Heading south - why Para skiers go to South America and Australia in the off-season

Summer in Europe means downtime for most skiers and snowboarders, and a chance to recharge the batteries after a long World Cup season. But what about preparations for the new campaign?

For many athletes in Para Cross-Country, Para Alpine Skiing and Para Snowboarding, training ahead of the new season can take the form of Roller Skiing or mountain boarding. However, a number of athletes have this summer travelled to the Southern Hemisphere to make an early start to their snow groundwork.

With the Paralympic Winter Games the main focus in March, Sitting skiers Aline dos Santos Rocha and Audrey Pascual Seco both described their training camps in Ushuaia, Argentina - the southernmost city in the world - as “essential”.

“Training in the Southern Hemisphere allows me to gain weeks of quality snow at a time when resorts in Europe are not available,” said Para Alpine Super G World Cup holder Pascual. “That extra preparation makes a real difference when the international circuit begins.

“In Ushuaia, there’s a big effort to provide good slopes, lifts and services for the teams. It’s true that in Europe there is more variety and a greater number of resorts, but here we’ve had excellent training.”

Further north, Chile boasts a number of resorts in the Andes within easy reach of the capital Santiago. Portillo is the oldest and perhaps best known, and open from late June until September.

“Chile is a very attractive option for teams seeking to train in the best possible environment,” says Chilean Ski and Snowboard Federation general manager Consuelo Marquardt. “Teams from Austria, the United States, Canada, and Japan have been coming for many years, but recently delegations from New Zealand, the Netherlands, Sweden, France and Australia have started to arrive.

"One reason is that, while in other parts of the world glaciers are retreating, speed and training slopes remain accessible in Chile. Also, teams can reach the central zone ski resorts in an hour and a half from Santiago Airport. There they will find adapted infrastructure, accommodation, slopes, and optimal training conditions."

Facilities may not match those of Northern Hemisphere venues, although Para Cross-Country World Championship medallist Rocha appreciates the efforts being made. “Unfortunately, the Southern Hemisphere doesn’t have a Cross-Country culture and we have some accessibility restrictions,” she admitted.

”But it’s important to highlight the local team’s commitment. They are investing independently to improve training and competition conditions.”

Reigning Paralympic Downhill champion Corey Peters has been training in both his native New Zealand and Chile during the off-season. “I’ve been fortunate to be able to travel to Chile for the last three years during the September/October period,” he said.

“The ski runs aren’t long enough in New Zealand to get any sort of quality speed training in, so Chile is definitely the best place to get this. There’s obviously a good reason why a lot of the able-bodied speed teams also go there to train at this time of year.

“The facilities were awesome and really accessible. The mountain staff were super accommodating, ensuring that we got everything we needed in terms of hill space, piste preparation, safety fencing, etc. The food at the hotel was great, and the gym facilities were also really good.”

The future for Southern Hemisphere resorts and Para Snow Sports

Australia is also looking to boost its reputation as a Para Snow Sports destination. In August, FIS Snowboard Cross races were staged at Thredbo in New South Wales, with the Cross-Country National Championships held at Falls Creek, Victoria. And in September, the Para Alpine National Championships took place in Perisher, New South Wales.

“We don’t tend to have too many internationals coming to Australia,” admits Snow Australia Para Snowsports manager Ali Bombardier. “Last year, Great Britain and Japan Para Snowboarding came for a camp, and we’ve had a couple of individuals join in with Para Alpine training. Two New Zealanders did make their way over to the Perisher event.

“It’s a long way for most athletes from the Northern Hemisphere and quite expensive. The snow in South America tends to be more reliable, so I think more teams are heading that way. But we’re definitely looking to build future competitions. This season, we were able to run Para Cross-Country, Para Snowboard and Para Alpine events all at the FIS level, which is amazing for our next tier of athletes coming through the pathway.

“It’s fantastic that they have the opportunity to compete on home soil and experience the higher level of competition to be inspired to continue their journey, and look to travel to the Northern Hemisphere to continue in the near future. It’s also been a great way to get exposure to Para in the wider snow sports community and beyond. We’ve had quite a bit of local media and attention so we’re looking to capitalize on this.”

Sitting skier Josh Hanlon competed in Perisher, winning national titles and Southern Hemisphere Cup events.

"It was so fun to be on runs that I've been skiing on since I first started in 2019, and racing with the new guys coming through," he said.

"It's one of the few advantages we have coming from a country in the Southern Hemisphere. To be able to get a couple of extra months on snow in the middle of the off-season is really useful in maintaining and building our experience on snow."

Thredbo hosted the opening round of the 2013-14 Para Alpine Skiing World Cup, and Bombardier would love to see Australia back on the World Cup calendar at some point in the future.

“I think we would aim to run a successful Continental Cup in each event first, then look to plan for World Cup,” she said. ”It would be a great goal to aspire to.”

Over in Chile, El Colorado hosted the very first Para Alpine Skiing South American Cup event later in September. Marquardt called this “a very important milestone”, and one which could smooth the path for a World Cup stop down the line.

“Our plan is to continue promoting the development of Para snow sports in Chile and to bring more athletes into the sport, she added. “A recent example was the participation of an athlete with a visual impairment who normally competes in cycling and joined a Para Nordic Skiing camp in Ushuaia.

“These camps and races generate interest and inspire individuals and families. For example, we have a young blind athlete in Alpine Skiing from Antillanca in southern Chile who participated in a competition. He has great talent and is now highly motivated to continue developing.

“Of course, hosting a World Cup event is a goal that excites us and one we aspire to. However, in order to make it a reality, it would be essential to have greater support from the Chilean Government, and FIS and other stakeholders.”

For Peters, a Para Alpine Skiing World Cup stop in Chile in mid-September would be “so good”. The Kiwi added, “I would say Chile over New Zealand as a venue because it would enable all events to be run from Downhill through to Slalom.

“New Zealand and Australia, in my opinion, just don’t have the length of runs to be able to hold speed races effectively. I feel if all disciplines were on the calendar, rather than just a technical stop, it would attract more nations to want to travel.”

Pascual is “very interested” in the possibility of a World Cup opener in Chile. “It would be a way to make the most of the snow in this part of the world, and give the World Cup a different kind of start,” she says. “Of course, it would require a good deal of logistical and organizational work, but I think it would be a great step for skiing and give more visibility to the Southern Hemisphere.”

Hanlon thinks racing in Chile would be "a great idea". The Australian admits, "It would obviously require a lot of work, but it would be cool to do some World Cup racing outside of Europe. We've been doing a training camp in early October in Chile for the past few years, and the skiing has been unreal."

Dutch Sitting Alpine Ski star Jeroen Kampschreur is another athlete who has enjoyed training in Chile. “Having a World Cup here would have its pros and cons!” says the two-time Paralympic medallist. “If it’s early in the season, lower-level racers have no chance to get points beforehand to qualify, which would be a shame as they could be promoted to the World Cup field.

“On the other hand, to start the season with an early race could spread out the World Cup race schedule a bit, which gives athletes more time to recover between race camps. Many more externals apply to this, of course. As a member of the Athlete Focus Group, I’d be open for a discussion about it.”

France’s Standing Para Alpine king Arthur Bauchet has trained in Chile for the last three years. The triple gold medallist from Beijing 2022 is keen on the idea but admits there could be issues. “It could be difficult for teams to go there because it needs a lot a money, so I think small European teams may not really be up for this idea,” he says. “But the training season is so long, and I would be really pleased to do some races before December!”