Strikes and Gutters: Panorama NorAms, Sticking to My Guns

Panorama NorAms

The week of NorAms in Panorama, 2SG, SC, GS, SL, is in the books and for the first time in my life racing up there I didn't have to worry about frostbite from sub zero temperatures. I usually don't mind competing in adverse weather conditions because it can bring down the focus of other people, and relatively speaking I think that it gives me an advantage. But really cold weather, 15 or 20 below, which is typical of Panorama is a whole other animal. These changes affect how equipment functions and makes getting to the start too early very costly. This year the temperatures were never colder than 15 ABOVE, making for a great race series at a place that I now like much more.

The race organizers moved some of the venues around this year by raising the start of the SG and GS to the top of a pitch above the old start. This made the steep technical section much longer and in my opinion a better race. They also moved the GS finish up eliminating the last bottom flat. These changes were to my advantage as I am historically slower on flat sections and do much better when the course is technical and steep. This held true in the two Super G races as my split times on the top had me 7th and 5th and on the bottom flats 31st and 27th. Overall I finished 20th and 11th in the two races, banking some NorAm points and scoring enough of a FIS result that I should qualify for any speed races I want to for the rest of the year.

The GS was by far my best race of the series, notching my first career podium at a NorAm. Starting bib 6 I won the first run by two-tenths of second on a relatively turny course. On the top steep section I had what I consider to be some of my best GS turns of my life. All of my pressure was in the fall line and I released each turn cleanly into the next. I had the fastest top split and was able to take good speed onto the flats, skiing well enough for the fastest time on the run. The second run course was set much straighter and didn't have the large tempo changes that the first run course did. Running 30th on the second run, I got a little knocked around by the developing groove in the snow and never quite got to do what I wanted on my skis. I never pushed the line deep enough and was constantly starting my turn too early, forcing me to back off and then start again and making for some very slow double turns. By the time I was able to fix this I was already on the flats and it was too late to generate much speed. I ended the day in second place, a career best in a NorAm, but a little bittersweet considering where I was after the first run.

The slalom was a different story. The night before the race the organizers decided to inject the steep hill with water to firm up the soft snow. This decision didn't quite have the intended effect, apparently they went too fast trying to inject the hill, and the snow turned out to be a mix of grip, ice, and sugar. I drew bib one and was in a great position to capitalize on what was going to be a quickly deteriorating course. All week I came into each race focussing on technical aspects of my skiing and executing these goals. This has been a good focus for me so far this year, that good skiing will bring the good results.

However, something changed after the first run inspection and I decided that I was going to really push the line and go for it. I think it was a combination of getting the hole shot on bad snow, not having a great second run the day before, and wanting to prove something to myself, but I abandoned my skiing-first focus and decided just to rip the course. I skied well on the top of the course and even onto the pitch. But about a quarter of the way down I came through a gate that already had a shelf developing from inspection. My inside ski slid and hit my downhill ski, I got caught on the inside and could not get off the turn, and all of the sudden I was out of the course. Poof. I haven't been that upset with myself in a long time, not just for going out but for abandoning my game plan that I set before this series.

I learned a lot during this race series, and I am still in a good position in the NorAm standings. I am second in the GS standings for North Americans and first among those who will be racing the circuit full-time. I moved a bit further back in the slalom standings but I'm not more than 50 cup points behind, and I will still start in the top seed. Next time I'll be sure to stick to my game plan regardless of the circumstances...unless of course I get bib one again.

Road Trip

Adam Cole and I drove to Panorama races from Utah, and then back to Washington where we both flew home. It turned out to be a lot of fun but not without some less than ideal situations. The middle of the video is so dark that it plays more like an audio track but hopefully it gives you an idea of what we were going through. Enjoy!

NorAms, Beaver Creek, and My Fantasies Involving Hirscher

The past ten days have been a blur. What started as a grueling four days on the NorAm circuit got extended into a little over a week of racing, or a race atmosphere, as I was able to forerun the World Cup races in Beaver Creek.

