2004 Foret Montmorency Training Camp Report
By:  Team XCOttawa.ca   (2004/10/15)

We're back from the annual pilgrimage to early season skiing in the Foret Montmorency, the wondrous place we have dubbed "Silver Star East". Our pre-race season training camp lasted for Nov. 10-14th and was our first solid chunk of skiing for the year. The conditions were excellent with 30cm of snow on the ground the groomed classic and skating trails were in good shape. Videos and pictures at the bottom, but first some comments from XCOttawa.ca skiers on the training camp..

The Montmorency Camp was great! I was happy to find out that dryland training specific to skiing (something new to me) resulted in a seamless transition to snow. Our accommodation at Le Pavillon Montmorency (a field station used by the Universite Laval's faculty of forestry) was an ideal setting, featuring a wax room, trail access outside the door, and a hearty meal plan . . . the vast quantities of food consumed even inspired my next nutrition digest article. Not having to drive to workouts, prepare meals, do dishes, or work seemed like such a luxury (o.k., I did bring a bit of work but it fit in to the daily plan quite well!). Staying at the Pavillon let us meet other teams and skiers who were lucky enough to take advantage of this early season snow. Rooming with Megan and across the hall from Arno (who shares my passion for coffee and chocolate) made the stay quite enjoyable.
Sheila

Do you want to know why skiers from Quebec city are so fast? Half the population from Quebec city goes out skiing in Montmorency in the beginning of November each year. If that doesn't produce an Olympic Champion, I don't know what will. Ski racers should also keep in mind the new race course in Montmorency should not be taken lightly, it is physically AND technically demanding.
What else does Montmorency need? Nothing. (Except maybe a hot tub for aging senior racers!).
Arno

This training camp was unique for me, since it was also a test for my knee. I did classic (with a focus on double pole) for the whole camp and by the time it was over my arms and back were definately feeling it! Its great to know that I can ski and from the way it felt I'm sure that I'll be racing in the new year. With the beautiful weather and great skiing I sure didn't want to come back to school! Hopefully the snow arrives in Ottawa soon.
Megan

That was about as good a training camp as I've ever been to. There were great people, rugged scenery, spectacular weather, lots of snow, fantastic grooming, and baked beans for breakfast every morning! This is the kind of place that makes you want to train long and hard everyday. The trick is restraining yourself. The fact that I always had an afternoon coffee and chocolate break with Sheila and Arno helped in this regard. It is worth stopping to ski when the beans are freshly ground and come from far away. In all seriousness, if you have not considered skiing in this place, you either have not heard of it or have a few screws loose!
Karl

This year at the early snow camp we tried some training ideas that I had not used before at this point in the season. We decided to approach the camp using the same training principles that guide winter or fall training. It was a relatively heavy volume week so we still skied twice a day but we included some intensity training and did not overdo the length of workouts. We also used a normal balance between the two techniques. This basic concept meant that I felt like I was getting faster and stronger each day instead of becoming increasingly tired. It also seemed like the increased speed of some of the workouts helped with the technical adjustment to skiing. Thus, from a training perspective it was a succesful week.
David