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

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

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/

Grapefruit Juice and Icy Hot

Oooo baby BABY... wondering what the title is all about? Forgetting to wash the icy hot off my hands following its application to my slowly dying shins followed by eating a delicious, ripe grapefruit drowned in sugar was easily not my best decision. However, those throbbing shins were the sign of a good couple of days. Officially I was cleared to ski Monday and obviously celebrated with a few hours of laps in the park. Threw a few straight-airs, mute (crossing one foot over the other and grabbing that foot), tail grab (also crossing one foot over the other and grabbing the ski behind you) nose grab (same thing but grabbing the ski in front of you) and Japan air (grabbing the bottom of your boot/ski) then the usual "backy" (backflip) and some 180's, 360's, and a few rails/ boxes. Whew, good start to the week. Following that day the legs were feeling a bit shakey so yesterday I went over to Woodward (an indoor training facility with tramps, foam pits, and ramps/ jumps) to switch up the training and get back to the foam pit... you know give the body a little less of a beating.

They have a big ramp (about 3 stories high) that jumps you into a foam pit. Started again with straight airs and a really nice laid out back flip to warm up and began getting into the more challenging tricks. Misty 5's are easy on the trampoline and I am finally starting to get the hang of misty 7's (both front flips combined with either 1.5 spins or 2 spins respectively).Well, on skies its a horse of a new breed... the first couple I would start off perfectly then forget to finish the trick, maneuvering your body in the air is a weird feeling, put heavy skis and boots on and you have yourself a challenge.As I got more and more frustrated with that some of the guys who work there (most of them sponsored skiers) wanted me to try doing some corks (spinning off axis, then attempting to land straight up). At that point I was so excited to be talking to boys I said screw it, had them show me what I needed to do on the take off, and just went to the top and tried it. I emerged from the foam pit to three guys freaking out at how “bad” (good bad) the cork 5 was, I think the lack of girls in that facility let alone the ski world made it that much more exciting as well. I feel like I’ve become their project. I tried a few more and as I got tired they slowly drifted from almost cork 7’s to cork 3’s (360). But for the most part, it was a very productive training session and... drumroll... I made some friends, that ski superpipe and are taking me out there today!!! Should be interesting, I am praying I don’t break anything or do anything to embarrass myself.

Lesson from yesterday, Just F’in do it, really though, just had to trust my body and throw the trick as hard as I could and what do you know it worked! Now, getting the trick down may require me to start understanding the trick more; but, the comfort level is going up and I am beginning to feel much more fearless (good and bad thing?). Sooo, off to meet up with the Woodward boys to see what I can do in the pipe!! X games tomorrow, so stoked to see what the ladies are bringing this year, the courses are flawless, should definitely be a good year!

A

AND WE'RE BACK!!!

Thank god, back on the mountain, just got home as a matter of fact and HAD to throw down an update. So I skied in Vail today, its been very windy in Breck and I did not want to be tempted to stay in the park all day. The snow was unbelieveable, honestly I was floating in knee deep powder all day long.... except when I would dip into the train park :) I tried to keep the ratio pretty balanced between all-mountain skiing and the park for the sake of my healing shins. Hit some amazing lines in the backbowls and when the sun finally came out I don't think anyone on the mountain could wipe the smiles off of their faces, the lack of lift lines may have been a factor as well. On to the park! I focused most of the day on the rails and working on staying centered on both boxes (two rails with a little bit of plexi-glass in between) and railes, getting on and staying on has become a lot easier but my dismount is struggling, I feel like a cripple walking off their crutches for the first time, its graceful let me tell you. At the end of the day I started hitting the jumps and the pipe, just to get the feeling back and work on maintaining my center and staying forward on the landing (my previous landings were "backseat" and the cause of the stress reactions). The straight-airs were feeling amazing, it honestly feels like flying, and the landings were getting smoother and smoother... I started to get some confidence back. Sooo, the last run of the day I had done 4 or 5 park runs and wanted to end may first day back with a bang. The long and the short of this is that I landed a backflip on one of the medium/ large jumps!!!!!! I can't even begin to describe the feeling, it was so effortless and easy I swear the hardest part was convincing my body that it was a good idea. Patience has definitely worked its way into my routine, being patient with my legs and actually listening to the doctors was torture but is already paying off. Being patient and smart about the runs I did today lead me to a happily landed backflip on "hardpack" (the hard mound of snow that is the landing on the jumps in the park). Needless to say I feel that I have made tons of progress already and I am ecstatic to get going on this thing. It's amazing how much I feel like I have learned already on and off of the mountain, I can't wipe the smile off my face. Today I floated, spun, grinded, and flipped... A strong mindset can take you anywhere and a determined person will achieve great things. OOHH last thing, watching pretty little liars (guilty pleasure) I saw a commercial for some Justin Bieber movie (wtf) but the song playing in the background "Never say Never" is the isht, I highly recommend it if your into the whole bubble-gum pop, pre-pubescent little boy thing. More updates to follow! X-games in a week