NorAms
Throughout the 4-day NorAm series (2GS, 2SL) I really tried to keep my focus on establishing a solid position over the skis and skiing within my ability. In the past I have felt like only a perfect run would do in these races, making me press and take unnecessary risks. This is because these NorAms are not only the first ones of the year but also include more World Cup racers than I will face the entire year. The GSs in Aspen had 13 of the top 30 skiers in the world, and the slaloms in Loveland had nearly as many. Most of my North American competition started in the top seed from last year’s NorAm points, something I missed out on due to injury. Coupled with the WC stack of skiers, I started bib of 37 in slalom and 45 in GS.

I made it down both runs all four days with results that I am proud of and put myself in a great position for the next NorAm tech series in Panorama, Canada. There I should be the top North American in GS and the second in SL.

The highlight run of the series had to be finishing 6th on the second run of the first GS in Aspen. With the field of competition so high it was hugely motivating to know that I could match up with the best in the world when I get on a clean course (I ran 1st after finishing 30th first run). GS has taken a back seat to slalom lately, but as UVM coach Johnny Davidson put it I am a “born again” GS skier! Here is a link to a video from that run was sent to me from the Dodge boot guys.http://sharing.theflip.com/session/2d7d13d7f1c633fb0a8e03fed02be450/video/34708231

Beaver Creek
I knew that it would be possible to forerun the Beaver Creek World Cup GS, but I was wholly unprepared when Forest Carey, the men’s Europa Cup head coach, asked me if I wanted to forerun the super g. I have only trained one day of SG since getting to Colorado and the Birds of Prey SG is no walk in the park. I though it over for a few minutes and weighed whether this was an opportunity to make every race for the rest of the season feel slower or a risk to finishing the season in one piece. I had already made it further into the season than last year without breaking something, and didn’t want to push my luck. What the hell, I said yes and immediately snuck onto the race hill for a little early inspection. I figured that getting two inspections on the course and getting used to the 45-degree start pitch far outweighed any trouble I would get in. What could they do, disqualify me?

The race turned out to be a lot of fun. I haven’t skied a course that well prepared since the Westendorf night slalom last year, and certainly have never experienced anything like that in a speed race. Being a part of the World Cup atmosphere, from inspection with my peers to having Baby Huey pump me up in the start, was definitely motivating to make me want to make it to The Show even more.

The GS was also a lot of fun. Again, the track was so hard and grippy it was hard not to feel good. Whenever I got late I would try and get my feet out from me even more and step on it, and the snow always held. Ted Ligety showed the world exactly how this was done in one of the best GS runs I have ever seen in my life second run, talk about taking the turn deep. Also, it was great to see Warner Nickerson score his first World Cup points of his career by placing 24th. Nice job W!

“You have me in your fantasy?”
During the first run inspection of the GS today I exchanged a few words with Marcel Hirscher, Austrian wunderkind. He was at all of the NorAms and I had spoken to him a bit before, so I didn’t think much of telling him to have a good race and that I had him getting third today in fantasy ski racing.

“You have me in your fantasy?” he asked, no doubt beginning to question our seemingly casual conversations over the last week. Oh no. I tried to explain that fantasy ski racing was just like fantasy football, but that didn’t make any sense to him either. Right. I then tried to explain about how fantasy sports work but it sounds really lame to someone who has never experience the thrill of victory in this realm (Jim you got owned this season, The Dynasty is over) and I’m not sure it got through. I gave him the name of a website to make his own fantasy team, but this might have gotten lost in translation as well. Although he's a really nice guy I’m sure he’ll be avoiding me next time we cross paths.

Training and a Little Racing in CO

I arrived in Colorado 10 days ago for my last training block before the NorAm season begins at the end of the month. Initially there wasn't any snow on the mountains except for on the training lanes. Winter felt pretty far away. However, all that has changed. Over the last 4 to 5 days it has been steadily snowing anywhere from 4 inches to over a foot each day, and with the ski areas set to open up to the public this Friday it appears the real ski season is finally here.

