Wednesday, November 28, 2012

2012 Fall Camp Hits the Ground Running In Colorado

     Every season is work but this past fall in dryland training was perhaps the most complicated and challenging beginning I can remember as a coach. We are moving on and have made it through to the time of year we all come together for...SNOWBOARD SEASON! The trip out was long as usual and not without a hitch but we made it through that long day as well. We are fully housed and comfortable in the Telemark Lodge at Copper Mountain and loaded up with our various seasons passes....(some have Epic, some Summit local and Copper while many just have Copper and everybody has their Woodward pass thanks so much to our most faithful supporters!)
    Ian's Crew rode Keystone today where the famous triple line opened up. The Am Crews, Development, Speed and Style Crews all rode Copper. The halfpipe almost made it open today but not quite which is just fine because we had a great tune up on the Copper Slopestyle course and the acreage of hardpack. Real Winter Snow, some fun jibs and a near perfect 25-30 foot table top kicker to get the season rolling. Each group had their own similar but different approach. My crew ran pretty focused on the jump for most of the morning and I was impressed with how they adapted, for example...
Noelle tweak o' the nose. Ladies first!

Thomas O Cab 9
Thomas O'hara had a head start by riding Park City all week over break and took full advantage. Nasty and near flawless cab-nines to prove it.
Tanner Barrett was held off snow for shoulder and hip rehab last winter and he is savoring every opportunity as well getting right back after his backside rodeos, front sev's and even a nine. Peter Dimitriou is a rail demon and working the front and backside spins to bring his jump skills up to the same level.
Peter D back three.
Noelle Edwards is walking the fine line of pushing the limits of a back to snow protocol from ACL surgery. Awesome work using a long warm up to get herself clearing the table to tranny landing first try. We wrapped up the snow day with a brief but full carving progression on on sharper halfpipe boards in prep for tomorrow and the season ahead....I saw a nasty method out of Evan Werner and detailed edging work going on with Jay's crew...The Speed and Stylers were training that kicker like it was january behind Ross and Scotty tells me Taiaroa Tait's Method tweak is folding around like doubled! Elite crew skated Silverthorne after Keystone...Ross' gang already went to woodward....Dwaine has just led the entire crew off to study hall and I'll meet them at woodward fot he six-oclock sesh. So it goes. Enjoy the photos! DT is sending me more for a second edition to be updated later and of course there is tomorrow and...Thanks again.
The view from the left- cab nine

Monday, November 12, 2012

Wrap Up

Tag zusammen! A busy contest week has come to a close and with one day left in Austria it’s time to reflect. After two days of powder riding at Planai we reported for duty at Dachstein. Graduates Hunter Wood, Eric Beauchemin, and Phoebe Novello joined Biba, Ezra and Serena to complete an aggressive squad. The contest set-up was a two-jump line into a rail option. The jumps were sizeable and took a slight toll on the minds and bodies of a crew pushing hard to get tricks back on lock. With only one day of practice before qualifiers there was some inevitable pressure to perform. 180s, 360’s, 5s, 7s and 9s were landed, regular and switch. Eric has been in Austria riding for the past month and was clearly ahead of the game. This would become glaringly evident by the end of the weekend. Qualifiers went smashingly with Hunter Wood and Serena Shaw both qualifying second into Semis. Top 3 qualifiers received cash prizes which is always nice on an international mission. Serena landed a switch 180, backside 360 combo on the jumps and Hunter went back 7, double backflip. Biba landed her first run of the year which included a backside 360 on jump 2.
The next day brought the forecasted high winds. The start time was pushed back and semi’s were changed to finals. Serena landed her first run which landed her in a respectable 7th. Hunter’s first run was an easy top 5 but he went a bit to big on jump 2. Eric Beauchemin took top spot by 3 points with his first run, a rodeo 7, front 7, 270 on and off the rainbow rail. The winds had held the riders off the big side of jump 2 and as run 1 drew to a close there was talk of calling the event. A brief break in the wind led them to start dropping the men for run 2 and Hunter was ready to put himself in contention. Three men dropped before gale-force winds forced a submission. The call was bittersweet as Hunter didn’t get to shine but Eric walked with an easy victory. He became the first American to win the Pleasurejam in its 10 year history.
The wind swapped out for rain for our last two days, making those original pow days seem like some strange dream. Schladming keeps us busy with shopping and food until our departure tomorrow. It was a great trip filled with new and old friends. This trip has become a tradition and Austria is becoming familiar to us all. Our German is improving and it gets harder to get on that plane home each year. Board the plane we will though, and the thought of Thanksgiving in the states has us all eager to rejoin American loved ones.

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

More of the Same

Another day of powder. What a great way to start the season! I feel like most years our first runs are through a park, not the best way to start the season (albeit fun). Long runs through pow of all manifestations really set the tone for the year. Our legs have been tested and the powder muscles seem to have been developed already (Redden may have a roll in this).
Contest prep starts tomorrow and I am so glad to have a few days of stress-free riding under our belts. On a side note, Hunter Wood has been a pleasure to reunite with. Eric Beauchemin arrives any moment, which will be another treat. Now if we could just run into India!

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Alps Mit Powder

As you can see from Serena's photo above, we arrived to some sparse conditions here in Austria but we went for it anyways. Grass gives a great basegrind and our outerwear looked way too new anyways. Its hard to travel so far, with so much excitement to ride again, only to get core shots .
The kids handled the situation well but I could tell that they were hoping for some early season powder...
Or some small backflip jumps...... Or perhaps even some street-style rail to session...
OH WELL, PERHAPS TOMORROW! Loving this crew.