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SCIJ 50 years, Jeseniky, CZE

Montreal... Vous m'entendez? Fred-W sending secret messages on Maxwell Smart's left-over cell phone from the old bulldozer garage of

Hans Castorp travels to Sanatorium Berghof to visit his cousin Joachim in Thomas Mann's novel The Magic Mountain about a decade before the World War I. As the train pursues its course through time and the alpine scenery, the impressionable Hans is transported away from the life and obligations he has known, to the rarefied mountain environment and insular community of the sanatorium.

The long trip from our homes first to Prague and then to Olomouc and finally to Sanatorium Priessnitz in Jeseniky estranged us from war and bombs to a much more welcoming form of water than the tsunami, the all-beautifying snow.

Saturday
Olomouc welcomed us with short speeches by the mayor and representatives of the tourist office and a bit longer but interesting video on the area.
An excellent Czech version of smorgasbord and the world's best beer topped the occasion.

But the Czechs had not considered that enough to remove us from everyday life. As the darkness fell on the town our procession marched to the town square to see students perform a play on the life of a true skiing sportsman. He has given his whole existence to being the best skier. He's dressed up in the uniform of a knight of the holly skiing sport. He eats, bathes, exercises and sleeps for skiing and never undresses his skis or helmet. Why bother. He has no-one to care if he does.
During the rest of the week we must have assured anyone that we were not his role models.
Incredible, beautiful, masterly planned fireworks with intense and calmer parts taking turns like in Bach’s Toccata and Fuga raised to a power of ten acted as the aperitif to a superb dinner with traditional music.

Sunday
In the sunny and crispy weather our hosts, dressed as Roman officials tried to organize us in lines behind carriers of seven coats of arms. What a desperate task. Even to try journalists to go in same direction is fruitless... unless one has scandalous news to offer.
Anyway, each group was given a print with photos of several corners in the city. Orienteering by pictures! Just like in children's birthday parties. Well, we journalists ARE eternal children. What a clever way to familiarize us with the cultural highlights of the town like St.Wenceslas Cathedral and Premyslid Palace, where Mozart composed 6th Symphony or the Holy Trinity Column that's included on the UNESCO List of World Cultural Heritage. (Check Virtual tours in http://www.discoverczech.com/olomouc )
After lunch our group was divided in three and taken the Olomouc mature cheese factory in Lostice, Bell makers in Brodek and a Paper mill in Velké Losiny.The visitors of Brodek also had a chance to play a rare instrument of 21 bells by keyboard. As the masterful pianists Morten Golimo or Jean McLeish were not along the neighbors of the central park had to listen to desperate struggles to make "Für Elise", "Cat's polka" and whatever recognizable.

Time stopped as we traveled through the quiet Sunday afternoon, through the quiet Moravian landscape and finally we arrived at Hotel Jan Ripper and Sanatorium Priessnizt in Jeseniky.
The welcoming ceremony rather reminded us of the violence that continues outside our little world of peace and friendship. The canons and muskets of an old-fashioned platoon almost deafened you but the hot wine and the excellent goulash gave you strength to defeat the noise and the cold.
Later the bubble bath, massage and swimming pool did lull us to the delusion of a sweet indifference. The well-organized Press cafe did keep some of us in contact with reality.

Monday
First day on skis in Cervenohorske sedlo! For most of us the two red runs and especially the black mogul run on the wrong side of the road prevented us from seeing the skillful Aerobatic skiing show by Salt Lake City Olympic winner Ales Valenta and friends.

Hans Castorp soon becomes fascinated with and drawn to the routine established for the "consumptives" and to the social scene that flourishes on the Magic Mountain. Ordinary life seems increasingly unreal to him. (Thomas Mann: The Magic Mountain)

In the evening the traditional Nations' Evening did what it's supposed to do: Connecting people... or was it Nokia. Whatever, the tremendous atmosphere attached us all to the spirit of SCIJ including the 25 new members, who were introduced to the community in an official but informal way. Ordinary life became increasingly unreal to us.

Tuesday
At five o'clock the devoted sportsmen and sportswomen woke up to take the air, measure the temperature of snow and air, with their computers run analysis and forecasts on the conditions to be expected the moment of their start, wash off the wax and re-wax their skis...
Well, maybe they were the last ones returning from the disco. Some of them may have slipped in the snowy yard and looked like analyzing the composition of the snow.

What a great giant slalom track was prepared for us in Dolní Morava. Getting there was the hardest part until the Poma-lift line was closed from non-journalists. The slope was long and interesting. It was fast enough for good skiers, but easy enough for others. However, some ten gates had been left out. Some parts were almost super giant slalom. No-one is bitter, but many skis were much too quick at turns and much too slow between them, and the gentle straight was a real speed killer (what a cry-baby).
The last year's winners were winners now, too, if they had showed up. About 70 people did not, but only those who took part in the race and won have truthfully earned their medals. The brilliant Amelie Cardell of Sweden was the new ladies' champion and Slovenia's Barbara Jerman and Italy's Monica Bonetti the other radiant medalists. As the betting offices in London expected, Germany's Ralf Scheuerer was the men's champion followed by Swiss Miguel Aquiso and Italian Alessandro Corbi.
It was a pleasure to see Ralf storm down the black mogul slope covered with half a meter of powder snow on Friday. A true skier enjoys any terrain.
Italy's Isabella Villa was the queen of the senior category and would have been the third in juniors.
Albreht Matjas was the king of the senior category and would have been the silver medalist in the junior class.
Maria Tolnayova of Slovakia and Franz Goritschnig of Austria mastered the track in the super senior category like they did last year.
The track was a bit different, but measured by time Franz would've been the second in both other categories. (Results)
"People try to put us do-o-own.
Talking 'bout my geeeneration..." (The Who sang about the super senior generation of today in 1965)

