Maybe this week!

It's been another slow start to the season. It was very cold at Thanksgiving, the ski area made snow, but it has long since mostly melted. Thankfully we're in another cold snap and they've been making snow like crazy. It looks like they're going to open for skiing on Monday (12/24) and should have practice on Wednesday. If there's no practice, Bob and Whitney will be heading further afield to find skiing for the day. Hopefully she can get in some practice time with the coaches since she'll have a competition pretty quick in January.

The start line is in sight!

It's getting colder outside, some of the sort of nearby mountains have had snow, and a few semi-local ski areas are open for the winter. Massanutten didn't get any snow from Superstorm Sandy, but they hope to start making snow very soon, with an anticipated opening date of Dec. 8. We'll see!

We had the parent/information meeting for the snowboard/ski team on Saturday. The good news is that the snowboard coaches are back and were happy to see Whitney there. So far she's the only girl on the team but you never know what will happen. Last year there were two, but Whitney was the only one who came regularly.

I've already been checking out the USASA schedules. There's a BX competition at Wisp in January that we're planning on going to. I'm still waiting on the Mid-Atlantic Series to post their schedule, the mountains there are close enough that we could make a weekend trip up to compete. I also need to take a look at Southern Vermont and Massachusetts to see if there's any BX competitions that will work with our vacation.

She's got the gear (well, as of her birthday on Monday), her team coat, coaches, season pass, everything she needs to hit the slopes except the snow. Hopefully that will start falling and blowing soon!

Hurricane Sandy

We were thankfully spared much of Sandy's wrath yesterday and today. One of the things that did happen was some crazy blizzard warnings and snow out in West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and the Shenandoah Mountains. I just looked at Massanutten's web cam and there's snow on the higher elevations and it's been snowing all day. The ground must be pretty warm though since there's nothing on the ground towards the bottom of the slopes. Hopefully this is a good sign of things to come this winter.

The team meeting will be the middle of next month, the Appalachian Series is already starting to schedule competitions, snow is falling, we're getting closer to snowboard season.

Getting closer!

Yes, I know it's only early September but we're getting closer to winter and snowboard time. I just saw a post on Facebook tonight that Copper Mountain is going to start making snow in 18 days. It's going to be a lot longer before they start making snow on the East Coast. The weather is getting cooler and the days shorter which means that cold weather and snow making is coming. Pretty soon I should get an email about the team meeting in November and practice will be starting up in December. It'll be another year of trekking to Massanutten then we'll see what happens after that.

Season Wrap Up

Well, snowboard season is over. I looked at the Massanutten webcam earlier and there's only a few spots of snow left on the slopes. Spring has really sprung around here. The cherry trees are in full bloom, flowers are coming up, grass is growing. Dreams of winter are all that we have left for a while.

A few thoughts on the season....we went in not really knowing what we were getting into and ended with plenty of knowledge, especially knowing we'll be back next year. This was kind of a "trial" season, seeing what the team was about, trying out a competition to get a feel for that and also to see if boarder cross was really what Sweet Pea wanted to do. Turns out it is. The season went well, the coaches were great, Sweet Pea learned a lot from them (and I learned a lot from her!). She enjoyed the competition and knows what she needs to work on next year. I'll be spending some time this fall mapping out what competitions we're going to hit in the winter. We'll be heading further out, up to Camelback and maybe another one in the Poconos, possibly trying to work our trip to NH in February to coincide with a competition up there. We'll definitely hit Whitetail again.

This was at the end of the season. The girls and I played hookey one day from our obligations at home and went down to the mountain. It was a warmish day, but nice for skiing/snowboarding. There was only one practice after this and it was a fun one with a team picnic after to use up the food at the concession stand/grill. Sweet Pea got the "Girl Power" award from her coaches (they're so creative!).

She also got her birthday present early. We hit up the ski shop when we were returning her rented board and bought her one, her early birthday present. I think she would totally change the colors if she could - she's not really into white and pink - but it's the type of board that she needs so she went with it. We picked it up yesterday, it's got the bindings on it and has been sharpened and waxed so it's ready to go come winter.

Enjoy your summer! I'll be back with more musings when we see some flakes of snow falling.

Playing hooky...

We got back from New Hampshire last week. Sweep Pea was pretty tired and her leg was still hurting so she skipped practice last Thursday. It ended up being the last weeknight practice. Massanutten switched to their late season schedule which meant they closed at 5 on weeknights. She did go last Saturday and had a good practice.

