Skiing some amazing Pow in Chamonix! Comp tomorrow...

Today was one of the better days I have had all season! Only in Europe can you get onto the mountain at 12 and have untouched chest deep pow. I had some amazing faceshots today down into the village! The sun was just peaking through some clouds and as I was skiing I had amazing views of the Aguille du Midi and Mont Blanc. (pictured here) I do not know if you can beat that view and that steep of skiing anywhere.

Last night we had the bib draw for the competition in the middle of town, which was pretty awesome to be downtown Chamonix with you and your bib flashing up on the big screen. I drew bib 46. Girls go second and they alternate between snowboarder and skier. I hope the boys don't take all of our new snow! The face that we are skiing which is pictured here has received 2 feet of snow which is so exciting! Tomorrow is my first big mountain competition in europe. I am really excited about my line and just hope it goes well. It is supposed to be cold so I am excited I have my arcteryx clothing and warm hestra gloves. I also hope my legs are as strong as they feel, thanks to Rob at Mountain Athlete. Training at Jackson Hole hopefully has also given me some amazing confidence!

Chamonix and My First French Couloir!!!!

Today I awoke for my first full day in Chamonix in bluebird conditions! I looked out my window and saw just one side of the valley and my jaw dropped! The mountains were unbelievable. Jess and I were still a little jetlagged, but so excited to go skiing. We walked up to the Brevent, which is one of the many resorts in the Chamonix valley. We loaded the gondola and rose up out of the valley and into the most amazing cirque of mountains I think I have ever seen. Glaciers and ice everywhere, I had seen photos, but nothing had done them justice until I saw them in person. Steep spires and rock walls. We went first to scope the competition venue, which looks pretty awesome, but the snow conditions are not as good as we hoped. I found a few lines that jumped at me so that was comforting. We then cruised around for a couple hours in the sun with amazing views and long runs.

When we had come up the Gondola and loaded the tram Jess and I spotted this couloir across the way that looked amazing. The only problem is we could not see the entrance, we decided to go check it out on our last run down. We skied over to it and it did not seem to bad, except the entrance involved a little two foot mini air into a strait line into a 45 degree slope that went for a while. (you did not want to fall.) I went in first and hesitated for a little and then went for it, I came in a little hot and was a little scared for a moment but was able to get myself stopped. (The picture here is where I finally stopped and just the top of the couloir.) The snow the rest of the way down was actually really nice! From the top of the couloir to the valley floor was about 4500 vertical feet. The couloir itself was about 1500 ft! Did I ever say how much I love couloirs!!!! What an awesome day! Can not wait for the next adventure....

Rogers Pass

Rogers pass is one of the most amazing places I have ever been. After the competition five of us headed to the Wheeler hut on Rogers pass for three nights. The hut was only about a mile from the parking lot, but it felt like we were out in the middle of nowhere. We had the entire hut to ourselves, which was really fun. The avalanche danger was a little high, so I was not sure what we were going to be able to ski. The first day we skinned up through some really steep trees toward Glacier Crest. The temps had warmed up so much that there were tree bombs going off all around us, I have never seen anything like it. (just huge clumps of snow falling from the trees.) We decided for safety reasons to just ski back down in the vicinity of the skin track. It was the steepest tree skiing I had ever experienced. The snow was a little heavy, but I could only imagine how awesome it would be on a powder day. The next day we ventured into the Asulkan valley and had some clearer skies. I could not believe the terrain and amazing views of couloirs and mountains. Long runs that went for days. We skinned up to the Asulkan hut and skied the tree triangle, which was some nice powder! My goal is to hopefully go spend a week at the Asulkan hut, because the access to terrain is endless. We did not get to ski as much as I would have liked, but it was still and amazing time and great scouting mission. This couloir I have pictured is on my list for next time.

There is a first for everything.

