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My Dad hates to leave things behind. Over the years he has developed a Master Ski List of things not to forget. Not that the average person would forget their snowboard or skis, but he even writes those items down. This list is locked quietly away in a filing cabinet and perused a few weeks before each family trip. A blanket is laid out on an unused part of the floor and accessories are assembled together there for about a week before the trip.

I have, unfortunately, inherited this inclination toward retentiveness, and yes, often anally retentiveness runs deep in my family. Yes, it makes having friends very difficult. In any case, here are 4 ski accessories most often forgotten taken from the manuals of Dad’s Lord of Lists (Including: A Horror Story of what happens if you do forget!)

Ski Poles

I talked about these little understood but most necessary accessories last week. Well, these are one of the top ski holiday utensils most often forgotten. My twin brother brought one of his (sort of) expensive Scott’s and not the other. He took it to the ski rental shop to find a match—I can see it now: “I’d like to rent one, yes one, ski pole.” At any rate, he sat it down to ask about renting another single ski pole and this one disappeared. It either walked off or was stolen. Anyway, he now had only one ski pole at home, forever going on ski vacation thereafter and trying to rent one ski pole. True story!

Goggles

Whether for snowboarding or snow skiing, goggles are just so darn necessary that they are often lost or forgotten. Those Smiths, Oakleys or Zeals are not something you want to replace often. At any rate, here’s the horror story: This one time a band camp…no, wrong story…ski camp…my sister forgot her goggles. So, she rented a pair and had to sign for them, agreeing that they were not damaged. Not too long after, she damaged them. It was more of a crack than a scratch if I remember correctly. She had to pay for them, as per the agreement.

Helmets

It seems like every sport these days requires a helmet. I have one for biking, rock climbing and for skiing. Depending on the slopes, however, I don’t often wear it like I should. Helmets are so easily forgotten or misplaced that it’s best to tick them off of the list once they are for sure in the car. I personally like the Bern or Giro models (for biking). One time, I accidentally left my helmet on top of the 4X4 going from Courchevel in France to a smaller no-name resort and it flew off the top, unbeknownst to any of us. I’m sure it fitted someone else perfectly and they considered themselves very fortunate. I was not as fortunate delving out another €127  for a new one. No apres ski drinking (or girls) for me that year!

Funny Pack

My mom will not leave the house without it. My grandma uses it for everything from used tissues to hiding bags of candy. My brother and I can’t get within the vicinity of them with their fanny packs without laughing our heads off, and I’m older now, but I still laugh out loud. Here’s a suggestion: The little back country pouches that ride your fanny (butt) are fanny packs and are great to poke fun at—funny packs. The larger ones, used for important gear, called lumbar packs, are not so funny. So, choose the latter over the former if at all possible. Two lumbar packs (not fanny packs) are made my NorthFace and Eagle Creek. If you plan to get off-piste at all, like in the hills of France in Chamonix or like in Innsbruck or Tux in Austria, you’ll want a fully prepared lumbar pack (not funny, er, fanny pack – enough of a horror story in itself here).

Canada isn’t one of the safest places when it comes to alpine and cross-country skiing. Sometimes the slopes and tracks are very close to trees, the ski lift support beams are covered with some of the thinnest cushions I’ve ever seen on ski slopes and gorges and precipices are fenced off by narrow bands. Apparently they feel that all they have to do to ensure safety is to include a disclaimer on their skiing tickets stating that everyone is skiing at their own risk. Anyway, the ditches and gorges next to the cross-country tracks were unprotected as well. The first one to notice this was the best cross-country skier in the world, Justina Kowalczyk, who warned the technical delegate for women’s cross country sprints that a particular turn on the slopes is dangerous
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The technical delegate was Uroš Ponikvar, a fellow Slovene, who told Kowalczyk to leave him alone and to get ready for the race. Several minutes after this, Petra Majdič fell in the gorge on the exact same turn. She fell 3m and landed on ice and rocks breaking both her skis and skiing poles and hit herself badly. The security staff got her out and wanted to take her to the hospital, but Petra wanted to take part in the qualifications. After it became clear that she felt pains in her abdomen and ribs, she agreed to have an ultrasound examination, but only after ensuring that she’d be allowed to start last in the qualifications.

