A quick update on the Australian Team members preparing for the next World Cup competitions in Europe and North America. The next World Cup event is in Beitostolen in Norway on November 19, and there is supposed to be a Norwegian Cup there from November 11-13. However at the moment the tracks in Beitostolen are closed because the organisers are trying to save the snow for the World Cup. It has been too warm to make snow for the past week and rain has been eating up snow all over Scandinavia.

KT Calder and Clare-Louise Brumley, together with National Squad member James Rickard, are in Vuokatti in Finland at the ski tunnel. As well as the 1.5km of tracks indoors there has been 2.5km of snow outside. All three were supposed to be heading across to Beitostolen on November 10, however now they are waiting to see what happens with the Norwegian Cup; if it is cancelled or if the tracks wont be opened leading into the World Cup, they will stay in Vuokatti for as long as possible.

Ben Sim, the remaining Australian skier competing at the World Cup in Beitostolen, arrived in Russia last week to join NSWIS coach Nick Almoukov in Soloboevo. Unfortunately there's no snow there, they are hoping it gets cold so they can get time on snow before they come across to Norway on November 13.

Paul Murray is at his normal base in Borlange in Sweden, where there is also no snow. His Swedish club Falun-Borlange had been planning to hold a training camp anywhere there was snow, however the usual early season site Bruksvallarna has no snow, and Idre which had snow in October apparently now has less than 500m.

Esther Bottomley is in Silver Star in Canada, and they have just hit the jackpot. The following is an extract from the Silver Star press release on November 1: This is no Halloween trick! A blast of midwinter weather has treated cross country skiers at the world-famous Silver Star Mountain into a snowy wonderland, and Australia's Esther Bottomley couldn't be happier! "This is my first trip to Canada and I chose Silver Star because I'd heard they have reliable early season snow, and it's true!"

The 23 year-old member of Australia's national Nordic team hit the trails today after landing at Silver Star last week for pre-race training in advance of the World Cup races that will be held later in December. She came straight from Dusseldorf, Germany, where she competed in the season's opener sprint event that drew hundreds of thousands of spectators.

Nordic Manager Glenn Bond says that fat flakes are flying in the Village and up on the mountain, and with a few more centimetres the heavy grooming fleet will be put into full operation. "We've got enough snow to snowmobile groom right now and there are over a dozen people out on the trails enjoying the early season conditions..."

Back in Australia, the remaining member of the World Cup Team Ben Derrick is training in Falls Creek and Mt Beauty for two more weeks before he heads over to join Esther at Silver Star. BD just finished a solid month of training (~90 hours for October) ending with the 4-peaks competition in North-East Victoria.

Next report possibly after the Finnish Cup in Muonio this weekend (if it is on), or after the Beitostolen Norwegian Cup (if it is on).

Courtesy XC Files


Glenn Bond and Esther Bottomley ski on the early snow in downtown Silver Star