The Best Fans In The World!

The Tram Face did not happen today, but it was still a great day in my book. Eric and I lost a friend and an amazing person in 2003, Jeff “Jeffe” Ellis. In the past 6 years I have learned who helped Jeffe become such an amazing person. The Ellis family: Jim, Irene, Jimmy, Courtley, Clara, Joey, Ida, and the “Crab Man,” and many more are some of the most caring, solid, wise, wonderful people I have ever met. I am so lucky to have them in my life. And they came prepared to cheer me down the Tram Face.

Armed with posters and horns, the Ellis family was in the parking lot ready to support me like it was the Super Bowl. I can only imagine how it would have felt to ski down the Tram Face and see the Ellis gang at the finish line.

Thanks! You Guys Are Awesome!

I intended to wear my Jeff Ellis shirt today and ski for the friend I lost, but instead I shared a wonderful morning with his family. It is always hard to see Jeff’s family, but it is something I would never opt out of. They are wonderful people and help me remember that every day I have is special and it is important to take advantage of it and do what I love. That’s what Jeff did!

Almost Tram Face

There was a lot of discussion on Saturday night at the Freeride World Tour Athlete Meeting. A decision was made not ski the Tram Face for the competition due to hazardous conditions. The riders were very disappointed with the decision and were not happy about the alternative venues; Silverado and Granite Chief. Jeremy Jones spoke for the riders and encouraged the organizers to reconsider the decision. After much discussion, the decision was made to re-evaluate the Tram face at 6:00 the following morning.

All of the riders met at the judges station at 6:00 this morning to watch the head of security and ski patrol ski the Tram Face. The snow at the top of venue looked good, but the bed surface left from the previous slides was still very firm. The Pro Freeriders Board met and decided it was go. The Tram Face would be the venue and there would be a competition today.

I was so excited. I have been waiting two years to ski the sacred Tram Face and today was finally my chance. I was concerned with the conditions. I chose a line that was straight forward and intended to flash it. I headed down to the parking lot to watch the first male skiers compete.

The parking lot was packed with people. The Tram Face is one of the best spectating venues I have ever seen. There were at least a thousand people tail gating in the parking lot, ready to watch the show.

Some People Even Slept In The Parking Lot For Prime Viewing. Good Morning Jim Jack!

Jerome, the head of security for the Freeride World Tour, wanted to check the Tram Face one more time before the competition started. As Jerome was skiing down the left side of the venue, a large avalanche triggered at the top right side of the Tram Face (not an area were the competitors were planning on skiing). It was a big one.

No one was injured or close to the avalanche. For the crowd in the parking lot, it was a big show. The head of ski patrol immediately called the competition off. The competition has been rescheduled for monday on Silverado.

Tram Face Postponed to Sunday

Tram Face - Thursday, February 25th, 2010

It is almost official that the Tram Face Competition will be re-scheduled for Sunday. There is a 5% chance that we will compete tomorrow. Due to the monsoon that has just hit Truckee, I am placing my money on Sunday. The competition was post-poned from friday due to safety and weather. It was clear this morning in Squaw Valley until 10:00 a.m. It may have been possible to get through all of the riders before the rain started to fall. The only problem was that there were multiple natural slides on the Tram Face and huge piles of debre. The snow on the top 1/3 of the face was good, but turned to crust the rest of the way down. Please keep your fingers crossed that soon this storm will cool off and the Tram face will be blessed with a couple of feet of the light fluffy stuff, powder!

Bib draw will be held tonight at 4:30 in Squaw Valley Event Village. There will be a live band and other festivities. If you are in the Tahoe area swing by.

Powder, Pillow Drops, and Friends at the Crested Butte Extremes

The Crested Butte extremes was the second competition I ever competed in. I finished fourth and swore I would never come back. It wasn’t that I was upset about how I finished, it was that in all honesty I didn’t understand Crested Butte. After this weekend, I get it. Crested Butte is a very unique mountain. It is riddle with rocks, steep chutes, and tight trees. It is one of the most challenging venues I have ever skied.

The first day of the Extremes was held on Staircase, home of the infamous Slot Rocks. I had a hard time finding a line, but stayed true my skiing style and chose a line that was wide open for Crested Butte standards and hit four decent size airs. I was so excited after the first day. I was in third and only a few points out of the top spot.

