No. 1 Basic Ski course

• When: 8. – 12.02.21

• Where: Evje, Accommodation: Trollaktiv

• What:  5 days basic cross- country ski course

• 3 words, that describe the experience the best: new horizon, adrenalin, socialising

• My Orange (best moment): Skiing on a frozen lake
• My Lemon (worst moment): The moment when the ski jump got closed

• What i want to improve on: Finding the right words to cheer people up

Every day was packed with new experiences and flew by so fast: breakfast, preperation for the day, busride, skiing, busride back, coffee, lecture, dinner, waxing, socialising, bed. Repeat!! I enjoyed it very much to be a part of a big group again and to learn new skills in the outdoors. The whole group got separated in 2 smaller groups and so we spent the 4 days with Tim, the owner of Trollaktiv. I liked his way of teaching, because he could explain the movements and the natural phenomena  pretty well. It’s always good to see different teaching skills and learn what you as a couch want to copy and what you have to improve on. That´s why i think it would have been better to change the coaches during the week and get to know another way of teaching cross-country skiing.

The exkursion started on Monday at 9.00 am. We took the bus to the Family Adventure Park TrollAktiv, our acommodations for the next week. On the first day we started to get used to the feeling of sliding, walking, using the edges, skiing downhill… Some people have never been on skiis before, but at the end of the week the managed it pretty good. At the second day we did a skiing tour through the beautiful nature. We were really lucky with the weather and somemtimes i couldn’t believe that i actually ski over an frozen lake  with a blue sky and good company. Before lunch we learned different techniques on a flat ground and i felt more comfortable with the rythm of arms and legs afterwards. After that we climbed up to get on top of one of the bigger hills. The way up was pretty difficult and depending on the different skill levels within the group,  big gaps arose. Due tiredness, an injured knee and not knowing where we are, Tim decided to take the same way down.. I think it was a good decision and I learned that you cannot push people out of the comfort zone over the whole day. I realised that I have a strong will power to keep moving when I have problems but some people get frustrated pretty fast. It was challenging to find always the right words to cheer up the individuals after falling, standing up, falling, standing up…. I love that everyone supported each other and that people opened up their weak moments.

My favourite day was day three. We did a big tour, learned how to navigate with maps, had clear blue sky, steep hills, a long break in the sun with tomato soup and a lovely ride down. At the end of the day, we practice on the hill next to the buses our telemark position.  Days like this show me that I want to work in this kind of field, because every day turns out differently than you planned it and arises challenges, suprises and mostly happy face after achieving a new level. I wonder how these days would have gone for a “veileder” with students, who have no sport  background, no motivation and no passion.

The evening lectures (waxing, how to pack our bagpack and first aid) were interesting and helped to prepare the next day even better. In the last night we had an international evening, where every country should present something that is typical for their home. It was fun to dance different dances (USA, Netherlands, Belgium…), climb on each others shoulders (Karneval in Spain), sing a song (Denmark) and play games (Germany). This planned evening helped to get a stronger bonding within the goup and to speak with people you haven’t really interacted before.

One of the highlights was definitly the Ski Jumping in Evje. At the beginning i thought it’s a joke but when we arrived we started jumping on the small ones (10-15m) right away. It was so scary to sit on the wood, looking down and realising that when you once started sliding down there’s no way back. I jumped 5 times and extended the way down. It was so much fun!!! I would love to do it again. Roman and Nico jumped the 20m Jump at the end. I could litteraly feel their increasing heart rate on the bottom of the jump.

On the last day we built a Fun Park, but after our experiences of ski Jumping, the Jumps did not feel scary anymore. I learned this week to go out of my comfort zone and that my existing will power helps me to grow even more.

In overall the trip helped the group to get to know each other better. I talked to people I’ve never talked before. I would love to teach skiing in the wilderness some days because I  love to raise awareness of the environmental problems of skiing downhill. Unfortunately in Germany and Austria it’s not common that young people go cross country skiing and so it’s cool to make it more attractive for next generations.