Scott Snow Racer Blog

Back in time

2012-01-27T09:48:00.000-08:00

A few days ago I went up skiing with my Dad and one of the young athletes on our ski team. It was windy, and snowing, but the three of us set up ropes and a GS course on the NASTAR trail reguardless. Dad and I would slip each run trying to keep the course trainable in the soft snow, and she would ski the course, get her feedback from her run, then work on things all the way down to the lift. It took me back to all the days spent training with just Dad and I. Whatever the conditions good or bad we would train and find a way to make it work. I can remember setting Slalom in 12 inches of new on top of soft groomed and training on it all day. It was pretty interesting occasionally but definitely worth every bit of the time and I wouldn't trade those memories for anything! It was fun to see someone else getting the same experience and eating it up! Hopefully in the future this will be as fond of a memory for her as it is for me.

On the move!

2012-01-22T14:47:00.000-08:00

Well, I'm home!! I woke up one morning in Solden and was told we were calling it due to weather and we would be hitting the road in a hour and a half. So here I am 29 hrs of traveling later sitting in my living room playing guitar and hanging out with the family. It is always great to come home, and I am so looking forward to skiing at my home area, Schweitzer Mt. Resort, this weekend. I hear its been dumping so we will see if I get any formal training or just have to put up with pow skiing!! Either way I'll take it! The ankle is doing a lot better and hopefully will be back to 100% here in the next few days!

The view from my porch this mornin' :)

Home Away From Home!

2012-01-19T12:27:00.000-08:00

Well, I've had two great days of Slalom races in the past week, and one not so great day of GS that took me right back here to the US Ski Team home base in Solden, AUT for a few days off skis. I took a pretty sweet digger a little ways into a GS run in Kirchberg, AUT the day before yesterday and bent my ankle a little bit further than it was designed to. It swelled up a bit, creased the plastic on the cuff of my boot, and kept me from running the night Slalom in Westendorf, Austria that I was very much looking forward to. I was pretty bummed, but what can you do? I am skiing really well in Slalom right now which is something to be happy about, and am stoked to figure out GS before getting home to the NORAMS in Colorado the first week of February!

I went to the gym today and had an awesome workout with my buddy and fellow D-Teamer Brian Mclaughlin! Gettin' huge!! With this all this time in my hands right now I figure it would be a shame not to put it to good use!

This is a photo of Kirchberg, AUT, the site of the GS race.

Racin'!!!

2012-01-17T03:31:00.000-08:00

We left Solden and our home base there yesterday for another Oberjoch adventure, and thankfully this time it was a racing one! The last few days of training were invaluable preparation for this block of 5 days straight of racing. The snow was pretty solid and the weather was beautiful if not freezing, windy and somewhat miserable to be lapping in wearing only a speed suit. All in all great stuff!! Tonight was a night SL here in Oberjoch, Germany and my first ever. I threw in some cross country action on the first run and ended up starting DFL second run (if you were wondering that means last.) I skied really well and was over all very pleased with my performance. We just got back to the hostel now and I am so beat!! Can’t wait to get some sleep!

Jan 15, 2012

Back on course!

2012-01-12T04:28:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was the first sunny day we've had since coming over here 10 days ago, so we took full advantage. We had a 30 second course up with timing and got to lap it basically as many times as our legs could take! I was right in there time wise and am excited about my skiing right now. Can't wait to get back into some races!!

Copyright Nick Krause Photography
Here is a shot from the top of the lift taken by my man Nick Krause on his i-phone. Amazing technology in phones these days!!

The Alternate Training Option

2012-01-09T06:47:00.000-08:00

Well, after 3 days here in Solden, AUT we still haven't had a day of scheduled training. However, no scheduled training doesn't meant that we aren't getting just as much out of this time as we would be in gates. The coaches decided to employ the "Alternate Training Option" for this week, and I think it is working out wonderfully! The powder skiing has been fantastic and the snow just keeps on coming! I spent all day yesterday skiing awesome lines with my overgrown buddy Bryce Bennet and had a blast! Coming from the land of heavy snow, it was pretty sweet to drop a 20 foot cliff and not even feel the impact upon landing. I could get used to this!! But alas, good times end tomorrow with training up on the glacier. What a hard life... I guess I'll just have to find some way to cope!

Flippin awesome!

2012-01-07T09:09:00.001-08:00

Yesterday we had a leisurely morning then got in the vans and traveled from Oberjoch, Germany to Solden, Austria. It was a whiteout blizzard and due to the slick roads, the lack of street signs over here, and our lack of directions, it took an extra hour and a half to cover the last 3 miles. A large part of that was the golf cart sized drive that leads 300 yards through a field to the hotel. We went from ditch to ditch shoveling and pushing alternately, as the van slid around in the 60 mph winds whipping the snow off the banks next to the road. Once we were settled in, had dinner, and were in warm dry clothes, we looked outside and all thought the same thing. “Lets build a booter on that hill over there and hit it in the dark!” It was pretty awesome! We built it where there was about 50 feet of landing zone before the hill flattened out, plenty of distance, and where the wind had blown in a lot of snow(It had to be 3 or 4 feet deep in spots.) Tanner, the crazy kid on the D team, threw a double back flip and stomped it which inspired me to give it a whirl. (I’ve never gone inverted before on skis unless by accident, so I thought I would go for trying a single back flip and leave it there for the time being.) I was honestly pretty nervous standing at the top of the run-in looking down at the dark silhouette of the jump, framed by the parking lot lights illuminating the landing. But what does worrying about it do? So I went for it. The first three times weren’t that pretty, ill just say that. Got the wind knocked out of me a little bit, but other than that it was like landing in a foam pit. The fourth time was closer, and the fifth time I crushed it and was so pumped! I have always wanted to do one, but hadn’t to this point found the right time and place. Who would have thought it would be Austria during a racing trip! Looking forward to more such excitement the next few days!

