Last weekend we were at Blue Mountain in Pennsylvania for races in the Mid-Atlantic Series. There was one race on Saturday and another on Sunday. We left Massanutten on Friday morning, stopped at home long enough to unpack, repack, Whitney to work, then we were off. One nice thing about the weekend was we got to see one of Bob's cousins. He lives in NY and Blue Mountain is where he boards so he came to watch the races and hang out with me for a bit.
Saturday's Race
The race on Saturday went really well, although it was a really long day! We got to the mountain, checked in, then Whitney met up with a couple of girls she met last year and was off to the course. As it turned out she was the only one in her age group (jams women, 18-23) and there were several other older "singles" as well. They put all four of them together so it was her, a jams man, a master woman (30-39), and a kahuna man (50-59). The good part about this was racing the jams guy, kind of like racing one of her coaches, and as it turned out it was mostly the two of them out front then the other two a bit behind them.
They started with time trials for everyone, even if they were the only ones in their age group. This took forever since there were 72 people registered and they go down one at a time. Once that was done they set up the brackets for the age groups that needed them and started racing.
The three races they did were close! In the first race, Whitney came in second about a board length or so behind the jams guy. The second race was exciting! From where we were standing towards the end of the race we saw the jams guy fall and Whitney catch up to him then it was a race to the finish. With a big crowd watching there was lots of yelling and cheering. When I talked to Whitney after she said that she had fallen just a bit earlier and figured that there was no way she'd be able to catch up to him then he fell. Problem was that he fell on a rather flat part of the course so he had a hard time getting going again. We could see them neck-and-neck over the hill towards the finish but couldn't tell who got there first. Whitney beat him by about a board length! Very exciting! The third race she was just behind him again.
She said that she impressed both the guys she was racing with; they were surprised at how well she could keep up with the younger guy.
Sunday's Race
Another early morning at the mountain but the rest of the day went much faster. Whitney was with the same jams guy and master woman but the older man couldn't make it. Instead their fourth was a senior guy (23-29); he had another in his age group on Saturday but was the only one on Sunday.
It's tough racing against two guys who are older and bigger, but she held her own. On Sunday, she came in third, second, and third. In the second race the younger guy fell and ended up in fourth. In the first and third race, she may have come in third, but she was right on the heels of the two guys. What she found really frustrating was being a girl. She said she had the best start of the four of them but because of their size the two guys were able to get speed faster than she could. In the end she had a really good time, which is what it's all about.
Monday, February 16, 2015
Saturday, February 7, 2015
Wintergreen
The first race of the season was at Wintergreen. We were surprised at the number of people there, almost twice as many as we were used to seeing at Appalachian Series BX events. Probably the best news of the day was that there were four kids from Massanutten competing so a coach was sent along. The other good news is that the course was much better than last time we were there two years ago.
As usual Whitney was the only girl in her age group. She raced with a girl in the next lower group. She did amazingly well! She took off super fast from the start, did not speed check at the first turn, and flew it down the mountain. She didn't really realize how fast she was going until she crossed the finish line and crashed. She overshot the landing for some rollers just before the finish and ended up on the ground just after the finish line. The other girl she was with crashed into the nets at the first turn. When we were talking to her coach after that run, was impressed with her speed and said he heard some of the other competitors comment about her lack of a speed check are turn.
Her second run she took a slight bit slower but was still pretty fast. It helped to have a coach there and she really enjoyed having the other boys from the team there to cheer her on.
As usual Whitney was the only girl in her age group. She raced with a girl in the next lower group. She did amazingly well! She took off super fast from the start, did not speed check at the first turn, and flew it down the mountain. She didn't really realize how fast she was going until she crossed the finish line and crashed. She overshot the landing for some rollers just before the finish and ended up on the ground just after the finish line. The other girl she was with crashed into the nets at the first turn. When we were talking to her coach after that run, was impressed with her speed and said he heard some of the other competitors comment about her lack of a speed check are turn.
Her second run she took a slight bit slower but was still pretty fast. It helped to have a coach there and she really enjoyed having the other boys from the team there to cheer her on.