The ultrasound showed that nothing was broken; it was just a very serious blow. Petra was relieved, took some painkillers and went to the start line. She managed to get through qualifications and ran extremely well in the quarter finals. She was in agonizing pain, but gave everything she had and then some. They literally carried her off the finish line after every race. In the semi-finals, her adversaries were just too strong. She fell behind two of them, who would then be guaranteed a place in the finals, but kept going because she could still qualify on the basis of her time. She came in fourth, but got through to the finals.

Exhausted and in serious pain, she was about to start the race of her life. She knew that such an opportunity would never come along again. She knew she won’t be able to recover enough to attend the 30km race, that she’d be too old for the Sochi Olympics. She had worked 20 years for this opportunity. So it was now or never and after a truly heroic performance she won a bronze medal. She gave the last ounces of her strength for it, fainted as she crossed the finish line and some even thought she’d need resuscitation
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Other coaches and competitors said her achievement was the equivalent of a gold medal, but Petra Majdič said that it was more: “It is gold with little diamonds in it.” They took her to a hospital soon after and a thorough examination showed that in fact, she had 4 broken ribs and a pierced lung. This season is over for her, but Petra’s Olympic dream still came true.

If you think skiing is cooler without ski poles or that they just hinder your every move, then you’ve been missing out on one of the most cleverest ways to not only improve but also do your best. More often than not, the instructor will tell you not to use ski poles as a beginner. This is only to help you focus on your center of gravity, starting at your core and spreading out through your butt, thighs and angle of your legs. Once you start to gain equilibrium, however, skiing poles will become your best friend throughout your skiing career: from beginner to intermediate to expert and onward. Here are some things to keep in mind no matter your skiing ability before you buy the El-Cheapo ski poles or decide to ditch them altogether.

Parts of the Ski Pole
Grip – the bottom of the ski pull; the part your hand grips around
strap – the nylon strap your hands go through to make sure you don’t leave your ski pole mid-piste
shaft – the part of the pole between the grip and the tip; these are made of graphite, metal or aluminium
basket – this is that plastic, round and flat piece a few inches (5-8 cm) above the ski pole tip
Tip – this is the top or tip of the ski pole; it’s usually pointy, can be sharp and made of unpainted metal.

Other Than Intended

Ski poles are often used, quite nicely, for things they really are not intended for. One example is to hit that little button on the back of your ski that unlocks your boot from the ski. I’m not sure how else anyone would push that oh-so-far little fastener anyway. Also, ski poles are a great way to knock the snow off your ski boot bottom. Again, it’s really the only way. But, before you think this is all ski poles are good for, think again.

How To Buy

I’ve seen ski poles for as little as 20-30 euros to well over 200 euros. The former gets you some form of metal and plastic glued together while the latter gives you the best composites of carbon and graphite money can buy. If you’re a beginner, shoot for the medium priced pair (durable enough to handle some falls, like aluminum) and if you’re an expert, buy the best you can afford. At any rate, you can check for the proper fit (size) if you turn the poll upside down. Simply grab the shaft of the pole that is just underneath the basket. Your forearm should be somewhat parallel to the ground. If too short, you won’t be able to stand upright; if too long, you’ll have trouble turning and be pushed backwards onto your heels. Some newer models are telescoping, but I’d only recommend these if they are a pair of the more pricey variety. If you’re an expert skier, you may want to be professionally fitted, as these are just rules of thumb, not rules to compete in competition by.

Grip Fitting

You’ll want grips on the ski poles that either ergonomically fit your hands or will eventually mold to their grip. However, I use a pair made of cork that smoothed out over time that I totally love. So, the most important thing about the grip is comfort, since no two hands are exactly alike. It’s wise to make sure your gloved-hands will fit into the straps without difficulty before you buy as well. You’ll enter the straps from the underneath, and if you’re an expert, it is often wise to have straps that will “unsnap” or come off if you get finagled in a tree or bush. The strap can be used in conjunction with the grip to hold your weight as well. The grip of a woman or man’s ski pole can be thick or thinner depending on the intended use. Be sure that your hand can easily fit around the grip when skiing.