Back in Europe!

2012-01-04T02:11:00.000-08:00

I flew into Munich yesterday morning and then drove to this lovely spot where the team was supposed to have a race today. It was canceled, due to the rain and poor visibility, which leaves me typing this from a comfy chair with a great view of the northern Alps here in Oberjoch, Germany next to a fireplace with a cup of tea while staring out at the rain. Life could be a lot worse! While waiting at the startline for the jury to make a decision I was delighted to see one of my good Austrian buddies that I know from Whistler Cup when I was 14, Christian Juffinger. We ended up freeskiing together for a while and had a great time. Now that I am back at the hostel, I'm about to go work out and grab a bite to eat before going out and exploring the town!

Eh?

2011-12-18T10:22:00.000-08:00

After all the excitement in Beaver Creek, I traveled up to the land of "Eh's" for the first speed NORAMS of the year in Nakiska, Alberta. I have raced tech there in past years and so knew the general layout of the mountain and what to expect from the hill. (Let's just say after spending a week on Birds of Prey THIS hill didn't really put the butterflies in my stomach.;) I scored in two out of three SG races and got a ton of confidence back in my SG skiing. However that's not all that improved this week!! My hockey skills are getting quite a lot better as well! Each day after skiing we would go out to the rink behind the hotel and have a pick up game with all the Canadian boys for a few hours for dryland. I was so beat!(in more ways than one.) I swear some of those kids come into this world wearing skates and with a stick in hand.. Anyways, I had a blast with it and am looking forward to more of the same in the future!

In life in general, I think our opinions are dictated by our perception of things. I am always asked the question, "What is your favorite mountain other than Schweitzer?" and can never give a straight answer because my experiences at the different places I travel strongly affect my opinions of them. Some people remember their favorite areas for the trails, the views, the friends they share it with, or myriad other things. I tend to remember places by their food... And this trip Nakiska took a serious blow on its record. Each day we ate breakfast and dinner in a huge conference center with a buffet line. There were about 150 athletes and coaches all enjoying(or not) the same fare, and as far as I know about 140 of those came out the other side no problem. The other 7 percent of us ended up with two days of our heads shoved into toilets checking out the contents of our stomachs. It struck me the last day about 15 minutes after the completion of the SG portion of the Super Combined. Some of my buds were telling me not to run the SL portion because I was getting sick all over the place, but isn't that why we are here? I mean why waste a perfectly good oppertunity? So I did run the slalom and somehow kept everything inside of me for 41 seconds of attempted athleticisim. Even though I was sick I still skied pretty well and had a decent result all things considered! Something to build off for sure! =) After that I headed off to Panorama, Brittish Columbia with my head out the window for a much needed day off followed by a week of awesome racing!

Birds of Prey!!

2011-12-05T20:49:00.000-08:00

When I was 6 years old, my family went to Beaver Creek for the NASTAR National championship. While there, my father insisted that we go up to the top of the mountain and check out the World Cup Downhill track called Birds of Prey. It was mid season so the hill was all steep moguls and really took it out of the legs. So about half way down when we stopped to catch our breath and my dad looked at me and asked me if I could imagine tucking down this crazy mountainside. I just shook my head and said, "No Way!!" Little did I know that I would be doing just that 12 years later!

I got to forerun the first two days of the World Cup DH in Beaver Creek and had the best time of my life! Every run I came through the finish with a huge grin on my face just hoping to get another crack at it if there was a course hold. It was definitely one of the coolest experiences I have ever had! I was a bit nervous the first run for the left footed cooridor on the pitch called "Talon Turn." It is 52 degrees at its steepest and is quite intimidating. After I made it the first time and realized it was skiable for us mortals as well as the legends on the startlist there was nothing more exhilerating or fun on the planet. (Having my Dad there to watch was really great too. It's always nice when your family can come to an event to watch. Makes the whole thing that much better. :) I skied really well and hopefully will get some DH starts when we go to Europe in January as a result!

NORAMS

2011-12-02T16:53:00.000-08:00

The first NORAMS of the year were a great success! I skied really well in all four races and finished at both Loveland and Aspen! (That's the first time in my career I have finished tech races at either of those resorts, so I was very pleased.) The conditions were great for this time of year, but running around 80 every day left the track a little bit haggard. It made for a pretty great challenge!! I knew coming into these races that I probably wouldn't come out with a score, but it was a really good confidence builder to ski well and perform in the first big races of the year. I am really looking forward to building off of this in Canada!

RAMPING UP!!!!

2011-11-25T19:30:00.000-08:00

First NORAM races of the year are tomorrow morning at Loveland, CO! Starting 76th on non-injected snow it should be a pretty exciting first run! The goal is to make the flip or close to it in the first run in order to be within striking distance to finish top 30 over all. That way I score NORAM points and don't have to start way back there again in Panorama come December!

I trained Slalom today after 4 days at home for the holidays and am feeling really well prepaired and ready to go! Should be a good race!

SKIING!!!!!

2011-11-14T21:14:00.000-08:00

I'm 10 days into training here in Colorado and it has been great!! The new trail at Copper Mt. is absolutely awesome and gives us a great opportunity for four event training. Today was full length DH in the morning followed by 55 second GS in the afternoon. I don't think there is training like this to be had anywhere else on earth! I am skiing really fast and can't wait for the first races of the year on the 18th of this month here at Copper!

Almost time!!

