Summer 2010 - The Alpine Club of Canada

In the week leading up to the Ski Mountaineering World Championships, which took place in Andorra March 1 thru 6, several members of
Canada’s national ski mountaineering team—which operates under the Alpine Club of Canada under the dedicated leadership of long-time Club
member David Dornian—participated in a skills camp in Sicily. Thanks in part to the valuable racing expertise gained through this camp, the
11 members of Team Canada, our largest team yet, placed 11th overall out of 23 nations, improving on 2008 when they were 19th among 28. This
account was written by Canada’s 2010 top female racer, Melanie Bernier. Originally from Ste-Brigitte de Laval, Québec, Melanie lives and
trains in Revelstoke, BC.
Ski mountaineering camp offers invaluable lessons
by Melanie Bernier
Coming from countries where ski
mountaineering racing is still
fairly young, the idea of a sportspecific
training camp was really appealing
amongst us members of North and
South American national teams.
Since most of us had already planned
our trip over to Europe to attend the
World Championships in Andorra
and the Pierra Menta in France, it was
hard for us to justify not attending this
week-long immersion into the technical
side of ski-mo. Keeping in mind that we
currently have limited access to quality
information about the sport and its technicalities
on our side of the Atlantic, and
that we are, to some degree, the pioneers
in this discipline in our respective countries,
we knew that this camp would not
only add to our already strong foundation
and feed our personal desire to progress,
but would also allow for the sport to grow
within our own nations.
From our first meeting with our wellaccomplished
mentors, Andre Dugit and
Adriano Greco, it quickly became clear
that a large amount of knowledge would
be shared over the journey. Through their
personal experiences they brought stories
and advice from the multiple athletes and
mountaineers they have had the chance
to encounter and/or coach. Andre and
Adriano’s level of expertise on the terrain,
as well as their background in the
mountaineering world, instantly triggered
our trust and deep respect which grew
throughout the duration of the camp.
From the start, it was clearly said that
all questions would be answered and
that the main goal of the camp was not
to physically train us but give us tools
to become faster without any additional
energy use through better technique.
With the World Championships upon us,
this camp came just in time to give us the
opportunity to have a highly productive
and beneficial taper week.
The program of the week was established
in a well-organized manner, taking
Melanie Bernier sets the pace in the Vertical race at the Ski Mountaineering World Championships in
Andorra in March. photo by Alex Wigley.
us through all the different aspects of the
sport. We shared experiences with gear
and evaluated all the different companies
on the market. We talked about the
good and not-so-good sides of some
equipment and we also addressed the
question of maintenance and pre-race
preparation. Then a quick session on the
Mount Etna volcano allowed all of us
athletes to become more familiar with the
terrain while providing our instructors
the opportunity to quickly evaluate our
individual levels and to draw a pretty
accurate picture of what each of us would
need to work on over the camp.
After each training session we
enjoyed amazing dinner feasts and some
personal time, followed by information
sessions on different topics. From
Adriano’s personal race experience,
training program ideas, examples and
video analysis of inspiring races, to
questions about rules and regulations,
all questions were answered and all
topics were relevant. In the field, things
became substantially more technical,
starting with the very basics of ski
mountaineering, simply the way we walk
and the ergonomics of movement. We
were forced to tune in to our bodies and
realize what happens when we’re moving
and how to use our strong muscles in
such a way that no energy is lost. We
went over all the different types of
walking techniques which can be used
depending on snow quality and terrain.
We also tackled the different switchback
techniques depending on the conditions
and snow quality in which the track is
set and learned the step-by-step buildup
of a perfect and efficient kick-turn.
We could not forget about the different
forms of transitions, which allowed
everyone to decrease our time on a short
10-minute course by at least two minutes.
Of course, for every ascent there is a
great descent. We analyzed and practiced
the different techniques to cover ground
quickly and in control while giving some
rest time to our legs for the next ascent.
In order to put all the new tips and
techniques acquired over the week into
a race scenario, we concluded the camp
with a small race course. It was a great
opportunity to practice under a bit more
pressure and to see how significantly all
24 Alpine Club of Canada Gazette Summer 2010