Sunday, January 18, 2015
Practice Makes Perfect, or at Least Better
The season's gotten off to a good start so far. The coaches have some sort of rotating schedule; still not sure who is going to be the coach at each practice but they've committed to having two coaches there each time. That's nice, it makes it so they can start practice together then divide and conquer so to speak. From what I hear, usually part of the team goes to the park to work on skills there and the other part heads to the top of the mountain to work on a different set of skills. Surprisingly Whitney has been going to the park recently. Some nights she has a choice, sometimes she doesn't. I asked her about it and she said she's working on her jumps/landings and in her free time she's working on other skills (carving, speed) on the mountain. She rode with Scott one night last week and she said that he was surprised at how much better she's gotten since last season when he saw her (he had knee surgery just after Christmas last year and hasn't seen her ride since then).
She's signed up for the first Appalachian Series BX at Wintergreen next Sunday. There's at least one boy from the Massanutten team signed up and there's two more thinking about it; looks like there's a good chance a coach will be going along with them. I'll need to talk to them about that. February will be a busy month with lots of racing, then we head into March, the end of the season here but Nationals are on the horizon at the end of the month. Snowboard season always goes by fast!
She's signed up for the first Appalachian Series BX at Wintergreen next Sunday. There's at least one boy from the Massanutten team signed up and there's two more thinking about it; looks like there's a good chance a coach will be going along with them. I'll need to talk to them about that. February will be a busy month with lots of racing, then we head into March, the end of the season here but Nationals are on the horizon at the end of the month. Snowboard season always goes by fast!
Sunday, December 21, 2014
It's Early Still
So now she's got a few practices under her belt and she's feeling it. She spent her summer outside, very active, but apparently snowboarding uses different muscles than hiking, biking, and horseback riding do. The coaches have been pushing her, which is good, and she's feeling it. She was pretty sore last Sunday and a visit to the chiropractor helped, especially since he gave her some good stretches to use to help her stiff legs.
Now she just needs to get on the slopes more often. She's been down for three practices and except for a few runs after practice, she hasn't spent much time on the slopes. She'll be able to spend a lot more time there after Christmas, we'll be down for the week plus after Christmas. Not all the time will be on the slopes, but there will be plenty. The first competition isn't until the end of January but she's got a long way to go to get into competition shape and be ready for it.
To add an interesting twist to all this, I've decided to get back on a pair of skis again after 20 years. Bob and I skied quite a bit before the girls were born, but hung up the skis for several years. He started working with the youth at our church and one of the things they did was go on a day ski trip in January every year so he started skiing again. When the girls were old enough, even though they weren't youth, he took them with the group. That was the first time Whitney was on a snowboard and Sarah gave skiing a try. They've enjoyed it since. The last few years I've been the one taking Whitney to her competitions and mostly I can hike up the mountain to watch her but there's a few resorts where the race course is pretty high up and not easily accessible unless you're on skis or a snowboard so I've decided it's time to get back out there. The other thing I realized I missed was the view. I really like being on the top of the mountain surveying God's creation. I loved taking the lift up in Colorado and besides watching Whitney race, just taking in the view was amazing. It's not quite the same here on the East Coast, but it's still pretty spectacular. We went to the Fall Fest at Massanutten a couple of years ago and were able to ride the lift up (then hike back down, the line for the lift down was long!) and the view was pretty great. So I've got a pair of skis at the ski shop, hopefully ready to pick up tomorrow, apparently a helmet and goggles are under the tree, just need to get a season pass and I'll be set. Hopefully I'll be able to walk after my first day back on the slopes.
Now she just needs to get on the slopes more often. She's been down for three practices and except for a few runs after practice, she hasn't spent much time on the slopes. She'll be able to spend a lot more time there after Christmas, we'll be down for the week plus after Christmas. Not all the time will be on the slopes, but there will be plenty. The first competition isn't until the end of January but she's got a long way to go to get into competition shape and be ready for it.