I have spent most of my time training at Vail with Randy Pelkey and the Development Team. Randy Pelkey, the head coach of the Development Team, was the Western Region head coach when I lived in Utah. While I was skiing in college and afterwards he has always been a supporter, someone in my corner, and it is great to work with him again. Randy has been super helpful by setting me up to train with his group most days. It works out well; I benefit from a well prepared course and I give his athletes some pace. It's not so easy to get lane space at Vail, let alone join other groups, so I am grateful to him and the other coaches and teams who have let me jump in with them. I can't begin to describe how much I am enjoying not dealing with the zoo atmosphere at "Copperopolis" or other areas that are open to race training and free skiing. The Vail training area is only open for racing making for a much more focussed and, in my opinion, productive training atmosphere.

On Monday the USST hosted a gs race at Vail for their athletes, Canadian Ski Team athletes, and anyone else with a world rank under 350. Initially I was told that this race would also be a time trial for the Beaver Creek World Cup race taking place in early December, and although I didn't put too much stock in my gs skiing I figured that I still had a shot. This rumor turned out to be just that, a rumor, but the race still went off with a great field of competitors gunning for their first victory of the season in North America. The heavy snowfall made the coaches work a lot harder to pull the race off , but they were able to push enough snow off the track to get down to the hard surface and make a solid race. Thank you course workers!

I started bib 10, and was happy to hear the announcer say that I was in second place when I came through the finish after the first run. This wouldn't last for long, I would eventually finish the first run tied for 4th position, but it was motivating to know that I had put together a decent run in a high quality race. A few days earlier a mock race was held with mostly the same field. I did not ski nearly as well, and since then focussed on making the necessary adjustments in my skiing for this race. On race day my timing of initiating the turn was much better on the flats and I was much more squared up at the gate on the steeps. I also got a lot more response or snap out of the ski at the end of each turn, making for a more consistent transition and a less tiring race run (at 8500 ft this can make a big difference). The second run was another solid performance. I actually skied better on the top flat and the middle steep section but got caught in the ruts on the bottom of the course (they didn't reset between runs) and gave a little time back. I ended the day in 4th position, 2nd for Americans.

Points-wise it wasn't the greatest race, but I am happy to have finished the first North American race of the year with a solid effort. I am looking forward to the next ten days or so of training before the NorAms start on the 27th, and excited to get back to focussing on slalom. Hopefully the weather holds up and the training opportunities continue to be as great as they have been.

Below are some pics from a day of training at Vail with GMVS, and also one that I had from New Zealand. In NZE I was on some borrowed equipment (thanks W!) for the day but it was still a cool photo to have.

GS Training in Vail

Checking the times

Taking shop with coaches afterwards

Air New Zealand Cup 2010 Giant Slalom, Cornet Peak

Back Skiing in the USA

For the last month I have been in Washington DC completing my summer fitness program and working with the Boys and Girls Club FBR Branch. Even though DC is a huge city it has lots of parks and common spaces. This makes it fairly easy to put together an outdoor workout, either biking/running or plyos, instead of having to head for the gym every day. Also, the weather at this time of the year in DC is unbelievable, as the humidity and temperature from the late summer has pretty much gone away.

The BGC was exciting to be a part of on such a regular basis and I am bummed to be leaving them. I had a great time working with the kids and employees in their after school program, either with homework or in the gym playing some sort of game. A lot of the kids have never seen "snow skiing" on TV let alone participated in it themselves, so I spent some time whenever someone would ask explaining what it is that I do. I worked it out with the program director that I would send him a postcard with an update where I am/what I am doing throughout the winter, so hopefully if I come back to work with them it will make more sense.

Yesterday I arrived in Colorado for my last block of training before the NorAm season kicks off at the beginning of the month. There isn't much snow out here except for the training lanes set aside just for race training so I wouldn't recommend trying to get in a ski vacation just yet. However, a storm is supposed to roll through in the next couple of days and drop at least a foot in the area. This would be very helpful in opening up more training lanes and skiable areas as Colorado starts to fill up with more race teams and tourists.

There is a prep race this Thursday and Friday in Vail that is only open to the top 350 in the world, and with the bulk of the US Team here it should be a pretty good race. Hopefully this kicks off a great month in Colorado and season going forward. I'm looking forward to seeing the results of an offseason in which I worked very hard and was able to fully heal from all my injuries last season. Let's hope it works out.

It's great to be skiing again!!!