So today did not go exactly how I was expecting, but a lot of times it never does. I decided I wanted to push myself a little out of my comfort zone today. I picked a line that had a little higher risk than usual. The last five competitions I have podiumed which is awesome, but i felt like I was ready to step it up just a little. I picked out a line that had two pretty exposed airs, the first one was only about five feet, but I had to shut it down so that I could make it directly fall line below me to a 20 foot ramp. I came out a little to hot and shot past my entrance. I was then positioned above a 50 foot cliff and had to hike out of my line. I have never had to do this before, so it was a great learning experience. I am bummed that I did not get to ski what I wanted to ski, but am excited to watch and root on the rest of the field! Revelstoke is amazing and the people are so accommodating and friendly. 

The Start of Ski Season in JH

This year has been a rough start to the ski season in Jackson. We have just had warm and freezing cold temperatures since November. The mountain is open, but is the least amount of snow it has seen since for this time of year since 1976. We all keep hoping that it will start snowing soon, but in the mean time I am making the best of the snow that we do have. I have been skiing the pass, which has actually been really good you just need to be light on your feet. Jackson Hole Mountain Resort is still a the best training grounds I think around and the conditions are challenging, but I feel make you a better skier. I am leaving for Revelstoke in about a week, so taking nonstop runs has helped me get back into skiing shape. Also I have been physically training at the gym doing lots of core and balance stabilization, which I think is so important for any recreational athlete. I also skied Targhee for a day with my good friends Mike Leake and Sarah Felton. That was probably one of the best ski days I have had beautiful views of the tetons and fast nonstop runs. I feel for the most part I am ready for the first competition in Canada which is part of the Freeskiing World Tour. I then head to Chamonix for the the first stop on the Freeride World Tour, which I am really stoked about.

Europa!!!

I recently just went on a awesome trip to Germany, Austria and Italy. I have always wanted to travel to Europe just for fun and not the stress of competing in skiing. So for me this was a trip of a lifetime. We started in Munich, which is a beautiful city with great churches, lots of farmers markets and of course great beer. We then ventured to the beautiful city of Salzburg and received a great tour from a  family friend and stayed with him and his wife a little south of Salzburg out in the country for three nights. We went to some amazing ice caves and just enjoyed time on the farm. The Dolomites were our next stop and definitely the highlight of the trip for me, I can not believe how easy it is to take trains all over europe and it is such a great way to see the countryside. The U.S. really needs a train system. We went to the beautiful town of Cortina, which is a ski town similar to Jackson. I definitely need to go back in the winter and ski, there are some amazing couloirs. We decided to do some Via Ferata, which means the iron way, I never realized how big this was in Europe. The main route we did was the Punta Ana, we started in the village and climbed 7,000 vertical feet up from the valley floor. The route was definitely exposed in spots, which made it very exciting. We did not have correct gear so just used our anchoring device which was connected to our harness an clipped and unclipped as we climbed. The best part about this was being able to take three trams down from the top. These trams were extremely exposed and the views were breathtaking. This area also has great hut system that we also took advantage of, these huts are up in the mountains and have some of the most breathtaking views, hot meals and cold beer.  I can not wait to go back and explore more in the dolomites, there is still so much to see. Now I just have to wait for the snow to fall and dream of Europe.

Climbing Open Book and Do it For Doug

This past weekend my boyfriend Brian and I went climbing in the Tetons. I always hope each time I go I am getting a little better. Climbing is one of those sports that you have to do a lot to actually get really good at it. I still enjoy being in the mountains and pushing myself. We went up to Garnet Canyon to do a classic route in the Tetons called Open Book. I have been up the climb before before, but I had taken a fall, so I needed to redeem myself. When we got to the pitch I was a little nervous but the as I started to climb it, I realized it was not a big deal and cruised through just fine. The next day we then headed to Rock Springs Buttress and climbed Do it for Doug. This route was really challenging for me and I really had to push myself and my strength because it was very sustained 5.10 and exposed, which always makes me nervous. Overall a great weekend of climbing I just wish I could climb more often, because I always feel like I am getting stronger and then I do not climb for two or three weeks. I just love being in the mountains, especially the Tetons!