Hi All!

I hope your summer is progressing nicely, and welcome to my second update for the 2017-18 ski season!

As I’m writing this, I am on a 14 hour flight to Australia for the first on-snow camp of the year! I am extremely excited to take everything I’ve been working on, during these past few months, to snow in just over one day at Perisher!!

With that said, the last time I spoke to you all was at the end of my water ramp camp in Park City, Utah. Since then, I’ve completed two weeks with a sole focus on strength and conditioning, and one week of water ramping combined with strength work. During that final week of water ramping, I completed my 1,000th jump for the summer! I’m excited to see what the repetition has done for my jumping as a whole once I get to snow. I additionally made some final touches on each of my jumps throughout the last block of water ramps, focusing on the little things that will make my transition to snow easier.

5 am Wakeup Call

On the last day of water ramping before Australia, my teammates and I decided to have our last water ramp session during the sunrise! Instead of warming up at 7:15 am, like usual, we arrived at the ramps at 5:15 am to complete our usual warmup. Upon our arrival, the water ramp and its surroundings were so dark that I could barely make out the silhouettes of each of my teammates!!

So, with plenty of laughs, we completed our usual warmup and got suited up in the midst of a pitch black environment. Once we got onto the water ramps, light began streaming in over the mountains, allowing numerous low-hanging clouds of mist to dominate the air. With the first splash of water, marking the first jumper of the day, exclamations of excitement about the unusually warm water temperature broke through the silent surroundings and crisp air. As we got further into our session, the mist gradually rose, as did our enthusiasm levels, while simultaneously, bits of sunlight threaded through the trees at the top of the ski mountain to our right. By the end of the session, the sun had risen completely, bathing the water ramps in warm rays, eliminating any remaining wisps of clouds. Sunrise water ramping was something that I’d never done before, and it was a great way for our team to mark the end of water ramping for now and our journey we were about to embark on to snow in Australia.

17 Revolutions Around the Sun 🙂

One last thing: when this update reaches you, on August 15th (in United States time), I’ll be turning 17!! While I’m celebrating my birthday by doing what I love most with some of my closest friends in Australia, I’d just like to take this moment to say how thankful I am to have you all on my journey – whether it be for days, months, or years already, I know there’s much more excitement to come… So, THANK YOU for supporting my endeavors!!

All the best,
Olivia