US Women's Ski Team Training in Portillo

I'm sad to say the Austrian Men's Alpine Team is only a memory to us now here in Portillo (oh how I miss the muscular men in those tight speed suits). Luckily, we've been graced by the presence of the US Women's Team this past week. Although I don't appreciate the girls in the tight suits quite as much, I have to say, watching the ladies race is a whole different--and very educational--experience.
While pro racers are all incredibly talented and incredibly strong, most people would probably say that there is a definite difference between the way men and women look in a race course (generally). Although the mental approach isn't all that much different, the physical appearance can vary drastically. It has been really cool getting to spend some serious time over the past few weeks watching both the men and the women and seeing the differences between the groups.


This past Tuesday at our weekly ski school clinic we got to watch the girls train downhill. I never thought I would get to stand 20 meters from Lindsey Vonn and Julia Mancuso (among others) as they barreled down a mountain but I was able to do that that this week. The grace and the power these girls exhibit is amazing. The Austrians are power houses, I will definitely give them that, but the smoothness in the US women was definitely impressive. Of course being ski instructors, we had to talk about edge changes and transitions and a whole bunch of technical stuff, but I have to say, I was blown away by how easy they make it all look.
Not only is having the teams here a cool experience for the more advanced skier who knows a bit about the whole thing, but watching the kids in the group classes stand by the edge of the giant slalom course and see these world class skiers train is really awesome. Not to sound cliche but I feel a little bit like this place is inspiring. It promotes skiing in a whole new generation of youth... and of course it helped me push myself a little bit harder in this week's Sol de Portillo race.