In preparation for World Championships, myself and several other US distance skiers went to Davos, Switzerland for a two-week training camp. Davos is situated at the perfect altitude for a training boost, has reliable snow, and has a reputation for being blue-bird conditions pretty much all the time. Thus, the USST (and a lot of other teams/athletes) like to hang out there; it has become a favorite training camp location.

Putting in some hours with Scott Patterson

One hotel had groomed trails out the back door, veal for dinner, and a deck that caught the afternoon sun perfectly for tanning. So basically, all the things you need to make a great training camp. During the first week of the camp, I felt awesome and was able to train super hard. A few days into the second week of camp, however, things started to go south for me. Workouts weren’t going well and I started to sleep very poorly, so I decided to take about four days almost completely off. I traded big hours and high-intensity sessions for mellow walks and sun bathing on the deck. In the end, I managed to avoid catching a cold, rejuvenated my dead legs, and avoided having to fake-n-bake.

I might attribute my quick recovery to a super fun ski tour I did with my teammate Sadie’s fiancé, Jo Mobet. He came to the hotel for a few days to see Sadie and happened to bring extra ski touring gear I was able to borrow. Scott, Jo, and I made a fun loop around a mountain where we found some incredible powder. Perfect powder on a bluebird day… how could I not feel good? Our descent from the mountains dumped us into a nearby town, where we just hopped on the train back to our hotel. It was a very unique Euro touring experience. Thanks Jo!

Got out for just one tour and it was fantastic. Scott and Joe scoping out the lines.