The Olympics came to a bad start, and let’s hope they will lead to a good end. First of all, the Georgian luger’s tragic accident at training. Nodar Kumaritashvili flew off the track at 150km per hour and collided with a support beam. He was dead in an instant. The saddest thing about this tragic event is that they were considering padding the beams in the morning but decided not to. This event shook everyone involved in the Olympics, and they honoured his memory with a minute’s silence. Now there’s a wooden fence around the tracks, preventing a similar event. Unfortunately, it’s too late.

New link for video HERE

There was trouble at the opening ceremony as well. All the technology involved in lighting the fire failed, because all the torches didn’t come up as they were supposed to. A fair bit of improvisation was needed, but they couldn’t hide how uncomfortable everyone was by this malfunction. Speed skater Catriona LeMay Doan was the worst off since she didn’t get to light the Olympic fire.

You can’t influence the weather, but Vancouver seems to be holding slightly chilly summer Olympics. It’s raining every day and the temperatures are above freezing point all the time. Organisers were already forced to postpone several alpine skiing competitions. Both slopes that were meant to hold the races are simply too soft to withstand the style of skiing these professionals have. The upper part of the slope is snowing all the time and they’re trying to shovel it away, and it’s raining on the lower half. They can’t use chemicals because they’d ruin the slopes, and those have to hold all disciplines.

Everyone is nervously watching the weather report. The current predictions say that the night from Sunday to Monday will bring below zero temperatures. In that case, the snow would freeze and we’d be able to witness some high-quality skiing. It is clear however, that the first to go down the slope would have an incredible advantage over the last ones.

Current Webcam Whistler Olypmic Games

And another complication. Because my speciality is alpine skiing, I attend all the technical meetings as well. When a public draw isn’t held, and it never is at the Olympics, they decide on start numbers at one of these meetings. The Canadians prepared special stones for this draw and wrote numbers on them. The problem is, these stones weren’t exactly the same shape and this, of course, caused an uproar among the coaches.

As I already mentioned, the first few start numbers will have a distinct advantage over everyone else. Competitors, ranked from 16 to 30 in the WCSL start list, are desperate to get a hold of them. Here’s the problem: Robbie Dixon is the Canadian downhill champion, he’s in good shape and would be capable of getting a medal with a little help from a good start position. The coaches took a look at the stones and saw, that it would be possible for someone who knew what he was looking for to find a particular stone, say number 3 or 4.

As I said, the coaches rebelled. The organisers weren’t prepared for it, but they had to give in to their arguments. Günther Hujara (FIS’s main judge) sided with the coaches at once and demanded they change the stones to balls, identical to the touch. It was late by that point and it was impossible to buy 60 ping pong balls in Whistler. So Hujara proposed they open 60 plastic bottles, which he spotted in the back of the tent, where the meeting took place, and drew numbers twice from 1 to 30. The coaches then agreed this would be a fair draw.

After all these complications they finally settled on a lineup, but it had no real meaning. The downhill race was postponed and the draw was annulled with it. The rules say that when a race is cancelled, the start numbers must be reassigned. So the next meeting will hold a draw as well, and hopefully, the Canadians will be prepared with something a bit more refined than bottle caps.

Urban Laurenčič

I think, deep down, I was prepared for what was to come. I just didn’t want to face it until it was right in front of me. From the second our producer gave me the plane tickets to Vancouver and I saw the times of departure and arrival, I knew what it would be like.

I hate long distance flights. I avoid them whenever I can help it, which is why I never go on far away vacations.

I generally like flying, but definitely not for ten hours. I can’t figure out why I can’t sleep on planes, so I have to waste my time reading, watching movies, drinking, stretching. And it’s still annoying as hell.
This was a necessary intro if I want to stress how incredibly relieved I was when I landed in Vancouver after 18 hours. The first thing we had to do was to confirm our press accreditations which, in the last few years, thankfully took place at the airport; an incredibly practical idea. Next we picked up our luggage and were directed to the buses which would take us to Whistler.

This world renowned, up-class resort is the location to where the majority of the competitions will take place. It only made sense for my co-workers and I to find accommodation in the centre of it all.