Visit to Nordica USA

4 Days of Training in Chillan

A few clips from the last week of training in Chillan, Chile. Enjoy!

ITA Goes Global!

While down in New Zealand Dave and I spent most of our time staying at a great bed and breakfast run by James and Kim Lazor and their two daughter's Kira (4) and Sophia (6). On an off day from racing Dave and I, along with the top Kiwi skier Ben Griffin, were able to visit Sophia's classroom in Queenstown as her show-and-tell item. It was a lot of fun. The Q&A session consisted of three questions being asked in repetition: How many races have you raced in? How many have you won? Which one of you is the best? Pretty funny.

Local media was on hand and we were written up in a local paper, Mountain Scene, so I was sure to throw on the ITA uniform.  I am sad to say that I left the hard copy in New Zealand, but I was able to get the link to the article as well as some pictures from the photographer on hand. ITA goes global!

Explaining how to go fast...easy right?

Update from Down Under

New Zealand is awesome. I have not been down here for quite a while, 6 years, and have forgotten how nice it is to ski in full winter conditions and then drive down the mountain and enjoy non-snow activities. Even though it is winter down the snowline only goes to the bottom of the ski area, not even the parking lot. Off the mountain in Queenstown I have been able to enjoy the afternoon sun in shorts. I am traveling down here with Dave Chodounsky, a fellow slalom skier and college rival from Dartmouth. He has been down here multiple times, and reminded me about really important things like to throw some golf clubs in the ski bag for afternoon activities. I ended up bringing my 5,7,9, PW, and putter, and Dave brought a 6,8,SW, 3 wood, and putter, making one complete set between the two of us. The golf courses are ridiculously cheap down here; yesterday’s bill was $15 NZ ($11 USD) for as many holes as we could play by the airport. There won’t be any major tournaments hosted there anytime soon but it’s a good way to enjoy the afternoon outside and take in the unbelievable scenery.

I have skied pretty much every day since I got to New Zealand almost three weeks ago. The snow has been very good at both Cornet Peak and Treble Cone and I have been reluctant to rest for fear that I will miss an opportunity to capitalize on the good weather. This is doubly important because of the size of our shoebox rental car. Dave and I are currently rocking a powder blue Daihatsu Sirion hatchback. Our gs skis fit rather snugly end to end in the car; I recently cut my hand while parking the car on the tip of a pair of gs skis because it was so close to the steering wheel. The car is also noticeably slower when we load it up, which is kind of nice since it’s almost impossible for us to get a speeding ticket (even though the speedometer goes to 220kmh, pretty funny). But the car gets unreal gas mileage and comes with a free pass to Treble Cone for every day we have the rental. Oh, and in case it needs mentioning it’s great on the wallet. At $23 NZ a day for a car and a lift ticket I am willing to leave my automobile pride in the US even if it means get made fun of by the Cornet Peak parking attendant on a daily basis.

There have been a lot of races so far, and I am looking forward to 4 more before I head home. Cancelled races from Australia were rescheduled for the beginning of my trip, meaning that I had to jump straight into the gate after virtually no training. The gs race was literally my first runs in gs gates, and since I didn’t have my own skis yet I was racing on a brand new pair of Jon Olsson’s skis. The result was terrible, but it made me focus a lot more on what I needed to fix and I think that it has made a net positive impact on my skiing. The decision to race was a little intimidating at first considering the field included Bode, Ted Ligety, Felix Neurether, and plenty of other top skiers were in the field, but it was helpful to see first hand what I need to step up to this year and also that they could be reined in. Through the next couple of races I was progressively faster as I had more time on snow, and was able to put together some encouraging runs in both gs and slalom against a lot of the boys on the US, Canadian, Norweigan, and Slovenian World Cup teams.

Skiing wise, every day I get on snow I am learning more about my new equipment and what I can do with it. It was a bit crazy at the beginning of the trip getting all my equipment here but all of that has sorted itself out now and I am putting mileage on my new setup. A big thanks to Warner Nickerson and Jon for helping out, they were really helpful in getting me squared away with anything I didn’t have when I got down here. Talking with Dave has been helpful as well, as he is a Nordica athlete, and I am learning which ramp angles work best and different binding positions and such. All of it is rather tedious work but extremely important, and it’s always exciting when you figure out something that works better than the last setup.

