Thursday, February 24, 2011

It's the Journey

Oh man oh man, how is it possible that February is almost over??! Time flies when your having fun?? Today was nice and relaxed, my hip had been really bothering me and I finally sacked up and went to get it checked out on Tuesday just to verify that I was being a wuss. Turns out I chipped my femur and have bursitis in my hip which explains why I have ZERO range of motion and feel like someone took a claw into the side of my hip and cranked the muscles and tendons down... needless to say Physical Therapy here I COME!! I was feeling a little bit down about another small set back so I rented the Peaceful Warrior... changed my life. PERIOD. Honestly I am disappointed I never read the book but the movie was awesome, great lessons and it takes place in Berkeley! I really can't even describe it so if you have time, I suggest renting slash just buying it. So, I will not be on the mountain until the middle of next week at the earliest and intend to use this time to diligently stretch and dedicate to physical therapy to ensure no further injury. RICE (rest, ice, compression, elevation) is my new best friend and I am still stunned at how well my knees are holding up- knock on wood-.

After watching that movie I realized that while its awesome to set high goals and standards, there have been a lot of days where my focus is set so far into the future that I am not focused on why I chose to be here in the first place, and how amazing each day is that I am on the mountain doing what I love and doing it for ME and only me. I'm telling you this movie hit me hard, kind of an attitude check to reevaluate myself... totally needed. Tommy and I got some pretty good footage this past weekend he was up so the edit is underway!!! I feel like an excited kindergartner at show-and-tell.

Just had a nice video chat with Tak, Peaches, Chippy, and Vail!!! I really miss you guys, its weird not being on trips and seeing the team everyday, I dont know how long it will take for me to get used to it but as I told them, skiing everyday (give or take) is not a horrible existance. I've also been finalizing things on my internship in New Zealand this summer!!! 9 months straight of skiing is a fantasy that is on its way to becoming a reality.. pinch me???!! But again, not to get ahead of myself, I feel like I am slowly but surely progressing every day even if that means becoming that much more comfortable in the pipe. It's kind of a weird concept... you have to ditch your inhibitions and just trust and committ in what you are doing in there, you start thinking rationally and freaking out and before you know it your going up the wall at the wrong angle or leaving one ski out of the pipe and one ski inside the pipe when you land/ crash. I'm trying to really immerse myself in "the moment", cheesy I know, but honestly thinking and over analyzing does nothing but put you back, so I am taking out the trash, clearing my mind, and focusing on the most important thing in the world... "this moment". (seriously this is all from that movie, I am brainwashed, isht was awesome).

Long story short, this week is a rest week to get my body back to a place where I can continue to learn. There will be lots of PT, attempting to learn guitar, and reading to keep myself busy. Can't run because of my knees and shins, can't elliptical b/c of my darn hip, and lets not kid ourselves I'm not getting into ANY pool (even an inside one) with below freezing temperatures and falling snow :)
Good luck to the laxers back east!!! Show 'em whats up, I miss you guys (well some of you.... JOKING) every day, you're in my thoughts and I'm sending you positive vibes all day every day!

AW

Sunday, February 20, 2011

Delirium

THE BRO IS HERE!!!!! Ah love it when he comes up, we got dinner and a movie and have made more crude jokes in the past 24 hours than I know what to do with, its amazing having a sibling your close with... Tommy is so f'ing cool. Anywho, hit the slopes yesterday and have been for the past week; it was ssooo sunny at the beginning of the week but the snow and wind are back to play which means its looking like a powder day tomorrow. The pipe is SLOWLY getting less scary, I thought I had the whole attitude of fearlessness/ adrenaline addict down pat but I have to shut myself up when that rational voice pops into my head reminding me how crazy this is. Taking today off, my hip feels like crap I have put it through the ringer since I am starting to get my spins in the pipe going, I would LOVE to stop falling. So laying low and back out tomorrow with the bro to get some footage for my edit!!! Can't wait to put together the stuff that I have been working on, again this is a slow process but I am still confident with the choice I have made and prepared to put in as much work as it takes to make it to the top. Happy Prez weekend, sorry this was a boring post. Congrats to the Cal laxers, 2-0 in MPSF!!!!! So proud, still miss you guys everyday.