2011-11-01T16:25:00.000-07:00

Physical testing is all over and I am now wrapping up this strength training block here in Park City. I learned two things this camp that should dramatically improve my results this season... They are: 1. a double backflip on a trampoline, and 2. a standing backflip from the ground. I can't wait to feel the gains when I get back on snow!! But seriously, it was a really successful camp and I feel really great going into these next 3 weeks in colorado!

I looked out my window this morning and it was dumping snow so hard I couldn't help but have a smile on my face! Can't wait for some real winter skiing in 4 days!!

Taking one for the team....

2011-10-23T10:57:00.000-07:00

My first step towards hollywood came this week when Nolan Kasper and Steven Nyman made commercials for Fantasy Ski Racing, and I got to take a part. Of course, being the young punk in the group, I got to be a stunt dummy and a light switch manager(very important work mind you.) It was so much fun!! I didn't stop laughing all day and really gained respect for the patience of actors in the film industry... Here is the link to one of the clips and you can check out the others on youtube or at www.fantasyskiracer.com !

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Td7xgnol-24

Park City

2011-10-23T10:47:00.000-07:00

After my Grand Canyon adventures I had one week to spend at home before heading down to Park City, Utah for physical training at the USST Center of Excellence. None of the other D-Team boys were there, so it was just me and a coach training together each day. Its amazing how fast things get done when there are only two of you! I'm feeling really strong right now and can't wait for testing day on the 25th!

Chile

2011-10-13T13:37:00.000-07:00

No hablo espanol? I arrived in Chile the 16th of September super excited and honestly a little bit nervous. I skied well my last camp in Mt. Hood in August, but I never know how much I will retain in the months off snow. That said, my fears turned out to be groundless.

The training in La Parva is some of the best you can find anywhere. We get 4 event training with great snow conditions and tons of options as far as venues and terrain for the coaches to play with. The mountain turns training into a workout as well! It consists predominantly of Pomas instead of chairlifts, so the legs never get a break! (Talk about a good way to get back into skiing shape!) The snow was about as good as it gets for training, but started to thin out a bit towards the end of the camp. Thankfully, my skis didn’t suffer nearly as bad as some of my buddies’ did.

The great conditions allowed for the perfect time to work on things. I felt like myself on my skis again for the first time in a year and couldn’t stop smiling! I went back to skiing the deep line and was flowing really well in GS. (Something I struggled with a lot last year.) Downhill and Super G went very well too. I made huge improvements solidifying my jumping technique and aerodynamics and am looking forward to seeing some results when I get to Colorado next month! J It was a great two weeks and I am really excited moving into three weeks of lifting in Park City at the Center of Excellence followed by on snow training again in November!

Here is a pic of the guys at the top of the course in La Parva. Great group!

Home?

2011-10-03T09:41:00.000-07:00

I flew home from my two week camp in Chile on the 1st of October and am now on the second day of a backpacking trip with my brother through the Grand Canyon!! Quite a change from ski racing in Chile I'll tell ya! I didn't have any internet while in La Parva, and I wont for the next few days here, but I will make up for it when I get back to civilization. Should have some awesome pics for my next post!!

Prepairing for winter!!!

2011-09-14T17:40:00.000-07:00

It's my last day at home before heading to Chile for 15 days of training and I'm so excited I can't see straight! I've been lifting hard this last block and am feeling really strong coming into this camp. I am looking forward to feeling my hard work pay off when I get on snow! Internet is not always that great down there but I'll do my best to keep everybody posted!

Hood Camp!

2011-08-21T21:51:00.000-07:00

Things were really starting to come around in the early-August camp in Mt. Hood, OR! I could feel so much power in the top of the turn that it made me smile without realizing it. I have been working on running the line deep in GS and pressuring the new ski as early as possible, and am getting some cool feedback from the skis! The snow was awesome for the most part, about as good as I have ever seen it at Hood. There were only a few nights that it didn't freeze, and that's what salt is for. :-)

The first Hood camp of the year was down on the "Mile" lift which is mild terrain and great for working on stuff. This one was focused on taking the movements learned on that less challenging terrain to the steeper "Palmer" lift with the same amount of precision. It was a complete success! Even my Slalom, which I have been struggling with a little bit recently, came on strong the last few days. I had a great time and am feeling very confident about next season. Time for winter!!

Physical Testing Completed and Now on to the White Stuff!

2011-07-30T13:12:00.000-07:00

I came to Park City on the 25th after an awesome month at home. It was great to have some time to work, play baseball, lift, and just wind down. I think it is so important to have that time at home with family to just relax and get things done. Now I am packing up to head to Mt. Hood after and awesome week of lifting and testing. I improved my strength in all the tests and am really happy with my progress. Can't wait to feel the difference in my skiing next week!

After lifting yesterday 4 of us D-Team guys went out to Walt Evans' house to help him buck some hay. It was only about 2 hours of work and afterwards we were paid with as much of his wife's cooking as we could stomach; It was so great! Tonight I'm packing and am heading out for Hood early tomorrow morning. Getting ready for snow!!

Mt. Hood

2011-07-06T10:29:00.000-07:00

I had a great camp in Mt. Hood, OR! It was the first true camp of the 2011-12 season and I'm already feeling a lot of progress. The weather was awesome for the most part and the training was great. We were training down on "The Mile," which is a pretty mild pitch and good for working on fundementals and tactics. The coaches experimented with some different brush drills in the course and I think they found the perfect one for what I'm working on. I was really pumped on the power I was getting out of the ski in the top of the turn and through the transition! The other guys are awesome and a blast to hang out with so I'm looking forward to getting back together with them at the end of this month. For now, I am at home working my job and lifting hard getting ready for testing in Park City and skiing in Hood again starting the 25th!

High School Finished!!

