The sport of cross-country skiing desperately needs..no, not the snow – that too, but there are ways of getting the tracks done even when the Nature is unwilling.
What cross-country skiing needs is a shift in culture where big stars are seen not as home boy/ girl, but a true celebrity with a worldwide appeal & with all the relevant trappings of the status.
Groupies! Yep, like in the rock music or ( do we dare say it aloud? ) like in the ski jumping and the biathlon. The people who travel with their heroes for a chance to see them up close and , with any luck, personal. As in ” swap a few words” -personal, that is.
…October would be a good time to start. In Ramsau/ on Dachstein glacier, naturally – that’s where world’s top ski and biathlon athletes tend to congregate in the mid-autumn.
Where else can one see hundreds of top athletes relentlessly doing loop after loop on open plain? You could admire craggy vistas if/ when start suffering from sensory overload from all that perfect skiing technique on displayHey, thats Lucas Chanavat himself- and relatively alone! Have you seen the autograph line to him at any major event?If you are lucky, you might get a chance to congratulate in person newlyweds Justyna Kowalczyk and Kacper Tikieli!Contrary to popular belief, Dachstein glacier is not located on the Moon or something – in fact, it is a comfortable drive that ends in an exciting cable car gondola ride up the mountain – the ride you could also share with the best skiers if your timing is rightDown from the mountain you could meet a famed skier (biathlete) in her/ his other ” aggregate state” i.e. running through the hills. Cue Ivka Fialkova here…or, if you are patient enough in waiting, even notoriusly media shy Alex BolshunovThis story was in no way sponsored by Ramsau Dachstein tourist board, BTW. It’s just that if you are into cross-country skiing – make that “pilgrimage ” a must, you shall like it, swear! !