That night huge flakes fell from the sky and blessed Crested Butte with over two feet of snow. The venue looked completely different. The winning line for women has historically been the “Jen Aston double in Body Bag.” I really wanted to win and was psyched to give Jen’s line a try. Unfortunately, the men skied first and I was not the only one who had an eye on the Jen’s line. Many of the men skied her line and I decide at the last minute to change up my line. I dropped into the hand rail and off a ten footer skiing over to another nice drop. From their I battled my way through the tight trees and into Body Bag. I had scouted a nice 8 tiered pillow line on the left side of body bag. I was worried that someone else might ski it, but to my surprise it was untouched. It was really difficult to get to the top of the pillow line. The trees were tighter than my skis and riddled with rocks. On my last hop turn, I had to grab a tree for control. This is a standard Crested Butte move, but not a popular move with the judges. Once at the top of my pillow line, I pointed it and enjoyed the fresh snow on top of each pillow. It was a blast and I came flying out of body bag with a smile on my face. I skied into third place and am now leading the Freeskiing World Tour by 50 points.

Crested Butte was a blast! I finally understand why skiers love it. It is not about flying down the hill and hitting big airs. It is about controlling your heart beat and making calculated moves in steep, tight, rocky conditions. It is completely different from anything I know and an intense rush!

Sometimes I Just Can't Help Myself

Hind sight is always 20/20. My goal for the season is to challenge myself at every competition and scare myself just a little everyday. In Fieberbrun I stuck to my goals and chose a line that would be challenging and a little scary. It was not out of my ability, but was definitely not a conservative line. The line I chose started out with a 15 foot air at the top of my run, into a some great powder turns, down to a mandatory 35ft (some say 40, but I’m sticking to 35) air with a great landing!

The Line!

I was really excited to ski my chosen line. I hit my top air with no worries, but as I started ripping powder turns down to my mandatory air, the snow started ripping as well. I could feel the sluff piling up around my hips and had to pull over to let the sluff pass by me. This is not exactly what you want to do in a competition run. The idea is to be as fast and as fluid as possible, but a it’s not worth getting taken out above a lot of exposure. I didn’t think the snow would sluff as hard as it did because the slope looked benching. I thought the sluff would be slow and I would easily be able to out run it. Not true. The sluff was incredibly fast and for my safety I had to let it go by me.

After the sluff passed me, I skied right to my mandatory air and was sick about it when I arrived. The sluff that I had cut at the top of the line took out all of the snow above my take off. I had not really planned on this and was essentially cliffed out. I had to make way down all of the rocks to get to my take off and out of the line. It took three must make hop turns to get to the take off. Once I made it to my take off, I was stoked. I was home free. I pointed 15 feet above my take off so I would have enough speed to clear the cliff and popped. Everything went well until the last second when my right ski caught a rock and sent me spinning through the air. I landed on my side as opposed to my feet. Luckily, the snow was really soft and I popped up, skied to my last 15ft air and through the finish.

Mandatory Air with Snow

I had a ton of adrenaline pumping through my body at the finish. I was super stoked that I had challenged myself and made it through my line even though it had not gone as planned.

As I said, hind sight is always 20/20. At awards I felt the disappointment of defeat. The winning line was much more conservative. I didn’t need to chose such a challenging line to do well in the competition. I just couldn’t help myself. If the snow had been stable, the line would’ve been sick!

Game On – Fieberbrunn, Austria

Competition Venue with Snow

I am so excited to be in Austria. It is a wonderful country. And Fieberbrunn is an awesome resort. The second stop of the women’s Freeride World Tour is set to go on Saturday. The venue is beautiful. It is approx. 600-700 meters long. The organizers of the competition have been great. They are extremely organized and inviting. It has been a pleasure to be here so far.

At first glance the competition face seems to be blanketed with tons of snow. All the competitors were able to traverse underneath the venue today and realized there are many rocks hiding right beneath the surface. Austria is known to get 7-8 meters of snow a year, but this year has been a little thin. Fieberbrun received 30 cm’s of snow a couple of days ago, but did not have much snow before hand. There is no base support the new snow. Up close the venue showed to be very rocky.

What out for the sharks!

Despite all of the rocks, the snow is very good. The girls will be riding first! Yahoo! I think many of the lines have only enough snow for a few riders. I drew bib 5 which is also good. There will only be four riders on the face before me and there should be plenty of snow in my line.

