BC Ski Team in Sweden - 2026 B-Tour
DAY ONE
The team gathered in the Quebec City airport on Saturday March 14, the day after the Monte Sainte Anne Nationals were wrapped up for the U18’s. We boarded our flight through to Montreal on a plane small enough that we had to crouch when we walked down the aisle. The flight was delayed because of freezing rain and so when we landed in the Montreal airport we had to make a mad dash through the airport to catch our connection to Munich. Aboard the long flight, the team came together for a heated Round of onboard trivia, which we all lost to a guy in seat 44J (nobody should know that much about Dutch cheese.) The Montreal-Munich flight landed around 9:30 local time but with the jet lag we were all happy to get some lunch at the airport pizza place during the lay-over to our second to last, impossibly hot flight to Stockholm. When we arrived in Stockholm we were twenty hours into our trip, and at least a few since we had eaten in Munich, so a couple of us tried our first bites of Swedish cuisine at the airport buffet. The buffet featured some Swedish essentials like kroppkaker (a sort of potato dumpling), Swedish meat balls and lingonberry jam. After dinner we boarded our final flight, which took us all the way to the tarmac of a sleepy little mining town called Kiruna. Kiruna is the northernmost city in Sweden and an hour and a half van ride north of our final destination, Gallivare! All of our Skis, Bags and Teammates made it safe to Gallivare and we are very excited to continue the adventure for the next couple weeks.
By Dawson Abraham (Nelson Nordic Ski Club)
DAY TWO
We woke up feeling slightly recovered after a long day of travel. For breakfast, some of us ate yogurt, bananas, and granola, while others made eggs with ham and bread. We scraped the travel wax from our skis and departed by van to the ski stadium at 8:30.
Our first impressions of the track were great, though the clouds prevented us from seeing the top of the alpine hill. We skied at a somewhat relaxed pace for 90 minutes, then returned for lunch at the school. Lunch was solid carbs: pasta with ham and a (possibly potato-based) sauce. After lunch, we had a presentation from the school’s principal before heading back out for the afternoon.
Before dinner, we explored around town and visited the Coop for candy. We ended the night with a dinner of rice and a ground beef and bean sauce prepared by the athletes, followed by a group card game.
By Lex Hostyn (Black Jack Ski Club, Rossland)
Athletes
Aleah Smith (Nelson Nordic Ski Club)
Alex Heale (Telemark Nordic Club)
Andreas Inkster (Hollyburn Cross Country Ski Club)
Anton Malin (Hollyburn Cross Country Ski Club)
Dawson Abraham (Nelson Nordic Ski Club)
Ella Fuller (Fernie Nordic Society)
Ember Smith (Revelstoke Nordic Ski Club)
Lex Hostyn (Black Jack Ski Club)
Magnus Sandell (Hollyburn Cross Country Ski Club)
Nadia Wallin (Williams Lake Cross Country Ski Club)
Coaches
Maria Lundgren (Assistant Provincial Coach)
Chris Manhard (Head Provincial Coach)