Monday we got some flurries here but Massanutten got several inches. Only problem was that we couldn't get down until Thursday. Thursday we decided to play hooky, skip school and bible study and go play in the snow. We took Rosie Jane with us and the two of them went skiing/boarding for the day.

Today was the last practice for the season. Massanutten is closing for the season tomorrow. Good thing since it's going to be in the 70s most of the week. Today was a fun practice, they played some games and just had a good time. When they were done their shortened practice, there was a cookout at the Mid-Mountain Grill, which usually supports the ski and snowboard team. Today it was a picnic to clear out the leftovers from the season.

I had a chance to talk to the coaches for a bit. We were looking for some advice on buying a snowboard for Sweet Pea,. It's actually her birthday present but we may get it now since the current season boards are on sale. We'll see what the ski shop still has for her when we return her board next week.

Sadly, A No Go Today

Today didn't really turn out as planned. My lunch date cancelled because she's sick. Sweet Pea cancelled her boarding today because her leg hurt. She's really disappointed since they were going to go to Okemo and she was looking forward to that. Guess there's always next year. I do think she's now spoiled, she realized again how small Massanutten really is and she likes the bigger mountains. She really enjoyed it yesterday at Mount Sunapee and it'll be back to the small stuff Thursday night. I guess it'll also be back to the chiropractor next week.

New Hampshire Boarding

We're in New Hampshire for a short vacation, something we do every year at this time. Today Sweet Pea and Rosie Jane went skiing/boarding with their uncle at Mount Sunapee. The weather was good, not too cold, the slopes were good, although a bit icy in a couple of places. Sweet Pea said it was a good day, a chance to board on a bigger mountain than we can get to at home. They mostly stuck to the intermediate slopes today since Rosie Jane isn't good enough for the expert slopes up here.

Mount Sunapee is a place I have good skiing memories. Years ago, my grandparents lived in NH not far from Mount Sunapee. Bob and I were married and my aunt and cousin were up to visit my grandparents. We took my cousin skiing for the day and had a great time with him. We came home with some funny stories to share with my family. I'm just glad I taught Bob to ski and he enjoys it. Now it's something he can share with his girls.

What a Crazy Winter!

OK, this probably has to be the craziest winter in a long time. It's been pretty warm most of the winter with a few cold spells and only a very few really cold spells that don't last longer than a couple of days. Most recently, there was a southern snow storm that came through. We only got about 1/4" here but Massanutten got 4" of snow. That was on Sunday afternoon. It's now Wednesday and it was 68* here at home when we left, cooler when we got to the mountain, but still! I did see some snow left in the mountains on the shady side but that was about it. At least there's still snow on the ski slopes, at least for a few more weeks. I think once we get to March, the weather is going to warm up pretty quickly and the end will come fast. At least it's been a pretty decent season considering the warm weather that we've had; the resort was able to make snow and keep it on the slopes. Sadly all good things must come to an end and while this may have only been a good season, we're rapidly closing in on the finish line.

Taking a Break

Seems like we're taking a little break from snowboarding right now. Sweet Pea went to practice on Wednesday and Thursday last week but took the weekend off. We had family in town and she was staying up way too late to get to Massanutten in good time on Sunday morning. She'll be there on Wednesday and Thursday again this week and won't be back again until the following Thursday. We're taking a trip to New Hampshire to visit my sister-in-law and we usually get to play in the snow and do some cool stuff, but not this year. They don't have any snow right now so I'm not sure what we'll do. I do know Sweet Pea and her uncle are going to hit the slopes at Okemo a couple of times while we're up there. I know she's excited about going to a bigger resort with lots more slopes. She laughed this morning when I told her they had 88 of 112 slopes open! Massanutten only has 14 slopes (and no, not all of those are open). I know she'll have fun on the bigger mountain for a couple of days. When we get back there will only be a few more practices until the end of the team season and hopefully we'll get down there a few more days on her own to just enjoy snowboarding before the season is completely done.

Another day, more 80s music

So I'm hanging out at Massanutten's lodge again while Sweet Pea practices, listening to the 80s music they have playing. It's so much better than the two hours of 70s music I got last Thursday! Actually, whatever satellite station they have on is exactly the kind of music I listened to back in high school.

We're getting towards the end of the snowboard season. It's been quite the crazy winter, really warm, hardly any snow. The mountain has done a good job of making it every chance they get and keeping the slopes in pretty good shape, considering. I think Sweet Pea will be glad for a rest when it's done. She's been pushed pretty hard this winter, doing a lot more boarding than she ever has and she's starting to feel it. She still really wants to be at practice, but is just as ready to hit the road home when it's done. One more week then we (the girls and I) are hitting the road to New Hampshire. We'll do some visiting but she'll also be able to get in a couple of days at the slopes. And we just got her board waxed and the edges sharpened so she's set to go.

