The High's and Low's of Ski Racing

Mammoth...

Nick - Mammoth 1st place

Again we made the trip down to Mammoth, however this time it was for 2 GS’s. We had the added bonus of our Mum and Dad flying into Mammoth the day before the first GS. It was great to have the whole family together because it would be the last time till July when Sam gets back from University in Vienna, Austria.

Jamie was suffering from a shoulder injury he received from a day of training prior to the races, but had decided he could still race.

We were training GS early morning and the sun had still not fully risen hence the light was a little flat. Jamie didn’t see a lip over a road in the snow at the bottom of the course and juiced the ski right on the bump sending him flying and landing heavily on his shoulder.

On the first day we were both super pumped to place first and second for the race. Nick skied two awesome runs, deservingly earning the win and Jamie battled his way down in pain from his shoulder to hold onto second place. This was Nick’s first ever FIS win and podium, a goal he had been striving to achieve for the season. It was even better that we pulled it off in front of all the family with a Prebble 1, 2!

The second day Nick did it again, making his weekend a very successful one, coming away with the double victory. Jamie decided he wasn’t going to race to try and save himself for the upcoming Nor-am Super-G in Aspen, CO.

Drive through Colorado

We headed back to Truckee with burnt faces and dirty goggle tans from the two days of sunshine where we would fly out the next morning to Denver, CO to begin preparations for the North American Cup (Nor-Am) Super-G’s.

We began our preparations in Winter Park, CO before we headed to Aspen Mountain for the two races- Super Combined and Super-G.

The race track was sweeeeeeet!!! It is a very technical slope with some very steep sections and a handful of blind turns which lead to inspection and how you dialled the line to be the key in doing well on the hill. We knew that we had a disadvantage over the rest of the field because they had skied the hill for 5 days in the Downhill’s prior to the Super-G’s, however we backed our abilities and we knew we could do it!

Aspen pitch

The first day the start was delayed due to light snow, but the race soon got under way and we got a helping hand in the weather as the light improved around bib 30 for us to come down running 35 and 41. Jamie struggled to perform to his potential as his shoulder continued to hinder his performance and a couple of mistakes with his line left him too far off pace. Nick skied a wild run but nailed the line and putting him in 17^th place. It was soooo much fun!!!! He scored a 36 point result his best ever FIS result which will give him guaranteed C team status for the upcoming Southern Hemisphere and puts him in 12^th place in the world for his age in Super-G.

In the Slalom leg Nick dropped down to 28^th but still managed to pick up some Nor-Am points. Jamie again decided to not race his Slalom leg because the pain was too great cross blocking Slalom gates.

Day 2. Nick again performed strongly placing 35^th and scoring a 45 point result. Jamie was frustratingly forced to not start as his shoulder was not right to race.

Nick Podium

We then made the 3 hour drive to Steamboat for the Colorado Surefoot Cup consisting of a GS and 2x Sl. The first day of GS proved to be quite successful with Nick continuing his form, placing 2^nd after the first run and just slipping to 3^rd after the second run with a slightly disappointing run. Jamie was 4^th after the first run but a big mistake second run cost him time. In the next two days of slalom Nick had mixed runs first day and unfortunately DNF’ed the second day. Jamie did not race the first slalom however attempted to race the second day and could only manage the very first section before skiing out, dam shoulder!!!!

We will keep you updated on what is the diagnosis of Jamie’s shoulder, as of right now he believes he has done something to his ‘Coracoid’ but he will know more after we are back in NZ and Jamie has had scan’s and a detailed analysis. This proved to be frustrating for Jamie as he had started skiing really fast because of a combination of his new boots and some technical changes, but that’s ski racing and it has made Jamie super hungry to get back on snow in NZ!

We are now making the 14 hour trek back to Truckee for our last few days in the US and we hope to catch the end of the 10 feet of powder they have received over the past week!!!!

Last night we found out about the tragic news of the deadly earthquake back home in Christchurch. Thankfully our family is all ok but it sounds like we will be returning home to our city in a rubble mess. Our thoughts go out to the families that have lost loved ones and to those that have lost their home's. Hang in there Christchurch, this is our home!

California Sun

Sunset

Results are coming!

Big Sky, Montana

We made the 12 hour trek north to Jackson, Wyoming, for 3 days of training prior to the series beginning, so we could get some great training preparation on the race hill. We had a super sweet build up and we were both posting fast times in the timed training course.

Unfortunately we struggled to lay down fast times in both the GS races, however Nick did manage to ski a decent 4th run, placing 5th on the run. There are some small details we need to tweak in GS which is frustratingly holding back the fast skiing.

In the Slalom's Jamie skied really sound and scored a nice 45 pointer which is his second best Slalom result.

Jamie Podium

Onwards and upwards to the freezing works of Big Sky, Montana for two Super-G's. We were really looking forward to these races as we were seeking redemption in Super-G after our under par performances in Winter Park, CO. The race was delayed for a number of hours because the temperatures were too cold to run the lifts. It was a freezing -34 degrees C! Quite a shock to the system compared with sunny California.

The hill there was a reasonably easy Super-G. A true gliders paradise! And also what we ended up finding out after the first day- you needed to nail the wax call.

The first day we both made small point scores, we skied solidly, Jamie finished in 6th place and Nick 10th place however we new there was lots of time to be made in our ski preparation.

Proof of the Cold! (Fahrenheit!)

The second day...We came out feeling our skis were running faster, after deciding not to wax for the second race due to the temperatures being so cold. This proved to be a smart move.

Jamie running bib 1 set the line for the seed to follow and raced very aggressively. He had a slight scare near the bottom where his body went through the panel of a gate but managed to finish without losing too much time. Jamie ended up in 3rd place and made a big points score, reducing his Super-G points by 6. He was super stocked to make it on the podium and to stand alongside two US ski team members.

Nick was chasing the tail of Jamie but was dissatisfied finishing 9th.

After the long drive Back to Truckee, we have started the build up towards the final stretch including races in Mammoth, CA and Nor-Am Super-G's in Aspen, CO and to finish it off 2xSl and one GS in Steamboat Springs, CO before heading home to NZ!

Check out the video below of our last month racing and training.