Revelstoke, Canada
Last minute the Freeride World Tour added a stop in Canada. Revelstoke is quite a long drive from Jackson but it was an easy choice to hop in a car. The snow at home was lacking and I have never ridden this new Canadian resort that was having a solid snow year.
Four of us piled into a truck and started the long drive. Late that night three of us arrived at Kicking Horse resort. Guess the neighbors to the north think a person that has been caught drinking and driving is a threat to their country.
My first experience at Kicking Horse was a great one and allowed me to ride hard for the first time in the season. It is quite nice when you can let it go and not worry about early season conditions.
Then a quick hope over a pass to Revelstoke where it was dumping snow. It was tough to fall asleep excited about my first powder day of the season. Waking up to rain was a slight of a disappointment, but I got used to it by the end of the trip.
The snow up high stayed pretty good all week and made for some fun riding. The competition happened on a short steep face that had an amazing snow on it. Unfortunately we had to compete in flat light because I do not think the sun shines there in January.
My run was going well till the last air and I am not sure what happened but I had a little crash coming out of it. Tough start for the competition season, but it was great to ride some powder.
Chamonix Mont-Blanc, France
Returning from Revelstoke, I had a few days of riding the bad snow in Jackson before taking off to Chamonix that is having an amazing snow year. It was not a disappointment. The snow kept falling and there was plenty enough snow to ride to the valley floor. The days leading up to the competition were the best turns of the season.
It was so nice to be riding powder again, and a lot of it.
When it was time for the comp, the venue was changed for safety reasons, I was a little bummed because I had a fun line picked out that I was very confident with. The new face had much fewer options and I had trouble figuring out what to do other than the one line that everyone was choosing.
Because of the popularity of my line, I couldn’t hit the first air because the ramp had al gone to rock. Continuing on a little bummed, I tried to go big of one of the lower cliffs to make up for the lack of air. This resulted in a solid butt bounce when I tried to change trajectory in the air to line up for another cliff.
Once again another disappointing competition run, and I was frustrated with my performance. As things wrapped up, I went on a soul run with a buddy. All negative thoughts were gone. There is a reason why I do this. Snowboarding is amazing.
Courmayeur Mont-Blanc, Italy
It was a quick turn around from Chamonix to Courmayeur. There was barely enough time to have a beer with the crew after riding before we had to pack up, pile in cars and head to Italy. Besides having 4 riders assigned to a room with one bed, all was good.
Courmayeur is a sweet mountain with some great riding. It is also killer getting a view of Mt Blanc from the Italian side.
Once again, the riding before the comp was the best part of the trip. There are a bunch of great riders traveling on the tour. It is quite fun to meet up and rip around new terrain. Even though the snow was fairly old, we got some great riding.
Then, another comp day. This day was ideal for a comp, no wind, and nothing but sun. Up until I got into the heli, I couldn’t choose a line. It was the same face as the year prior, but significantly less snow. I saw a couple riders come down and realized how good the snow was. Fired up on my new line, I went to the top ready to win.
As I dropped in, the snow proved to be a good as it looked. It was a really fun run and I was loving it. I got to my last cliff and was shocked to realize it was smaller than I had planned. Took off, and felt good. I actually chucked to myself in the air about how much fun I had and how smooth the run went. Next thing I know, my head is in the snow. Not sure what happened, but I had a nice crash.
Seems to be the theme of competitions thus far. Everything is going well, and one mistake knocks me out. Aw well. Still loving it and happy to have a working body. Looking forward to the rest of the season.
Last minute the Freeride World Tour added a stop in Canada. Revelstoke is quite a long drive from Jackson but it was an easy choice to hop in a car. The snow at home was lacking and I have never ridden this new Canadian resort that was having a solid snow year.
Four of us piled into a truck and started the long drive. Late that night three of us arrived at Kicking Horse resort. Guess the neighbors to the north think a person that has been caught drinking and driving is a threat to their country.
My first experience at Kicking Horse was a great one and allowed me to ride hard for the first time in the season. It is quite nice when you can let it go and not worry about early season conditions.
Then a quick hope over a pass to Revelstoke where it was dumping snow. It was tough to fall asleep excited about my first powder day of the season. Waking up to rain was a slight of a disappointment, but I got used to it by the end of the trip.
The snow up high stayed pretty good all week and made for some fun riding. The competition happened on a short steep face that had an amazing snow on it. Unfortunately we had to compete in flat light because I do not think the sun shines there in January.
My run was going well till the last air and I am not sure what happened but I had a little crash coming out of it. Tough start for the competition season, but it was great to ride some powder.
Chamonix Mont-Blanc, France
Returning from Revelstoke, I had a few days of riding the bad snow in Jackson before taking off to Chamonix that is having an amazing snow year. It was not a disappointment. The snow kept falling and there was plenty enough snow to ride to the valley floor. The days leading up to the competition were the best turns of the season.
It was so nice to be riding powder again, and a lot of it.
When it was time for the comp, the venue was changed for safety reasons, I was a little bummed because I had a fun line picked out that I was very confident with. The new face had much fewer options and I had trouble figuring out what to do other than the one line that everyone was choosing.
Because of the popularity of my line, I couldn’t hit the first air because the ramp had al gone to rock. Continuing on a little bummed, I tried to go big of one of the lower cliffs to make up for the lack of air. This resulted in a solid butt bounce when I tried to change trajectory in the air to line up for another cliff.
Once again another disappointing competition run, and I was frustrated with my performance. As things wrapped up, I went on a soul run with a buddy. All negative thoughts were gone. There is a reason why I do this. Snowboarding is amazing.
Courmayeur Mont-Blanc, Italy
It was a quick turn around from Chamonix to Courmayeur. There was barely enough time to have a beer with the crew after riding before we had to pack up, pile in cars and head to Italy. Besides having 4 riders assigned to a room with one bed, all was good.
Courmayeur is a sweet mountain with some great riding. It is also killer getting a view of Mt Blanc from the Italian side.
Once again, the riding before the comp was the best part of the trip. There are a bunch of great riders traveling on the tour. It is quite fun to meet up and rip around new terrain. Even though the snow was fairly old, we got some great riding.
Then, another comp day. This day was ideal for a comp, no wind, and nothing but sun. Up until I got into the heli, I couldn’t choose a line. It was the same face as the year prior, but significantly less snow. I saw a couple riders come down and realized how good the snow was. Fired up on my new line, I went to the top ready to win.
As I dropped in, the snow proved to be a good as it looked. It was a really fun run and I was loving it. I got to my last cliff and was shocked to realize it was smaller than I had planned. Took off, and felt good. I actually chucked to myself in the air about how much fun I had and how smooth the run went. Next thing I know, my head is in the snow. Not sure what happened, but I had a nice crash.
Seems to be the theme of competitions thus far. Everything is going well, and one mistake knocks me out. Aw well. Still loving it and happy to have a working body. Looking forward to the rest of the season.
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