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.

Chamonix Competition Venue 2012

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!

Storm Skiing and Fat Bastard

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The last week has been more than amazing in Jackson Hole.  I am finally recovered and feeling good.  It’s so nice to have my body feeling good and confidence back!  More snow is on the way!  Yahoo!

New Zealand – Swing Bridges, Ice Bars, and a Meter of Snow!

It happens every year around my birthday, I start to dream about skiing again. Typically I head to South America, but this year I joined Spyder for a trip to New Zealand. I celebrated my birthday and 30 hours later landed in Queenstown, NZ.

View of Queenstown from the top of the Remarkables

Queenstown is known as the Adventure Capital of New Zealand. There are multiple ski resorts an hour away, bungy jumping, ski diving, jet boating, and the list goes on. My first two days were spent skiing the Remarkables.

A little gem on the backside of the Remarkables.

The snow was a little thin. It hadn’t snowed in NZ for over a month. I was still able to find some soft snow and the lines on the backside of the Remarkables were worth the flight. It felt so good to be out exploring on my skis again.

Daron Rahlves Doing a Little Scouting

And then it started to snow. It dumped for three days straight. The storm of the century hit New Zealand. I think this is kind of funny. The town received maybe 15 inches of snow, but it was enough to shut everything down. Apparently it doesn’t snow often in town. The roads were a mess and the city shut down. There was no hope for the bald tires on our rental van, so we set out on foot to see what there was to do in Queenstown.

We Found and Ice Hotel

A Warm Fire to Enjoy

And a Mechanical Bull

The streets were cleared and we were finally able to get our van out of the driveway. We headed straight for the Remarkables excited to ski the backside in a meter of fresh snow. The skiing was awesome.

The weather started to get warm and the snow started to melt, so we hopped in the van and went on road trip. The goal was to see as much of NZ as possible in two days before we had to fly out.

Sunset on the West Coast of New Zealand

Sunset on the East Coast

And a Little Bungy Jumping Along the Way!

New Zealand is one of the most beautiful countries I have ever seen and the skiing’s not too bad either!

Fall Training for an Epic Winter

Big Fish. Little Fish.

I never thought I would find myself skiing with Chris Davenport, Julian Carr, and Daron Rahlves. I arrived in Portillo after the Chilean Freesking Championships at 2:30a.m. and by 10:00a.m. the next morning I was ripping around with some of my heros in the sport. Intimidated, inspired, and stoked would be a few ways to describe how I felt. Basically, it was really cool.

I have been joking that I would be honing in Spydie Powers while in Portillo. After watching the boys ski, I think my statement may be truer than I thought. It is absolutely incredible to watch Darron and Chris make flawless turns in any type of snow. A wise man once said, “There is no bad snow, just a bad turn.” I always thought he was being a little optimistic. I have definitely skied some bad snow. I think the statement may be true for the Chris, Darron, and Julien. I have eight more days to learn from three of the best skiers in the world. What an amazing opportunity. I think I might actually develop a few Spyder Powers while I’m here.

Chilean Freeskiing Championships

Standing in the starting gate, I couldn’t help question my decision to enter the Chilean Freesking Championships. It had been four months since my last turn. One of my biggest fears is that I will forget how to ski over the summer. It is kind of like the dream we have as children when we show up to school naked. I know it is nearly impossible, but I am still incredibly scared that it could happen to me.

My first day on snow was spent inspecting the venue. I chose a line that I thought would put me into the top five for the first day. With competitors like Jackie Paaso, Angel Collinson, and Jacque Edgerly I knew I would have to ski my best to be in money. Not knowing if I still had what it takes after the summer, I chose a line that was relatively safe. The snow was bullet proof in the morning and would warm up as the sun heated it through out the day. As a competitor, all I could hope for was that it would warm up before it was my turn to compete.

Max's Face - El Colorado, Chile

Standing in the starting gate for my first run, I had to convince myself that skiing is like riding a bike. As I left the gate, I had to quiet my inner fears and go for it. I was psyched after my first run. I stomped my big air and skied into second. Now I was in the running for first.

So close to winning the first run, I knew that I wanted to win the competition and I was pretty sure I could. It would take a lot of courage to ski a winning line after taking four months off, but I wanted to win. I stuck to a similar line as my first run, but added a spicy air at the bottom of the venue. It is always good to end your run with a crowd pleaser. The air was technical and if I blew it, I would pile drive right into a some huge rocks. Sometimes you just have to believe in yourself. As I approached the air, I knew there was no turning back. The take off was blind, I couldn’t see my landing. The landing was bullet proof and the runout happened fast. I felt and heard my feet smack the snow as if I had landed on concrete. I saw the rocks flying past me and I knew I had stuck it!

I wasn’t sure the line was enough for the win, but it felt so good to challenge myself my second day of skiing. Needless to say I didn’t forget how to ski! It feels great to win my first competition of the season.

It’s Official! I’m a Spyder!

I am excited to announce that I have joined the Spyder team this summer. It is an honor to be a part of such an elite team of athletes that include: Chris Davenport, Julia Mancuso, Julian Carr, and Daron Rahlves. This summer I will join the team in Portillio for a photo shoot and an opportunity to film with Warren Miller! Yahoo! Thank you Spyder!