Slope Semi Finals

Cloud cover broke halfway up the mountain today, giving us one of the trips best vistas. I had prayed for good weather for the day's big slope event and, while I doubt the praying had much to do with it, good weather graced the day. No excuses to not throw down. Eric, Makayla and Pheobe were the day's competitors and we headed to the course with high energy.
Sunny weather does not make big jumps any smaller and its a good thing the crew was already familiar with the course. Practice run one went well, but for some reason Phoebe and I spaced on the speed for jump three on the next run. Under the watching eye of Mike Mallon I came up a good 6 feet short and bounced halfway down the landing backside 180 style. Embarrassing to say the least but no damage done. Pheobe made it a bit farther, but the bounce treated her worse. After a quick parts check she was ripping down the hill, chirping like always. Determined not to make the same mistake twice she took out the speed checks next run and overshot two-thirds of the landing, compressing her poor frame. This after nailing her back 3 on jump one. No more laughing and we had to pull her from the comp. While this was a major disappointment to her she handled it with maturity and as I blog she is cooking pasta in the kitchen with a smile on her face. This left the shredding up to Eric and Makayla who stepped up to it for their sidelined teammate.
The girls had one make up run to make it to the semi-finals. At times it seems like Mak and Phoebe are part of the same person which made me concerned for Mak's mindset. I got her into the gate and moved up to a side slope to film the run. Oh my Lord did she kill it! Got it on film too and will try to post it for you. Nothing but style and finesse for Mak. She nailed every rail, grabbed each air, made the landings perfect and ended with a backside 5050 down the down-flat-down box. So sick. She ended up in 9th in a 6 cut, riding against older, more experienced riders. Great job.
This gave me an hour before Eric had to ride. I caught up with Shelby and Jeremy Thompson for a scenic hike to the peak of the resort where we enjoyed amazing views and a few pow turns.
When I got back to the slope course Eric was waiting, ready for action. My writing cannot do justice to the performance he put on today. His practice runs were almost flawless, the only hitch being a small hand drag on his first attempted 1080 in 6 months (off the 60 plus foot 3rd jump). The next practice run was stomped, as was his first comp run. So, Eric's idea of a comp run at this point in his life is: cab 270, 450 out on the flat down, 5050 frontside 180 off the up rail, switch back rodeo 5, backside rodeo 720, to FRONT 1080. The cut was 16 and most everyone who made the cut had their names on the boards they rode (Kass, Torgstien, Chas). Eric ended up in 22nd which he was quite happy with. It was easily the sickest slope contest in history and Eric was right there, up in it. Stay tuned for footage of that madness too.
Under the radar and out of the contest chaos were the Secret Spot Crew. Tierney, Hudson and Hunter spent their day sessioning a top secret spot they had found. From what we hear it was a blast, they have not released the footage yet.