Spring?

We're just back from another practice. When we left this afternoon for the slopes, it was almost 75* here, nice and sunny. The good news is that it was only 60* at Massanutten and overcast; still warm but better down there. Sweet Pea said that it was most definitely spring skiing, slushy and slow. She still had a good night of practice - they worked on 360 Alley Oops and she did awesome and landed them all. Her coach told me that she's really learning about getting "soft legs" under her and getting her landings much better. Always a good thing to perfect!

I think she'll be ready for a short break soon, she's been doing lots of boarding plus since it was so nice yesterday she rode her horse. She's getting a little tired from all the go-go-go and her legs were really tired tonight. Besides all the regular slope stuff they did, one of the lifts was down and they ended up walking partway up the slopes. She said that they were at the top later and went partway down and walked back up. Sounds like lots of uphill walking tonight!

She's still really enjoying snowboarding. I think she's learning lots from the coaches, they're giving her good guidance from what I can tell. She gets a little tired of the boys and their gossip but she puts up with it, especially when she can beat them on the slope!

Whitetail BX

We're home from Whitetail and the BX weekend. We had fun, although it was a long, cold weekend! Sweet Pea and I drove up to Hagerstown Friday night, which was a good thing since they got 2" of snow then freezing drizzle. It was not much fun driving to Whitetail from there, it would have been so much worse (and stressful) trying to get there from home. She did great on Saturday (see yesterday's post for details). They changed the course overnight. The tight curve at the top that caused many crashes yesterday was smoothed out a bit but they added some jumps/bumps further down. I think both courses were a challenge for her, especially since she's never done this before.

Today there were three girls in her age group. The first run was not bad, although she fell. She had a pretty spectacular fall on the second run today and ended in third in both races. She received a second place medal yesterday, the pretty snowflake, and a third place medal today, the bronze circle.

It's back to practice this week. Now she knows what she needs to work on, landing jumps and speed among other things. Her coach has some video to watch so he can help her. I think she's decided to use this experience to build on, get in more training this year, and wait on more competitions for next winter.

Awesome job, Sweet Pea!!

Boarder cross at Whitetail

Today is what all this driving has been about. Sweet Pea competed in her first boarder cross competition this morning. She joined USASA and is a member of the Appalachian Series. This weekend is the only BX in the series. There's others in different series, but they're not really very close to us.

Today was a good experience. It was her first time racing and it sounds like she learned lots! She now knows the things she needs to work on - rollers, big jumps, the corners. I got some o.k. video of her so hopefully it'll help her coach see where she needs help.

There were two girls in her age group. Since Sweet Pea fell twice on the first run - once at the top on the curve and again going over the big jump and once on the second (big jump), she came in second both times. Since this is her first time doing this, good for her. Plus she got a really cool snowflake medal for second place. I'll post a picture tomorrow night when we get home. We're doing this all over again tomorrow, only this time Rosie Jane and Bob will be here to watch.

Injuries, Every Mom's Fear

As a mom, I worry about my girls. Every mom worries about their kids. Since my daughter has decided to take up a couple of sports that can cause serious injuries, I try really hard not to think about it too much.

She has had a love of horses since she was little, really little. Sweet Pea wanted to start riding lessons from the time she was 2 years old! We found a wonderful farm when she was 4 and she started taking lessons in the spring when she after she had turned 5. She was so little when she started! Her feet couldn't reach the stirrups unless they were super short; her feet didn't come below the saddle when she first started. Now she's on a much bigger horse, rides well and enjoys being a recreational rider. In the back of my mind I see Christopher Reeve, first as Superman, then riding, and later in a wheelchair from a serious riding accident.  I don't think of him often. Too scary to think about something like that happening to my daughter.

So as she got older we encouraged her and her sister to try snow sports. Although I grew up in Virginia, I learned to ski in high school at Massanutten (funny how things work out) and also at Ski Liberty in PA. When I got married to a man from New Hampshire who had never skied, I took him to the slopes. He's really enjoyed it as well so we encouraged the girls a few years ago to give skiing a try. Sweet Pea decided that she wanted to try snowboarding and Rosie Jane decided to give skiing a try.  They both like their chosen sports. One thing Bob and I have always required from them when biking, and now skiing/snowboarding, is they must wear a helmet. No ifs, ands, or buts about it, no helmet, no bike. To be on Massanutten's ski and snowboard teams, the athlete must wear a helmet, not optional there either. And again, as a mom, I see the famous people who have died or been seriously injured skiing, most not wearing a helmet.