I have been going back and fourth on where to ski tomorrow: where is the best snow, what line will score the best, etc. In the end I have decided to choose a line based on the goals I set for myself this season. It is my goal to challenge myself and scare myself just a little at every competition. I have found two lines that will do just that. Now it is a matter of how I am feeling when I wake up in the morning.

On The Road. Chamonix – Verbier – La Grave

Bye Bye Chamonix!

It was tough to leave Chamonix. It is a truly magical place. I had an amazing time, but it was time to check out a few other zones in the Alps. I joined Crystal Wright and Angel Percival in search of blue skies, soft fluffy snow, and the perfect picture. The first stop Verbier.

Welcome to Verbier

Verbier is one of the best free riding zones in the Alps. There is an extensive lift system and more terrain than a skier can cover in a week. It is also the home of the Verbier X-treme. It is almost the complete opposite of Chamonix. The streets of Chamonix are filled with mountaineers and climbers. The skiers of Verbier are wearing small backcountry packs and fat skis. It was the perfect place for the girls team to start shooting photos.

The Zone

The day was blue bird, but it had been a week since the last storm. It took a little work to find the perfect snow with the perfect light, but in the end we persevered and got the shot.

Wiggling my way through a crack to get to a beautiful spine.

Next stop, La Grave. La Grave, Coombs country, has been on my list for many years. It is one of the special places in world that I have heard about and have always been nervous to go. I have been told that it is nearly impossible to roll into La Grave and figure it out. Many friends have warned me that a guide is mandatory for the first day. It is not a place to explore on your own, you want to know where going. On a limited budget, I never thought I would be able to afford a guide in La Grave and therefore have never made it there. Some how my stars aligned and I found myself in La Grave with a guide thanks to many emails and friends.

Le Meije and the cutest little gondolas I have ever seen.

I don’t know if words can truly capture the feeling of La Grave. La Grave is a true freeriding zone. There is no piste skiing. There are no patrol man. The mountains is only controled/secured by the guides who ski it every day. You will not hear bombs in the morning, only the sounds of the locals planning their first run of the morning in lift line. The mayor of La Grave makes the final decision whether or not to open the top of the mountain based on what some of the tops guides say about the stability of the snow pack.

Angela Percival Wondering What She Has gotton Herself Into.

“We you arrive at La Grave – La Meije, you’re in no ordinary ski resort. You’re in an unsecured site in the high mountains, where the weather conditions can change rapidly and you’re in charge of your our safety. A cable car takes you up to altitude of 3200 meters in about 30 minutes, in a unique setting surrounded by vast glaciers and steep couloirs where you can carve turns according to your inspiration and level, far from any groomed trails or lift pylons. The requires a certain technical level, but above all a good dose of humility and responsibility when faced with the natural elements. Before setting out you need to take a certain number of precautions for your own peace of mind and safety, as well as that of others. These tips will help you avoid minor and even major problems and enjoy unforgettable moments in a legendary place.” Front of the trail map for La Grave-Le Meije.

7000 ft Couloirs!

The brochure forgets to mention that with a little knowledge and some rope work skiers can rip down 7000 foot couloirs. Keith Garvey, www.allmountainadventures, and Joe Vallone have been guiding in La Grave for last 8 years and shared their knowledge with us.

caption id=”attachment_1210″ align=”aligncenter” width=”360″ caption=”Keith Garvey and Joe Vallone – Bad Ass Mountain Guides!”][/caption]

Each Couloir required some rope work at some point, but it was well worth it!

Crystal Wright Setting up the Belay Station

And I have to admit that sometimes the rope work was as much fun as the skiing.

Dropping IN!

Crystal Wright Repelling Switch. This was my favorite Repel of the Day. I came down giggling! So much fun!

La Grave is true adventure skiing. It is mind blowing. I can’t wait to come back!

Chamonix Freeride 2010

This is one of my favorite write ups, so I thought I would share. The link is: http://www.theskichannel.com/news/skinews/20100201/On-Freeride-World-Tour-in-Chamonix-Jess-McMillan-unbeatable

On Freeride World Tour in Chamonix, Jess McMillan unbeatable

There was no way, no line to pass American Marker Voelkl team rider Jess McMillan in Chamonix: At this year’s first contest of the Freeride World Tour (FWT) last weekend the US freerider finished first and repeated her victory from last years beginning of the FWT in Sochi, albeit at another spot. It was the kick-off to the new contest winter and it was a really good one for Jess McMillan. “I’m so freakin’ stoked! I skied powder today and WON the Freeride de Chamonix,“ she posted on Facebook after her success in the French alps at Chamonix. In fact, conditions were not as easy as the 28-year-old freerider described them. The face, where the contest was held, had earned some fresh snow the days before and those parts were a pleasure to ride. But at the same time there were loads of spots in the face that were rock-hard and icy, so the ”Pentes de l‘Hôtel“ face in the Brévent ski area also showed his cruel aspects.

