At the last minute, I decided to go to Finland with the Ontario Ski Team, to train in the Ski Tunnel in Vuokatti, Finland. I got offered the spot when a skier who was supposed to be going on the trip backed out. So, I hopped on a plane, and am now sitting in a chalet at the Vuokatti Sports Centre. Its my first time I have left the country since I was eight, and by far the farthest I've been from home. The tunnel itself is 1250 metres long, rolling terrain, and is an out and back loop. Its rather cold, about five degrees below zero, the air is humid, and the snow is old, hard and icy. Getting back on snow was a strange feeling, and my first day my biggest focus was just getting comfortable, getting used to being on skis, adapting myself to the motions and demands that not even rollerskiing can fully recreate. I only skied an hour, but it felt good to be on snow again, and really cool to be skiing in August.
The Russian Biathlon team is here, as are a lot of Finnish club teams. One of the local clubs is actually coached by the former coach of NTDC Thunder Bay. So the tunnel was pretty packed, but its wide enough that passing is easy, and everyone has plenty of room to ski. We met a man from Michigan, who came here 14 years ago as an exchange student, and decided to stay, who was at lunch with his wife and their two little kids. He used to ski race when he was younger, and we learned a lot about what to do while in Vuokatti.
It looks a lot like Northern Ontario here, the same trees, same climate, same kind of terrain. The weather is cooler then at home, which is good for training outside of the tunnel. After the intense heat that Ontario has gone through, its nice to be able to train without undergoing intense dehydration.
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