Jackson Hole II

Jackson Hole Tram

Click.. Click… go my skis as I push towards to first lift to get up near the race course.  Everyone is treating this race as a sort of training race so to speak so all of the racers are having a lot of fun in the lift line.  My friend had his speaker in his backpack playing some pump up music all of the people were hootin’ and hollerin’.  The lift ride was around five minutes long which led us to another lift which was about the same.  Like I said in the earlier post right as I got off of the chairlift I saw the run that we were racing on that I know so well.  Seeing the start gate and all of the officials and coaches gave me the jitters but not the scared jitters more of the excited jitters.  Everyone took one or two inspections and then they were left with a couple hours of free time while the hill was prepped.  I bet you can guess what I am going to go do, yah that right go ski the fresh foot of powder that fell the night before for us.

Aydon, Trey, Cassidy and I (ski racer friends) walked up to the tram which always has powder full fun all the way down no matter what.  Although we were all stoked we had to stop at the notorious waffle shack at the top of the tram.  After a quick pit stop we were off shredding down, face shot after face shot and cliff after cliff having the time of our lives.  One thing that I really like about the tram is that after you finish one amazing run it leads down the cat track to another assortment of terrain to choose from.  At the end of a tram lap you have skied at least four or five runs all together and you have that sweet burn deep inside of your legs.  That is what I feel skiing should be like, whatever you want right in front of you and endless fun to experience.

Once the exhilaration and excitement left our bodies we realized that we had to go race!  Jumped on the two four seater chairlifts and got in the mental zone for our runs that have yet to come.  Although this race did not have a lot on the line I still like to practice getting in the right state of mind before a race run.  It was only half an hour away and the energy in the start gate was unreal…

To Be Continued….

Jackson Hole

Corbet's Couloir (famous run)

Recently, I traveled to Jackson Hole, Wyoming for my frist ski race fo the year!  The race was originally supposed to be held in Park City (my home town) but we did not have enough snow on the race hill to host this race.  Which is why i had to travel to Jackson Hole.  I was very excited at this news because Jackson Hole is my favorite ski resort I have ever been to due to all of the challenging terrain and endless powder every time I go there.  It was around seen in the morning and I loaded up the ski gear and settled in for the long six hour long drive to the big Jackson Hole!

Due to my restlessness the drive felt like three days!  After a couple naps and a lot of junk food later I was at the parking lot of the Jackson Hole ski resort.  We had to train right as we got there so we had absolutely no time to unpack our clothes or anything just straight up to the slopes.  After entering the lodge I was flooded from memories from the races from the years before which raised my mood even more and got me pumped to get on my skis!

20 minutes later

I reached the top of the apres vous lift and saw the run that we were going to be racing on that weekend.  There was a couple other teams that were also training on that run at the time and we set our course right next to theirs.  The temperature was around ten degrees and we had to strip down into only our speed suits which was completely and utterly freezing (one of the down sides about ski racing).  After a few training runs we were packing up and heading to the hotel rooms to get unpacked and prep our skis for the upcoming race the next day.

12 hours later

It was around six fifteen in the morning when our alarm went off and my roommates and I (Shane and Charlie) struggled to get out of bed and get ready for the day before us.  We were supposed to go on an early morning run and warmup for the race but we decided that would nt be beneficial (we were wrong)….  Moping around slowly getting our ski clothes on eating as much food as we could fit in us before it was time to leave which was only in around half an hour at that time.  Of course we were the last kids out to the van and the only kids that didn’t go on the morning run so our coaches were not to happy with us at that time.  We hopped in the van and were on our way back to the legendary mountain for some real skiing and racing!

To Be Continued…..

Bro Trip II

Shane Carlos and I (original)

My dad had just recently bought a place in the one and only Solana Beach, California and wanted me to come down to the beach with him and bring along a friend.  Since my other friend Shane already was going to Solana that weekend (to his house that I visited a couple months before and wrote about in my second blog post) I brought my other very close friend named Carlos.  We have known each other since sixth grade due to mutual friends and sports and have spent a lot of time together since then.  I asked him at the very last minute to come to California with me and to my surprise his parents allowed him to accompany me on “Bro” Trip number two!

