Planes, Trains, and Race Cars?

It has been an amazing three weeks.  My adventure started in Revelstoke for the first stop of the Freeride World Tour.  As soon as I arrived in Revelstoke,  the snow began to fall.  I didn’t see the sun for ten days.  I was starting to wonder if it was possible to see the sun in Revelstoke.  I finally asked a local on the chairlift and he said, “I think we saw the sun a couple times at the end of the season last year.”  It was looking like we might not get the finals off for the Freeskiing Competition, but on the very last possible competition day, I woke to a beautiful beam of sunlight.

The day was amazing.  Mount Olympus is one of the most picturesque venues I have ever competed on.  The day couldn’t have been more perfect.  A heli shuttled us to the top of the venue, a knife edge peak.  The venue was stunning and the feeling at the top of the mountain was powerful.  It was one of those moments when I felt incredibly lucky to be a professional skier.  I skied my line exactly how I had planned and came flyin into third place.

Riding my high from the day, I returned to my hotel room to receive a text message on my iphone: Jess can you be in Telluride on sunday.  Sorry for the short notice, but it is the only time Regan Smith and his team have time this month.  It was thursday.  My plan was to drive the 15 hours back to Jackson, recharge my batteries, and fly to Chamonix on the following thursday.  It felt like a quick turn around without a trip to Telluride, but it’s not every day you get an opportunity to ride in Regan’s Furniture Row Race Car.  So, yes of course, I can squeeze a quick trip to Telluride before I fly to Chamonix.

I can’t begin to describe the feeling of sitting in a race car.  The feel of the engine is powerful.  As soon as Regan started his engine, my heart rate jumped to 170 and that was before we went 200mph.  I have never thought of myself as a motor head.  And I never thought I would watch a Nascar Race.  Never say never.  After spending two days with Regan and his team I found myself watching Nascar on my flight over to Chamonix.  And I can’t wait to go to my first Race.

It started to snow as soon as we arrived in Chamonix for the second stop of the Freeride World Tour.  My timing couldn’t have been better.  It snowed so hard the first night I arrived that the mountain didn’t open the next day.  Luckily, the competition was postponed because as soon as I arrived in Chamonix I came down with the stomach flu.  I was my first time catching the stomach flu and I never ever want to have the stomoach flu again.  Thirty hours of sleep later, I emerged from hotel room feeling like I had been hit by a truck and “ready” to compete.

I have to admit, I wasn’t feeling my best, but I rallied to the top for my competition run.  I chose a winning line, but it wasn’t my day.  I choked when I arrived at my biggest feature.  Why did I choke?  I wish I knew.  What I do know is that I don’t like fourth place.  It’s time to head back to Jackson, recharge, and get ready to kick some ass!

Revelstoke Freeskiing Champions

It was a spur of the moment decision. I had been working a lot and just barely survived the holidays. The only problem was that I hadn’t been doing a lot of skiing. I wasn’t planning on heading to Revelstoke, but it seemed like a good idea to drive up there and ski some powder and get a competition under my belt before heading to Europe. So on tuesday I picked up Griffin Post at 5 am and embarqued on the 17 hour drive to Revelstoke. We probably should have checked the weather, “winter strom warning for Idaho, Wyoming, and Montana.” After driving 7 hours through the eye of the storm, we arrived in Missoula. At this point Griff and I were convinced we were making a huge mistake. Jackson has been a bit dry this year and we decided to leave during the biggest storm to hit the Tetons all winter. We pulled over for a sandwhich and contemplated turning around. “If we drive home now, we can still make first Tram in the morning,” Griff said. I was almost convinved to turn around. I decided it would be beneficial to get a competition under my belt before heading to Chamonix for the first stop of the Freeride World Tour. Apparently, is has been dumping in Chamonix and all my compeitors have been shredding pow for the last couple of months. So we got back in the car and finally arrived in Revelstoke 16.5 hours later.

