Finding comfort in
discomfort…
Training in Australia can be awesome, difficult, fun, challenging and often downright nasty…sometimes all in the same
day. The Australian training experience is unique…terrain can be limited and overpopulated, snow conditions variable
and the weather unpredictable. This isn’t to say that there aren’t good days inAustralia and there aren’t challenging
days in other parts of the world. There are heaps of good days in Australia, and the good days can be as good as the
best days anywhere, but for our purposes now let’s focus on the days where Mother nature delivers the tough stuff.
Wind, rain, fog, busy slopes and variable snow conditions conspire to challenge you in many ways. Those who
embrace these challenges will get tougher and improve faster. The key to being productive in difficult conditions it to
enjoy being comfortable being uncomfortable.
Here are a few wise words from our good friend Luke Laidlaw. Luke has been training in Australia since the mid 90's.
Between Luc P and myself, we’ve worked with Luke in the southern hemisphere since 2000, and it’s fair to say that
we’ve worked through a few tough weather days along the way. Here’s what Luke has to say…pay attention, this guy’s not slow, and has a ton of experience with the tough days.
“Skiing through tough conditions is some of the best training you can ask for at times. No matter what, you will
encounter some extremely tough conditions throughout your skiing career, although training through the rough isn’t
always just for the tough conditions, it promotes athleticism, recovery and stabilization even for when the track is
pristine. Some of the world’s top skiing nations have welcomed this theory and implemented it into their youth
progression. Austrian ski gymnasiums are sending their athletes out to glaciers in the spring to ski only moguls and
rough terrain in an effort to diversify their athletes as skiers. There is no doubt that you will see tough conditions in any
level of ski racing. You may not see it as often in the World Cup due to an abundance of course workers, money and
time but when mother nature comes knocking at your door you can only abide and do your best as an athlete to focus
on the task at hand.”
'click here to view Luke's FIS profile
Training in Australia can be awesome, difficult, fun, challenging and often downright nasty…sometimes all in the same
day. The Australian training experience is unique…terrain can be limited and overpopulated, snow conditions variable
and the weather unpredictable. This isn’t to say that there aren’t good days inAustralia and there aren’t challenging
days in other parts of the world. There are heaps of good days in Australia, and the good days can be as good as the
best days anywhere, but for our purposes now let’s focus on the days where Mother nature delivers the tough stuff.
Wind, rain, fog, busy slopes and variable snow conditions conspire to challenge you in many ways. Those who
embrace these challenges will get tougher and improve faster. The key to being productive in difficult conditions it to
enjoy being comfortable being uncomfortable.
Here are a few wise words from our good friend Luke Laidlaw. Luke has been training in Australia since the mid 90's.
Between Luc P and myself, we’ve worked with Luke in the southern hemisphere since 2000, and it’s fair to say that
we’ve worked through a few tough weather days along the way. Here’s what Luke has to say…pay attention, this guy’s not slow, and has a ton of experience with the tough days.
“Skiing through tough conditions is some of the best training you can ask for at times. No matter what, you will
encounter some extremely tough conditions throughout your skiing career, although training through the rough isn’t
always just for the tough conditions, it promotes athleticism, recovery and stabilization even for when the track is
pristine. Some of the world’s top skiing nations have welcomed this theory and implemented it into their youth
progression. Austrian ski gymnasiums are sending their athletes out to glaciers in the spring to ski only moguls and
rough terrain in an effort to diversify their athletes as skiers. There is no doubt that you will see tough conditions in any
level of ski racing. You may not see it as often in the World Cup due to an abundance of course workers, money and
time but when mother nature comes knocking at your door you can only abide and do your best as an athlete to focus
on the task at hand.”
'click here to view Luke's FIS profile
 |
| Luke ripping SL - August 2014. |
Here are a few things that you can do be sure that you are making the most of your time on snow. Every run counts, regardless of how good or bad the training may be.
Welcome the tough weather & snow conditions
As the old African proverb says “smooth seas do not make skillful sailors”. The toughest conditions will teach you the most…whether we’re talking about track conditions or snow conditions in general. Get out there and give it a rock solid crack on any surface…it might not feel great, in fact it may feel terrible, but you’ll be better for it in the long run. Train tough…there is an old saying amongst skiers (that you’ve probably heard before) which states that “…there is no bad snow, just bad skiers.” Make it happen regardless of what the snow feels like at the time. There is something to learn from all situations…sometimes the lessons will be small or subtle and sometimes they will be more obvious (lots of small lessons = big learning & improvement over time)
Be ready for anything
Mentally…roll with the plan B’s
and make the most of every opportunity.
Although it’s easy to get frustrated with the
change(s), choose your mindset and accept the plan b’s and c’s etc. as necessary and keep putting in the work
(remember the controllables). Training in the southern hemisphere can be a wonderful opportunity to develop
resiliency, mental toughness and the ability to focus in any environment (key skills in sport & in life).
Gear…rain jacket & pants, rain gloves, 2nd pair of everything…you know the drill, don’t get caught without having
everything that you need to be warm, dry and productive.
change(s), choose your mindset and accept the plan b’s and c’s etc. as necessary and keep putting in the work
(remember the controllables). Training in the southern hemisphere can be a wonderful opportunity to develop
resiliency, mental toughness and the ability to focus in any environment (key skills in sport & in life).
Gear…rain jacket & pants, rain gloves, 2nd pair of everything…you know the drill, don’t get caught without having
everything that you need to be warm, dry and productive.
Own the controllables
Control the things that you can control, don’t stress about the things that you can’t (you know the basics, we’ll expand on this concept in a future post).
There are a near infinite number of situations to deal with in our sport. The accumulation of training and competitive experiences play a big role in your success. Build the experiences, increase confidence and enjoy skiing fast in all conditions.
Each day is only going to happen once...do it the best you can no matter what Mother Nature throws your way.
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