2011-06-11T20:49:00.000-07:00

I graduated from High School this week and am pleased to have a little break from school. Being in the Idaho Virtual Academy since fifth grade, I had never met any of my classmates. Graduation gave me the chance to put some faces to names and I really enjoyed it.

I've been in school year round for three years in order to accomodate my ski racing. Last year I was the only guy on the Team still in High School, which was sometimes a real pain. Now I can select courses and adjust my own workload as I nibble away at college. This year I'm going to focus on languages and knock off some elective credits with on-line German courses. Should be usefull on our Euro-trip as well!

Tryout Camp

2011-05-31T08:22:00.000-07:00

I just got home from a seven day training camp at Mount Bachelor. The camp was quite large (16 athletes) since it doubled as a try-out camp to fill vacancies on the Team. I'd already made team criteria, so was able to focus entirely on my skiing without preasure. I felt like it was a very productive camp.

The group of guys was great. I was already good friends with the 8 guys from the West, having raced and travelled with them a lot over the years. I got to room with some the East guys and really liked them as well. The team nominations were announced last week, and all the guys on the list are pretty awesome. I'm looking forward to a fun and productive year!

And it starts again!

2011-05-07T19:33:00.000-07:00

Well, its time to start packing once again! After an awesome two weeks at home I am getting ready for 3 days of strength testing in Park City, UT followed by 8 days on snow in Mt. Bachelor, Oregon. I have been lifting a lot of weights and digging a lot of ditches for the last few weeks and am feeling really strong and ready for testing. I know a bunch of the guys I'll be with down there too and can't wait to spend some time with them! Should be a great camp!

Winding down

2011-04-23T19:49:00.000-07:00

The last 10 races of the year did not go as well as I had hoped. I didn't have any results that were scores, but felt like I figured some things out that I struggled with throughout the season from a technical standpoint. I didn't "pinch off" the line nearly as much as I had been early in the year, and really could feel the top of the turn working for me in GS. Also on the positive side of things; the snow was great! It was exactly the surface I had been looking for since the start of the year. Not quite ice, but hard enough not to leave a track. Not a bad way to end the season! :)

I got home two days ago and have been getting back into normal life with tons of lifting, school, and shooting. I leave on the 9th for a training camp at Mt. Bachelor, OR, but for now, it's great to be back in my own bed!

US Alpine Championships

2011-04-06T21:27:00.000-07:00

I had a great time at US Alpine Champs in Winter Park, CO this last week and skied really well. It was the first time the whole team has been together since November and gosh it was fun to see the older guys around! The last day was pretty bad weather, but the Super-G and GS days were sunny and beautiful.(much nicer than skiing in the rain like last year! :-) The GS was a minute thirteen seconds long, bumpy, and at eleven thousand feet in elevation was one of the highest GS races of the season. Needless to say I arrived at the finish out of breath, and with burning legs. That said I still skied pretty well and wasn't upset with my result. The SG day was a pretty big dissapointment. I woke up in the morning ready to go, inspected the course and was pumped with how it was set, and felt great on my skis during warmups; I was ready. After the second intermediate time I was only 1 second out of the lead which would have put me in the top ten, things were going well. Then, four gates from the finish, I pushed the line just a little bit too far and caught my outside ski in some bumps; that was all it took. I was basically sitting on my inside binding with my outside leg fully extended with no pressure on it. That move for half a second was enough to make me miss the next gate and end my race. I had to remind myself to keep looking at the positive, "I skied well and I was going fast." Things could have been a lot worse. I ended the week up with a pretty good slalom race in really tough conditions. That was followed by two GS races in Breckenridge, which brought with them my first score of the year in GS. It sure feels great to have that pressure off my back! I am now home for a night before heading on my way to spring series at Mission Ridge, WA. Looking forward to sleeping in my own bed tonight!

Back On Snow

2011-03-28T20:48:00.000-07:00

I am now in Frisco, Colorado after my first two races back from a possible concussion. My last day in Whistler, BC at NORAM Finals I felt like I had a breakthrough in GS, and I have been worried that my week off snow would allow the time to effectively forget what it was I figured out. That said I feel great after two days of slalom races in Beaver Creek, and am looking forward to SG tomorrow at Breckenridge.

My crash at Whistler was nothing special, but still worried some of the staff enough to have me take the impact test. The first time I took it my reactions were .07 of a second slower than they were in July, with everything else the same. The Doctor said that I was probably fine, but that it would be wise to give it at least 24 hrs to make sure things were all ok. After a few days there with limited activity, I decided that it was best for me to get on the road for CO, and get my brain moving again. I stopped in at the COE in Park City on the way for an impact test and some physical examination and passed them both. =) Its great to be back on snow!

Whistler

2011-03-20T19:25:00.000-07:00

I went into NORAM Finals in Whistler, BC really pumped on how I was skiing and ready to go. The first day of GS was one of good performance, but not the best circumstances... And all of my own making. In a confusing turn of events I "misplaced" my skis at the start and ended up running on one of my buddies' trainers-- not the best plan! I skied well, but was not in the front of the pack. The second day, however, was far better! I moved from 73rd starting position in the first run, to 24th place and got to start 7th in the second run; It was a perfect situation. I skied well all the way until the last pitch where I got pulled low and caught some soft snow. I couldn't get my foot out of it in time and straddled the gate with my shin. It was a pretty good crash, but I didn't really think much of it at the time. Just another day, you know? Well the IMPACT test (a special test which compares against a previous baseline and determines if there's a head injury) said otherwise apparently! They are still not sure if I have a concussion, but my reaction time is 7 hundreths of a second slower than it was when I tested in July. The bottom line is that I am not racing until that changes or the Team doctors decide that I am 100%. I left three days early from Canada after being told that I wouldn't be racing in order to get on the road for Colorado and save some money. Two days of driving later has put me in Park City, UT where I will be testing again tomorrow to see if I can get back on snow. I hope it goes well!!