Half of Park City, Utah seemed to be around our whereabouts when we were in Cali.  Shane, Livi, Cameron, Raeah, Lance, and Finn were all in about a 2 hour drive to us.  So maybe I exaggerated a little bit not half of Park City but six of our friends were near us.  This added some excitement to the trip because if we didn’t find any girls or friends that I met from the trip before we could hang out with some of the Park City kids that were also visiting Cali.  We hopped on the plane the next day and flew for about two hours and landed only about 15 minutes outside of Solana.

We then found ourselves fifteen minutes later right on the beach in a very cool condo and within walking distance of my other close friend.  Carlos and I immediately put our swim trunks on and went for a short swim in the ocean.  It was very refreshing to get back into the ocean after being away from it for so long.  Although it was revitalizing it tired both of us out so we walked over to the famous local burrito shop named Robertos.  To our surprise we found Shane there with his two younger sisters.  Although we were both planning on seeing each other there it was out of complete chance that we saw him at that time.  We then made plans with shane for the night and went back to the house to shower and go to they gym (which we never actually got around to).  The night ended up to be a bust and we just stayed at shames neighbors house and watched a movie bu the next day was going to be full of adventure.

We woke up around 8 o’clock that next morning and felt compelled to go jump into the ocean for a couple of hours.  Equipped with boogie boards and skim boards we marched down to the beach for some fun.  Carlos and I are both not very educated in the ocean area and we ended up floating out in a rip tide.  Being blind from what was happening for around an hour we realized we were very far out and couldn't get back in.  I knew some about this and starting swimming diagonally out of the rip tide which thankfully got me back onto shore.  Although I was back on the beach Carlos was stuck out there for another good half an hour and we got it all on film!!  This trip was short lived but filled with fun and adrenaline!

Turning Point III

Super-G Fall

The big run was only an hour away.  I was taking laps on Eagle inspecting my course for the next run.  The course seemed like a great set but there was one slight problem.  First of all I had the jitters and second, the weather was getting very hot and was melting the snow making it very soft and this could cause some big ruts.  This started to get into my head and I kept thinking more and more about what would happen if I were to fall.  I decided to take my mind away from my run by taking some runs on my own just free skiing; this seemed to do the trick because my mind was cleared and my confidence was back.

Only minutes before the run I am taking off my warm up pants and jacket getting ready to jump into the start gate.  I am in the pit getting the snow clicked off the bottom of my boots so my ski doesn’t eject while I am going down the hill.  All that I am thinking to myself is,”I am going to win, I am going to win.”  I was more nervous than all of my other runs which worried me but I shook it off and skied down to the start.  Ten more racers ahead of me getting ready for their chance at the win and I looked at them all deciding their fate.  Three racers ahead of me didn't finish it worried me and my coach also gave me the heads up that the snow was really soft and easy to loose edging on.  All of my observations were getting into my head and taking my mind off of what I actually was supposed to do.

I got into the gate my mind was wandering, I was thinking all of the wrong thoughts at the absolute wrong time.  “Racer Ready?” said the gate keeper, “3… 2… 1… GO!”  I pushed out of the gate as hard as I could trying to build up as much speed as possible for the first gate.  I was around 5 or 6 gates in and the snow under my ski gave and I leaned in; my butt was on the ground and I was sliding out of the course to wrap up my first loss for that race.  I was very disappointed and was hitting my poles on the ground on the side of the run.  Well you can’t win em all can ya.

The Turning Point II

Ski Racing Championships #2

Aksel Lund Svindal (favorite ski racer)

Advice: If you are a new viewer of my blog I would recommend reading the post before this because this post is adding onto my previous post of last years ski racing championships that I attended.

The next morning it was a little hard to get out of bed due to all of the lactic acid building up in my legs from yesterdays shocking run.  Although I was sore I was still ready to rip it up and get another win under my belt.  Once again,  I did the same routine which is eating breakfast, stretching (a little bit more because of the soreness),  and last but certainly not least getting into my mental zone.