I guess it is worth saying I am 100% healthy and super pumped to be out skiing again. Thanks for everyone’s support during the offseason, I feel like I am in a great place right now and I am more motivated than ever to make this season a success. Tomorrow is the New Zealand National Championships GS race, I'm ready to rock!

In DC with the BGC

For the month of July I have been down in Washington DC working on Capitol Hill for a government consulting firm. I have worked there last year and as an intern in college, and decided to give the real world another one-month shot. Also, the political schedule works very well with my ski schedule, as the busiest time for moving (or not moving) legislation is in the summer when I am out of season, and I can join as an extra hand to deal with the added workload. In either the first or second week of August the Senate and House recess for the entire month and head back to their respective states to campaign, and many of the bills that were put forth earlier in the session are pretty much wrapped up, in a good way or bad. August is also when I begin my heavy workload of on-snow training for the upcoming season, so it works out well that I can leave easily and head right to the slopes.

This summer it's been great to continue working on the Hill to stay connected to a real life job atmosphere, but I have had a blast continuing to work in conjunction with ITA at the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Washington, FBR branch. I have never worked with the BGC before, but had a good time organizing summer camp activities in the gym for all ages of kids. Below are some photos of the campers last Friday when the FBR branch unveiled a new library that was donated by Capital One and Hearts of America. I am blown away by how nice this new space is; there is even a SMART Board for the staff and children to use! The kids were especially happy because they got a pizza party with all the Capri Suns they could handle, they learned about saving money in fun ways with games and activities from Capital One, and a ridiculously good face painter was on hand to transform them into whatever animal they wanted. Press was there to cover the event and I was pretty shameless in plugging ITA, hope it did something!

From here it's off to New Zealand in a little less than two weeks where I'll be training and doing some competing in the Southern Hemisphere. I am super psyched to get back on snow, especially on my new boards. I switched to Nordica skis and boots for the upcoming season, and couldn't be happier with the service and dedication of the reps. It might take a bit to dial in the equipment and figure out what stiffness of skis/boots work best for me, but the word on the street is that the snow is very firm down under, and I'm excited to start skiing!

An Off Day from Mt. Hood, Testing Some Skis

Training at Hood!

Hazen Sporting the ITA Gear

The team donning their new uniform

Solomon and Nate

Game face

States, Blow-Pops, and Skiing

States
Saturday marked the end of my stint working with the Hazen Track and Field Team with a marathon day (no pun intended) at the Division 3 Track and Field Vermont State Championships. Because the meet was held further south in Vermont in the town of Chester and the field equipment inspection was scheduled for 8:30am, the bus had to leave from school at 5:30am. It was a long day for the kids, and the hot muggy weather added to the exhaustion of competing in multiple events. Towards the end of the day there were some tired bodies (see the video below), but I couldn't be more proud of the performances that so many of the teammates got out of themselves. On the day we had 18 personal records (PRs), from freshman and seniors alike. It was a great end to this project and I am very proud to have worked with this group of kids.


Only a Vermonter recovers with cheese...Cabot Sharp to be exact

PRs and Blow-Pops
A little more than 2 weeks ago I began employing a form of shameless bribery with the kids at the meets. For every PR that an athlete earned in an event, I would reward him/her with a Blow-Pop. This seemed like a way to encourage more motivation and focus throughout the 6 hour meets, and also break up any stress that goes along with competing. Besides, at 25 cents a pop how much damage could these kids bring on me? Upon reflection, I now realize that I severely underestimated a teenager's affection for sugar. The track team went from having around 2-3 PRs each day to 6 to 8 to 9 to 12 and then at States to 18.

I believe that the uptick in results certainly had more to do with the hard work the team put in at practice than anything else, but the kids certainly seemed to enjoy making me march over to the snack stand a couple times each meet. I was constantly explaining myself at the checkout register that I was not a sugar fiend, but a coach who is in favor of abandoning inner motivation speeches for the allure of tasting sour apple sugar on a stick. Or cherry, or watermelon. Sometimes the kids were a bit forward in their preference for flavors, and would even request Tootsie Pops. It turned out to be kind of a rallying point during each meet to see how many lolipops they could make me buy. Although I never thought that I would spend over $15 in less than a month on candy, let alone one kind of candy, I was happy to reward the the hard work of the team in very direct and visible way.