In the evening a 3-minute silence was held in the beginning of the General Assemly in memoriam of Marcel Pasche, Tore Johannessen and Carlos Pardo, the late president of Spanish SCIJ.
Agneta Bolme-Borjeforss and Uros Sostaric were voted to continue another four years as vice-presidents. Renaud Richebe the candidate but gave up before the second election against Agneta after losing by a vote to Uros. He was only willing to take over as the Technical delegee.
A serious conversation took place on the no-show members. Seventy people cancelled their participation for different reasons. The unprecedented amount of cancellation makes one wonder the reasons. As the contract with the hotel had been made of 200 people, SCIJ must pay for 200 people. And it's taken from the money that we who showed up paid to SCIJ.
For future meetings the participation should be paid beforehand and as SCIJ is considered a travel agency by some people, the rules of payment should be the same as those of other agencies.

Wednesday
Howling wind and horizontally flying snow greeted us in the morning. Only half a busload decided to leave for the Ramzová skiresort. They were rewarded with wonderful deep-snow skiing that made even the bitter cold tolerable.
Some of us walked down to the town and enjoyed a pleasant day-off taking the local air, shopping and having lunch in a typical restaurant. Cosmopolitan Tom Scheck was the guide familiar with the habits of the natives and not for a moment did we feel insecure or threatened.

In the late afternoon a busload of us started an adventure through the darkening night and tsunaming snow towards the cave Na Spicaku for a clarinet concert in memoriam of Marcel Pasche. First we got lost and had to drive back. Then the small road looked too dangerous to the driver and he suggested us to walk the remaining 400 meters in our inside shoes. The dark night, the deepening snow, the fear of wolves and werewolfs prevented us from the task. A fearless bunch of the organizers volunteered to walk to the cave and ask the musicians to come to us and give the concert in Priessnitz. The braves stayed out two minutes and came back to persuade the driver to drive the rest of the trip. With Marcel as our laughing guardian angel we reached the area and with no trouble walked into the cave and enjoyed a healing and refreshing concert with songs at least by Scott Joplin, Cole Porter and Brahms. The drive back was much more cheerful.
In the Think Tank we once again pondered the future of SCIJ. Agneta will write the minutes.

Thursday
What a pleasant day. Only a four-kilometer transfer from the hotel. No wind, snow flakes gently falling on their older kin making the surroundings of the old Russian Army complex almost pleasant. The huge hall, once inhabited by lethal machinery of the invader gave us shelter. The trail was easy with little vertical difference and the whole race was over very quickly. Hyper senior Franco Sitton took a shorter trail by mistake, realized that his time was too good, re-started and won gold. (Results) The traditional Dutch pea soup and "hard tea" was the prize for all the competitors now matter how fast one skied.

Friday
Free skiing all day. Whole morning a whole bunch of us went berserk in the half-meter powder snow on the black moguls of Cervenohorske sedlo.
Sergio Carmona had great time teaching the Argentinian (young) ladies to ski backwards and do (horizontal) 360° turns on the blue slope.
The real masochists went snowshoe walking with the leader of the local regional government and Euro MP, Jan Brezina. Everyone to her/his taste.

The Gala Dinner of the last night and giving prizes to the best skiers and others just great Guys and Dolls plus the incredibly authentic sounding Pangea - Beatles revival band took the atmosphere to new highs and wild dancing until the hugs of the first to departure started bringing in the melancholy of loosing these people again for another year knowing that the 1-minute silences in the general assembly are getting longer and many other good friends one may never meet again for other reasons.

Saturday
Hans Castorp remains at the sanatorium for seven years, freeing himself from the constraints and conventions of life "in the flatlands" and instead engaging in a prolonged "questioning of the universe." (Thomas Mann: The Magic Mountain)

What a freeing idea to be exempted from the demands of everyday life. To be completely institutionalized. To be called at seven, breakfast, three hours skiing, lunch, two hours skiing, bubble bath, dinner, disco, to bed. And the next day the same, and the next, and the next for seven years...
Well, sometimes even one week in the same ski resort can be too much for a journalist.
So, the first bus left at 3 am, the next one an hour later.
Corinne Lepoutre and Peter de Kievith started their 1000 km drive to Amsterdam.
This time we lucky ones left Jeneseniky at 10 o'clock only to start our 3-day post-tour in the wonderful city of Prague. To lend an old cliché: That’s another story.

Pac a pusu Radka, Hana, Lucka, Karolina, Mirka, Jaroslava......

Rauli Storm