Big Snow in Rogla, Slovenia and Great Sites Along the Way.
Amy Caldwell, Casey Fagerquist and Matt Whitcomb enjoy the conclusion of the Big Snow Storm in Rogla
We traveled due south from France into the Italian Alps and then along the vineyards of Italy through the coastal plain and finally into Slovenia. The drive took us through beautiful scenery. I had to catch myself a few times to match the appropriate salutation to the country. Most of the trip was void of snow and we enjoyed warmer temperatures. There was no snow in sight as we closed in on Rogla, Slovenia but temperatures continued to drop as we ascended into the Slovenian Alps. The view changed as we closed onto Rogla, and we started to enter a snow storm. What a difference a few miles of travel upward makes. Fortunately we arrived just in the knick of time, for the snow storm was just starting. I’m not sure our vehicles would have made the mountain ascent if we waited another day. The thirty-six hour snow storm resulted in high winds, cold temperatures and a lot of snow. I would guess in the range of twenty inches. We awoke Thursday morning to a four foot snow drift greeting our bungalow doorstep. Matt Whitcomb took a great photo with his phone for evidence.
French Alps -
French Alps along the Drive
Ancient French Fortified Fort
Italian Castle
Old Italian Vineyard still alive and well today
The lodging and food are amazing here atop this mountain. My only concern I have is being selective with all the incredible buffet food. Good thing we have three races in a row to provide an excuse to get out on skis.
Petra Majdic’s face adorns nearly every advertisement at Rogla, displaying their pride of the Nordic skiing superstar. The alpine ski runs actually start from here atop the mountain adjacent the lodge and descend 500 meters. There is an alpine slide immediately out the window of the men’s bungalow, which sits idol as a taunt. The employees have been shoveling it out, which has been a topic of serious discussion upon conclusion of the races here.
Rogla is quite dialed in for Nordic ski racing, especially since they had a World Cup here this past season. The wax trailers are close to the stadium and warm-up track, so we have electricity and gear storage immediately adjacent to the race venue. This has made our role a bit easier than last weekend’s shuttling back down form La Feclaz to St Francois to test and wax.
Testing here has gone quite well. The snow here seems to carry a great deal of moisture, yet the snow is very fresh due to all the new snow. This unique blend resulted in testing throughout the temperature ranges. The snow reminds me of the lake effect snowfalls of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. I suppose it is not ironic then that many of the better waxes we found were similar to those utilized in the UP of Michigan in the past.
The courses are challenging – not totally brutal, but quite relentless, so pacing and technical skiing play a major role. The conditions are quite soft with temperatures around -5 to -10 Celsius. The cloudbank on the mountain has lifted and the wind as substantially decreased. The nighttime clearing is drying up the snow and we should certainly have firmer conditions tomorrow for the races.
There are three races in a row – Friday, Saturday and Sunday. This is the OPA finals and they run them like the World Cup Finals. Tomorrow is the Classic Prologue, Saturday is a distance classic and Sunday concludes with a pursuit start skate.