This was brought to the fore again recently with a snowboarder and a freestyle skier in the news. Kevin Pearce was a competitive snowboarder with Olympic dreams when he hit his head on the lip of the half pipe just over a year ago and suffered severe brain injury. He is well into his recovery but won't be doing any more competitive snowboarding. He just recently was allowed to get back on the slopes. Two days ago Sarah Burke, a Canadian freestyle skier, was injured training for the X-Games and is in a medically induced coma. We are praying for her recovery.

These kinds of injuries, while rare, prey on a mom's heart, stuff I try really hard not to think about. When Sweet Pea was getting more serious about snowboarding and we started talking about it more, I told her that the half pipe was out. She actually has no interest in that or even in the trick parks at the ski areas. She's all about speed, so it's boarder cross for her.

Since we live in Virginia and this has been the winter without snow, the ski areas are covered in man-made snow. This is not the nice powdery stuff you sometimes find in New England and always have out West; this is, especially this winter, more icy bits. Fine for skiing, not so fine when you fall, your shirt comes untucked and you slide down the hillside. Sweet Pea now has a nice "snow burn" on her hip from when she fell Thursday night at practice. If this is the worst thing that happens to her, I'll be one happy mom.

Another day, more snowboarding

So it's another day and we're at Massanutten for practice again. We didn't come yesterday since it was raining. Not a fun day for snowboarding! Today it was about 65* when we left home but it is much cooler down here at the mountain. It's also overcast, a sign of the cold coming.

Pretty darn quiet here in the lodge tonight. I'm sure the weather has something to do with it. Rain all day yesterday and very warm today...not a good combination for keeping snow on the slopes.

So while I'm killing time here I was looking at Facebook and saw all sorts of reports of the snow they're getting in New Hampshire today. Sure wish we'd get more real snow. We had some nice snow the other day but it's gone now, been way too warm again. It's going to get really cold over the weekend so they'll be able to make more snow and cover the grass. Again. Hopefully sometime soon it'll get cold and stay cold.

Coming up is Sweet Pea's first opportunity to give boarder cross a try. This is what all this driving and the practices are for. There's a competition at Whitetail Mountain in Pennsylvania in two weeks. She's going to enter and we'll see how she does. No big expectations for this year; it's more for the experience of it.  That's the only boarder cross competition that's close to us this year. Maybe next year, after she's had a year of the team and teaching under her belt and the Whitetail competition, we'll venture further out and head to the Poconos for a couple of the boarder cross comps there.  Or maybe we'll time our NH trip to coincide with a competition up there.  We'll see.

At the lodge

Here I am, hanging out at the lodge again tonight. Both girls came down yesterday - Sweet Pea had practice and Rosie Jane came down to ski and test out her new ski pants. It was one of the coldest days we've had this winter and very windy as well. They were bundled up enough that they were fine but they were still happy to stop at Panera for hot chocolate. Tonight, it's just Sweet Pea for practice.

It sounds like she had a good time last night, although I didn't hear much about what they did. More slopes are open now, so they can do more. She said that she got to ride the lifts up once with both coaches and they got talking about boarder cross competitions. One of the coaches is going to send out a list of local ones, but the only close one I've found is at Whitetail. There's a couple that are a bit further away but we may save those until next year. Or maybe we'll see how the one at Whitetail goes and make our decision then.

Twenty more minutes then we can hit the long road home.

Baby, it's cold outside!!

We've finally got the cold!  Sweet Pea had her second practice on Saturday, New Year's Eve. It was a shortened practice since it was still warm and they only had a couple of slopes open.  From what I heard it went well, she learned some new stuff, was teased by the boys (she's one of two girls on the team), and had a good time.  She boarded for about an hour after practice then decided that the slopes were just too sloppy.

Since then, it's gotten COLD. They've been blowing snow since Sunday night and plan to continue at least through Thursday. After that the weather is going to warm up a bit again. They should have quite the base by now and will have more slopes open by tomorrow. Unfortunately, the next practice is tomorrow night. It's supposed to be about 25* with some nasty wind chills. Glad I'll be waiting in the lodge!  So practice tomorrow night, again Thursday night, then Saturday morning.  That one should be much better, it'll be cold in the morning but I think all of them are going to head down.  Bob has to work at the grill and Rosie Jane is going to ski. It's supposed to be nicer later in the afternoon so they should have a good day.