Rest for the body and mind in Santiago, and GS training starts again!

The first and previous blog update concluded the second training bloc of the NCO FIS team in El Colorado, Chile. At this time, we had been gliding down the slopes for about 11 days, about 770km of skiing! The crew has been managing the intense training really well, but we decided to take a little break as everybody was starting to feel the fatigue setting in. Friday was the last training before the break... 

Saturday was dedicated to tuning skis and sleeping in. Even if our internal clocks made the whole team wake up fairly early, the extra hour of sleep definitelly made a difference. We have been waking up around 6:30 since our arrival here... With the altitude and training, all of this becomes pretty demanding on skiers. We had planned a night in Santiago for the Saturday night. We took the bus down to the 7million habitants Chilean capital later in the PM as the mountain road up to the ski resort opens for one way traffic for most of the day. Cars are allowed down the road at 3:00PM. The ride was interesting as we trying to avoid car sickness down the switchbacks, even if Olexa, Kate and Cassidy were sitting backwards facing the back of the road.

We booked a hotel in the Barrio Paris Londres, a neighbourhood with a little European style to it. The pavement streets made up for a nice atmosphere. The rooms were comfortable and we all got a good night of sleep, plus a warm shower!!! On that night, we all went to an Italian restaurant to celebrate Cassidy's birthday. The girls failed at ``pying`` her with her cake during dinner... But Patrick sneaked a piece of cake out of the restaurant and didn't miss his shot at Cassidy! 

Birthday girld getting pied by good friend Kate!

Yesterday, everybody got to grab a buddy and visit Santiago as they wished. The artisan, fish, fruit and vegetable markets made up for considerable touristic attractions. The coaches went to watch movies, some others to the summit of the city-center mountain, the girls enjoyed an afternoon coffee and the boys explored the other neighbourhoods. We all meet back at the hotel for the ride back up to Farralones at 7:00PM. The transport was topped at the mountain road's gate for a half hour waiting for it to open. 

Today was a classic GS training day. Everybody got back into training mode and ripped some turns in the course set on lane 14! Following lunch and a freeski session, here we are back at our place. Only 4 more days of skiing here in Chile... Already. This camp has been very productive and went by really quickly. Let's make the most out of the rest before we fly back on the 31st! 

Gab