Twenty to twenty five minutes later

I began the what seems to be trek up to the lift from our team room.  I also put in my music once more to stay in that "mental zone".  Today was much warmer than yesterday which worried me.  When the weather gets too warm it melts the snow making it slushy and hard to grab an edge while going down the race course.  Despite the slushy snow I had to stay positive and believe that I was going to win.  I decided to take a couple runs on the upper mountain to keep my mind off of the dissolving snow (this was a very bad idea and will show later).

One hour later

Click Click... Click Click... "Ok you're ready Ben get in there!" said my ski coach Darryl.  I just kept telling myself that I was going to win and that I had to keep my head in the game.  At that exact moment I didn't feel that I was mentally ready.  This also worried me along with the melting snow that I could observe from the start.  I had to stop thinking about that and tried to keep my mind off of ski racing for the moment.  It seemed to be working and I got into the gate with a clear mind.  Racer Ready? 3... 2... 1... Go!!  Pulled with all of my might out of the starting gate pulling towards the first gate.  The snow still felt surprisingly firm to what I was observing from the start.  I could actually feel my edges grabbing in the snow and didn't feel any ruts in the line I was taking (a rut is basically a hole that forms from the earlier skiers).  The set of the gates was fairly easy that run and I got the luck of the draw pertaining to the snow and ruts.  I passed the finish with once again a winning run!  This time the gap between me and the second place finisher was about a second and three tenths.  I was completely and utterly astonished by this finish and to be honest didn't think I could achieve that but since this was GS I still had one more run to go....

To Be Continued

The Turning Point

Ski Racing Championships

Ted Ligety #1 in World (Park City local)

I am not only a Park City teen that screws around with friends on the weekends but a lot of my time is also spent on the ski slopes or the gym trying to be as fast as I can going down the race course.  I have ski raced for my whole life and the sport of ski racing has been passed down the generations.  I am going to tell you a story about most likely one of my highest achievements I have reached.  Last year was the record-breaking season for me and I am going to tell you about the last race I was in that led me to the big leagues for my age.

I woke up very early in the morning, around 5 or 5:30 so I could get a good breakfast, stretch, and try to get my head in the right place to win.  Once I got the breakfast down and felt mentally/physically prepared I got in the car and went up to my team room to put the ski clothes on.  When I arrived I was greeted and told what my bib number was.  I made sure to put in my music so no one approached me before my run.  I like to do this because it keeps me from messing around and also keeps my focus on my run.  After all of my ski clothes were on and my skis were prepped I made my way up to the lifts for inspection. Before every run ski racers side slip down the run to inspect what the terrain of the run is offering and to plan their line for the run.  This only takes 30 to 45 minutes and after that I either go in to the lodge to warm up or I ski around the resort to try to get in some turns before my run.

Super-G Run #1

Racer Ready? Three... Two... One... GO!  I pull out of the start gate as hard as I can, get in as many skates as I can before the first gate comes.  Building up speed getting into my tuck trying to find as much speed as possible coming around the first couple gates to build up speeds for the upcoming flats that get so many people.  I cross the flats rolling over a bump coming onto the next pitch.  I have to get my direction so I don't miss the next gate and once again prepare for another long flats.  I nail it I am carrying more speed than I have ever!  Transferring my weight ever so slightly so I can keep this speed going.  I am almost at the bottom one more pitch to go and I am home free.  I shoot over the last pitch getting out of my tuck and arching down the last face.  I can feel my skis bending around each gate perfectly.  2 gates to go, grabbing my tuck once more and crossing the finish line.  I throw my ski sideways to stop in the finish line.  I try to listen closely over all of the screaming parents and skiers for my time and if I was in first or not.  A couple second later I hear, "Ben Lawson coming through the finish a second and half ahead of the second place finisher!"  In the ski racing world a second and a half is a life time.  I was so completely exhilarated and happy with my finish but that was not the end.  I still had to GS and Slalom to do in the following days of the race.