Patience

So my updates have not been as often and consistent as I would have liked thus far but I promise there will be many more to come. The stress reactions in my shins have proven to really be a lesson in patience so while I have been waiting for them to heal I went to Palm Springs with my old club team to coach them in a tournament. Lucky for me Tsher and Nikki were down there (Meredith I'm bitter the third musketeer was not there) and it was amazing to see them. Sounds like preseason went well and Cal Lax is on its way to an unforgettable season. My team won their division in the tournament (surprise surprise) and I have to say being around lacrosse again especially being with those girls made me miss lacrosse and having a team, they are insane together and most of them have already committed to schools; I feel like a proud parent, they gave me a second wind and restored a happiness and passion in me, as they always do whether they know it or not. Now I am back and heading up to the mountains to get these darn legs cleared and strap the skis back on. Since I have not been on the slopes I have been doing LOTS of land training, trampoline stuff with Tommy and building ramps to practice on while I am temporarily suspended from large jumps (Home Depot thinks I am a crazy person). Keeping busy has been difficult but again I am taking this little blip as a lesson in patience, listening and adhering to the doctor's orders is something I am less than good at :) X-games are in a week, I am excited/ nervous to see what the women pull out this year I feel like I am in a really long stressful game of catch-up in trying to get where they are. Soooo, until then just uploaded a little vid of some of the trampoline stuff the bro and I did the other night, nothing too crazy just working on off axis corks and flips, and finally landing my misty 7's!!! (thats a front flip with two twists while off axis, its the second trick on the video, I threw my hands up with happiness). Hope all is well and the new year is treating everyone well! Oh one last thing about the tramp, some of the sections are in slow motion so you can really see the trick and others are in real time, they look sped up and yes I realize I look like a slob.

Lemons

Happy New YEAR!!! Finally its 2011, and while I would love to report that I have been on the hill every day this year I am sad to say that I have not been on the mountain once. Unfortunately I have stress reactions in my shins, the precursor to stress fractures if not taken care of. I guess its a good thing we discovered them early, but still feels like a huge set back and is miserable waking up to sun and snow and not getting to frolic in it. Essentially a stress reaction occurs when we overload training too hard, too fast, etc, the doctors call it "terrible too's" (I would find it funny if I weren't livid). I will be laying low doing pool workouts (joy) and strengthening to keep myself busy until I am cleared hopefully in a week or so. Not my ideal way of starting the year but we all know what a mess my legs are, good news.. the knees are GREAT!! SSaaoooo, I may not have updates for a little while, my bro and I will be building some "jibbing" rails (look it up) down the driveway so that I can work on that since I am not allowed to jump... you know the primary thing I have to do. The X-games this year are January 27-30, the women's slopestyle is at 1:00 denver time on the 27th and halfpipe is that same night at 9:00 Denver time. If your not busy please WATCH IT!! What you will see is exactly what I am going for and why my legs are messed up. What would a sport be without some part of my body rebelling though right? Enough about me though, Cal biddies I know you have pre-season in a couple of days (you are SAAOOO DOPE), I wish all of you the best of luck on the run-test (it may as well be called Voldemort, no one likes to hear that word) and a smooth preseason, it will be over before you know it and then GAMESSSS (girlfight)! Which also means we are closer to being reuinted, I am counting down the days until you come home to me to kick DU's butt (sa-m-na-sa DU)!!!! I miss lax already.... kinda miss the team too. I'll keep you updated on the legs so keep your fingers crossed I can get back on the mountain soon. When life gives you lemons, stay positive, get back, and get done WHATEVER it is you want to do... its gonna be a great year I have so many things to be grateful for and we can only go up from here!

Welsh

ooohhh 4-got 2 tell the lax rats... warm-up CD is being diligently worked on, I'm going to PUMP YOU UP.

Love,