Glad that everything was going so smoothly, I pushed my trolley towards the parking lot. I knew that I was facing yet another two hours of driving but the thought of a shower and a bed at the end of it all calmed me down considerably. That was the plan at least, before a young man with a fake Olympic smile informed us that the bus wasn’t there yet.

Five minutes, the young man told us. Two and a half hours later, when the bus still wasn’t there, I wasn’t the only one feeling borderline suicidal. All my co-workers from the Slovene National TV, our colleagues from Austria and the ZDF German crew shared our desperation.

Eventually, we did manage to make it to Whistler and this wasn’t to be the end of our problems. The driver wasn’t a local and by this I mean he had never yet set foot in Whistler. He did have a commendable desire to take everyone right to the doorstep of their hotel but since he didn’t know where he was half the time, this got more and more annoying. He typed the coordinates into his Garmin and then struggled with the town’s new driving regime, set up for the Olympics. When we did manage to find a hotel, it was usually located at the end of a series of narrow roads and passages and took forever to get back out again. Long story short, 7 hours after landing in Vancouver I got to my hotel room, too tired to even get upset.

The next morning when I woke up, Whistler was looking better than ever in the morning sunlight. I’ll write about the town itself later, for now I’ll just say that it’s very clean and there are two vast skiing areas on either side of the town. When I manage to find some free time during the day, I’ll definitely try out what the skiing is like here. That is, if the weather will get any better. Rain and overcast weather are coming in from Hawaii, the organisers haven’t managed to set up the men’s downhill training and the forecast is even worse for the upcoming days. It seems that even the backup plans and basic schedules for competitions will have to be altered.

The conditions are similar to Europe’s spring but it isn’t clear how long this bad weather will last. At the speed with which the weather changes around here, it might be that we will complain about excess snow in just a few days. The official opening ceremony is drawing nearer and nearer, the athletes have arrived and the spectators are gathering. The games can begin and we just need  the weather to cooperate.

More  Unique Adventures To Try in 2010

At the end of January I introduced you to some unique and even crazy pursuits to pursue and peruse this winter if :

A. You’re tired of skiing or snowboarding or the whole scene; or

B. You just don’t have the skills to be flailing down those impossible grades anyway. Now, I’ve got an activity for those with a problem.

C. You just aren’t into moving that much when on your ski holiday. Well, the kids aren’t the only ones who get to play from this day forward. Here are some other No Skills Necessary (not too difficult) Adventures (in their own way!) to try out this year.

Snowmobiling

If you like mounting a jet ski in the summer and riding over waves and pulling off 360s, then you’ll love snowmobiling; especially if you don’t want to have to do any work whatsoever. Snowmobiling gives you the chance to go out and about, cross-country style without the calorie-burning workout.

Everyone knows the Spanish love to get into a vehicle and go crazy, so odds are one of the best places to try snowmobiling this winter is in Spain or France. In the Sierras and near Malaga is where most Spaniards become suicidal adrenaline junkies. The area has some great inflatable tobogganing runs too—both unique minus the physicalness.

Dog Sledding

Though I’ve mentioned it before with horses, sledding with dogs can be one of the most No Skills Necessary approaches to having an exercise-free ski vacation. All you have to do is hold on and every-so-often yell, “Mush.”–Yep, that easy! If you want a romantic ride with a lover at sundown or organize an inter-familial race through the back country, both become possible behind a few mutts. They even make sit-down sleds that come with your own guide—talk about the ultimate of lazy leisure.

Ice Fishing

This does not mean you are looking for frozen fish. Ice fishing is probably the penultimate lazy leisure pastime, good for drinking hot cocoa, beer or other Russian-made mixed drinks containing 90% proof Vodka. The really cool thing about ice-fishing is you get your own little cabin, or you can share it with a couple friends. There’s not much to do but veg about when waiting on half-frozen fish to get hungry, so bring a book, a story-telling friend or a bunch of your favourite magazines and laze the day away.

Resorts such as Cortina d’Ampezzo in Italy and Kiruna in Sweden, along with anywhere that has lakes and ponds, but bring your own auger if you plan on going alone.

