The learning curve is steep over here, and I’m starting to expect to be surprised.

In the end my testing opportunities in Beitostolen were limited because of travel arrangements. Larry drove from Beito over here with most of the skis and all the wax equipment. Kris, Lars, Pete and I flew, and baggage allowances are pretty slim for travel within Europe. So I didn’t hang onto all my test skis. However, I did hang onto two pairs - a TF02 and a C40. The TF02 is the grind that had been running well on Kris’s skis since he arrived, and the C40 is one that I had never skied on, but had some good reports on. On the mostly man-made snow in Beitostolen the TF02 remained better on the whole. It was pretty windy while I was skiing after the relay on Sunday, and most of the course was wind-scoured and squirrely. But where the sharp dry snow was drifted onto the tracks the C40 was clearly better.

This morning I took the same skis out in Kuusamo with Kris. Conditions here also feature a bunch of manmade snow, mixed with natural stuff. Often mixed in the air - the atmosphere around this mountain seems to be in a semi-permanent state of icy fog with manmade snow of the snowguns diffusing the light from all the lighted trails and jumps and suffusing the whole place in a yellow-grey glow. Humidity is very high, and it doesn’t feel terribly cold (until you’ve skied for a while). I was completely certain that the TF02 would be the best until I put the skis on the snow. Both Kris and I liked the C40 better here.

I’m now officially confused, and reminded once again that, until you’ve done some testing, you don’t ever know as much as you think you know. At home I get accustomed to eye-balling conditions and getting it right. You simply can’t take that for granted in an unfamiliar environment. Fortunately I’ve got a couple of years to make the Callaghan Valley “home”, but it’s clear that I’ll be starting from scratch, for all intents and purposes.