AST Athlete Journal: Polly Lang
Hello Friends!
It’s my first time checking in for the 2024/2025 season. I had a great summer filled with lots of sunrise hikes, work, and time in the gym. This year we skipped much of Fall and went straight to Spring. Chile is in full spring bloom and their ski season is coming to an end. It is currently our last night in Chile and we are all dreading the travel day home (and the baggage fees that come with it). Although Chiles’s ski season is ending Canada’s is just getting started with one of the first big snowfalls of the season, which is getting us all super excited for ski season at home!
We have had a very productive camp and it has been super cool to be in Chile for the first time. It’s super interesting to be in a country so different from our own and accommodation a few generations behind our own. Aside from being upside down, we have had a few adjustments to make such as lighting the stove and oven with a match (I will be thrilled when I go home and can turn a knob or press a button to turn them on). This may be familiar to some of you but for our young minds, it is quite foreign. While being in Chile we have been able to learn a little bit of Spanish, however, our language knowledge may have failed us when what was meant to be peanut butter chicken turned into caramel chicken (it was actually pretty good).
The skiing has been super awesome and unique, I have never skied on a volcano before. We finished our camp with a 10-day block which was definitely difficult on our bodies but we managed our energy and kept up on our recovery to make it through. One of my favourite parts about Corralco was watching the Noah Dines tour up the hill multiple times a day every single day (he’s done almost 3 million vertical feet so far this year). Even days with 100km/hr winds and pouring rain Noah still made it up the mountain. It’s inspiring to see athletes from other sports pushing their bodies to the limits and showing extreme displays of self-discipline.
Once I take a few days of rest and do absolutely nothing (“work hard, rest harder” – Nate) I will head back to work and get back in the gym. We haven’t had any gym opportunities in Chile so I am super excited to get back into the gym with Nate again. We are also getting closer to this years Highest Peak Gala, you can buy tickets now. There will be lots of awesome items on auction and its a great chance to recognize the people who have had such a meaningful impact on the ski community!
After a great camp, I would like to thank our team sponsors GMC Dealers of Alberta, Karbon Sports, and Genstar Canada, your support is crucial to our team season and we couldn’t do it without you!
Thanks everyone for taking the time to read my first athlete journal of this season!
Polly Lang