Igloo Building

If you’ve always wanted to see yourself huddled in your own snowcapped igloo, look no further this ski season. Igloo building may take a little more effort than ice fishing or snowmobiling, but if you take your time, you won’t work up too much of a sweat. Often, people carve castles out of the ice so it’s not too much to ask to construct your own dog-house size home in the snow is it?

The areas on the border of France and Spain in the Pyrenees is likely igloo central for some odd reason. Plus, your kids will really think it’s cool that you built them a snow fortress, even if it is just a pile of dug out snow. Snowball fights don’t exactly take too much energy as well. Make two igloos and use them as forts of protection during the snowball fight. I think it was Puy Saint Vincent in France that even has a igloo building competition each year, but I’ll have to fact check that for you. Have a happy No Skills, lazy leisure ski holiday this year!

When I diverted my attention from the debate which was taking place at our table, I noticed a lone diner in the corner of the restaurant. The gentleman was eating a steak and enjoying a glass of red wine. He gave a distinct impression of a confident man, one who keeps himself and his surrounding under control. Makes sense, I thought. Otherwise he’d never be the most successful skier in the history of alpine skiing. To win 25 downhill races in the World Cup Championship, he needed to be daring, focused, egotistical and a bit crazy.

I got up and walked over to him. I spoke to him in German and invited him to join us for a drink at our table. I figured that such an important guest shouldn’t be left to himself in Kranjska Gora. Franz Klammer was visiting Kranjska Gora as a representative of Bad Kleinkircheim which, together with Tarvisio and Kranjska Gora, is a candidate for the organisation of the World Cup Championship in Alpine Skiing in 2017.

I introduced myself and when I told him that my colleague and winner of the Adelboden slalom in 2000, Matjaž Vrhovnik, is also at the table, he accepted my invitation. I must admit I was quite proud of myself as I waited on tenterhooks for the arrival of our intriguing Austrian guest.

After the mandatory greetings and introductions the atmosphere loosened up considerably and Klammer sat with us for a good hour and a half. It could have been even longer, but they were closing up the restaurant. Franz Klammer turned out to be a great person to talk to, both in German and in English, to which we switched so that the others could join the conversation.

He didn’t come across as self-centred for a minute, and if I didn’t know better, I’d say that a perfectly normal person was sitting amongst us – this was, however, the skier that dominated the slopes in the second half of the 70’s.

We mostly talked about skiing, and it was just a matter of time before we got to the winter Olympics in Vancouver. I remembered Kjetill A. Aamodt winning gold in super G in Turin with a performance that would normally come in 10th, at least that’s what the analysis showed. I wondered why those who ski incredibly well in races each week, can’t seem to put themselves together and do the same in the Olympics.

Franz Klammer heard me out and after a short pause replied that the role of a favourite in such an immense competition is a very ungrateful one, and that pressure is incredibly high. I replied that people like himself, or Michael Walchhofer or Didier Cuche as his modern equivalents, shouldn’t succumb to such nonsense. A skier that wins regularly in World Cup races has nothing left to prove to anyone. He thought again for a moment and said “If I hadn’t won gold in 1976 at Innsbruck, I’d still be a champion, but never a legend.” I remembered that race in a second; the day that every Austrian was sure Olympic gold was as good as theirs. Klammer made a series of mistakes on the upper half of the slope, but made up for everything in the middle and bottom, beat Bernhard Russi and won by 0,33 seconds.
A legend was born.

This is what athletes will be fighting for from the 13th of February. For themselves, for their country, for glory, for fans, for money. Two incredible weeks lie ahead, full of drama, surprises, sensations and tragedies – things only the Olympics can offer. Off to Vancouver!

The Littler Known Places to Go, Ski, and See

Just because a ski resort is little known (or not known at all) doesn’t mean that it is has no good outdoor winter activities. Quite the contrary: Some of the best kept secrets are that exactly—the places that not too many people think of going. Though the locals may know about their own best-kept secrets, it doesn’t mean that you can’t barge in for some serious skiing or boarding on your neighbors powder. I’ve come up with some out-of-the-way ski destinations and what you can do there this winter. It’s time to give up the crowds, expense and go native.