I have to admit I wasn’t planning on winning Revelstoke. I was convinced the Canadians would dominant the competition because Whistler opened this year with record snow. I decided to challenge myself in the competition instead of trying to “play the game” for the win. I chose a line that in my mind was a 50/50. I am typically a very smart/conservative competitor; skiing a line I know I can flash and not crash. The line I chose had some of the biggest airs I have ever hit in a competition and considering my feet had not left the ground yet this year, I wasn’t sure I would stick the landings.

in Choosing Bigger airs, I made sure all of my airs were not over exposure so if I were to crash I wouldn’t get hurt. I was so stoked after my first run. I stomped all of my airs and skied into second place behind Janina Kuzman, 4.5 points ahead of the next female competitor, Jacqui Edgerly. It was a great confidence booster for me and I couldn’t wait to ski the Mac Face for day 2.

After a weather day, I loaded the lift for one last look at Mac Face before the finals of the competition. As I watched Patrol control the face, I also watched the clouds move in. By the time Patrol reached the bottom of the face, the visibility had turned to pea soup and it wasn’t looking good for the competition. All of the competitors tried to keep their stoke up and game faces on, but as the hours went by it seemed more than likely that the competition would be cancelled.

The clouds were relentless and it was impossible for the helicopter to land at the top LZ (landing zone). A decision was made that all of the competitors would ski a different face with a lower LZ.

I was really nervous about moving the venue. The women were given ten minutes to inspect before loading into the helicopter. I didn’t feel like that was enough time to choose a line wisely and was worried about getting lost or getting hurt. As we loaded the helicopter, the pilot changed his mind and decided to try one last time to land at LZ 1. All of the girls unloaded the helicopter pilot tried one last time to land at LZ 1. Within minutes we saw the pilot land and the competition was back on the MAC Face. I couldn’t believe it.

Everything happened really fast at this point. It was hard to get your mind around it all. Next thing I knew, I was standing on a knife ridge at the top of Mac Face with 5 minutes before game time. I chose a line that would be challenging for me. It included one the biggest doubles I would have ever skied in a competition. That is…….if really were a double.

At the top of venue, it was impossible to see the face. I was super nervous. I traversed out on to the face looking for my marker, a tree, so that I knew where to enter into my line. I reached my first air and was stoked. The snow was perfect and I found the tree marking my “double.” The snow changed a bit as I made my way to my big air. It was really faceted and skied like moving water. I remember going into avi mode, thinking okay that one tree is my only safety zone. Luckily, the snow didn’t rip and I skied to my marker, the lone tree. As I approached the tree, I discovered that the cliff I had chosen wasn’t a double at all. It was definitely a single hit of approximately 50 feet. I remember thinking that I should just send it. The snow was perfect for an air that size, but I also was thinking that if I were to get hurt, the competition would be over. There was not enough time to rescue me, if I were to get hurt, and finish the competition. Luckily, I did inspect a escape route to the right of my “double”, a 20 foot cliff that I could easily get to. I decided to take the escape route.

It turned out to be a good decision. I finished my line with another 20 foot air and then enjoyed the powder skiing down to the bottom. I finished in third for the day, but due to my 4.5 from the day before lead the day before I won the competition by a point.

Revelstoke was the best competition I have ever been to. The Revelstoke community was amazing; Mayor David Raven wrote each competitor a letter welcoming them to the town. The Patrol of Revelstoke and MSI truly made this competition happen and I can’t thank them enough for their hard work. It was a privledge and an experience I will never forget.

Revelstoke Freeskiing Competition – Day 1

I am currently in Revelstoke competing in the 2nd stop of the Freeskiing World Tour. If you have never been to Revelstoke, it is a must. Revelstoke is a small town with big mountains along side the columbia River. The people of Revelstoke are extremely friendly and the skiing is even better.

I am really psyched after Day 1. I chose a different strategy for this competition. I usually ski to win; playing the point game and erroring on the side of caution not to fall. This year it is my goal to challenge myself every day skiing. Believe it or not I am a relatively conservative skier. I rarely fall. This year I would like to challenge myself and see what happens. My line consisted of three large airs (some of the biggest for the women). I was really nervous because I have not had a lot practice in the air this season. My only practice was a ten foot air the day before. I figured I had a 50/50 chance of sticking my line. Not the best odds, but I also knew I would be stoked if I did stick it. So I went for it and stuck it, finishing second for the day.

The finals of the competition will be held on Mac Face (above). I am so stoked. The venue is untouched and will be a privilege to ski. Check it out live on www.freeskiingworldtour.com.