Mammoth Speed Camp

MammothMountain.Com Shows the Amazing Views

Although my real ski season has officially ended I recently took a little trip to Mammoth, California to ski with the best kids from the western region and send our selves of a jump to get better in the air for the event called Super-G.  We qualified to this camp by doing well at the Junior Olympics.  Most of us were from different states such as Montana, Alaska, Utah (where I live), and California.

My friend and I (shane) flew into Mammoth not know what to expect.  We have never actually met most of the kids at the camp so we didn’t really know what to think of it.  But once we arrived our friend from Nationals was waiting for us in our three story condo that we had to surprisingly three people.  The first day we got there we mostly just go settled in and hung out in our room with the new racers that we met.

We woke up at around seven thirty and took our time to get over and on the lift by eight thirty.  Although the snow was very thin the quality of it was completely fine and made for great training!  For you that don’t know what I’m training for, I am training for ski racing which is when you ski down a steep, icy pitch, and try to get down the fastest while also skiing around gates.  The days were short only about three hours of skiing, the first day all we did was terrain courses which consisted of snow piles that you pump over and try to remain as balanced as possible, and a phantom jump which simulates approaching a jump but leaves out the actual jumping process.  They made the phantom jump to act as a sort of profession the the bigger jump that we were going to hit in the upcoming days of skiing.  The first day after skiing we got undressed and went into our coaches office to watch some simple video for the day.  This only took about fifteen minutes then we were back chilling in the condos waiting for the hike we had to take three hours later.

Three Hours Later

Our fitness coach for the camp gathered us together at three o’clock and took us on a hike in the mountains to see the beautiful views.  On the way up the mountain we threw footballs around and kicked soccer balls around to pass the time.  Once we reached the summit we did some drills on the ladder and the rock wall that we were next to.  After we worked out for a little bit we played a couple games of sharks and minos and began to start to actually know each other.  We then started our way back down to the hotel where we were most likely going to spend the rest of the night eating and screwing with each other.

Thanks To All

Thanks to all that have been reading my blogs lately!  I really enjoy writing about my life for all of you and if my life interests you feel free to give me a follow and if it doesn’t leave me a comment and tell me what bothers you!  Blogging is a really fun thing to do because it gives you a chance to put your writing out there and there really is not limits to blogging.  Before I started blogging only my teachers could really read my writing so it brings me joy to know that people out there can get ahold of my voice.  I haven’t really been doing it very long but so far I have really enjoyed myself.  At this point I have blogged for three fourths of a school year and don’t intend to stop any time soon.

Thanks

 Please feel free to give me some helpful tips and I would like to know if you guys like it more when I write about skiing or just my normal weekends in Park City, Utah comment which one you prefer.  I realized that I have mostly been writing about my ski racing experiences and am going to try to get back into my normal at home life and what it’s like.  I haven’t really been writing about my experiences in Park City because I am never really in town in the winter but now that my ski season over I will be able to deliver some more of my personal experiences with different people and different content.

Follow and Comment!

Also feel free to ask me any questions about ski racing if you are confused about anything at all!  I am trying to reach a couple goals of mine which is to get more page views, followers, and comments!  I urge you to leave a comment about what you think about my blog because it helps me create better material for all of you.  I would also appreciate it if you like my blog to show it to your other friends that enjoy reading about stuff like mine.

Championship Weekend IIII

My chin after slalom run (original)

The next morning after the GS (previous post) was much like the last.  I woke up around six fifteen put on my long johns, sweats, sweatshirt and got all my gear so I could put it in the vans.  After that I went to the continental breakfast and ate eggs, bacon, and cereal and talked with kids from different regions.  I then jumped in the vans at seven and slept all the way up to the mountain which was about a half an hour away.  Once I got up there I put all my stuff on, clicked into my trainers and went up chair lift with my skis on my shoulder.

The Slalom was on the same hill as the GS but it was on the side where there was a sort of side hill that made the run much harder.  I was pissed off for greatness as ray lewis once said and I was determined to win the Slalom.  I had a lot of pressure on me for that run but I didn’t let it get to me.  I stayed calm but focused the entire day and I knew I was ready.  I took a quick slip down the run because inspection is not really needed for slalom.  I then went up to the top and cheered on my team mates until my run.  I was already stripped, warmed up and ready to go.  I got into the gate, bib number fourteen, and I heard all of my teammates screaming my name and I exploded out of the start.  I went into the first rhythm section of the course I completely nailed it, then came the combination nailed it!  Next rhythm section started and I felt a sharp pain on my chin but I ignored it and kept ripping my run.  I was having a perfect run and I knew that I was going to win it.  Here came the finish, the tempo was increasing and I couldn’t keep up with it.  I missed a gate hiked, and then straddled the next gate.  I was infuriated and didn’t know what to do.  I threw my pole with my glove attached and skied into the trees so I could be alone.  I broke my other pole that I had with me on a tree and put my head between my legs in complete despair.  My entire ski season was for that moment and I messed it up.

I skied out of the trees found my dad and talked to him and he said that I was a second ahead coming through the finish which pissed me off even more.  I skied away and got on the lift with a couple random people.  About half way up the lift the person next to me told me that my chin was bleeding, I looked down at my bib and realized that it was covered in blood.  I felt my chin and felt a big glob of blood on the end of it.  I went down the ski patrol shack and had to get seven stitches across my chin.  That was the end to my Championsh** weekend.

Championship Weekend III

Most likely what I looked like

The next day after the Super-G (previous post) was much like the last.  I woke up around six fifteen put on my long johns, sweats, sweatshirt and got all my gear so I could put it in the vans.  After that I went to the continental breakfast and fueled up before the day and talked with kids from different regions such as California, Montana, and Alaska.  I then jumped in the vans at seven and slept all the way up to the mountain which was about a half an hour away.  Once I got up there I put all my stuff on, clicked into my trainers and went up chair lift with my skis on my shoulder.

The GS (giant slalom smaller than Super-G and bigger than Slalom) was located on a different hill and it was super foggy and depressing at the time we were starting. Ski racing in the fog is very hard to do because of speeds and how quickly you have to react and when you can't see it is hard to react fast.  I was lucky enough to be the third person to run the course but I was also very unlucky for that very same reason.  I inspected the course and got just like the day before into my zone.  If you have been reading my last couple posts you will see that ski racing is a very repetitive and tedious sport to listen to and even do at sometimes.  The men were running before the women so I was starting very soon after my inspection.  Once I lapped around the forerunners were in the gate, forerunners are people that test out the course to make sure that it is running okay before the actual racers get into it.  I stripped down to my speed suit, did my movement prep and clicked into my race skis.  I was determined to win this race and I was also prepared.  GS had been my best even all year and I had won two out of the three GS races throughout the year.

Me at previous race (Left, original)

Racer Ready? Ten Seconds… Five… Four… Three.. Two.. I pulled out of the gate.  I was linking my turns from gate to gate, putting all of my body weight onto my outside ski.  I was having a great run,  I got to the first delay (two gates that you ski through) I took a straight line and gained way to much speed through it.  If I could hold onto that speed I could win the race but the forces overcame me and I was on my ass once again before I knew it.  My ski popped off and I was on the side of the run in instant despondency.  I hit my pole on the ground and it snapped straight in half and I skied off cursing under my breath and just about to breakdown into a temper tantrum.  I was completely fed up and was so pissed off which was a very good thing for the next day.  My anger was going to be my inspiration to win the next day which is Slalom.

To Be Continued…