Nevertheless, the nice American skied a gorgeous run, which made it impossible for her opponents to beat her. Doing an enormous cliff drop in a very fast run and adding some more smaller but also spectacular jumps, Jess set the benchmark with no one able to keep up with her for the first victory on the FWT 2010. Just like the year before, when Jess finished first in Sochi, last season’s kick-off for the Freeride World Tour. And even if places like Chamonix or Sochi can’t be replaced, as they are either deeply rooted in the freeski scene or in the focus of the pre-olympic preparations: freerider Jess McMillan knows well about her successful starts into the contest season there. At the end of last season, Jess finished third in the overall ranking. The signs for a successful repeat of this overall podium result are looking pretty good.

Finishing amongst the top three, too, Jess’ team mate Janina Kuzma was the second Marker Voelkl freeskier on the podium. Janina ranked seventh overall in last year’s Freeride World Tour ranking, her third place in Chamonix was the first Tour-podium for the Kiwi. No matter if freeride or big mountain contests, you will have to deal with the Marker Voelkl freeski family on the Freeride World Tour this year for sure.

ABOUT: JESS MCMILLAN
She has experienced only four years of contests as a freerider. It would have taken anybody else a lifetime what Jess McMillan has reached within these four years. The overview over her successful career starts in 2006. The now 28-year-old American started her freeriding career after finishing college. As a child and teenaged ski racer Jess had dreamed of the Olympics, then she worked as a ski coach after ending up with her educational years and finally fell in love with freeriding, which means almost everything to her right now. At her first contest she finished sixth, at the end of that winter she was already Vice-Worldchampion of the IFSA and ranked second on the IFSA World Tour. The year after Jess earned the title at the US Nationals and she was crowned IFSA World Tour champion. In 2008 alone, she stood on the podium six times. Not at any small, immature contests – it was the Freeskiing World Tour Championships again, the US National Championships and the Freeride World Tour. The latter she finished second overall in the end. Now, you wanna know what 2009 was like? Well, the same! During summer, Jess McMillan loves to spend a lot of time with her husband in a kayak on the wildwater. He is a kayak professional who teached Jess to jump water falls even when they are 30 feet and taller.

ABOUT: JANINA KUZMA
Looking for a versatile female skier? Then you have to keep your eyes and ears focused on Janina Kuzma. The Australian is one of the most versatile female riders of our planet. This year, she won the NZ Freeski Open in the halfpipe as well as in the Big Mountain category. The latter one for the fifth time in a row this year. And all this did not come suddenly or as surprise, as the 24-year-old has already succeeded at the Canadian National Championships and won the Engadin Snow in 2009. At last year’s Freeride World Tour Janina ranked seventh at the end of the season. Among other reasons, her top rankings can be ascribed to the fact that Janina is one of the few people who spends the whole year on her skis. Not just flying to the winter hemisphere for a training period. Depending on what time of the year, she either lives in her adopted home city Wanaka in New Zealand, in Fernie in British Columbia or she is travelling around any mountain region of the northern hemisphere. It was also the northern half of the planet, where it all started for the likeable live wire: she learned skiing at the age of five in Austria and this was the cornerstone for a very successful freeriding career. Whilst her twin sister changed to snowboarding in the meantime, Janina’s biggest goal is still on two boards: the title of the Freeride World champion.

Feeling Good in Chamonix! I Won!

What a crazy day. Chamonix received 40 cm, which felt like three feet, of new snow the day before the competition. I was so excited about the new snow, but was also a little nervous that the it did not have enough time to set up. The week before the competition the weather was really warm and then the temperature dropped to -1 degrees farenhiet creating bullet proof conditions. The new snow was really light and I was pretty sure I would still feel the hard layer underneath. I was also worried that the new snow didn’t have enough time to bond to the hard surface creating a potential for avalanches.

Left Side of the Competition Face with Two Feet of Fresh Snow. Beautiful!!!

