Jit

Tim Jitloff was the 2005 Sprint / Ski Racing Junior of the Year. He will keep his online journal here all season. To read more athlete journals, or to hear industry insiders in their own words, click here.