Home

2011-03-13T21:20:00.000-07:00

I have been home for 4 days now, which is the longest since Christmas, and am thoroughly enjoying every second of it! It’s been dumping snow ever since I got here and I am getting very familiar with my pow-skis. :) A friend of ours rented Turner Mountain for his Birthday and invited a large group up for a day of rippin'. The top half of the Mountain was dumping snow, and the bottom was pouring rain, yet the lodge was totally empty.. Gotta love those North Idaho people!! I drive out tomorrow for NORAM Finals in Whistler, BC and am very excited for these next few races!

Park City

2011-03-13T21:12:00.000-07:00

Back to base camp for a week in Park City! After Racing 4 tech races up in Rossland, BC, I headed down to Park City, Utah for 5 days of lifting and training. The snow was a bit crumbly and it snowed a couple days, but the value of training couldn’t have been much better. After all, we ARE heading to some interesting conditions in whistler, BC next week. The off snow training was good as well, allowing me the first chance to get in the gym in quite a while. I look forward to the next and final trip of the season starting with NORAM Finals in Whistler!

Bigsky, MT

2011-02-25T17:27:00.000-08:00

After arriving home from Europe, I got to spend a day recovering from jetlag at our family friends the Kern’s house in Washington, DC. My dad flew in the day after me, and we hit the road hours after his wheels touched down. Two, 17 hour, speeding filled, days later we arrived in Bozeman, MT to race the FIS speed series at Big Sky. It was such a great time! The downside to always traveling the NORAM circuit is not being able to see many of my old friends that only do the FIS elite races, so I tried to make up for lost time while there. Sure was great to see them! I didn’t expect to score at all at these races, but was rather just looking for speed-training going into the NORAM speed-week in Aspen, CO. I came out with two 37’s in SG and four days of DH training before the biggest speed races of the year; couldn’t ask for more!

Europe!

2011-02-23T20:56:00.000-08:00

I had a great two weeks of training in Europe. The snow was difficult to figure out (pretty peely and inconsistent) but still was well worth it. The schedule didn’t end up having as many starts as I would have liked, but I still got three GS starts and a ton of time on snow.

I had forgotten how much I love everything over there! The little shops, the amazing food, the people, and basically the entire environment are just awesome and smile inspiring. Each day after training we would all go out free skiing as a group for a few hours; what a blast!! The Italians don’t seem to mind fast skiers like many American ski resorts do… At home you blow by a group of beginners too close and you get reported to the ski patrol for being reckless, over there the entire group starts tucking and straight lining trying to keep up! However, they do mind people skiing the “off piste.” One afternoon we decided to hit up some cool looking powder lines just off the main trails. It wasn’t roped off so we figured it was fair game and sent it. We also figured that the man yelling at us at the bottom was congratulating us on some awesome skiing, and failed to notice the “Carbineri” patch on the back of his coat. After asking for documents and lift tickets, he took us to the Police station on the top of the mountain and paced back and forth talking animatedly on his phone. After what seemed like an interminable amount of time he told us to stay on the groomers in the future and keep the speeds slow. I could swear he wanted to arrest the lot of us, but apparently I need work on my Italian hand signal diagnostics. Thank goodness they liked us there!

Home for Christmas!!

2010-12-25T21:56:00.000-08:00

I’m done with the early season races now and am resting before another month and a half on the road. Looking back to the first NORAM cup races in Loveland and Aspen, Colorado makes me see how much I have progressed in the past month. I was having some trouble “cutting the line off” at the top of the turn in those early races. I noticed it more in Giant Slalom than anything else, but still felt it occasionally in my Slalom. I was 0-4 in that series, but didn’t let it get me down. I think it’s really important to use times like that to focus on the little things that went well and poorly without the distraction of a result or a time. It’s the perfect training for the mind.

After those races we went to Birds of Prey at Beaver Creek to forerun the World Cup Downhill. Unfortunately I didn’t get to run, but I was still there and got to inspect the track and watch all the big guys on the hill. What an experience! It’s hard to go to a hill like that with the best athletes in the world and not be impressed and a bit awed. Pretty cool stuff.  During the free time between inspection and the race each day I had the opportunity for some GS training, and felt like I got a lot more work done on the line. I really like having races followed by some time to train and work on the different aspects that weren’t performed well in competition.

After Colorado I went up north for the NORAMS in Lake Louise, AB and Panorama, BC. I felt like I really had a breakthrough in speed in Lake Louise. It is hard to describe, but it felt like I was moving differently on the skis and getting much more power out of them than I ever have before. I scored in one of the Downhills, and had a pretty bad mistake in the other, but was very pleased with the series as a whole. From there I went to the tech/Super G series in Panorama. I had some trouble in the Super G’s on the soft snow, and felt like my pressuring was too aggressive for the conditions. I lost the pressure on the outside ski every time the snow gave out, and ended up running a low line—not very fast on a flat hill. I skied much better in the Giant Slalom the day after, but crossed my tips in the first run and went down on my side right before a flat. I ended up 58th after the first run and thus qualified for a second run, in which I executed my plan very well, finishing 40th overall. The slalom was a blast! I always like slalom, but the ridiculously turny course set on steep terrain with variable snow made this one more fun and exciting than usual  I skied really well and felt like I was very solid and comfortable on my skis, which was an accomplishment I thought, considering it had been 3 weeks since I touched slalom gear. All in all I am happy with where I am right now and feel confident moving into these next 40 days of racing!