The face was controlled the night before the competition with little movement. The guides assured the riders that the snow was very good. We were told that when the guides skied the face, they did not feel the hard surface underneath. Great news. I chose a line that would push my limits and be a ton of fun. I was ready for the competition.

Sunrise on the Competition Face in Chamonix

The men started first. As the first male competitor dropped into the face, the riders watching realized that the information we were given was not accurate for all aspects of the venue. The first five riders broke off big slabs which exposed the bullet proof layer that was there from the week before. The line that I wanted ski had a fracture of one foot above my first air and the landing looked like ice in my binoculars. I was really bummed to see that the conditions were exactly as I thought they would be, not great. I was forced to find another line with only an hour to my start time. As I was scouting, I was also watching a lot of the men really struggle to ski the face. The snow looked inconsistent and many of the men were falling. I found a line that I liked until I watched Seb Mitchaud ski. Seb skied the ramp I was planning on going down. He is one of the best skiers in the world and made the skiing look really difficult. I was pretty sure if Seb was struggling that I would be in trouble. I was sick about it. I kept searching for a line on the left side of the venue. As I was observing, I noticed the general public ripping down the powder field next to the right side of the venue, which is north facing and protected from the sun. The snow looked amazing! I knew the snow would be really good on the skiers right side of the venue, but I was having a hard time finding a line that would flow well.

Skier's Right Side of the Venue, North Facing, and Covered in two Feet of Powder.

I couldn’t make a decision. The snow would be excellent on the right side of the face, but lines on left side were more impressive. I was convinced that the winning line would be on the skiers left side of the venue. I kept going back and fourth on where to ski. I talked to many of the girls, who all seemed to want to ski the exact same line as I did on the right side. Finally, I decided that my skiing would look more impressive in good conditions. I decided to go for the good snow! The only problem was that if I was going to go to the good snow, and not the most impressive zone, I would have to find something big to jump off of. I found the biggest feature with the softest snow and decided to go for it.

Looking for the Biggest Feature with the Softest Snow.

I headed up to the top of the mountain and started the hour boot pack to start #1. The boot pack was super gnarly. When I arrived to the top, I realized I wouldn’t be able to access my line from start one. I asked the starter if I could start further down the ridge. He said absolutely not. I would have to leave from the starting gate. The problem was that if I left from the starting gate, I would have to ski uphill to get to the line I had chosen. I was freaking out. I hadn’t inspected anything else from the starting gate. I didn’t really know what was below start gate 1. All I knew was that the snow was terrible and the starting gate was over huge exposure. I didn’t know what to do. I could’ve cried. The rescue team at the top saw how worried I was and came up with a plan. They stomped out a ramp for me and with enough speed out of the starting gate I would be able to ski uphill and make it to the ridge I needed to be on to access my line. It was so nice of them. I was psyched.

I had two minutes to get ready. Before I had my boots buckles the starter told me to go. I pushed out of the gate and skied right up the packed out ramp. It worked! I headed over to far right side of the venue to find the entrance to my line. As soon as I got to the ridge, I knew I had made the right choice. The soft snow was billowing around my waist and felt bottomless. I traversed the ridge to my first air, approximately 25 feet, and sent it. The landing was unreal. It felt like landing on feathers. The snow flew over my head as I skied to my next air. There was so much snow on top of my second air that I lost all of my speed before I reached the take off. I was forced to jump off the right side of the drop. It was still a good size air, but not what I had planned on. By this time I was having a lot of fun. I ripped huge pow turns, face shots and all, to my last air. It was a small drop. I knew that to make it look impressive, I would have to hit it with a lot of speed. I sent it, maybe with too much speed. It was the only firm landing I had my entire run. My back slap was quick and I was up ripping powder turns again. I skied into the finish covered in snow with a huge smile on my face. My run was so much fun!!!!

Ok so this isn't me, it's Matt Annets, but this is how I felt in the finish arena.

The awards ceremony was held on the mountain right after all the riders finished competing. The announcer started with 7th place Jaclyn Paaso, 6th Crystal Wright, 5th Janette Harigin, 4th Lorainne Huber, 3rd Janina Kuzma. I was going to be on the podium. Next the announcer called both myself and Eva Walkner to the podium. We joined Janina and with a drum roll he announced, ” And in first place, from the United States of America……..Jess McMillan.” I screamed! I had just won in Chamonix! The best part of it all was that I had a ton of fun while skiing my line. All in all a fantastic day!