Looks a little strange to me but thats the way it goes! I made a last minute decision after the NorAm Finals races were cancelled to come out to Colorado for the U.S. Nationals, and things worked out pretty well! I ended up winning the Super G, scoring a career result, and finishing 7th in the GS after being 2nd in the first run.

The Super G went better than expected for sure. I’ve been skiing really well in SG all year, but the snow in Winter Park was pretty soft and peely which usually isn’t my forte. I managed to ski well up top where it was set very GS-ey, and just barely hung on at the bottom to cross the line and take the win by 4 hunnies. I seemed to be falling on the wrong side of the hunnies all year so it was nice to be on the good side for once! Kind of a funny side story to the win was that my skis were prepped and waxed by my serviceman over a week before the race happened. He got them ready in Le Massif, race wax and all. All I did was scrape and brush the night before the race. Super serviceman!

The GS also started out pretty well. I had a good run that was maybe a little conservative to end up in 2nd. I skied really well for half of the second run before a big mistake nearly took me out of the course. I managed to make it down but dropped back to 7th. Disappointing for sure, but I was happy with how I skied.

This is the 3rd US title Canadians have taken in the past 2 years (Lup won the DH title this year, I won it last year), and more than a few people joked that we weren’t going to be invited back next year! But in all seriousness I had a great time and the Americans put on a great event with fairly big crowds for their National Champs, so thanks for having us!

Racing SG.

SG podium.

Awesome, awesome belt buckle for winning.

The organizers did everything possible to get the races off, but it wasn’t meant to be. Weather like we had out there absolutely destroyed the hill in less than a week. All we managed to get off was an extremely shortened DH training run and half of a DH race. It’s sad that we didn’t get to duke it out for the NorAm titles and WC spots (DH & GS titles were both hotly contested), but thats the way it goes in ski racing sometimes.

Since they didn’t want to cancel everything right off the bat we stuck around, hoping something would get run. We ended up doing a lot of stuff outside, but minimal skiing because it was so soft. Had the chance to check out ‘Crashed Ice’ in Quebec City which was a really cool event that I would love to try! I wonder who would be faster: someone with a racing background or someone with a hockey background… I say we try to find out!

Due to everything being cancelled and me not racing in almost 3 weeks, I’m going to head out to Colorado tomorrow to race GS and SG at U.S. Nationals in Winter Park, Colorado. After that I’ll race another two GSs and two SGs in Vail before heading over to California for the Mammoth Invitational. Looks like a sweet event and I’m excited to be a part of it!

Beauty first day. Back when there was still snow on the Charlevoix.

Things looking good after a week of +20

Yep. That’s a slalom course below that massive dirt patch. Dedication!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCnJRyyMpAs

After the races everyone usually books it out of town and heads back to wherever home may be, but we decided to stick around and train here for a few days. Great decision! The training has been awesome, some of the best days of quality training I think any of us have ever had. Full access to the World Cup track in icy, slick, tough conditions. What more could we ask for?

Gives a little perspective to how steep the 2nd jump on the course is!

Norwegian Junior Team’s timing system. I think this was first put to use during WWII…

Nice view out of the gate

Checking out said view

Julie! Happy physio = happy athletes

The Pridy brothers, loving life.

“Don’t take a picture of that you hipster!!!” -- Morgan Pridy

During the free ski on the race hill, the day before the races started, the snow was absolutely money. Hard, injected, icy, perfect. But then the next day the sun came out in full force and it was literally the hottest day I’ve ever skied or raced on. It made spring series look like mid winter! Needless to say things got slushy and only got worse as the day went on. I skied well in the first SG but was having a really hard time staying on line in the soft slushy stuff. I ended up 35th on the day only a few tenths from top-30. So I was disappointed but also optimistic for the next day. I took the same approach into the next day and was skiing well but ended up blowing out. Such will happen when you’re pushing and getting close to the edge!

The GS actually turned out to be a bit better conditions-wise than the two Super Gs. A nice cool breeze and some clouds kept the track in somewhat decent shape and I skied one of my best WC GSs to date. I was in the hunt up top, skiing well and charging, but gave it too much respect on the lower part, and in soft snow skiing with respect can cost you big time. I was happy to have skied like me in a GS finally, and I feel more and more confident in the event with each race.

Catching some air time in the first Super G.

After Crans we had a nice 7 hour drive to Munich, then flew to Norway the next afternoon. This is my second time here and I have to say I really like Norway. It reminds me a lot of Canada, and the track is super flowy and fun. I took the day off today to recover a bit and prepare for 5 days of fun on the speed track!

View from the balcony. Not too shabby.

Lots of stairs to get the hill. Worth it.

The infamous

We wrapped up the trip with a week of speed in Aspen. The Super Gs didn’t go as I wanted with a 5th and a DNF. From SG we moved into DH on a track that I’ve done well on in the past. The training run didn’t go well at all as I missed two (!) gates on probably the turniest course I’ve ever skied, in soft snow to boot. The organizers adjusted a few panels to make it slightly less turny for the race the next day, and the snow got a little better as well. I ended up 3rd and 2nd in the two NorAm DHs, which I was pumped about. It was good to be back on the podium after a tough month in January, and awesome to see Conrad Pridy get his first NorAm win and podium!

