USA Nordic - Tirol Training Camp

Lumi Experiences is all about all things winter, especially Nordic skiing. Cross country skiing is typically the first type of skiing that comes to mind when people think of Nordic skiing. However, ski jumping is also part of Nordic skiing family tree. At the Nordic Ski World Championships, for example, cross country and ski jumping events all take place together. Ski jumping and cross country are blood relatives through a relatively obscure sport called Nordic Combined; creatively named because it combines the Nordic sports of ski jumping and cross country. In a Nordic Combined competition, athletes first ski jump in the morning. The jumper who flies the furthest gets a head-start for the cross country ski race in the afternoon; each subsequent starter goes later, depending on how far they landed behind the leader. The first cross country skier to cross the finish line is the winner. It’s an exciting sport because it’s often full of lead changes and uncertainty until the finish.

Lumi Experiences has supported USA Nordic, the national governing body of Ski Jumping and Nordic Combined, over the past few years with trips for their donors to events like the World Championships in Seefeld, Austria and the Ski Flying World Cup in Planica, Slovenia.

I had the opportunity to join the US Nordic Combined team at a recent training camp in Tirol, Austria. The team spent the morning jumping the 115m hill, meaning they’re flying about the distance of a football field. As they’re training in the summer, they’re skiing down plastic tracks and landing on a synthetic surface similar to astroturf. Sprinklers in the tracks and on the landing, along with special ski wax, help simulate gliding on snow. This video shares a few impressions from the training. Enjoy!

Learn more about USA Nordic: www.usanordic.org
Lumi Experiences also offers trips to watch Ski Jumping and Nordic Combined competitions live. Send us a message or email to learn more: info@lumiexperiences.com