Snowbird and Verbier!!

Ladies Podium: left to right- Sonja Lercher, Angel Collinson and Kaylin Richardson

This past weekend I traveled to Snowbird, UT for the 2012 Freeskiing World Tour stop number 4. This was my 6th year competing in the Snowbird competition, it has always been one of my favorites due the crowds, the weather and the venues! This year I had a little more pressure going into Snowbird than usual. The lack of snow in the western states forced the tour to cancel Crested Butte and put Kirkwood on hold until April. Coming into this competition I was right behind Angel for the overall lead and after the current standings for Snowbird they would be sending the top male and female to Verbier for the World Championship. I have always wanted to compete there and this being my last full year to do the tour this was my last chance. Going into the first day on Silver Fox I felt confident about my line and skied it well. The score did not reflect as much and I was sitting in 5th place by about 5 points!



North Baldy Venue

That was a lot of catching up to do, but I loved the North Baldy venue. I picked a line that was incredibly technical and falling was not an option. It was something I had done before, but with the conditions it made it a lot more spicy! My nerves kept going up and down and they were hard to control, it is amazing how mental this sport is! Standing in the start gate my nerves subsided a little and I was ready to go have some fun! I cheered my friend Nicole out of the gate and then I saw that she went down, I was not sure what happened to her, but watched as she was taken off in a sled. This was hard to see, but I had to focus on myself first. I cleared my head and skied to the best of my ability, coming into my bottom air I was incredibly nervous and all I could see was the crowd I just had to point it and hope for the best. I landed and skied into the finish of friends and people cheering! I could not have been happier. I knew Kaylin would be hard to beat, but I ended up winning the run by 1.5 points! Also my 16th second place of my career! With this result I am now going to Verbier and I am also tied for first in the overall tour!!! The only problem is I have been planning for the last year to spend the entire month of April in Chamonix and La Grave! So now I have decisions to make! First decision, going to Verbier on Wednesday!!




Some good beer spraying fun!

Taos New Mexico Freeride Competition!!!!

Wedensday night I found out that the Crested Butte, Co stop was cancelled, I had always wanted to go to the Taos freeride competition but it never worked into my schedule. I felt that I needed to go compete for my mind and see the freeskiing family. My friend Karissa was planning on going and convinced me to use my miles to fly into Denver and we could take her parents car to Taos. I figured why not and booked my flight 12 hours before. We arrived in Taos at 1 am and had to compete the next day early! I have never been so ill prepared for a competition, which made it exciting! I inspected the wrong area and then had to get advice from the locals on what to ski! I found a fun line with a decent air that had a bit of a flat landing and next thing I knew I was a little to far forward and dug my ski tips in knocking me into a quick somersault, but was back up sking to the finish, I was greeted my cheers from the crowd at the finish which made me feel better! I did not think I would get another run, but when the results came out they decided to take more ladies than I thought and I was in! I was stoked to ski the venue of Kachina, it was a little more open than the previous venue and a beautiful run. I picked a fun line and skied it well, it was not enough to move up drastically but scored really well for the day! Taos is a very mellow, cultural and artistic town, we did not have a lot of time to explore but did get some great steep skiing in! I will definitely be back and it was awesome to have so much support from the locals during the competition. I have been wanting to come here for 6 years since I raced in college and I finally made it back! Next stop snowbird my favorite competition!

Jim Jack the King/Mayor of Freeskiing!!!

My first win!!!


Jim Jack is the Freeskiing World Tour!


Today we lost the king of freeskiing. The man with 3 first names Jim Norm Jack, it always brought a smile to my face when he was introduced. I have competed in 33 big mountain competitions and Jim Jack has been at every single one of them. He has never not been in the judging pit once in my 6 year career. After my first competition he was my inspiration to continue competing. He was so passsionate about this sport that I had to see what is was all about. He became a coach to me and I always looked to him for approval on my line and my skiing. When I won my first competition in Red Mountain he was there and could not have been more excited for me and it made the win that much better. Over the last 6 years he has become an inspiration to my competing,and skiing.


Jim Jack keeping us positive during a memorial service for John Nicoletta.

We did have our disagreements about judging throughout the years but he always inspired me to challenge myself more versus place blame on the scores. During this past competition in Revelstoke we both realized our shared passion for the sport of freeskiing is what made us see diferently at times. The Freeskiing World Tour would never be where it is today if it was not for him. He worked so hard for the athletes and cared so much about each and everyone of us individually. No matter what the conditions were or how long the judging day was for him, he always had the biggest smile on his face at the end of the day! He never missed an after party and was always stoked about life! I never knew how he did it day in and day out but he continued to have the energy!