Skiing at home with my team and local friends is great. I’ve coached the younger kids a couple of days, trained some slalom (although the snow is too soft), been the pacesetter for NASTAR, and done a lot of free skiing. I’ve missed free skiing thus far this year; I feel it helps every aspect of my racing. I got some sweet powder skis for Christmas, it’s supposed to storm tonight, and I’ve got a seat on the Selkirk Powder Company Snow cat tomorrow.. Should be a great day! :)

Turkey Time!

2010-11-22T20:52:00.000-08:00

The Vail camp is finished, and to be perfectly honest I’m already salivating for some turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy! The ladies of the family are coming up for Thanksgiving in a few days; I can’t wait to have the whole family together again! The camp concluded on the 20th, and these last few days have found me hanging out, lifting, and schooling in Dillon with our family friends the Johns. I just realized while at the gym today that its been five weeks since I’ve had a serious leg workout, so put in my time under the squat rack and the cleaning pads this afternoon. It feels great to get the power muscles going again!

The Giant Slalom race the USST hosted at Vail didn’t go quite as well as I would have liked, but it was still a good experience and a confidence booster. I had a few mistakes in costly areas, but ended up decently placed amongst the field. I could have done much better, but sinced I’m skiing really well that's all that really matters. I had one more week of training in Vail after the race, and man it was a long one! The double sessions every day really took it out of me! Six hours of amazing four event training in the morning led to great bounds in performance, tired legs, and lots of afternoon naps. I’m really feeling fast right now and can’t wait for the NORAMS in Loveland and Aspen the 27th-30th. That said, I still have some turkey pounds to pack on before then! :-)

Colorado

2010-11-14T21:00:00.000-08:00

So I am in Colorado for the whole month of November training in Summit and Eagle counties. I’m staying with the US team in a lavish hotel named Manor Vail right at the bottom of Gold Peak. I wake up every morning and walk 100 feet from the room to the bottom of the lift… how can you beat that??  The team injected the slope last week and the surface is about as good as I’ve seen. I think it’s helped my skiing a lot to get on a solid, icy surface that makes me work to hold an edge. It took me a little while to figure it out, but now I feel great on it. A good confidence builder for sure!

I’m really feeling good on my skis right now and am getting a lot of power in the top of the turn. “The move” that I have been working on the last 6 months is now automatic, but I still have to focus on giving my body room at the gate in order to get the full benefit. I’ve got this annoying tendency to pinch off the top of the turn and hammer the panels, (It feels way sweeter but it’s definitely not the fast line) so fixing that is one of my biggest focus points. There is a USST race next week in Vail for all the Team guys and a few selected invitees. It should be a fun race and hopefully a good points opportunity!

Back on the road!

2010-10-31T21:09:00.000-07:00

Chile was great fun, but coming home felt really good. After relaxing and catching up on laundry I hit the gym hard for two and a half weeks. Unfortunately, I had my wisdom teeth pulled on the 15th, which brought all workouts to a halt. (I must say though, my mothers Chocolate shakes made that experience much more enjoyable ;-) The month ended with pre-season physical assessments at the COE in Park City, followed by a “Team Building” camp at Moab, UT.

We all loaded up for Moab on the 26th and spent four days camping and biking around Canyon-lands and Arches National Parks. What a great spot! Several of the guys had been there before and they led us on some tough rides in marginal terrain. I was on an “old school” bike, so my hands and legs took quite a beating. I had a great time just the same! We did a lot of bouldering and rock climbing as well, which I really enjoyed. Dad caught up with me on the 29th and we’re now in Colorado for 36 days of training and competition.

This next week should be a lot of fun. We’re going to ski with our Canadian friends, Matt and Michelle, at their camp for 5 days. They are a constant laugh and I can’t wait to spend some time with them again! On November 5th I join the team at Vail for on snow training. It will include speed training at Copper Mountain in the early mornings, and tech at Vail and Loveland. I’m really looking forward to the start of competition November 27-30!!

Home again, home again....

2010-10-06T20:36:00.000-07:00

Well I must say there is no place like home! I had a great time in Chile, but I was ready to get out of the snow and rocks and back into the forests of the North West. J The last few days were GS and I really felt like I was skiing well. Having only two days of it didn’t give me a ton of time to get the feel, but I still felt pretty good, all things considered. After packing out on our last day, we got to spend a few hours down in Santiago. We stopped in a small “crafts fair” type thing with hundreds of little one room shops which openned into walkways that displayed their owners hand-made items. Things were pretty expensive, but it didn’t matter. Anything bought there was the only one like it in the world, so I figured it was totally worth it.

The flights home seemed to take forever to me. That was partially due to the fact that my seats on the ten hour flight were located right next to the restrooms in the rear of the plane, and there were no complementary nose plugs. :P Not too much sleep for me! When we touched down in Atlanta, the first thing one of my buds and I did after clearing immigration was to buy a couple of huge Cinnabun’s each.. and honestly, junk food has never tasted so good! Mine disappeared in about two minutes. Then it was just eight more hours of travel to Spokane Airport and a hour and a half long drive home from there. It felt great to sleep in my own bed that night J

C'est finis!

2010-09-26T19:14:00.000-07:00

The past two weeks have sure gone by in a blurr! With only two days left in the whole camp, I've been trying to slow time down a bit and reflect on how my skiing changed while here in Chile. I worked all summer on getting my new outside hip over the up hill ski in transition (an idea that gave me numerous fits in my last 8 weeks on snow), but I think I finally have it. It isn't evident in every turn, but that's just a matter of time. I can really feel the power it gives in the fall-line, and the resulting speed. It's a good feeling! I can also feel that all the strength training I did over the summer is paying off. I was in the gym 6 days a week and wow, was every second worth it!

