I'll start off by saying the day did not go how Whitney wanted it to. The day started off well, she was fourth in time trials so had a good seeding for the brackets. Later she said she was racing her best all season even though she's fighting off a cold. Things didn't go her way in the semi-finals. She had the hole shot but two riders right behind her both clipped her board at the same time and took her down. She ended up tumbling over, snow in her goggles, and ended up finishing out of the top two which put her in the small final. No chance to better her fourth place finish from the last two years. In the small final there was a dust up (snow up??) at the first turn and she went down again along with others and just didn't have enough real estate to catch up so finished second in the race, sixth overall.
She was super disappointed since she really waned to finish on the podium this year. She knew she was riding well and could have beat two of the girls that were in the final but stuff happens in bx, stuff that's perfectly legal but can take a good rider out which is what happened to her today.
On a happier note, it's been snowing all day today. Pretty snow, not too heavy and it didn't affect the bx race. Not sure how the nordies did with the snow coming down. They have their own issues though - have to watch out for moose on the race course. UMF Athletics posted a picture from yesterday of two of the nordies with a moose in the background, just off the race course. They said they saw quite a few today. Bob and I were talking with a couple of parents from Castleton University and they said the Nordic courses are in an open area, but they aren't using the trails in the woods because of the moose.
Tomorrow is slalom day.
Wednesday, March 13, 2019
USCSA Nationals
Bob and I flew out to Jackson Hole yesterday. Not the best time of year for him to take off but as he said, when she says 'please' you make it work especially since it's her senior year. Besides being super early the flight wasn't too bad and actually I'm glad it was early; later flights hit a lot of turbulence from the massive storm that's in the mid-west right now bringing blizzard conditions to Colorado.
Jackson Hole in winter is beautiful. I'm hoping one day after dinner, since the time has changed and it's light later, we can take a drive up towards the Grand Tetons. Jackson is a cute little town, standing on the mountain near the BX course you're high enough to see how small the town is and the open valley beyond.
So on to racing...Whitney has her BX race today (Wednesday), slalom tomorrow, she's off on Friday, then GS on Saturday. She was helping coach her teammate yesterday at the BX course so she's had a good look at it already, knows the areas to be careful. She said it's a fast course and narrow so only a few places to pass other riders. Bob and I got there in time for the finals of the men's races (snowboard and ski cross) and it was a crazy finish for the snowboarders! They came flying down the last turn and two of them went through the netting into the crowd right before the finish. She said there were a few other places where the turns were tight and riders went through the net.
Yesterday was a pretty bluebird day but there's clouds today, possibly some snow so that could make things interesting. Right now it seems to be holding off but we'll see what the day brings. At least we're on the backside and a bit far west of the massive storm so at least we won't get dumped on.
Jackson Hole in winter is beautiful. I'm hoping one day after dinner, since the time has changed and it's light later, we can take a drive up towards the Grand Tetons. Jackson is a cute little town, standing on the mountain near the BX course you're high enough to see how small the town is and the open valley beyond.
So on to racing...Whitney has her BX race today (Wednesday), slalom tomorrow, she's off on Friday, then GS on Saturday. She was helping coach her teammate yesterday at the BX course so she's had a good look at it already, knows the areas to be careful. She said it's a fast course and narrow so only a few places to pass other riders. Bob and I got there in time for the finals of the men's races (snowboard and ski cross) and it was a crazy finish for the snowboarders! They came flying down the last turn and two of them went through the netting into the crowd right before the finish. She said there were a few other places where the turns were tight and riders went through the net.
Yesterday was a pretty bluebird day but there's clouds today, possibly some snow so that could make things interesting. Right now it seems to be holding off but we'll see what the day brings. At least we're on the backside and a bit far west of the massive storm so at least we won't get dumped on.
Sunday, March 10, 2019
USCSA Nationals Preview
USCSA Nationals is upon us. We were so excited when the possibility of competing in Jackson Hole came up last year. The area is beautiful and the skiing is great, or so I've heard. I can't wait to get out there and see the area in the wintertime. We have been on summer vacations to the Grand Tetons and Yellowstone and I've always wanted to go in the winter. Bob and I will have a rental car so hopefully one day we can do a bit of driving around and see some of the sights.
Whitney flew to Salt Lake City yesterday and they are driving up to Jackson Hole today. Several Nordic racers went with their coach and along with Whitney is another snowboarder and a free skier and their coach. It's kind of unfortunate they didn't have another coach to go along; some of the scheduling is going to make it impossible to have a coach at every event UMF has a racer competing in. The alpine coach and his wife had a baby less than a month ago and he said in the fall that he wasn't going; not sure why the head ski/snowboard coach didn't go, they sure could have used him. They'll make it work, somehow.
Whitney has been racing well all season. Had some good competition at some races, at some races it was just her but she's feeling good. Tomorrow is a practice day and it'll be good for her to get on her board, get a feel for the snow and the elevation and start getting into the racing mindset.
