November 11, 2011 – (Ostersund, Sweden) – I’m in Scando – and it’s damn hell ass warm out.

Seriously. It is. I’ve been here a shade over a week and the Mercury hasn’t dipped below zero – not once here in Ostersund, Sweden. No bother – while the skiing here has been at times awful for sure (compared to the skiing I left in Canmore on good old “Frozen Thunder”) – it has been some of the best/consistent available anywhere in Europe – so in one sense I count myself lucky (to be in Ostersund).

Let’s dial this back a bit – pre-Ostersund, when I was still in Canada.

Prior to leaving I was faced with a number of questions, yet the one that plagued me the most was this: anytime I went downstairs and set eyes upon my giant, beat-down green duffel bag I experienced anxiety. Plain and simple, I was struggling to come to terms with the 5-month commitment I had made with it – a feeling I’d imagine akin to what an old school fisherman feels when he looks back at dry-land before stepping foot on the deck of his trusty – albeit beat down – trawler. Psyched for the journey (as I’m psyched for the race season to begin), but I’m sure he’ll miss being dry (like I’ll miss having more than 2 pairs of jeans, and 6 t-shirts), and surely he’ll miss the safety, friendships, comforts and Crazyweed (Canmore’s best restaurant) – of home.

The one thing I’ve got on this fictional fisherman is that he doesn’t have to haul his trawler through poorly designed airports, heave it into packed vans, and attempt to “tetris” his gear into it every time there’s a venue change. But – I’ll take my woes over the incessant wet, constant stench, all that itchy wool and tangled lines that I associate with that imaginary metaphor.

The last days in Canmore were great – the weather held perfectly – and skiing conditions on Frozen Thunder were fantastic day in day out. We even held our first “race” of the season on the loop – a classic sprint race which was great. Most of the top Canmore/Western Canadian based ski racers contended and after a disastrous qualifier where I fell heavily off-course (not good when the only snow is on the course itself!), I was able to move through each round and eventually win the competition. It felt great to race again (on skis) – and I was quickly reminded again why I get so fired up this time of year. I mean – ski racing is awesome. It must be when I seem to have no problem skiing around a sugary 2km loop for hours and hours with a smile on my face.

In the final days, I enjoyed time with friends – and being the worst packer-upper in history – did a decent job of living up to my stringent standards of procrastination.

Chandra, the ever-efficient uber packer-upper could not understand my issues with it – repeatedly asked the same question “ you’ve done this for how many years, for how many long trips and yet you still claim you don’t know how many t-shirts to bring?” Her bags packed and ready days out from the departure date. *author’s note: she forgot her computer AND ipad at home.* Even though we’ve dated for over 8 years (please don’t remind Chandra of this point- apparently that’s “too” long a courtship), I can usually still trick her into helping me decide which flannel shirts to bring by conducting some modeling (and thus – wasting time) before finding some non-space for them in the bowels of the duffel.

No, seriously  – my 5 months worth of gear and I made it out of Canmore in one piece. I will admit I was pretty nostalgic those last few days under the spell of the Canadian Rockies, but as I suspected once airborne and on my way across the pond those feelings quickly subsided. I love to race, travel and live this life. Quite simply, racing at the highest level and being able to test myself against the World’s best week in week out rules. I’m also under no illusions – it’s a Euro-based sport, so living out of a duffel bag for months and months is a small price to pay for that opportunity. I could do without ever eating another boiled potato – true, but like anything in life one must take the good with the bad.

I know – that would have been the perfect way to end this – but lacking an editor, I will continue.

This past week here in Ostersund I’ve been busy doing mostly volume-based training on skis (coupled with some workouts on foot, in the gym and (barf) rollerskis),  training between 3-4 hours everyday. I’m feeling pretty decent, but for sure “dulled’ from the volume – but I can’t forget that the season is a long one. I can’t very well shut it down in early November and expect to contend in February and March.

At first it was only Chandra, Peri and I – athlete-wise with Micke and Peter Larsson taking amazing care of us. We explored Ostersund daily – and I really like this town. With it’s giant lake, rolling terrain, nice people, and great views – in my opinion it’s a real winner.

On the extracurricular activity side of things we’ve been downing a few cappuccinos’ as Nat Herz (formerly/not formerly at all from fasterskier.com has kindly pointed out) in the afternoons, scratching away on the guitar, wasting time on our computers, iphones, and ipads, and I’d say about 77.5% of all conversations inevitably turn to the snow/race situation over here. Luckily, as of earlier today – we know our fate. 1) There will actually be races, so that’s sweet (on some +10 degree afternoons we weren’t so sure…). 2) There will even be the World Cup openers – but instead of Beitostolen, we’ll head to Sjusoen – which is also pretty balling.

Decent. Things are looking up – and our first competition of the year is in less than 48 hours – a 15km individual skate race in Bruksvallarna – the Swedish opener.

Check back for updates if you care to – as for me, I’ve got to hit up a jog before it get’s dark. I mean – it is 3:30pm so I only have about 45min of light left 😉

Dk.