To add an interesting twist to all this, I've decided to get back on a pair of skis again after 20 years. Bob and I skied quite a bit before the girls were born, but hung up the skis for several years. He started working with the youth at our church and one of the things they did was go on a day ski trip in January every year so he started skiing again. When the girls were old enough, even though they weren't youth, he took them with the group. That was the first time Whitney was on a snowboard and Sarah gave skiing a try. They've enjoyed it since. The last few years I've been the one taking Whitney to her competitions and mostly I can hike up the mountain to watch her but there's a few resorts where the race course is pretty high up and not easily accessible unless you're on skis or a snowboard so I've decided it's time to get back out there. The other thing I realized I missed was the view. I really like being on the top of the mountain surveying God's creation. I loved taking the lift up in Colorado and besides watching Whitney race, just taking in the view was amazing. It's not quite the same here on the East Coast, but it's still pretty spectacular. We went to the Fall Fest at Massanutten a couple of years ago and were able to ride the lift up (then hike back down, the line for the lift down was long!) and the view was pretty great. So I've got a pair of skis at the ski shop, hopefully ready to pick up tomorrow, apparently a helmet and goggles are under the tree, just need to get a season pass and I'll be set. Hopefully I'll be able to walk after my first day back on the slopes.
Friday, December 12, 2014
We're Off!
Massanutten opened Thanksgiving weekend and the first team practice was the following Sunday. By the time last Sunday rolled around though, a lot of the good snow had already started melting. They had some really nice cold weather, blew a lot of snow, then it warmed up. The report I got from Whitney was that the slope conditions were kind of dicey, bare spots, thin snow. They closed during the week and now that it's gotten cold again they've been blowing snow and it looks like things are good for this weekend.
There's six kids on the snowboard team this year and at least one of them is planning on competing in boardercross with Whitney. He was going to last year except he broke his arm in the trick part after practice just before Christmas and was out until mid-February. There's going to be a rotating group of coaches, which could be interesting, but there will be two at every practice. Hopefully that means that they will divide the group up either by skill level or interest or some way that will let Whitney and Alec improve the skills they need to compete and give the other kids time in the trick park or to improve their riding skills.
It is really (really) nice to have a house down there. Both Whitney and I enjoyed being able to sleep in a bit and leave at 8:40 to get to practice on time. Way better than having to leave home at 6:15 to get there! We will enjoy that aspect of having a home down there all winter. I'll also like not having to drive home two hours after the weeknight practices. That makes for a long day.
There's six kids on the snowboard team this year and at least one of them is planning on competing in boardercross with Whitney. He was going to last year except he broke his arm in the trick part after practice just before Christmas and was out until mid-February. There's going to be a rotating group of coaches, which could be interesting, but there will be two at every practice. Hopefully that means that they will divide the group up either by skill level or interest or some way that will let Whitney and Alec improve the skills they need to compete and give the other kids time in the trick park or to improve their riding skills.
It is really (really) nice to have a house down there. Both Whitney and I enjoyed being able to sleep in a bit and leave at 8:40 to get to practice on time. Way better than having to leave home at 6:15 to get there! We will enjoy that aspect of having a home down there all winter. I'll also like not having to drive home two hours after the weeknight practices. That makes for a long day.
Saturday, November 22, 2014
It's time!
It's been cold in Virginia this November! We've been to Massanutten a few times recently and they've been busy blowing snow. They opened the tubing adventure park this weekend for tubing and hope to open next weekend for limited skiing. This will be two years in a row that they've been able to open Thanksgiving weekend. Amazing!
We had our snowboard team meeting on Thursday night and Whitney is really looking forward to getting on the slopes again. They've sort of restructured the snowboard team this year and hopefully it'll work out better than things did last year. The first practice is scheduled for Dec. 7 so the time is almost here.
We've already scoped out the scheduled BX competitions by the local-ish USASA series and have our weekends planned. Looks like we'll be traveling every weekend from the end of January through February. The only weekend there isn't a competition is the holiday weekend in February. After that if she does well enough, there may be a late season trip to NH for more practice then out to Colorado for Nationals again. Looking forward to the winter! Whitney is especially stoked that there is a BX at Massanutten this year in February. She's also excited that it's looking like there's a good possibility for snow on her birthday next week. What a present that would be! Here's to another great season of snowboarding.
