Chicks with Stix Throwdown

The Chicks with Stix Throwdown event is on this weekend at Mt Hotham, with an Under 18's and Open category for both skiiers and snowboarders. Sign up for a fun, relaxed freestyle comp with no pressure and.....prizes!!! Snowboards, bindings, outerwear and goggles are all up for grabs. For more info check chickswithstix.com.au or email chickswithstix.skiing@gmail.com

Deep Down Under

I'm so happy to be back in New Zealand. I've been here a week and a half now, its been great fun snowboarding and catching up with my friends in the beautiful town of Wanaka. We've had a mixture of weather but the last few days have been sunny, warm and spring like.

The pipe has been really good at Cardrona. My first week was quite tiring as we were waking up at 6am to be on snow at 7:30 everyday! The pipe has been closing at 11:30 each morning to prevent it from getting ruined when it gets soft. Despite training being over before lunch we still get plenty of runs in because there is a poma right beside the pipe.

Finishing early every day has left us with plenty of time for activities in the afternoon. Here are some photos of what I've been up to.

Lake Wanaka view from my friends apartment

Rose standing in front of the pipe. Can't see it? We couldn't either. Whiteout!

Wanaka from above on a Mt Iron hike

Icing our legs in the lake after riding

Practicing my sky diving technique

More tramp fun with Rose

Afternoon cruising with Rose

Playground at Snow Park

Cardrona Pipe :)

All smiles at pipe training with Bex

Rose and Dara getting weird

Mt Snow Rev Tour

I've just returned to Breckenridge after a quick trip to Vermont for my final comp of the season. It was the Rev Tour held at Mt Snow and a really important one for me considering I haven't had any great results this year. To compete in World Cup competitions for Australia I needed to achieve a podium result at a Rev Tour, so this was my last chance to earn a spot. No pressure.

The pipe was the worst I've ridden in a long while. Because of the unseasonably warm weather and lack of snow, it got slushy very quickly and there was a serious kink in the wall. 

Despite that training went well and I knew that if I could land my run on comp day I would be on the podium. 

My first comp run I played it safe and did a run I knew I would land, which put me into third position. I stepped it up from there and ended up in second place after my final run. I was stoked! It was a huge relief and I was really happy that I landed all my training and competition runs that day. Now I know that I can do it when it comes down to the wire. 

Its been a bad season for snow. Check the hills in the background. 

Mammoth Grand Prix

This past week I was at Mammoth Mountain for the US Grand Prix. I was expecting sunny Californian weather but for the first five days it was the opposite. Training was cancelled and the competition was postponed day after day due to blizzard conditions. At one stage the wind was clocked at 138 miles per hour!

Finally on Saturday the sun came shining through and it was back to the picture perfect weather Mammoth is known for. We had 50 minutes of training to get a feel for the pipe before our two qualifying runs, it was in good shape but unfortunately I sketched on both of my runs, ending up in 16th place.

After 5 days and way too many hours watching tv, the winter storm gave way to glorious sunshine :) 

If only it had been this nice when we arrived

Northstar

Last week I travelled to Northstar in Tahoe for the Revolution Tour. The California weather did not disappoint, every day was a sunny 40-50 degrees(5-10celsius). Unfortunately at the moment the resort is reminiscent of early season in the Australian mountains, grass and rocks. However they've still managed to put together a fun park and one of, if not the best pipes I've ever ridden.

I didn't do as well as I'd hoped in the comp. I qualified third but then sat down on both my runs in the final, finishing in 6th place.

Pray for snow

Happy Holidays

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! I had a great christmas here in Colorado with my room mates. We had plenty of presents to open in the morning and Janina cooked up a delicious feast for everyone.

Early morning before the crowds

Long lift lines suck

We found this injured coyote in the bottom of the pipe yesterday. I think it had to be put down. Sad :(

Back in Colorado

Today was my first day riding at Breckenridge this season. The last week or so I've been riding Copper which has been great fun, but I was keen to go and check out Breck's pipe. It was good as always so I hiked for a couple of hours to avoid the huge lift lines of holiday makers. Christmas break is not really a great time to be riding but if your willing to hike you get the pipe almost to yourself.

It was snowing when I woke up this morning and continued lightly throughout the day. Were definitely in need of more snow so hopefully it continues for a spectacular white christmas.

Bex getting rid of the lactic acid after riding 

Picking up some nutritious snacks at Super Target