I was sick with some sort of bug the past two days, and that's left me feeling a bit weak. Thankfully one of those days was a planned day off, so I only missed the first day of Giant Slalom this week. Today (the second day of GS for the team) consisted of three, 20 gate, sections on perfect, rock-hard snow. What better way to get into a new event?!? It took me a few runs to get into the flow, but I started to feel it by the end of the day. I hear we have a timed,two minute long, GS course tomorrow... Hopefully I'll still be standing on unlocked legs when I reach the bottom, but somehow that is doubtful at 12,000 ft. ;) I'll let you know how it goes!

Half way!

2010-09-21T18:47:00.000-07:00

So today was the half mark of this camp here in Chile. What great training it has been! Speed in the morning and Tech in the afternoon, followed by GREAT food.. What more could I ask for?!

These next 3 days are going to be primarily DH and SL, but we might get to do a bit of GS as well. With the snow coverage diminishing, it is a very good thing we are getting speed out of the way now so we can focus on tech later in the camp. We are all working hard to keep our bases smooth, but its pretty rough right now! So as far as equipment goes, my Atomic Slalom skis are the only new items I have with me. Wow, they are something else! The turning radius is shorter this year, and that coupled with a much lighter binding makes them a pretty sweet ride! I'm feeling really good in all events right now and I'm looking forward to a great rest of the camp and hopefully a great season!

Chile

2010-09-19T12:36:00.000-07:00

I am here in La Parva, Chile for the first “winter” camp of the 2010-11 season. What an interesting place! Upon arrival in Santiago, I noted that the sky wasn’t visible through the smog. Trash littered the sides of the large river flowing through the city; it was stacked meters deep. I was relieved when after travelling 45 km East and climbing 10,000 ft., everything cleared up and revealed a beautiful mountain with tons of terrain and no people! The photo above was taken at sunset from my room.

Today was the fourth day on snow and things are going great! I skied Super G really well these past three days, and am really feeling “the move” I’ve been working on since the spring. The timing system was broken today, but tomorrow hopefully it will be operational and I’ll be able to see where I stand compared to all the guys. I can’t wait! Oh, and tomorrow starts the first day of a 3-day celebration here in Chile, so there will be live bands and dancing all over on our day off. Should be a good one!

Mt Hood camp

2010-06-19T21:44:00.000-07:00

I am now back training in Mt. Hood, Oregon. It's the first summer in 6 years that I've trained, and wow I had forgotten how much fun it is! It was hard to leave my baseball team back home to come out here, what with it being the middle of the season, but being here brings back a lot of good memories. This is a tech camp with 4 GS and 3 SL days. We just finished the slalom portion and gosh, I am feeling a little bit rusty! Today was a day off because of the poor conditions up at the mountain, so the team and I went down to the Columbia for some windsurfing and had a blast! Tomorrow starts the GS training block, which will last through the end of the camp on the 23rd. Warmups start at 5:45 in the morning, so I'd best get off to bed!

Home and the US Ski Team

2010-05-30T12:38:00.000-07:00

I got home from the first D-Team camp at Mammoth, CA on Tuesday, and it's been hectic ever since. Although three of us had already met criteria for the team, the camp doubled as try-outs for the final 5-6 slots. All of us found out on the last day of the camp who made the cut for next year, and even though I'd made criteria, it was great to be officially offered a spot! The night after the official phonecalls were made to each of us who made the team was spent calling/writing everyone who attended the camp, trying to find out who the other 5 guys were. Fortunately, I really like all the other guys who made it and am looking forward to skiing with them next winter! I can't even put to words how excited I am to have achieved this goal, even though it is just another step on the road. Just the other day I was thinking about last year and how I had hoped to make the team, but honestly didn't know if it would happen. Things are working out really well!

This summer is going to be pretty crazy with all the training blocks at Mt. Hood and Park City. It looks like I will be on the road about 2 weeks per month either skiing in Hood, or weight lifting at the high tech "Center of Excellence" located in Parl City. My time at home will be spent biking, playing baseball, working, lifting, and doing schoolwork to get ahead for next ski season. I am already starting my Baseball season as well! We actually just finished the first double header of the year yesterday, and it is soo great to be back on the field with the hometown guys. I'm really looking forward to the rest of the summer!

Mammoth, CA

2010-05-17T22:11:00.000-07:00

There is an old saying in ski racing about the weather that all too often seems to come true. "If you want it to snow, just schedule a race." So here I am in a blizzard in Mammoth, CA at this USST camp. The first few days were perfect; 50 degrees and sunny with good solid snow, Randy, the head D-Team coach, came out a few days early to help the groomers create great terrain features for training. These features are set up in waves approx 24 meters apart from crest to crest, and 5 feet deep. The GS courses are set through the middle of 'em, talk about sweet training! Right now my focus is giving my feet room at the gate so that I can create angles and really get the power out of the top of the turn. I feel like its coming along well!
We got to loaf today. They have us doing three days of training, then a day off. Although I wasn't tired yet, the day off felt good. I'll be interested to see what they throw at us tomorrow.

New season starts?

2010-05-11T21:04:00.000-07:00

I apologize for not posting at all late this season! My busy schedule aside I should have been on top of it, and I promise to do better starting now. On the other hand, I did stay focused and achieve the performance and mental goals I set for myself at the start of the year.

So I don't exactly know if this is the end of last season or the start of next. Things just seem to be flowing one into another. Right now I am in Park City, UT for physical assessments at the Center of Excellence. (the US Ski Team's main headquarters) With its great gym full of high tech lifting machines, and big staff of doctors, physios and trainers, it's a heck of a place to work out!

