Let the Second Season Begin

The second season is upon us.

So far the final sprint of races has been largely dictated by how my knee feels on the day of competition. I cannot begin to describe how frustrating this is. Whistler began well, I placed 6th on the first day of GS at NorAm Finals. But bad weather (rain, hail, soft snow, fog) made the track very bumpy and I was quickly unable to ski to my full potential. The rest of NorAm Finals was unspectacular I ended up not accomplishing my goals for the race series.

However, after a week off between Whistler and the races I am currently at in CO, my knee seems to have turned a corner. Today not only was I able to race but also free ski without any pain in my knee. I ended up going out in the race but I was about as happy with this new development as any result (not quite) because it means I can now focus on my skiing and not about my damn knee. US Nationals starts this Thursday and it would be great to enter that series feeling like this.


On a bright side I got to ski at a really cool ski area last week after NorAm Finals. Adam Cole and I bailed on the Super Gs at Whistler and headed to Crystal Mountain, WA to race in a FIS open slalom and see some old friends. The mountain far exceeded my expectations. The ski area had a cool vibe and serviced a lot of back country terrain. It reminded me of a mini Snowbird. The race was also entertaining. Tim Kelly was victorious even though he failed to block a gate in sections of the course due to the massive ruts and bottomless snow. I straddled halfway on the pitch during the second run, but was yelled into to hiking for two gates and scored myself a fat 262.51. I'm guessing it's a career high. Let's hope I can bring that down for the rest of the races this spring!

Whistler

Last night I arrived in Whistler, BC for NorAm Finals and the beginning to the final sprint of the season. Warm weather in Whistler has prompted a change of the schedule, making the GS races first to go instead of the Super Gs. My focus up here is on the GS and SL races, so I was planning on a generally relaxed couple of days to begin this trip. Instead, it's time to bring the race day attitude immediately and focus on what I am trying to accomplish here.

I was able to take some runs today on my GS skis and get my first look at the race hill. Before I came out here I made the executive decision to not bring my powder skis. My knee is still not 100% percent and I really didn't want to be tempted with the opportunity to tear up one of the best mountains in the world should it snow, which is pretty much guaranteed here. So instead of hitting a bunch of chutes and searching for powder stashes today I got on my GS skis and took some laps on the groomers. Boring but in my opinion helpful, and it gave me a relatively good feeling for what to expect tomorrow. The race organizers seem to be working very hard to get the new snow (about a foot in the last two days) off the race track, and I am hopeful that the surface will be consistent enough to hold a decent race.

Let's hope for good conditions and better skiing!