Thanks coach!

Over the last few years we have lost some amazing people in the freeskiing industry and Jim Jack was the glue that always kept us together throught the hard times. Who is going to help us get through this now? The one thing I will always remember is that he always helped us celebrate life and now I want to help and continue to celebrate his life. Jim Jack thank you for everything you have done for the freeskiing community your smile, enthusiasm and energy will never be forgotten. RIP love to you always.


Bryan Barlow and him in Revelstoke, two peas in a pod!


The life of the party always!!!

West Hourglass!

Top of couloir, amazing views, exposed and slick ski boots!!!



looking down top of couloir


This last Monday I set out with 3 snowboarders, one being my boyfriend to go ski the West Hourglass of Nez Perce. I have always wanted to ski the couloir, but had never had an opportunity. We skinned easily up Garnet canyon and into the meadows, not seeing a single person. It was a cold day, but it was sunny and there was not a breath of air, such a beautiful day. A few people had skied the couloir before us on a previous day, so it was nice to be able to follow their boot pack. With the avalanche conditions being a little unstable, I was a little nervous about booting up a long steep couloir. At around 11,000 feet we dug a pit to see what the snow looked like. We dug all the way to the ground, which was about 6 feet to see all the different layers. The snowpack looked surprisingly good in the couloir and it helped set our minds a little at ease. We topped out at the top of the couloir around 1 pm and just the top was in the sunshine, the skiing was amazing down the entire couloir. Another one off the tick list, another beautiful couloir I have way to many favorites to count now!!



Matt Floyd getting some!

Pow skiing in Jackson!!

Early Morning on Glory!



Very Cold Glory!

The last couple weeks in Jackson have been unbelievable, we finally got the snow we needed to make the skiing awesome! We are back in a high pressure system, but hopefully we will have some more snow on the way! The only problem with all of the new snow is it made the avalanche danger extremely high. There were some very big slides reported around JHMR, the Snake River Range and Teton Pass. It has definitely made me reevaluate skiing even low angle aspects in the backcountry. The good thing is that the resort has been skiing well! Due to lack of snow in Crested Butte, CO and Kirkwood, CA the two Freeskiing World Tour competitions have been moved back until March and April respectively. I hope these places start to get some snow sooner than later, I am sitting second on the Freeskiing World Tour, only a few points back, so I need those competitions to happen! Training and skiing in Jackson for the month of February!



Photo credit: Tyler Horne

Top male and female runs!

Revelstoke Top Runs Finals from Subaru Freeskiing World Tour on Vimeo.

Revelstoke Finals " The Mac Daddy! "

After waiting for three weather days and feeling that we were never going to compete for Day 2, it finally cleared on Wednesday! That morning we loaded the Gondola early and the weather was crisp and cold. The boys would be going first, so my nerves had not hit quite yet. I had looked at a ton of pictures of the face and felt pretty confident with my run on lookers right. The snow looked great over there and I would be able to get 3 good airs. There was another line that I had seen that was on lookers left, but I was concerned about slough management. Since the men were going first I knew that it could be an option to ski the other line. Hiking out to the ridge was beautiful, the mountains were covered with fresh snow and finally for the first time in 8 days you could see for miles. As I hiked out to the ridge I could see 2 helicopters parked along the ridge, I could not believe we got to ride in one of those to the start!!!

The boys started around 1030 am with perfect light on one of the most aesthetic venues I had ever seen. I watched a few boys ski my line to the lookers left and I decided that is what I needed to do! I started to get nervous, because this would be one of the biggest airs I had skied in a competition above serious exposure. We loaded the heli around 1230 pm to head to the top, I got to ride in the very front and it was the most exhilarating ride as the pilot just fell off the side of the ridge and flew us to the top. Looking down on my line from the helicopter I became incredibly nervous. From the top the snow did not look as good as it had from a distance. Standing in the start I was not completely sure where I was, but as I left the start gate I hoped I would recognize something as I started to ski. Sure enough I found my entrance, the snow was incredibly punchy and I knew I was above a lot of exposure so I skied a lot slower than usual as I go closer to my air I realized that it rolled away and was a lot bigger than I thought! I knew I could do it and I just had to go for it. I paused for a second lined myself up and then went. As I was in the air I might Have closed my eyes, but all I could think of is wow this might hurt. As I landed the air and skied out I was shocked I had just landed with no problems! I skied fast through the finish so pumped about my run, the helicopter was waiting to take us back up to the ridge. What an amazing day!! I finished second!