Skiing
I have a week off until I head to Mt. Hood in Oregon to work at a ski camp and get back on snow for the first time since the premature end of last season. I am really excited to try next year’s equipment, I'll let you know how it goes. One last time, Go Hazen!

Hazen Track and Field Meets

Decided to bust out the Flip camera for the last couple of track meets. Go Hazen!

Training at Hazen!

      

        

    

No Track, No Field, No Problem!

As I mentioned in my last post I have begun working with schools in the Northeast Kingdom, or specifically in Hardwick, VT. Hardwick is a small town halfway between Stowe and St. Johnsbury on Route 15, and home to Hazen Union High School. Hazen Union has a track and field team, and starting two weeks ago I began working with them as an assistant/conditioning coach. I don't know a whole lot about track and field (I was never on a track and field team) but I can certainly help them with conditioning and getting in the right physical shape to perform. The team is great and I am excited to work with them. Only one small issue with the track and field team; Hazen Union doesn't have a track or a field. Needless to say we won't be hosting any events. However, this far from deters the kids, in fact they embrace it. Their team shirt from last year reads "no track, no field, no problem!" Pretty sweet.

To be accurate Hazen does have a jumping pit and a throwing area for the discus and shot put, and at the end of last week they have a semblance of a track. Roger, an older gentleman who is also volunteering his time, and I began marking up the school parking lot with a white spray can measuring out distances for all of the events our athletes would be competing in. So far we have the 100m, 110m hurdles (men) and 100m hurdles (women), and the 4x100 relay which is actually two laps around a 200m track. Measuring out the 200m relay track was especially challenging as Roger and I were trying to keep as much of the turn/straightaway proportions the same as a 400m track while staying on the slab of asphalt. It was actually lot of fun, and instead of being bummed out about our unique situation, the kids were psyched to have fresh distances measured out for them (turns out our 100m dash from the beginning of the week was only 90). Also, this also may have been the first time in my life that I have actually needed to use Pi in a real world situation, thank you high school geometry class.

We have our first meet this Thursday about an hour south of Hardwick. If anyone has some helpful tips for the team let me know!

A Tradition Unlike Any Other

I really like watching the Masters. Every March during the men’s NCAA basketball tournament, Jim Nantz’s low, quite voice comes on during a commercial break to remind me that the Masters is only a few weeks away. I consider it a quasi-holiday, knowing that on a Sunday in early April I will be devoting more than a couple of hours to watching golf.

I’m not quite sure why this is so relaxing but it is. Maybe it’s because around this time of year I am (supposed to be) surrounded by the last snowfields on the planet trying to get in the last ski race of the year. So to see the absurd amount of green grass and bushes of Augusta National that dominate the television lets me know that summer activities are coming quickly, and that for other people it started a while ago. This year the amount of coverage that Tiger received leading up to the event made the Masters a different spectacle, but in the end sitting on the couch and watching the Masters was just as relaxing as I hoped it would be. By the end of the weekend I even stopped noticing the ridiculous requirements imposed by Augusta National on CBS and ESPN in order to broadcast the event: the fans are referred to not as a crowd but as “patrons”, commercials basically don’t exist (4 minutes every hour, no one is complaining about that), and announcers never utter a bad word about the place for fear of losing their job (Gary McCord was banned by Augusta from covering the event after using some colorful imagery to explain how closely groomed the greens were). It’s a tradition unlike any other, and one that for some reason I really enjoy watching.

On the work side of things I am excited to announce that beginning this week I will start working with schools from the surrounding area of Wolcott, VT where I am currently living. I don’t have all of the details ironed out as of yet but plan to be up and running shortly, working as an instructor both on the field and in the classroom with local grade school kids. After a week of meeting with school principles and volunteer coordinators it is clear that my help is appreciated, and I am fired up to start working. I’ll let you know how things shake out. Until next time, go Mariners!