The next day was the US National Championships DH with prize money on the line, so everyone was gunning hard for the win. Being the reigning Champion I definitely wanted the win pretty badly and was stoked when I came down and saw 1 next to my name. Elation didn’t last long though as my teammate and longtime friend Louis-Pierre “Lup” Helie came down next and took over top spot. Then a funny thing happened as Morgan Pridy came down and nipped the 3rd place by 0.03s! Can you say sweep?! Needless to say the US boys were pretty ticked, but we couldn’t have been happier. Handing over a title is never fun, but there’s no one I’d rather have take it than Louis. He’s had a rough go this season (and last) with injuries and it was cool to see him lay down a kick ass run!

Home now for a few days, then back over to Europe to ski the World Cup races in Crans Montana!

Sweep!

Handing the Cup over to Lup. Past and current Champs!

I had an amazing summer of training, both physical and on-snow. I dedicated myself to getting bigger and stronger like never before (I’ve always worked very hard on conditioning over the summer, so thats saying something). I made big strides in my technique on the hill, which led to consistency and speed like I’d never had before. I also did a lot of work on my mental approach to the sport, dealing with frustration and negativity, bad performances, etc. Everything was shaping up for a breakthrough season.

Needless to say I was pumped and ready to get the racing season started when November rolled around. Things didn’t start well in Lake Louise or Beaver Creek (fast splits, but in the end it only matters if you finish fast!). Then things never really improved or stabilized from there. This isn’t to say that I haven’t had any results, but my skiing on race day and consistency haven’t been where I want them to be.

To say that I’m disappointed with how this season has gone so far is an understatement. I know the skiing is there. I know I have the speed. I know I can do it. So why hasn’t it happened yet? Honestly, I don’t know. Everything feels like its in the right place, training continues to go well, but things are not happening on race day.

So, it’s time to buckle down, tighten up the mental screws, forget about whats happened so far, and start fresh. Get back to the basics of skiing fast and go from there. There’s still plenty of season left to turn things around, and thats exactly what I plan on doing.

The ‘inner sanctum’. We were told that almost no one gets to go in here, and many don’t even know it exists (I didn’t). Very cool with a ton of Kitz history.

Enter the Hahnnenkam

Howie and my Dad at the start

Track records proudly displayed on the start hut (click for bigger)

Red Bull athlete lounge at the top. RB knows how to do things right.

Dad and I at the start

Goons going over the Mausefalle. Yea right!

Super G start

One of the best views in the house. Exclusive Red Bull VIP stand above the sidehill

Someone built an awesome tree fort at the end of the sidehill. Pretty unique view from there.

Howie and I below the Kitzbühel logo

Stumbled upon the ‘bwin’ VIP tent during the day and became friends with the organizers of the event. Funny what doors a team jacket can open! Had a great time with these guys, thanks again!

bwin tent at night. Located just below the midway point of the track

View from my balcony a few minutes ago. Lots of schnee, not a lot of visibility.

I also just got my hands on my race helmet that will make its debut tomorrow. After talking with the fellow who paints them for me (LSDesigns.ca) we decided on tweaking the original design a tiny bit, but left it mainly the same. Threw some gold in, a couple orange streaks, and took out a graphic I didn’t like. I’m pleased with how it turned out.

Thats all for now. Hoping this weather blows through so we can race in the sun tomorrow!

I spent a nice few days at home before heading up to Mont Ste Marie with my family for Christmas. I was pretty burnt out from skiing after over a month of intense World Cup and NorAm racing, so I decided I wasn’t going to ski until at least a few days after Christmas. I had a great time lounging around and generally not doing a whole lot of anything important for a few days up there before going back down to the city for a couple days to hang out with friends. I had my now annual Christmas get together with my close friends, then went to see deadmau5 play at the new CE Centre.

I finally ended up skiing for a half day on the 29th, but the conditions combined with the fact that I only had GS skis quickly forced me back to the warmth of the chalet. Not to mention it was -22 that morning!! Yes I am now a wuss, too much time spent in warm European winters (it’s -2 right now here in Switzerland). I will however play hockey outside regardless of temperature! Got out on the rink almost every day at MSM to play with a good crew of parents and young racers, wicked times. It was really great to see everyone up at MSM. Everyone seemed in pretty good spirits even though there is a huge lack of snow on the hill!

On Christmas Eve my family attended the annual carolling held at the MSM lodge, and I was very surprised to be presented with a huge banner signed by a lot of the kids from the Club wishing me luck for the rest of the season. I was literally speechless when I took the mic to say thanks! I think pretty much all I managed to get out was just that, ‘thanks!’ So a huge thank you to all the kids and I hope it brings me some speed and luck for the rest of the year! I also had an extremely nice visit from our across the street neighbours, the Gilmour girls, Julia & Nicola. They came over the night before I left to wish me luck and give me a handmade card. It was really sweet, thanks a million girls! And sorry I don’t have the picture yet…

As I said I wasn’t quite ready to leave yet, but reality called and I flew out on New Years Eve (thanks coaches?!?!) to Europe. I’m currently in Veyssonaz, SUI, training for a few days before the Adelboden GS race on the 7th. It’s pretty warm here but we managed to get a decent, if a bit rough, session in today.

Hope every had a great holiday, and a happy (safe ;) New Year!

Snow! The most I can remember at MSM in recent memory.

Too bad not much of it was on the hill… Oh well, still looked cool covering everything else!