Andorra

Though you may have never thought of taking a visit to Andorra—that little speck tucked between Spain and France—there are some ski resorts you won’t soon forget. One that comes to mind is Vallnord Ordino, Arcalis. Arcalis is literally concealed between the main Cercle d’Arcalis, a valley with some snowy north-facing slopes with trees all around. Aside from some crazy locals and those living in the neighboring towns (across the borders), you won’t find this place overblown with tourists. The nearly 700 meter drop won’t leave you laughing except for the joy of being alive (OK, it’s not that bad) and  there probably more snow making machines per  hectare than any other European snow resort.

Austria

It’s a little harder than you might think finding a “small” or “reclusive” ski resort in Austria that no one has ever heard of. One that I came across, however, is not as small and popular as it feels. Lech (Zurs am Arlberg) is one of those getaways that you won’t be disappointed I when you get here. There’s a few more than 100 ski slopes to choose from and a cool children’s park and a few times a day you can jump on a horse drawn sleigh. The 2800 meter vertical will take up plenty of your day perfecting.

Germany

The little-heard of ski resort of Wallberg in Germany is a recluses dream ski holiday. Though there is one great toboggan run around 7 km long and a ski slope meant for true experts, Wallberg is meant for those who come to do other activities in the snow. Those few souls looking for outdoor adventure away from the crowds during the ski season come to Wallberg for cross-country skiing, primo explorations around lake Tegernsee and Nordic skiing. Others come for the views and the unconventional panoramic views from the restaurant.

Switzerland

If you’re looking for a small escape in the land of plenty, then a trip to the 10 ski slopes at Kandersteg will keep you solo and happy. The number of km for the slopes is about 50 km, so there’s some nice diversity in the long runs. However, Kandersteg really only caters to intermediate and expert skiers, again, making it an escapist’s snowy dream. (There are some blue slopes, so don’t fret.) You can even get up to 3000 meters and head down the 1700 metered slope as many times san-lines as much as your heart desires. Kandersteg probably has the cheapest weekly rates, starting at around 115 Euro per week. Not too shabby, eh?

It’s always hard to skip powder days because of the contests, but in this case it was worth it

Gloryfy bastards was a contest with the best format ever. Hitting the biggest hip of my life in Gerlos at night was one of the best experiences I’ve ever had.

I came to Gerlos on Friday night and missed the training and when I saw the feature I was blown away. A perfect shaped hip almost in the middle of the village was looking really cool and pretty big. 18m of flat at the top which looked sketchy to hit over but soon this myth was busted when I started to hit it during morning practice.

Within 6 attempts I decided to go a bit faster and jumped over for the first time. Came a bit short but everything was ok.

Qualifications started with a jam session of snowboarders before skiers and snowboarders didn’t step it up. One of them made it over with a backside 180 and that scared me a bit because my first goal was to do some cool tricks over.

It was snowing and there wasn’t much speed. Our time was up and the skiers were all pumped. I did a couple of jumps on the side and then surprised everyone by doing a smooth 540 over the whole thing. Since then everything just went crazy. Everyone saw that it was possible to do so they stepped up their game as well. It was madness already in Qualis. My team-mate and I made it through to the finals which was pretty cool.

The finals started with a best trick session where I made a mistake and didn’t land my 900 tail. But the team finals were still ahead of us. We did a run with his 180 and my 540 and decided to go for all or nothing on the second run. We didn’t make it so we had to be pleased with 3rd place which is  pretty ok for this invitational contest that had also beaten me up so many times before with big crashes.

Once I came up short and knocked my knee into my face and broke a lens. Another other time I went for a 9 and as soon as I came out I knew it was going to be big. I couldn’t see anything in mid air, but when I came out, I saw I was still 5m too high for a sweet landing and landed really deep and ejected out of my skis. The feature was 10m high and as you can see from the photo that I was already pretty high, so you can imagine how big the crash was.

As soon as I came home I got a call from my friends saying that powder time was on and we built a kicker in the back-country and got no shots which was a bummer.

Today, however, we went across one peak and found a perfect playground which helped us shred the best pow of the year and put a big smile on our faces.

So many things can happen in just a few days and I’m already stoked about the new snowfall which is coming in a few days!