After a day of all day snow and a foot of new powder on Saturday, the day started off with a bit of fog on the top of the mountain then cleared up to be a sunny, beautiful day. The groomers worked hard on the course to have it in shape for day 2 of racing. It seemed like a very different course today because of the snow conditions. I helped again at registration and Bob was a gate judge again.
Whitney was the only one in her age group but she didn't get her chance to race with the boys. There was a girl in the open class so Whitney was paired up with her. It was nice to have someone to race against since on Saturday Whitney was the only one to race by herself. Racing against someone in the open class was good for her, gave her a chance to see a small piece of the competition if she moves up into the open class next year. Whitney beat her in three of the four races so that was good. She'll have to spend some time on the course at Nationals when the women's open class is racing to get a feel for what she wants to do next year. There's been some changes to the rules about open class and now she's not sure if she should move up or not.
All in all, it was great to have the races at Massanutten. We only heard good things about the time and effort they put into building the race course. There was nothing anyone could do about the snow (which was actually pretty awesome) or the power issues that cut Saturday's races short. Hopefully there will be more races at Massanutten in future years even if Whitney won't be competing there. Maybe if her college schedule works out right she'll be at home for Massanutten races, otherwise she'll be up in Maine racing.
We're moving into the in-between time now. We're in New Hampshire for our February vacation and there's only one week of practice left once we get home. After that we'll be at Massanutten as often as we can be and as long as it's open for more practice before we head to Nationals at the end of March. Then it will be time for rest and recovery before moving on to spring and summer pursuits.
Thursday, February 26, 2015
Saturday, February 21, 2015
The weekend we've been waiting for is here!
We're finally here, the weekend of the Massanutten bx races. We've been waiting for a long time for this and it's totally been worth it! According to Whitney the course is awesome. We got almost a foot of snow today which made things really interesting.
This morning I helped with registration, a small peek behind the scenes. Bob was a gate judge and had a good view of part of the course. For the second race I helped at the start. Ellen, the series director couldn't make it back up the mountain because of the snow, so I did her job.
As usual Whitney was the only girl in her age group but today she ended up racing by herself. There were four older guys who were grouped together but they said tomorrow they would put her in with them since they were only expecting three of them.
From talking to one of the other competitors, they really liked the course. They said it was the best one the Appalachian Series has had in years. I know since Whitney has been competing the courses have ranged from pretty bad to good, but this is one of the best she's been on except at Nationals.
As for that crazy snowfall. Wow! It started and just didn't stop. Early it was fun to ski in, but later it was almost too much for me. Our house lost power early in the morning but later in the day the resort was having problems. They finally shut down the chair lifts because of power surges; they didn't want to have anyone get stuck on the lifts. I'm not surprised, the wind was kicking up pretty good as well; it would not have been fun to either be stuck up there or have to use plan b to get down. Because the lifts shut down they only got through part of the second race. They are going to finish in the morning then move on to the next two races. Hopefully tomorrow will have better weather.
This morning I helped with registration, a small peek behind the scenes. Bob was a gate judge and had a good view of part of the course. For the second race I helped at the start. Ellen, the series director couldn't make it back up the mountain because of the snow, so I did her job.
As usual Whitney was the only girl in her age group but today she ended up racing by herself. There were four older guys who were grouped together but they said tomorrow they would put her in with them since they were only expecting three of them.
From talking to one of the other competitors, they really liked the course. They said it was the best one the Appalachian Series has had in years. I know since Whitney has been competing the courses have ranged from pretty bad to good, but this is one of the best she's been on except at Nationals.
As for that crazy snowfall. Wow! It started and just didn't stop. Early it was fun to ski in, but later it was almost too much for me. Our house lost power early in the morning but later in the day the resort was having problems. They finally shut down the chair lifts because of power surges; they didn't want to have anyone get stuck on the lifts. I'm not surprised, the wind was kicking up pretty good as well; it would not have been fun to either be stuck up there or have to use plan b to get down. Because the lifts shut down they only got through part of the second race. They are going to finish in the morning then move on to the next two races. Hopefully tomorrow will have better weather.
Monday, February 16, 2015
Blue Mountain
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.
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.
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.
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