The Midwest
There's been a lot going on in the last week, so here's a small update! I had never been to the Midwest before, so it was nice to head out there to explore some new slopes. The rest of the Snowbird team went to some speed races in Schweitzer, so I decided to get up and go solo on this trip. After flying into Minneapolis from Salt Lake, I rented a car and drove the remaining two and a half hours to La Crosse, Wisconsin, a quaint college town on the banks of the Mississippi. With only a small plateau in sight, I knew the races here were going to be quite interesting.
To my surprise, Mt. La Crosse was the steepest slalom hill I have skied in the U.S., other than the World Championship run in Beaver Creek last year. Three small lifts were accompanied by an antique bar to give the place an almost European feel. It reminded me a lot of the small places the FIS Camp used to take us to train around Italy and Austria. After getting off the lift you had to hike about 6 gates to the start. Following the top 6 gates, which were on a dead flat, you came over the roll onto a fifty-degree pitch. I like tight and steep courses, so this hill actually suited my skiing quite well. If you could hold it together on the steep, you still had to carry that momentum onto the last section of the course, which at some points was actually uphill proceeding into the finish area. Making a mistake coming onto the flats proved to be the main difference between the leaders and the rest of the pack over the course of the race series.
Overall, I was quite happy with the way I skied over the 3 days. The hardest thing that I've had to deal with this season is bringing back the intensity and confidence I had prior to Sochi. I feel like I have it back, but with that intensity and the speed that comes with it, there are bound to be mistakes. I had a few big mistakes every race this series, preventing me from scoring some desirable points. However, I moved up between 30 and 40 spots in the field each day, so I'm happy with that. Skiing is a long process; it just feels good to be back on track!
There was quite a talented photographer at the races, as you can see by the above photos. At least it looks like I know what I'm doing!
I'll have about two weeks of training before heading off to Winter Park, Colorado, for one slalom and one giant slalom race. The weather is supposed to be nice, which will hopefully mean quality training! It'll be nice to work on handling the newly found intensity and keep the mistakes to a minimum.
Two years ago yesterday was the day I carried Ireland's flag into the opening ceremony in Sochi. Time has been flying by! It is still the most memorable thing I have done to date, and it reminds me that anything you put your mind to, you can achieve. Talk to you all soon.
/CL