BIG Changes Ahead!

The 2018-19 race season is pivotal as I transition into the higher level of International Ski Federation (FIS) racing events.  This is the entry point for progression to World Cup racing and will put me in a whole new pool of athletes.  I will now be ranked against the best skiers in the world, and next year I will be starting at the bottom!  Skiing as a FIS racer changes everything.  Most of my training will happen in the summer and fall, and I will do a lot more racing in the winter than I have in the past.  Both of these things mean lots more travel.  Our head coach at Alyeska estimated that we would be missing at least 2 months of school.  As understanding as my teachers have been at my high school, the thought of trying to make up that many missed assignments is truly frightening.  My parents and I have been trying to find a solution - like me taking most of my classes online, but that wouldn't work with all subjects.  Even if we could figure out the school part, that doesn't even come close to addressing the cost issue.  For every trip I take, we can automatically add about $1000 just for airfare.  With three or four camps and six races on the schedule next year, that adds up quickly.  I've always wanted to go to a ski academy, but they are terribly expensive and we never even considered it a possibility.  Never say "never."  Because of my good results this year, I have been offered a very generous scholarship to attend Sugar Bowl Ski Academy near Truckee, California!  Ski academies build their academic schedule around the training and racing schedule so kids can focus on one at a time.  Sugar Bowl Ski Academy has about 100 students and about 35 of them live on campus.  I visited the campus in June and was very impressed!  Everyone, from students to faculty, seemed so happy and energized to be there.  I'm hopeful and excited for what the next two years may bring and am so looking forward to being part of that community.  I will be joining the team in July for a training camp and race in New Zealand, and then will move into my dorm room on August 14!  I'm sad to leave Alaska, but it was a decision that will help me succeed in the sport I love.  I got these pictures from the academy web page; for a few more pictures check out my picture gallery.

Academic building with dormitory in the background; Sugar Bowl Ski Team and Academy, California.

Dormitory kitchen and common area; Sugar Bowl Ski Team and Academy, California. 

2017-18 Season Reflections

This past season has been great.  My technique improved a lot, I qualified for several invitational camps, and I enjoyed good results both at home and at outside races.  My season started with a bang (and a brrr!) with a trip to Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, Canada for training.  Although the temperatures were bitterly cold there, the snow and training were great.  After that, I got to continue my progress at Copper Mountain for a National Performance Series Camp where I got to train on a World Cup speed venue!  I made leaps and bounds with my technique this year.  I was able to really dial in my slalom turn, create speed, and finish more consistently than I ever have before.  My giant slalom has come a long way too; I've really tightened my line and am able to build speed throughout the course.  All this hard work is starting to pay off!  I won the Alaska State Giant Slalom Championship, won my first out-of-state races at the Northwest Cup Giant Slalom at Mount Spokane, and I placed first, second and third in the three Lone Peak super g races at Big Sky, Montana.  The high point of my season, though, was Western Regional Championships, which we hosted at Alyeska.  I placed fifth in slalom after starting forty-fifth, and I won both giant slalom runs, finishing 1.3 seconds ahead of my closest competitor.  I won the super g training run too, but crashed in the race.  My Regionals results qualified me for the U16 National Championships at Mission Ridge, Washington.  Securing my spot for National's was an accomplishment in and of itself, and I am very proud of that.  Unfortunately, I didn't accomplish quite what I would've like while there.  I allowed myself to get intimidated by my competition and lost my confidence, which was very detrimental to my performance.  Although Nationals wasn't all I'd hoped it would be, it ended on a high note; I got my confidence back and my team placed third in the team dual panel slalom.  My biggest lesson this season?  Doubt kills more dreams than failure ever will.  I have to get out of my own way!


U16 Western Regional Championships, 1st in Giant Slalom, Alyeska Resort, Girdwood, Alaska

  

Getting There is Half the Fun

My 2017-2018 racing season started at 6 am, Thanksgiving morning, in a cold parking lot, under a pitch black sky, with snow beneath my feet. My team and I were set to drive to Whitehorse, Canada for our first camp of the year, and our journey to get there was supposed to be a simple fourteen hour ride in a van. About three hours in, however, as my friends and I slept peacefully in the back row, that plan changed. We woke to find ourselves stuck at the side of the road, hours away from civilization, in chilly negative 12 degree temperatures, with a broken transmission.  In the spirit of the season, though, luck smiled on us.  Although seemingly miles from nowhere, we had only recently passed a small jumble of buildings, including a gas station, a church, and to our relief, a garage. Hoping to still make it to Whitehorse that night, our coaches immediately started working with the mechanic on fixing the van, but to no avail. As if frozen by the bitter temperatures, time seemed to stand still.  Soon we'd passed three hours sitting on a cement floor, without food or drink, or any luck with repairs. It became apparent that if our trip was to continue, we would need a different van.  Luck, yet again, favored us. My coach Kieffer Christianson's girlfriend offered to drive a replacement van to where we were, in the middle of nowhere; an offer we quickly accepted. As we waited for the van to arrive, our stomachs growled and we fantasized about home - the people, the comfort, and most especially the food!  Hours later, as the day started to fade,  our new van arrived, we loaded up for the second time in the last twelve hours, and set off.  Fourteen hours after we left Anchorage, we pulled into Tok, a small town right outside the Alaska-Canada border, exhausted and barely half-way to our destination.  We stayed the night in a run-down motel, and had a Thanksgiving feast of candy, chocolate, and Cheesits from motel vending machines because every restaurant and grocery store was closed for the holiday. We arose early the next day, and grabbed food for the long drive ahead. We thought we were out of the woods now, but oh, were we wrong; after another four hours driving, we stopped for a short break, only to discover that our oil had been leaking for the whole trip, and we were pretty much out. After another two hours of us sitting in our broken van, our coach returned with a supply of oil, and we were back on the road. At around 9pm, the Alyeska Ski Club rolled into Whitehorse on fumes, dripping fuel like Hansel and Gretel dropping bread crumbs. Over the following 9 days, I trained (and swam) in some of the coldest temperatures I have ever experienced; at one point it dipped to negative 42.  Hard plastic ski boots just get harder and certainly no warmer in those kinds of temperatures and become almost impossible to get off!  It took some determination for us to make it to this camp, and even more determination to face that cold every day, but it was worth it and I came away with some great memories!



Starting the 15 minute ride in -30 degrees; Mt. Sima, Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, Canada
 

Takhini Hot Springs; Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, Canada