AW

Saturday, February 12, 2011

Goggle Tan


Oh yes, the goggle tan is coming along quite nicely thanks to the sun finally deciding to show up and bump the temperature out of the negatives. Yesterday I spent all day in the park, getting more and more comfortable every day, I still have some pain in my shins but that's only on the slopestyle course, the pipe (scariest thing on this planet) is painless aside from decking (landing flat on the top of the pipe) or clipping your skis and tumbling down 22 feet of ice... other than that though NO PAIN!! The knees are awesome and the shins are much better, I am figuring out what I need to do to keep them appeased. Today I am getting a bit of a late start and heading up for the second half of the day. Hiking the pipe is getting easier, its much faster to just clip out of your skies at the bottom and hike back up to the top instead of heading to the bottom of the park and riding the excruciatingly slow 2 person chair back to the top of Freeway/ Parklane (the parks at Breck). Its quite the workout too! I've been working a lot on my core strength, flexibility and agility, all things that are ssooo vital to success in this line of skiing. Also went over to Woodward yesterday after a long day of skiing (probably not my best idea). I have been working hard on my corks, rodeo and misty 5's, I am hoping to try them this weekend/ coming week on the slopestyle course, could be very successful or VERY painful.

On that note, I have been following this quote thing on Twitter and a sweet quote came up yesterday morning as I was on the chairlift: "Our doubts are traitors, and make us lose the good we oft might win by fearing to attempt". WWOOOAAAHHH, loved it, and while maybe it is not as heavily referring to "attempts" that may compromise physical well-being, I find it so true that our minds can be our strongest opponents. I feel like a creep on Twitter but it is actually awesome. After the REINSTATEMENT OF CAL LACROSSE YESTERDAY I could follow their first game of the season thanks to Twitter and of course Dave (Cal's best trainer). I am so excited to see how the team does Sunday; everything happens for a reason, its about time the athletic department snapped out of their delirious state and realized what a mistake they made cutting the most amazing group of women the school has. I am so happy for the team!!!!!! Its actually pretty funny, yesterday on the chair lift this kid was going on and on and on about his college and playing D2 lacrosse and kept saying how much he missed it and how weird it was to have graduated... while I could not get a word in edgewise I borderline started bawling thinking about how much I miss being on a team and having those pre-game jitters and high energy warm-ups. Did you guys get the warm-up Mix??!!!??

Dew Tour is wrapping up this weekend and I am hoping all of those beautiful boys hurry back to Breck, they all roll up to the park in RedBull Helmets (I would die to have one) and sticker laden skis... FIRES ME UPPPPPP!!! Not too much to report, still working on an edit to show you what I've been working on out here, this process is so slow, while I am trying desperately to embrace being patient, I swear if one more pro/ coach tells me to be patient I am going to explode!!! Good song right now- Donald Trump by Mac Miller, way chill, its a perfect song to cruise to, I listen to it to calm me down if I am getting frustrated in the park. Best Love Song by Chris Brown and T-Pain is good too!!! Oh and Akon song (Ta) called Wanna Rock... anyone have good new music?? Tak I have a playlist for you. Ok enough mindless rambling for now, off to the old saltmine (hahaha what a joke this isht is heaven on earth) !! Good Luck to the Laxers tomorrow, I'll be getting updates on the chairlift, wish I was out there with you guys :) one last quote (for now)

"The most danger for most of us is not that we aim too high and we miss it, but we aim too low and reach it" -Michelangelo