Tuesday, November 4, 2014
Back to Snowboarding
Summer is well over by now and the bike is put away until we find some new adventures next year. It's time to turn our thoughts to winter, snow, and hitting the slopes. We've got lots of exciting news around here. The biggest is probably that we bought a house at Massanutten. Bob and I have talked off and on for years about buying a vacation home. Usually the discussion centered around getting one in New Hampshire but realistically it didn't make much sense. We wouldn't get up there nearly enough to enjoy it and it would be a pain to rent from 500 miles away. After a lot of looking we found a small house that we can afford and enjoy at Massanutten. We'll be spending a lot of time down there this winter and renting it next year when we aren't down there. It's close enough for us to enjoy a lot and it's in a four season resort which should make it appealing to other vacationers.
The Appalachian Series has put out the schedule for the winter. At first we were slightly disappointed, the only BX race was at Wintergreen at the end of January. Whitney really didn't like the course when she raced there two years ago and wasn't looking forward to going there again. We just found out tonight that more races were added and they're going to be at Massanutten. It will be awesome to watch Whitney race there! I'm glad Chad was able to go out to Colorado with us in March. He got to see Whitney in action racing but also was able to connect with the directors of the Appalachian Series and make the race at Massanutten happen.
So it looks like we'll be at Wintergreen at the end of January and at Massanutten at the end of February. I need to keep an eye out on the Mid-Atlantic Series to see when they're racing BX at Blue Mountain. Whitney liked their course/mountain last year so if it works out we'll probably head up there again. We may even try to head to Holiday Valley if they do a BX race there (it'd be cool to see Niagara Falls again in winter).
Since we have the house at Massanutten, it looks like I'll be hitting the slopes again. Bob and Sarah both ski and since I'll be down there with Whitney a good part of the winter I might as well see if skiing works like biking - once you do it you don't forget how. I skied a lot in high school and college but it's been a long time since I was on the slopes. Bob took it back up again a few years ago when he started taking the youth group skiing so I guess it's time for me to get back out on the slopes.
Right now we're waiting for the snow to start falling (several inches in North and South Carolina and a foot in Maine don't count, we need snow in the Virginia mountains). It's time to tune up the snowboard, check out the other gear, buy a new helmet for Whitney, and start planning our winter. We have the snowboard team meeting later this month, practice will start once the snow falls or it gets cold enough to make snow and the resort opens for winter, then it's time to work hard with the goal of going to Colorado in March again.
The Appalachian Series has put out the schedule for the winter. At first we were slightly disappointed, the only BX race was at Wintergreen at the end of January. Whitney really didn't like the course when she raced there two years ago and wasn't looking forward to going there again. We just found out tonight that more races were added and they're going to be at Massanutten. It will be awesome to watch Whitney race there! I'm glad Chad was able to go out to Colorado with us in March. He got to see Whitney in action racing but also was able to connect with the directors of the Appalachian Series and make the race at Massanutten happen.
So it looks like we'll be at Wintergreen at the end of January and at Massanutten at the end of February. I need to keep an eye out on the Mid-Atlantic Series to see when they're racing BX at Blue Mountain. Whitney liked their course/mountain last year so if it works out we'll probably head up there again. We may even try to head to Holiday Valley if they do a BX race there (it'd be cool to see Niagara Falls again in winter).
Since we have the house at Massanutten, it looks like I'll be hitting the slopes again. Bob and Sarah both ski and since I'll be down there with Whitney a good part of the winter I might as well see if skiing works like biking - once you do it you don't forget how. I skied a lot in high school and college but it's been a long time since I was on the slopes. Bob took it back up again a few years ago when he started taking the youth group skiing so I guess it's time for me to get back out on the slopes.
Right now we're waiting for the snow to start falling (several inches in North and South Carolina and a foot in Maine don't count, we need snow in the Virginia mountains). It's time to tune up the snowboard, check out the other gear, buy a new helmet for Whitney, and start planning our winter. We have the snowboard team meeting later this month, practice will start once the snow falls or it gets cold enough to make snow and the resort opens for winter, then it's time to work hard with the goal of going to Colorado in March again.
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