Down the Road I go...

Bib draw at Schladming! photo credit: Mitch Gunn

It has been some time since I last updated everyone on my skiing
adventures so here we go…

The past month and half and been a whirlwind. After making short trip back home to the US after Cortina it was back to Austria for World Championships. Having been injured during the last World Championships I was very excited and had high hopes for my first World Champs. Unfortunately I left
Shchladming disappointed and frustrated with the way I skied on race day.  Most days I feel that I am on it and even if I have a mistake that cost me in the race I can leave the finish knowing that my skiing was good that day and confident in the steps I have made to become a better skier. Schladming was not one of those days, I skied conservatively and my skiing technically wasn’t what it had been all season. It might have been nerves, the expectations of doing something great, or the huge build up during the three weeks since the previous race and waiting anxiously to finally race in the “big” event of the season. I could make a lot of excuses as anyone can when you have a bad race, what it boils down to is I skied poorly. Dang. Moving on though in the big picture it is just one race in my career and I can learn from my mistakes as we all try to do.

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In our Austrian garb....Halloween next year??

Racing the downhill in Schladming photo credit: Mitch Gunn

After Schladming I was able to make a solo trip to Venice and Verona while the rest of my teammates still had events to compete in during World Championships. It was a great trip and I am really glad I was able to see some of the most beautiful cities in Europe. It was also nice to get a few days alone away from all the ruckus of World Championships and reset my mind and body for the rest of the season. I think I took a couple years off my life withall the anxiety and anticipation I had before Schladming! I felt like a new woman by the time we got to Sestriere for our pre- Meribel training camp. It was quite nice to feel rejuvenated and relaxed again.

View from the Rialto Bridge in Venice

Meribel was such an incredible place. Wow. I have been to some sketchy places in France as far as accommodations (yuck) and on some of the ski hills but Meribel is not one of them. The free skiing and views were some of the best I have experienced. The race hill was also really sweet, lots of terrain with a couple big swooping turns and perfect hero snow. It was challenging race for everyone, coaches and athletes alike because the last downhill race that was held there was in 1992 during the Olympics. So finding the right line took a couple days and even going into race day I was running a line that I hadn’t skied in either of the training runs.  

It was an extremely close race…being less than a second out I still ended up in a three way tie for 14th. Not a result I am ecstatic about but after watching video of the race my skiing was good, it was a couple turns where I didn’t hit the line right on and that cost me. I still left Meribel with a good feeling that my technique is getting more and more solid and that there are still a few more races to go…

Not having a spot to race the Super Combi on Sunday I was able to freeski 10-inches and more in some spots of fresh powder with my boyfriend. A couple of the steeper chutes we got into were honestly some of the best powder runs I have had. The great thing about Meribel is that most of the skiers are quite novice in their abilities so venturing off into the powder is not on the agenda for most of them. We were able to get fresh tracks at like 12pm, something that is unheard of at home in Colorado when powder days turn can into an all out battle to get first chair.

Onwards to Garmisch-Partenkirchen!

Shredding the GNAR with Pat...

Meribel...Nice place to look at in the starting gate!