Bob and I are flying out Tuesday morning and will stay for the rest of the competition. It's not the best time of year for him to be taking off basically five days from work but for him, family comes first. This is an important competition for Whitney and since it's her senior year, it's the final time for her. I'm not sure where the last four years went but here we are. Can't wait to see her hit the slopes!
Whitney flew to Salt Lake City yesterday and they are driving up to Jackson Hole today. Several Nordic racers went with their coach and along with Whitney is another snowboarder and a free skier and their coach. It's kind of unfortunate they didn't have another coach to go along; some of the scheduling is going to make it impossible to have a coach at every event UMF has a racer competing in. The alpine coach and his wife had a baby less than a month ago and he said in the fall that he wasn't going; not sure why the head ski/snowboard coach didn't go, they sure could have used him. They'll make it work, somehow.
Whitney has been racing well all season. Had some good competition at some races, at some races it was just her but she's feeling good. Tomorrow is a practice day and it'll be good for her to get on her board, get a feel for the snow and the elevation and start getting into the racing mindset.
Bob and I are flying out Tuesday morning and will stay for the rest of the competition. It's not the best time of year for him to be taking off basically five days from work but for him, family comes first. This is an important competition for Whitney and since it's her senior year, it's the final time for her. I'm not sure where the last four years went but here we are. Can't wait to see her hit the slopes!
Sunday, March 3, 2019
USCSA Regionals
I don't really have much to say about this race. It was at Whaleback in New Hampshire last weekend. Whitney was fast and easily came in first in both GS and slalom. It sounded like it was one of the more poorly run races that she's been to, which was surprising since it was a regional event. They said that they would be using Live Timing, which was great since it would mean that we could see her results. The event wasn't listed and the times never showed up; Whitney said that there were all sorts of problems with timing. We did get to see how some of her alpine teammates did at the regional event at Sugarloaf, also last weekend.
Whitney did well, was happy to have more time racing both events since she hasn't been able to get to many GS/SL races this season but overall it wasn't the best experience.
Whitney did well, was happy to have more time racing both events since she hasn't been able to get to many GS/SL races this season but overall it wasn't the best experience.
Sunday, February 17, 2019
Sunday River BX, Part 2
Today was a pretty day, but colder than yesterday. Yesterday there were pretty flurries falling almost all day; snow that didn't really amount to anything. Today was bright and sunny; not quite bluebird skies but close. Problem was that it was colder and windy. Not much fun when you have to stand on the side of a mountain to watch racing.
Sunday
Today there were fewer racers than Saturday, not by a lot but enough to change brackets around. One reason for fewer racers was that a few athletes were headed to Colorado for a Hole Shot race. Whitney wanted to go but she has to be in NH for a race on Saturday and with travel from Colorado she wouldn't get back in time to get to NH. The other reason was the injuries on Saturday which took out two skiers along with a snowboarder on Friday.
They ended up putting Whitney with the other Open Class rider, a guy, and with a Jams woman, so it was a good race. The guy was bigger and heavier so he got out first and was ahead. Whitney said she had a poor start and was behind both the other riders, almost caught the Jams woman but didn't quite have enough real estate. In any case she got another first since she was the only one in Open Class.
Today was also Senior Recognition Day, which was nice. I'm glad I could be there for her (even if it was kind of lame just because of the venue/race). She's been named female Student-Athlete of the week twice this semester which is very cool. Getting close to the end of the season and her collegiate racing but there's still a month to go and lots of racing between now and April.
Sunday
Today there were fewer racers than Saturday, not by a lot but enough to change brackets around. One reason for fewer racers was that a few athletes were headed to Colorado for a Hole Shot race. Whitney wanted to go but she has to be in NH for a race on Saturday and with travel from Colorado she wouldn't get back in time to get to NH. The other reason was the injuries on Saturday which took out two skiers along with a snowboarder on Friday.
They ended up putting Whitney with the other Open Class rider, a guy, and with a Jams woman, so it was a good race. The guy was bigger and heavier so he got out first and was ahead. Whitney said she had a poor start and was behind both the other riders, almost caught the Jams woman but didn't quite have enough real estate. In any case she got another first since she was the only one in Open Class.
Today was also Senior Recognition Day, which was nice. I'm glad I could be there for her (even if it was kind of lame just because of the venue/race). She's been named female Student-Athlete of the week twice this semester which is very cool. Getting close to the end of the season and her collegiate racing but there's still a month to go and lots of racing between now and April.
Saturday, February 16, 2019
Sunday River BX
This weekend is the Sunday River BX, otherwise known as the Rumble at the River. I realized today that I don't usually come up for the race but it never crossed my mind not to this year. I guess because it's Whitney's senior year and I want to get to as many races as I can (that make sense to get to).
