A long time ago, Perl dreamed of immigrating to Canada – today a father, he feels he has everything he needs right here in the Engadine. Thanks to its high altitude, the Engadine is great for endurance training. He particularly enjoys cross-country skiing right after a snowfall, when the sun is shining and the track into the Roseg Valley is freshly groomed. In spring, you frequently meet him on the high-altitude track at Alp Bondo – his insider tip. After completing an apprenticeship as a carpenter, he began his cross-country skiing career at the age of twenty. At that time, cross-country skiing was still something of a minority sport in Switzerland – and Curdin was considered a bit of a weirdo. Snowboarding was considered cool. Today, he has to smile when he meets a former snowboarder enjoying the cross-country skiing tracks – it’s a great feeling to have been one of the first to practise the sport before it became popular with the general public.
For beginners, Perl recommends visiting the Langlaufzentrum Pontresina, which offers short climbs and a good practice slope – an ideal training ground to try out the narrow skis. For those who are already feeling confident, he has another tip: the "Traumloipe" through the forest of Staz. As for Perl himself, together with colleagues from the "Tour de Ski", he enjoys taking a trip through all of the Engadine, as he sets off on another round of training near his “home base” Pontresina.
