 "ONE day into our penultimate training camp before the Olympics and the effects of being at altitude here in Austria are more than noticeable. Just walking up a small hill to the dining hall leaves you breathless and in a sweat. The thought of completing tomorrow's training session seems a little optimistic. Silvretta is head coach Jurgen Grobler's pride and joy. Due to the lack of distractions and perfect isolation from the rest of the world it is an ideal place for training - but not much else. He loves the place and has come here continually for 30 years. Unfortunately he once inflicted it upon his whole family but to no great surprise they have never returned with him. The scenery though is something else. An enormous dam holds back the lake against towering snow-capped peaks, which surround the area. Water from the melting glaciers runs off into the lake from several high waterfalls and dissolved minerals give it a pale green tint. Rowing on the lake is an awesome experience as well. You are made to feel very small and insignificant as the mountains loom overhead. The idea behind training at altitude is that your body tries to adapt to thinner air by producing more blood cells. More blood cells mean you are able to carry more oxygen and in theory put down more power. This effect soon wears off though when you return to sea level, and a period of three weeks is supposed bring about optimum performance. | 