                                                                 Ted Ligety Super G Run

To Be Continued

The "Bro" Trip

The "Bro" Trip

Solana Beach, California (original)

I have been friends with a kid that goes by the name of Shane for my whole life.  We spend basically every waking moment together whether it is hanging out with friends around town, or skiing on the slopes.  I see him every single day no matter what.  Well this year his amazing family decided to take me to their beach house with them.  Shane and I were so excited to finally take a trip together to beach.  We have traveled to countless ski resorts together but we finally were able to go surf and hang out with the famed California girls that he talked about so much!  The flight was only about two hours long so the day we got there we still had daylight to waste.  Once we arrived at his house we put our stuff in the room we were staying in and went over to his neighbors  house to say hello.  He has had the house since he was little so he is sort of considered a "local".  His neighbors house is stunning and kept us occupied for that day so we did not have the opportunity to do what we do best.  Which is either getting the girls numbers or of course getting into some type of trouble.

The next morning was a gorgeous one to say the least.  Most likely around 80 degrees and completely clear skies.  Which meant we had to get in that early morning surfing session.  Shane is a very good surfer where I am a complete amateur.  Although I used to spend a lot of time in California I was to young to start to surf.  Once we got a little fatigued we packed up and walked up the stairs that lead back to the road.

After we got cleaned up a little more we went down to Main street to try our luck and get some numbers.  There is a famous burrito shack named Roberto's in Solana Beach that every local knows about and is a very popular place for kids our age.  We saw a couple girls that we were interested in and decided to build up the courage to go and talk to them.  After a couple minutes of talking we got their numbers and told them we would call them that night.  This was the beginning of our long night.

It was still mid day and we needed to occupy ourselves until the night which was when we could hangout with these very good looking girls.  We had one of the local kids named Chris to call around and get us a ride to a beach called marine street, which is a beach break (waves break on the shore).  We decided to go there because the beach has very big waves and we would like to take pictures to post on social media.  This took up those hours and we had tons of fun while doing it.

45 minutes later

It was finally time to try our luck with these girls!  I gave them a call waiting for them to answer with anticipation.  A couple rings later we here a faint, "Hello?"  Not knowing who it was we explained who it was and when they met us and if they would want to come meet us at the stairs that lead down to the ocean on what do you know Ocean Street.  They agreed and told us they were going to get ready and meet us there in 15 minutes.

15 minutes later

They arrived right on time and told us what they wanted to do.  Didn't ask us but told us!  This took us by surprise but we did as they said and took them down to the beach to just talk (boring) and that was exactly what happened.  That was the end to the not so eventful night that we were so sure was going to be the night of a life time. 

Ocean Street (original)

The Construction Site

The Construction Site

Construction Site

Hi, my name is Ben.  I am a teenager from Park City, Utah.  I am going to be telling you the tales of my hectic weekends.  To start, most of my weekends throughout the winter consists of skiing with my team, or racing with my team around the United States.  Besides from that, the rest of my weekends are spent with friends doing, in some cases, ignorant, foolish, fun, activities around Park City. 

I am going to start the tale a couple months ago when a couple buddies of mine and I were tromping around Main Street on a warm day over the summer.  We started out the day getting out of school and heading over to the city bus to get to the top of Main Street.  Whenever we hangout at main street we usually spend some time in the local Quicksilver with a couple of the employees we know until we decide it is time actually do something with our day.  At that point we wander down the road looking for something that will drain the time away or give us a good adrenaline rush.  On this particular day it was a building that was under construction.

We saw this building and all decided we should go check it out.  We circled around the building until we found an open stairwell we could get into the building from.  After finding that we wandered around in the building until we hurt a voice yell up at us.  The aggravated man screamed, "Hey what are you doing up there?!"  Everything stopped dead in their tracks and looked frantically around for an exit.  I spotted another stairwell across the room for which we all started stealthily running over to.  The problem that faced us at the moment was that we did not exactly know where the voice we heard came from.  So we were out of the frying pan and straight into the fire.  I went first down the flight of stairs very slowly listening to every little sound I could.  Once I got down about 3 flights of stairs I heard footsteps advancing up the stairs very fast.  Once again we all looked at each other which hopeless eyes.  A friend of mine named Lance found a large drop we could jump down to a fairly soft landing which was on top of bags of sand.  Being the only option we acted quickly and leaped out of the building.  A couple of us got the wind knocked out of us but overall we were ok and made it out of the building in one piece.  That was only the tip of the ice burg in our journey through our precious teenage years.