08/09 Season Recap

 

 

I could have remained around Canmore for the entire training season but I was very happy working with Louis and having the great group of guys from the CNEPH to train with. So my training season started off a little differently then the years past. I found myself skiing at SilverStar instead of making my normal epic drive from Calgary to Quebec. I am not going to lie that I didn’t miss sitting in a hot car with no air conditioning for three to four, even though the Nish was great company when we did it together.

 

My summer of training was very busy with what seemed like endless training camps. I started off by going to Rossland BC and Peachland BC for NST Outreach camps with young athletes 12-17 years old. Even though it was very busy and hot it was nice to get a chance to meet, and work with, the next crop of athletes coming through CCC’s programs. For most of July and August I was closer to Canmore but still hammering out the training camps. With two Haig camps and also two camps at Nipika lodge (http://www.nipika.com/main.php) I was training hard but also having fun working with both Eric deNys and Louis together. After a busy summer of training in and around Canmore I left for Quebec in the middle of August to finish up my fall training with Louis and the rest of the team.

 

Once the trees started to turn from green to red I knew that winter was on its way and that it was time for our annual European glacier camp. After we arrived in Switzerland we were disappointed to see that the forecast for the Glacier in Diablerets was not very good so we made the last second decision to move our camp to Austria and to ski on the Dacstien glacier near Ramsau. Turned out to be a great decision because we were treated to amazing skiing with new snow falling many of the days that we were there. It was also a great opportunity to start gathering information on the new skis that we received.

 

Upon returning to Canada the change had begun and we could tell that winter was on its way. The workouts were getting more intense and the weather was getting colder as the final dryland preparations were underway. In the two years prior that I have spent Quebec we have been lucky to have phenomenal early season skiing at Foret Montmorency. This year though was not quite the same. Every morning we would get up and check the forecast from all of the outlying communities surrounding Quebec praying for snow, other then one short weekend of skiing at Le Massif there was nothing! So with no snow in the forecast and the racing fast approaching we headed to the West to get on some snow and start the racing season.

 

The racing season provided a very busy schedule with races all across Canada and lots of time spent overseas as well. The hectic and tiring race schedule was made lots of fun with the tremendous success the CNEPH had each stop along the tour. The success and momentum carried the team to many great results. A couple of the highlights for me were; the World Cup’s in Whistler were I felt for the first time that I have the ability to compete with the top skiers in the world! I was happy to race to a personal best of 16th in the Pursuit and a fun and exciting 9th place in the team sprint with Phil Widmer. Two weeks later at the U23 World Championships I raced to career best finishes of 10th in both Sprint and Pursuit race. Even though my season lacked many standout races I was happy with the consistency that I had to fight for a win every weekend of racing.

 

 

With the season now finished and my rest period coming to a close I am excited and ready to go for another season hoping to earn myself a spot on the Olympic team. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank all of the people who support me and make my ski career possible, from my equipment sponsors, Fischer, Swix, Salomon, to a great personal sponsor Brian Hunter, and Louis and Eric and all the people involved with both CCC and CNEPH, and finally to my family and friends.

Until next time,
Brent McMurtry