Grindelwald and Beyond.

In his spring Newsletter, Jack gave you a graphic account of Grindelwald and so I won't try to embellish now. Both in terms of the sheer logistics of coping with an avalanche area and the typical zero + - waxing challenges which inevitably arise at 1000 metres in the Alps, there were certainly frustrations, particularly for all of us men who couldn't quite make the podium. However, we certainly honed our racing and waxing skills over the exercise which in themselves make masters racing at world level a very worthwhile exercise. We improve and this reflects wherever we are competing.

While not taking away from the performances of our women, for the likes of Kathy Davies andylvia Stettler in particular can stand up to any field anywhere, we men face larger fields where top half can often be a considerable achievement. In this respect, 11 of us achieved top half, with three in the top 20%! Gosta Edvardsson missed a bronze by 10 seconds in his select 75+ field - better luck next time Gosta - in the land of your birth.

And so what about this winter?

I strongly recommend Kiruna to Masters. We are almost guaranteed ideal. non-fluora conditions at -5 to -10 and livelier tracks than the past couple of years. A number of us have been pushing for more frequent and shorter ups, downs and corners to replace the long "highway" type grinds of recent championships and we hope that the WMA and Kiruna are beginning to get the message. This should result in not faster or more dangerous courses, but ones which are more technically challenging - which provide a better opportunity to replenish and attack.. appealing to skiers who rely as much on technique as on the grunts and groans of conditioning and brute strength.

Added pluses in Kiruna will be a first for many of us above the arctic circle and, for those who want to chalk up something novel for the record, the pleasure (?) of sleeping in a hotel constructed entirely of ice (even to the whisky glasses!) and beds of ice covered in reindeer hides - but not recommended before the 50K!! And if that isn't enough, two weeks later is the Troll Ski Marathon north of Lillehammer - the world's longest at 95Km! It's actually a great trip which I took in after Grindelwald.

Kiruna should be unique and excellent skiing. If we can muster a few more participants than in Grindelwald, our men could mount somemedal contenders in the men's relays. See you there?!