Today I got to meet one of my new coaches, and I like him a lot. I wasn't too worried about who it would be with as far as coaches go, but I must say it's nice to know that I'll be spending this next year with a cool guy. Even after 20 days off skis, I am already feeling the urge to get back on the snow. I got to see a lot of my buds from the circut today, and I dont think I'm the only one "chomping at the bit" for some white stuff right now! They are a really good group of guys and I look forward to training with them this season!

Tomorrow I head to Mammoth, CA for 10 days on snow with the team. For some of the guys who haven't made criteria for the team yet, this camp will serve as a tryout. Fortunately I already made it, so the stress won't be quite as high. No matter what though, in this sport -- at this level, you have to keep pushing as hard as you can. Maintaining focus is a big part of success, so I'm trying to keep everything in perspective.

Two days in

2010-01-08T19:31:00.000-08:00

. I just finished the first two days of this 4 day series in Snow Bird, Utah. The run the slaloms were held on these days was injected, and pretty icy. I kind of let it get in my head on the first day, and struggled through both runs. Last night I was a little frustrated, and decided to watch some World Cup videos and visualize. I looked at today’s race as an opportunity to sort out a few issues I have had on this hard snow. I made quite a few mistakes, and didn’t score, yet in my mind today was still a success. The next two days are going to be GS’s at Park City. I have had success on this hill in the past and am excited to be back on it!

Tuning up

2010-01-04T19:07:00.000-08:00

I am once again back on the road after having 7 days off at home over Christmas. I free skied, ice skated, and relaxed with my family while giving my knee a few easy days to recover from these last weeks on the road. Now Dad and I are in Jackson tuning up for the FIS Elite tech series next week in Park City, UT. The snow here is great for training and I feel we are getting a lot accomplished! After skiing each day I have been playing some hockey at the public rink. Two days ago I had a momentary balance issue during a pickup game and smashed my chin down pretty hard on the ice. Got 7 stitches but fortunately didn’t miss any training. I am really looking forward to these next few days of competition!

1st NORAM experience

2009-12-14T19:09:00.000-08:00

I just finished my first race series of the season. This was also my first NORAM level competition. What a great way to start! The week started with two official training runs. I skied well, but was trying to figure out which tactics worked on different parts of the course. When the race days came around I knew what I wanted to do, and executed my plan well everywhere but at one turn on a big break-over. Gosh, that thing bugged me! I still scored close to my downhill points, which is pretty good for this time of year against an international field. The final race of the week was a Super G, on the same slope. It's a totally different game than the Downhill due to only one hour for inspection and no training runs on the course. I had a really strong run and scored 38 FIS points! This is my best result ever in any event, so as you can imagine I'm pretty excited! Next on the schedule is two slalom races at Jackson, WY, some Giant Slalom training, and a return to Canada for a tech series. So far it's been a great start to the season and I'm planning on keeping the ball rolling!

Home and off again

2009-12-01T22:31:00.000-08:00

I spent three days at home for the holidays and then headed up to Panorama, BC. It was great to be back on snow again! GS this morning started at 10, but the sun still had not crested the mountains by the time we got up there. Fortunately, being a Pacific Northwest skier, it was not the first time I had found myself in flat light. I was glad the snow was grippy. It is such a pleasant change from theshiny ice that predominated my last few weeks of training. in Colorado. Another positive thing was that my knee did not hurt at all! What a relief! I felt like I could really push the line more direct and use my strength to get myself out of trouble. That said I am still trying to get the touch back, but it is comming along nicely. Tomorrow I'm doing Super G for two hours in the morning, and Giant Slalom for a few runs in the afternoon. Looking forward to another sunny, 4 degree day!

Colorado training summary

2009-11-26T22:32:00.000-08:00

It was great! We started out the first two weeks training at Copper Mountain with the same group that I went with to Switzerland. The snow was that perfect, hard, grippy Colorado snow that spoils me at the start of each season but makes for some great turns! I could really feel the improvement in my skiing from Zermatt to this camp. After those first 2 weeks I took 3 days off for some R&R before training with the US Ski Team at the NDS camp in Loveland, CO. The run was injected from top to bottom, and turned out to be pretty slippery! Never the less it was very good training from an experience standpoint. Now I am home for 3 days before heading off to Canada 'till a few days before Christmas!

More from Zermatt

2009-10-04T06:53:00.000-07:00

The gear is working great! I just got off the hill from the 4th straight day of slalom. I am really skiing well and made a breakthrough today with my line. Fortunately, Atomic skis are perfect for me; no complaints! The slaloms have a small sweet-spot, but when I am in it things are rippin'! Now I am back at the hotel doing school and getting ready for dinner :) This food.... I'm thinking about applying for citizenship!! Not really, but the food is amazing. The next two days are GS, and the two days following are slalom. I am interested to see how many runs it takes to get the feel back in the GS skis after being on SL for a while. Hopefully it all goes well!

A Russian racer named Uri joined us today. He's 18 and a bruiser of a guy. He's supposedly the top Russian downhiller. He's working on tech skills though and needed a lane to share. We cycled together a bunch of times and it was cool. He speaks pretty good english.

First day on snow today!

2009-09-27T07:17:00.000-07:00

Great sunny day! Today was just GS freeskiing, nothing crazy. It was so good to be back on my feet, but I was definitely a bit rusty. The new equipment is going to be really great this year. GS skis are 191s and really stiff, but combined with the 150 flex boot they are killer. Getting ready to go for a run to work out the "lactic acid." :) Honestly I don't thnk one day of skiing can do that to you, but who knows!

Welcome to my blog

2009-09-23T20:06:00.001-07:00

I'm heading to Switzerland tomorrow and will be back on skis in two days. I'm pretty fired up about this trip, but it seems funny for summer to be over already (it is, isn't it?). Anyway, off to bed for a 3AM wake-up.