I drove up to Maine on Thursday. The drive wasn't too bad, not too much traffic, and it took just about 12 hours on the dot. Friday was practice day so while it was an early morning to get to the mountain it wasn't too bad. We had time to swing by Java Joe's for coffee since neither Whitney nor her roommate drink coffee. She had a good practice, I hung out in the lodge and watched it snow. I was quite surprised when I went outside and we had gotten about 6" during the day. Whitney had a good practice day and got some help from a Gould coach she knows. She was feeling pretty confident when we left.
Saturday
We got to the mountain this morning and found out that the series directors' son, who was in a crash yesterday had a broken leg and was having surgery this morning. Thankfully we found out at awards his surgery went well and they're on their way home. Fortunately they have co-directors and the day went on mostly as scheduled. They had the usual course inspection, practice runs, riders meeting, time trials, then got on with racing. Whitney did really well in time trials and was over five seconds faster than the other open class rider.
When it came time to racing, Whitney did well and stayed on her feet. There was a moment of fear, she said, when she was airborne and her board was perpendicular to the slope and not heading down it. She managed to get things under control before she landed and was on her way. She finished in first, far enough ahead of the other rider to make her happy.
We hung out on the slope to watch a friend of hers from Massanutten race; he was up here for a bx camp at Gould. There was a bit of a tussle and riders were tumbling in front of us during the heat that had the open class men/jams men/jams women riders. On a not good note, a freeskier was hurt in the same area that the series directors' son was hurt yesterday. The skier goes to UMF but isn't on the freeski team this season so Whitney knows him. He was also taken down by ski patrol and straight to the hospital. From what we heard he's likely got a concussion, something wrong with his wrist and his hip. Hopefully he'll be ok, but I think it's likely a bad concussion. When he was asked if he had anyone there with him he said no, but thankfully the UMF coach was there and said his dad was there.
Tomorrow is another race day, hopefully one where no riders get hurt.
I drove up to Maine on Thursday. The drive wasn't too bad, not too much traffic, and it took just about 12 hours on the dot. Friday was practice day so while it was an early morning to get to the mountain it wasn't too bad. We had time to swing by Java Joe's for coffee since neither Whitney nor her roommate drink coffee. She had a good practice, I hung out in the lodge and watched it snow. I was quite surprised when I went outside and we had gotten about 6" during the day. Whitney had a good practice day and got some help from a Gould coach she knows. She was feeling pretty confident when we left.
Saturday
We got to the mountain this morning and found out that the series directors' son, who was in a crash yesterday had a broken leg and was having surgery this morning. Thankfully we found out at awards his surgery went well and they're on their way home. Fortunately they have co-directors and the day went on mostly as scheduled. They had the usual course inspection, practice runs, riders meeting, time trials, then got on with racing. Whitney did really well in time trials and was over five seconds faster than the other open class rider.
When it came time to racing, Whitney did well and stayed on her feet. There was a moment of fear, she said, when she was airborne and her board was perpendicular to the slope and not heading down it. She managed to get things under control before she landed and was on her way. She finished in first, far enough ahead of the other rider to make her happy.
We hung out on the slope to watch a friend of hers from Massanutten race; he was up here for a bx camp at Gould. There was a bit of a tussle and riders were tumbling in front of us during the heat that had the open class men/jams men/jams women riders. On a not good note, a freeskier was hurt in the same area that the series directors' son was hurt yesterday. The skier goes to UMF but isn't on the freeski team this season so Whitney knows him. He was also taken down by ski patrol and straight to the hospital. From what we heard he's likely got a concussion, something wrong with his wrist and his hip. Hopefully he'll be ok, but I think it's likely a bad concussion. When he was asked if he had anyone there with him he said no, but thankfully the UMF coach was there and said his dad was there.
Tomorrow is another race day, hopefully one where no riders get hurt.
Sugarloaf GS
Last weekend was the first GS race Whitney had the chance to go to since the ones at Massanutten were rescheduled (due to not enough snow), then the ones in New Hampshire were rescheduled (due to a winter storm coming in). She was up and to the mountain early as per usual on race day only to sit and wait. In general there's a lot of hurry up and wait in snowboard racing but this was worse. It was a windy morning at Sugarloaf, the chair lifts weren't running, and the USASA organizers were in a meeting with the mountain operations people. They were hoping to wait it out and see if the winds would die down but they shortly decided to postpone the race until Sunday. The mountain closed for the day it was so windy.
Back again on Sunday and this time things were a go. While GS isn't Whitney's specialty she does really well at it. There were two open class women and Whitney came in first both races they ran. She was happy to get the race under her belt since she has USCSA Regionals Feb. 23/24 and has to race GS and SL there. She's not sure what kind of competition, if any there will be but she wanted to get at least one GS race in before Regionals.
Off to the next race!
Back again on Sunday and this time things were a go. While GS isn't Whitney's specialty she does really well at it. There were two open class women and Whitney came in first both races they ran. She was happy to get the race under her belt since she has USCSA Regionals Feb. 23/24 and has to race GS and SL there. She's not sure what kind of competition, if any there will be but she wanted to get at least one GS race in before Regionals.
Off to the next race!
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