Welcome to my 4th update for the 2019-20 prep season!!
About a week and a half ago, I returned from a 14 day on-snow camp in El Colorado, Chile — my first training trip of the year that brought me abroad and to a venue that combined moguls and jumps! While we were initially supposed to have a full course (220ish+ meters of moguls with 2 jumps), there was unfortunately not enough snow to facilitate this. It’s insane how apparent the lack of snow was (below is a little clip of some skiing on the way down to the lodge on our last day). While this experience could be chalked up to a bad snow year for the entirety of Chile, it’s terrifying to think that opportunities like this might not be a realistic part of our future.
Considering the snow El Colorado did have, though, the venue that our coaches put together was impressive. The hard work they put in was greatly appreciated; we were still able to pull off a productive camp as a result! Personally, I felt I was able to make the most of it by perceiving the experience as a transition from a separated jump-site and mogul line to a full course. As a result of this transition, I feel fully prepared for Zermatt (our next on-snow training camp) at the end of this month!!
As with how I’ve attacked the past few months of training, the emphasis was on my turn technique for the entirety of this camp. I genuinely appreciated the addition of a jump as an extra challenge to maintain the integrity and composure of my skiing. I’m excited to say that I was able to rise to the challenge and prove to myself the capacity my skiing can handle! Below are a few of my favorite runs.
Also in Chile, I took the opportunity to visit Santiago on one of our days off to experience a bit of Chilean culture! Over the course of the day, we enjoyed some gorgeous scenery, explored a few parks, saw some street art, ate traditional Chilean food, and navigated the subway (which is always an interesting experience…). On that off day, I also had the opportunity to do an @usskiteam Instagram takeover for the first time, which was a blast!!
My favorite part of Chile itself, though, would definitely have to be the insane sunsets we witnessed each night. As the camp progressed, I was astonished by the beauty of each — more unique and intense than the last. All in all, I had an awesome camp filled with lots of laughs and efficient training!!
Since I’ve returned from Chile, our Moguls Team also hosted our 2nd annual fundraiser to help finance our team’s upcoming competition season!! (For a little recap that the US Team did on the event, click the following link: https://usskiandsnowboard.org/news/us-moguls-team-raises-over-100k-annual-fundraiser-fully-funded-2019-2020-season.) With the efforts of everyone involved, I’m beyond proud to say that we’re officially a fully funded team, which is INCREDIBLE! It seriously takes so much stress and worry off of each of our plates. At the event itself, I was honored to speak on behalf of the entire team, expressing the pure gratitude we all felt as recipients of such heartfelt, enthusiastic support!
As for what’s next… I’m currently in the midst of my first training block of the last water ramp camp of the season before heading off to Zermatt at the end of September!! This means that summer is almost officially over, which is absolutely wild. I can’t believe how quickly the past months flew by! And now that winter is coming, I feel hungrier and more prepared than ever…😈
