This is the second article in a four part series documenting the 2008 Ski Mountaineering Season from the perspective of Lyndsay Meyer and Nina Silitch.
2008 Ski Mountaineering Season Recap – Part 1
The World Championships of the ski mountaineering world are held every two years. This year they took place in Champery, in the Port de Soleil of Switzerland, only about an hour and a half drive from Chamonix the last week of February. Some twenty seven countries would be participating, from Scandinavia to South America, and as far away as China and Japan. Greece was even represented. Nina and I arrived in the morning and drove straight to the center of action, excited to meet our American teammates. Her family had come over for the big event, and we were actually going to have a team! Our crew, coached by fearless leader Pete Swensen and managed by Dawn French would be represented by myself, Nina Silitch, and endurance athlete Monique Merril. Our men included Brandon French , Brian Wickhauser, Scott Clodiron, Steve Romeo, Carey Smith, Ethan Passant, Todd Glew, Zahan Billmoria, and Chris Kroger. Some of our team had been to the previous World Championships in Italy, it was good to have some veteran racers. After gear check-in, we moved into our hotel rooms, which were attached to the conference hall. Not only convenient, but a great way to meet other teams and get last minute advice. Our first glitch occurred when we were all informed that most of us did not have international licenses. Fortunately we had Zahan, Swiss-French born he could talk the talk and helped us sort out applying for new ones immediately. Zahan was a great ambassador — soon he had Swiss officials asking him for assistance with translations and was even interviewed by Swiss television and radio. The question? Why is the United States so slow in the sport of Ski Mountaineering? While it sounded offensive, the public really just wanted to know why a nation of such athletes was so weak in the sport.
We conferenced as a team to find the best answer. Zahan was fabulous and explained that we are a large country and not everyone has access to the mountains like in the alps, and many children start early as espoirs (youths) in their local alpine clubs, a luxury we don't have. In addition, the sport of ski touring is more popular in Europe with all the best gear and local support. He explained we are trying to get more people involved back home, and that we do have some great races, but they are completely different. Held at much higher altitudes, the weather is twice as cold and there is always more snow on course to contend with. Adding to the challenge he explained we function on limited funding and often race costs come out of pocket.
Each evening at seven heralded a community dinner and a race briefing held in three languages. There was often room for some sort of interpretation of a course line or regulation. Courses were changed daily due to dry weather conditions so it was important to pay attention. The first day was the short individual course. Unfortunately, Nina fell sick the first day of competition with strep throat. Six of us raced — myself, Carey, Brandon, Ethan, Chris, and Monique. It was the best individual race I have ever done. With a small U.S. flag on my backpack I raced to cheers of “Go, go, go, USA,†and coaches and fans running along side of me, giving me advice. “Here, you are tired, you must skate, like this…†My teammates were the most inspiring by managing to be everywhere at all times. Both our men and women finished well, right around the middle of the pack with France's Florient Perrier taking the gold for men, and Italy's Roberta Padrenzi for the women.
 more fun taking photos and running along side racers shouting encouragement. Leading the men's teams for the U.S. were Ethan Passant and Carey Smith. While our guys may not have been the fastest up, they were definitely some of the most technically sound on the way down. Again, the French duo of master Florient Perrier and Alexander Pellicier took home gold for men, and Italian Francesca Martinelli and Roberta Pedranzini won for the women.</p>
<p>The next day was a rest day in Champrey. We slept in and made use of our ski passes, heading up for a short ski. The Port du Soliel covers a vast area and you can ski for hours, traveling miles across the alps, through small villages and country borders, returning via bus and/or train. Other members of the team went for a hike and skied a cool line near the Dent du Geant. After a few mediocre runs, we came down to prepare gear for the uphill race the following day. Zahan did some smooth talking at the ski shop and soon we had our skis tuned, waxed, and ready to roll. We also waxed skins for the uphill, something I had never tried. It was done to speed the glide up hill, but also made things a bit more slippery. The uphill race was all about weight, and racers had specially altered gear. Boots with holes punched out resembling Swiss cheese, parts of buckles removed, carbon poles, and shortened skins. Everything had to be inspected by officials before race day. Close to three thousand feet of straight vertical, the uphill defined pain and to make matters worse it was very hot. The men finished strong with Brian Wickhauser out front, and Monique on top for the women placing a solid 21st. Florient, the French master, won yet again, with Roberta taking home her third gold for Italy.</p>
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