AW

Thursday, February 3, 2011

Nobody Said It Was Easy

This is easily the most frustrating part of this process thus far. Yesterday I spent a nice long afternoon/ evening at Woodward; the guys that work there are amazing. I am making a move to start training with the Vail Freeride team after working with one of the coaches, Dave, for those 6 hours at Woodward. About 4 of those hours were spent on the tramp, learning flat spins, rodeos, flairs, corks, and some sick grabs for my misty 5 (sorry, most of that is a different language). The coaches there are so patient and laid back but are the best teachers when it comes to attempting to explain these tricks to an overly analytical person like me. While I hate how gradual this process is, the life lesson of patience is something that I am trying to really embrace. Felt like I got lots of the tricks pretty well dialed in and am finally starting to have awareness of my body while in the air trying to throw these crazy tricks. Its aggravating because if you execute the parts of a trick out of order it becomes a different trick entirely. For example, a rodeo 5 is 90 degree turn into a backflip finished with a 90 degree turn, but if you dont do the initial 90 and instead throw the backflip and then a 180 its a flaire. If you head isn't spinning then props, it took me 6 hours to finally begin to understand it. Now add skis and a jump/ foam pit to the equation... well lets just say this is like a 20 step math problem, it doesn't matter how comfortable you are with one little piece because its impossible to be successful without every part being executed perfectly... you have to really know EVERY part to get the whole equation. Holy lame metaphor but hopefully that gets the point across. Got back on the mountain today as the temperature finally broke above Zero and did some laps in Vail on the slopestyle course, its much less crowded so if you try and trick and fall there aren't 8000 people falling on top of you.

Tomorrow will be another full pipe day with a night session back at the "barn" (Woodward). Its insane that the season is half way over already, I'm putting energy into taking advantage of each day and enjoying the experiences I am having and the people I meet while taking care of and listening to my shins. It is such a different dynamic up here, open, blunt, laid back, super honest which rocks; being upfront isn't "dramatic" and mistakes happen, are repeated until that perfect run where you feel like you could float off the mountain. So much support, even people you don't know cheer if you land a trick that had kicked your a** all day. I think the competitive drive I have has been a help especially in overcoming this shin problem and persevering through frustration, but its been nice to embrace a side of me that is much more laid back. I'm discovering that people will come and go in your life whether its on a chair lift or friendship that hits a fork in the road, the only thing you can do is embrace who you are and accept those ups and downs. This book I've been reading called "The Places that Scare You" is by a Buddhist woman and it has been so enlightening, and refreshing. Its about facing adversity and instead of putting up walls, being vulnerable, compassionate, understanding and accepting. I sound like such a hippie but I'm loving every page.

The days are flying by way too fast and its even more overwhelming trying to plan the summer and the next steps. I have not been amazing at staying in touch with everyone but those I have talked to have brightened my days, I can't begin to express how grateful I am to have so much support. Its hard not wanting everything to click right away but the more I'm up here the more I realize that this is what I love, this is what I want to do, and I am not quitting unless my legs fall off. Here's hoping for a productive weekend and finally getting an edit together!!


AW

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Black and Purple Black and Purple Black and Purple Black and Purple



Oh boy, another week at work... rough stuff being on the mountain, really though its getting pretty brutal. Last week I got WAAYY too much speed on a rail (that I literally could do in my sleep) and had a nice fall back to earth onto my face/ left eye. I was wearing goggles and my helmet but the impact really f'ed my isht up. Learning experience right? Ah, whatelse... I am still working on putting together an edit that will really progress as I do throughout the season. I've been really focusing on the pipe, especially after watching the X games. It was a sick year for the women, Sarah Burke returned from shoulder surgery and threw together a sweet run stacked with 9's (2.5 spins) and flairs (kind of like a sideways flip). The weather here has not been very permissible to training with balmy -15 degree windchill and close to -20 on the mountain, thanks to this apocalyptic storm covering 2/3 of the country. Not too much to report, trying to keep truckin' this is definitely difficult mentally and physically but watching the competitions and videos some of the guys put together, it reminds me that this is really what I am meant to do no matter how "tough the going gets". I am going into Vail next week once the World Champs are over in Park City to meet with Jen Hudak's (women's superpipe all-star) pipe coach who now is the director of a club over in Vail... trying to keep options open and progress my progression (redundant much?). Trying to get summer plans finalized also, I am hoping for an internship in New Zealand and if that doesn't work then I am prepared to swim there and live in a tent on Snow Park Mountain to continue training. Aggressive.. how weird!! Anyway hopefully I will have some sick shots to put up soon, the bro was not up last weekend with the GoPro (baby camera that is literally indestructible) so we will get some filming in this coming week/ weekend! Hopefully I won't lose a limb to frostbite this week, warm thoughts go out to everyone!

A

1 more thing... these kids are obviously sick but I can't get enough of this video it is so cool and hilarious... love skiers (its the first video "Joss 2010- Team Canada)

http://tjschiller.com/media/