A Fitting End to a Fitful Season

This season has been riddled with injuries, and apparently March was no different. Last week at North American Cup Finals in Waterville Valley, NH, I fractured my clavicle in the second run of the slalom. About 8 gates from the bottom of the run I got a little behind and hammered on my downhill ski, causing the left tip to catch in soft snow and catapult me forward. I landed on my stomach, not really a normal ski fall, and rolled to a stop. Initially I didn’t think anything was wrong, and even joked with the coaches on the side of the hill that at my age I needed to make sure to do a full systems check after each crash to confirm that my body is still in tact. But when I pulled off my bib I heard a crunch in my chest and felt things shift around just below my neck on the left side; immediately my chest began to tighten. X-rays showed that it was a double break of the left clavicle.

To say that I am bummed out about this is an understatement. This season began with a lot of promise and an outside chance to qualify for the Olympics. Unfortunately, injuries have played a major role in what I have been able to do on the race course (when I am healthy enough to be in one) and I was not able to come close to reaching my potential this season. In the weeks leading up to my latest injury I had a great training session at Burke and was ready to capitalize my recent improvement and a hungry mental attitude. March is a time when some people are mentally checked out after such a long season, whereas I was chomping at the bit after so much time off throughout the season. Things were going to plan, my best races of the season in GS and SG took place during the three days prior to this event. It’s an unfortunate part of the sport that injuries occur so frequently, but not something that I can change if I intend to keep pushing the line and trying to land on the podium.

I spent the last week relaxing in Boston with my girlfriend while I healed up and figured out what to do with a cleared schedule for the next month. I was able to have a very productive meeting with Amory, the Director of ITA, and am currently working on expanding my role with ITA throughout the summer. Not exactly sure where I will be living/working, but if anyone has an opportunity that I need to hear about feel free to let me know!

Powder Day at the Ski and Ride Program!

  

Wintery Mix

New England weather at its finest. I am currently living in the Northeast Kingdom, making my way through a training block that has gotten off to a bit of a slow start due in part to the snowy and rainy weather, or as they say around here "wintery mix". This descriptive phrase was unknown to me before my voyage out East, but after 5 years or so of dealing with this slush from the sky I have learned to factor it in a couple of times every winter. The good news is that the temperatures are slowly dropping back below freezing and snow fall is beginning to dissipate. Pretty soon the race track up at Burke Mountain, my training site and home of some important upcoming races in the next couple of weeks (NorAm Finals, Eastern Cup Finals), should turn rock hard as it gets colder, making for some great racing conditions.

Tomorrow the Vermont schools return from vacation meaning I will be back at work with the Ski and Ride program after training or during some off days. My ankle is not yet fully healed so some relaxing skiing should be just what the doctor ordered, allowing me to excercise the ankle in a compressed atmosphere and activate the muscle (good) without jamming it from a rut on a course (bad).

Finally, nice job USA! I can't decide if I am more impressed by the medal haul of the US alpine or nordic teams. My only experience watching nordic races is from rooting on my teammates at various NCAA Championships, so to watch so many races over the last couple of weeks has been pretty cool. I'm not sure how nordic skiers feel about the coverage from NBC, but it seemed pretty good. I can't say the same  for the coverage of alpine skiing, which was never aired live and canned into spotty 15 minute segments. Hopefully by the time Sochi rolls around whoever is covering the Games will have figured out how to get good ratings and allow viewers to see more than the top 3 and a token American racer. Of course, if I am a competitor I won't have to worry about it!

Olympics

How sweet is the Olympics. It’s no secret that every four years all kinds of people, including some whom normally don’t watch TV (my parents) turn their attention to the Olympics and its athletes for exactly 17 days before typical sport story lines take over the airwaves again. But for these two and half weeks D Wade can’t top Apollo Ohno in popularity; the Duke-UNC basketball game winner isn’t as important as who takes gold in the downhill. So when I watch the opening ceremonies and see people that I have competed against for the better part of my life smiling while decked out in USA gear, it reaffirms that making it to the big show is a real possibility and also how bright the spotlight of the Olympics is.

