The SSWSC Ski Jumping & Nordic Combined team just returned from their annual 2-week European training camp! This year, the team traveled to five venues across Slovenia, Germany, and Austria. The crew was bigger than ever, with 14 Steamboat athletes plus eight more from across the USA. The coaches, Garrett Fisk and Karl Denney designed the trip to include a balance of jump training, aerobic training, lifestyle lessons, cultural education, fun activities, and opportunities to visit equipment manufacturers directly at their factories.

The camp started in Planica, Slovenia, the host site of multiple World Cup and World Championship events. After jumping one morning, the Nordic Combined athletes skied into Italy on the bike path while setting the record for most poles broken during an “easy” ski. They also toured the Slatnar factory where everyone could see where their skis and bindings were made. Planica is also home to one of only five existing Ski Flying hills! It’s right next to the other jumps, which provides an astounding perspective of the monstrous scale.

Next was Kranj, Slovenia, where the team jumped at a unique facility and visited Uros Balki, one of the most experienced tailors in the ski jumping world. A few of the athletes bought custom suits, and others had their current suit tailored to fit them better. Balki was super welcoming and friendly with the team as they got their new suits fitted for competition season!

After Kranj, the team made their way into Austria and stopped to visit a friend along the way. Sebastian Schwartz is the owner of WinAir, a long-time manufacturer of ski jumping bindings and accessories. Sebastian hosted a barbecue for our team and gave the athletes a tour of his huge garage where he runs his business. A lot of athletes bought bindings, undersuits, and skis directly from WinAir, and they got to see the evolution of binding design during Sebastian’s tour.

The team then made their way to Stams, Austria, for a 4-day stretch of training. They jumped on the HS-65 and HS-115 and hiked to the top of the Reither Spitze. The peak was about 10,000ft, a familiar elevation, but they could feel the difference between the Alps and their home mountain: the valley below was about 8,000 ft below them! The prominence of the Austrian Alps was in full view from where they stood.

Before leaving Austria, the team had an incredible opportunity to jump the Bergiselschanze in Innsbruck. This beautiful venue is one of the four stops on the “Vierschanzentournee” (Four Hills Tournee) - a tournament that’s on the same level of prestige as the Olympics or the World Cup.