Seven hours to drive 250 kilometres of potholed tarmac from Ushhorod, four hours by bus then ten by train followed by another two by bus from Cherkasy, ten hours by car from Kiev. Telemark family bonds are strong so although getting to Mykulychyn for the festival was no easy affair no complaints were heard from The Ukraine Telemark Team.
Our invite came from a chance encounter with Misha, Gleb and friends on a flight to the Georgian Caucasus in 2016. Fast forward three years to Mykulychyn where friendly people gave us a warm welcome, where the skiing was good and the evenings’s entertainment memorable. The Tequila Band from Ushhorord rock and Vitaly’s Ungweiser craft beer hits the spot though like all beers we have tried so far it does not enhance ski performance. If the world’s leaders were telemarkers there would be a lot more peace and understanding between nations.
Thank you to everyone and especially to Sasha for all the driving.