I’m only 3 years 350 days before the next Olympic selections, currently in Park City for races that many Vancouver Olympic racers in the tech events are using for practice. The Swedish Olympic team is also here training before the tech events, donning their new Olympic suits, which ups the intensity a little bit. I however was not able to race today. 5 days ago I compressed my ankle in a GS at Stowe, breaking my ski and binding in a crash. I was hopeful that I would be able to race in these high quality races, to the extent that I still flew out here and had a bib this morning. But after a warm up run I realized that it wasn’t in the cards. I am going to sit out tomorrow as well and prepare for the two slalom races on Wednesday. I’m crossing my fingers.

On Thursday I head back to the East. Looking to rest up during the next couple of week before an onslaught of racing later in March. Go USA! Talk to you soon.

On to Italia

The road show continues into Italy where I have spent the last week in and out of the Dolomites racing mostly giant slalom. Right now giant slalom or “gs” is not my best event. I have found it hard to get the timing of initiating my turn, and so it has been a bit of a struggle for me to get any results worth mentioning. However, marginal results cannot detract from the ridiculous views that skiing in the Dolomites provides. Racing in Europe is free, the race entry and lift tickets do not cost anything, making this a very affordable trip. However, even if I were paying for my lift ticket I would consider this place to be the best bang for my buck. For 35-40 Euros you can get a Dolomiti Superpass, good for over 12,000 km of skiable acres at 12 ski areas all on the same ticket! They all connect in some way (ski runs, tram, or bus) making this about 3x bigger than any ski area in the US. Crazy. I’ll post pics soon.

Anyway, tomorrow I begin the slalom portion of my race schedule, which I am very much looking forward to. I have bounced back much faster in this event and a couple of good results will turn this trip from a great experience into a successful race campaign.

Next week I will be returning to Burke for some training and working with kids in the Burke Mountain Ski & Ride program. Europe’s great an all but nothing beats being back on home snow. I’ll let you know how things end up here, talk to you soon!

Hello From Austria!

Just got off the hill after a great day of training at Hinterreit in Austria. It’s important not to confuse that with the town of Hinterreit, Austria which is about 80km away from the ski area with the same namesake. I made this mistake this morning when I plugged the location into my GPS and arrived at a very small, flat town that resembled nothing of a ski village. After some phone calls and some ribbing from the group I am training with over here they pointed me in the right direction and I barely made it in time for our training time slot.

It’s great to be skiing again after being sidelined for over 6 weeks with a broken shoulder, or more specifically a non-displaced greater tuberosity fracture. The shoulder still isn’t 100 percent but it doesn’t really hurt when I get in the course (as long as I don’t fall on it again) and it’s had plenty of time to heal by now. So I’m trying to get right back in the swing of things, and what better way to do that than book a three week trip to Europe!

Last week I had a great time training in the morning with Burke Mountain Academy and teaching lessons in the afternoon with the Burke Mountain Ski & Ride program. The Burke Mountain Ski & Ride program provides transportation, lessons, and rentals if needed to kids from around 50 schools in the surrounding area. The amount of kids that are involved is impressive, up to 500 per day Monday to Friday. I contribute by providing groups their one hour group lessons before they hit the slopes on their own for a couple of hours. The cost of the program ($10 for a pass and a one hour lesson, $5 more for a rental package) allows children from the region a chance to ski who otherwise would not have the opportunity, and I am happy to teach a bunch of motivated kids how to rip some turns! Plus, I think that working on fundamentals with the groups has actually helped me find my balance again on the snow, making it a win-win situation.

Tomorrow I begin a slew of races over here beginning with three taking place around the town of Kitzbuhel, which will be hosting the Super Bowl of ski races on Saturday, the Hahnenkahmm. There will be over 100,000 people there over the weekend, and all around us people are making preparations for the big event. As a result the night slalom I am entered at Westendorf (about 10km away) on Thursday night typically has anywhere from 5,000 to 10,000 spectators, given how many top skiers will be using it as a warmup to Sunday’s World Cup Slalom. I have never been in this race and am excited to be a part of the electric atmosphere.

That’s all for now, I’ll try and remember to take some pictures over the next couple of weeks. I’m glad to be a member of ITA, without it none of this would be possible!