Snowbird FWT

It's been a big week! The final stop of the Freeskiing World Tour went down at Snowbird over this past week and to top it off it all started with a 4ft storm.

watching 1ft of pow cover slc was pretty magical

Little Cottonwood Canyon traffic: the only negative on a pow day

nonetheless, we managed to stay jovial

Consequently, course inspection was full of pow turns and hanging out with friends.! It was definitely nice having the whole FWT come to a ski hill that I knew well.

Louise showcasing some of 2011 most fashionable gadgets- she went pro.

yay! friends: Vanessa, Sasha, Ryan and I waiting for some tram time

Once again I had to battle through the Qualifiers to get into the main show of the US Freesking Champs. Which was even more of a battle as I was fighting a nasty flu, trying to stay on my feet but with the help of a few locals, I picked a fast, fluid line down West Baldy with 3 fun filled airs. The snow was still soft and I stomped a solid fast run that qualified me 1st for the semi-finals on Silverfox.

SILVERFOX: day 1, Snowbird FWT.
photos care of MSI

The next day took place on Silverfox, a north facing venue that is right below the top of the Snowbird tram. While the snow was not deep and soft it was wind blown and super smooth. There were a few punchy areas that took a few competitors down but for the most part, everyone threw down.

I had a good run despite being a little lost, the snow was fun and all my landings except one were superb.

getting some air on Silverfox

almost white room 3 days after a storm!

My score ranked 7th out of the 26 girls in semi-finals and I for the first time this season I made it through to finals!

I found some of the scoring a little inconsistent throughout the women's field but it was good to see some great rippers get through to the finals! Including Miss Vanessa Aadland, who threw down a fast, creative line that included some big airs and lots of stomps!

Vanessa celebrated her success by eating a lime

Being one of 10 girls that made it through to finals out of around 40 was very exciting, especially on substitute home turf.

posing for the FWT camera

NORTH BALDY: Snowbird FWT Finals

Unlike previous seasons, Snowbird has seen a lot of snow this year, which left the venues quite filled in and a little 'featureless'. As a result the organisers promoted a bit of 'soft' course manipulation, which included some jump and lip shaping. The snow was fairly sun crusted and variable, which made for some interesting turning but all the landings were soft and silky.

Starting the finals day, I was definitely feeling very burnt out from my flu- even though it was such a great opportunity to rip up the venue and kick some ass, my body and my mind were not focused on the task. I made it through course inspection with a nice line but my lack of energy was making it hard to get stoked for my comp run.

Despite the foggy weather, the comp got going and I ran 4th. I started well with a nice air off a kicker......but from the landing onwards I lost all my drive, my body ached and all I wanted was to be off the venue and in bed....this really messed up my focus, I lost all my courage and confidence and bailed out of my finals airs. I skied ok and took and easier line, getting a little bit caught up in some of the rock exposure. I finished without a fall but with a fairly low score.

In all the competitions I have done, this was the first time I had given up and not skied 100%. I was bummed, especially seeing my bottom air getting hit and stomped by another competitor. However, at the end of the day- with a lot of support from friends, I realised that amongst all of the things I regretted, there were a lot of things I was proud of. I made it to finals, I skied all my comp runs without crashing and I made a sensible decision not to put my body on the line when I was unwell.

At Snowbird I took 6th place overall, my best result on the Freeskiing World Tour and a really good point to move forward from next season.... Although I didn't get to celebrate that night I did the next day.

DIVA'S

I emerged from my cocoon the next day and went for a sunny stroll to a nice breakfast with Sasha and Ryan at Diva's- cafe and greenhouse.

sasha and ryan being cute

We lapped up the sun and the delicious fudge brownies that the cafe had to offer. At one point I decided to go on an all-in attack on the brownies frosting.

attack!

diva's urban greenhouse

This week I am looking forward to a lot of rest to get rid of this god damn cold, tea and a little adventure down to Southern Utah for some sun, camping and climbing.