"It was a time of experimentation. Schorsch Nickaes, my friend, work colleague and then-national team mate, came up with the idea of skiing cross-country from his front door (Ruhpolding) to Italy in 2.5 days. No sooner said than done. A team of top ski mountaineers from all over Europe was quickly assembled, and sure enough, almost all of us arrived in Kasern, Italy, 2.5 days later. What remains in our memories is a fantastic adventure right on our doorstep and 325 blisters on our tender little feet."