A Memorable Night

A good representation of what it looked like (Norwoodnews)

In this post I would live to throw it back to when one of my close friends was here.  This friend is now gone for a while but we shared many good memories and unforgettable times.  When we put our minds together it was not a very good thing, I say that because we would come up with the most fun idea that could very well end us up in a heap of trouble with both of our parents.  These ideas usually consisted of sneaking out of our houses meeting up and driving around with our other friends going wherever we felt necessary at that moment.  But aside from the generalized story that I told you I would like to point out one memory that sticks out the most in my mind. 

It was around eight o’clock at night and we had just arrived at Main Street which was where we going to spend the majority of our night.  The plan was to go on a hike with our friends and our girlfriends.  That plan changed very quickly, I say this because right as we stepped out of the car we saw a group of men walking by.  Being the loud mouth that I am I started giving them some grief for the fun of it.  The men just shrugged of our comments and kept walking.  We didn’t think twice about it.  We both turned our backs to each other and continued on our way.  Or so we thought, about thirty seconds later we saw the men sprinting after us.  I told my friend to get my back because the men looked pretty pissed off.  The first guy came sprinting after me and tried to get me in a headlock.  I pushed him off of me and started yelling, “What are you doing? I am only fourteen years old!”  This didn’t stop him he got in my face and I got in his.  He swung while I was turned and hit me in the side of the face.  I barely felt it and started laughing at him that he was going to go to jail because my friend was already on the phone with them.  After that statement was made the men quickly started leaving.  Our group then followed them telling them what was about to happen to them.  They split up which led us to split up and I was now with the dude and a girl I know.  He started leaving so I grabbed him and pinned him against the window and waited till the cops arrived.  The cops questioned us and took the drunk adults away to the slammer.  The girls we were with were terrified and my mom was fuming but it sure was a good story to tell!

Unexpected Bro Trip III (continued 2)

Where I should have been (original)

Due to complications the day before we had two races that day.  Super-g is only a one run which makes it harder than all of the other tech events such as GS and Slalom that have two runs each.  I was relived to find that out because that meant that I had another crack at the course.  This time I am going to destroy it and win the run by a second and get back what I deserve, which was what I was telling myself riding up the lift to lap around and cheer on the girls on my team.

One Hour Later….

I sat at the start for a good hour before the boys were getting in the gate.  I was still bib number fourteen and was completely ready for the run.  I had my coaches crank down my dins (what determines how tight your binding is on your boot)  and I was stoked to get out of the gate.  Number one was in the gate and I started getting warmed up and peeled off all of my clothed downy to my trusty speed suit.  I brought my ski over to the pit to get clicked in and cheered on a couple of my older team mates coming out of the gate.  I was finally back in the gate ready to tear the course up!

The start gate worker started the famous phrase, Racer Ready? Ten Seconds…  Five.. Four.. Three I pull out with determination in my eyes and dropped back into my tuck once again.  I passed the first gate, the second, the third.  Bam!  I am on my ass sliding down the flats at the top.  My ski popped off again same foot and everything, I was fuming from the ears and I started hitting my poles on the ground in frustration.  I was so close to the start house that I decided to hike back to the start house.  I yelled at my coach because they did not get my bindings right again, then I stormed off to be alone and clear my head.  My ski season means everything to me and I can’t afford to be popping out of my skis for no apparent reason.

That concluded my disappointing race day and I was left to watch the people that I was planning to beat stand on the top of the podium.  I made my way down all of the cat tracks and runs and ended up at the upper lodge where we were having the awards.  I went inside to get out of my equipment and sat around talking to the other kids on my team about their race day.  The thing about ski racing is that it only takes one mistake to ruin an entire run and we (ski racers) spend so much tie perfecting the sport that it is so devastating to fall in a race scene.  A couple minutes later I had to stand around and watch people get medals.

During the awards my friend Shane surprised me with some great news.  He asked me out of no where if I wanted to go to California with him for the weekend.  How could I not deny such a request!  This lightened my mood and I was from then on stoked to get some sun on my pale white ski racer skin.

To Be Continued…..

Unexpected Bro Trip III (continued)

What I looked like right after my ski popped off

The lodge was nothing extraordinary, it had a lower level with food and a seating area and the same thing on the upper level.  We (my ski team) started putting on our ski stuff on and grabbed some breakfast burritos for the lift.  I was one of the last people to get on the hill because I take my time getting ready.  Who am I kidding, I am just overall slow at starting my day.  Once the process of getting ready was over I grabbed my pack and started my way up the lift.

15 Minutes Later…

After the ride up the chairlift and a ten minute cat track (a flat road used to get around a ski mountain) I had finally made it to the next chair lift which was what took me to the top of the race hill.  When I was sitting on the padded seat of the chairlift I was thinking to myself if I was still capable of winning a speed race.  I was at that time the younger generation of the U16’s I was fourteen while most everyone else was fifteen.  A majority of them had four inches and most likely twenty to thirty pounds on me.  After that thought passed through my head it dropped my confidence a little bit which is a grave mistake in ski racing.  I was then nearing the top of the lift with hesitation on my mental.

Left, right, left, right, delay, left right, jump, this was me memorizing the course.  Ski racers do this so they know exactly what is coming at them and to be ready for anything the hill throws at them.  It also helps me keep my head clear and focused because if I am not thinking about the course then I am usually getting side tracked or goofing off with my friends.  So it helps me mentally and physically in the sport.  The boy were running first today and i was bib fourteen so I had to lap around quick to get warmed up and strip down to my speed suit (the women usually run first in ski racing but this wasn’t the case today).

What a tuck looks like

Racer Ready? Ten seconds…. Five, Four, Three out I go from the start gate.  I drop straight into my tuck to gain some speed before the first pitch (a tuck is when you get low to the ground and put your elbows in-between your knees to stay aerodynamic.  A couple seconds later I was making turns down the pitch.  Left, right, Outside ski pressure! I told myself every turn.  Here comes the money gate (money gate is the most important gate in the course).  I started rolling my ski up onto edge and put all of my body weight on my outside ski.  A couple tenths later I hit a giant hole and my ski popped off.  I was going around fifty miles an hour and I was holding on for dear life so I wouldn’t go into the safety netting that lines the side of the runs.  It is supposed to keep you safe but sometimes I wonder if hitting a tree would hurt less than hitting the safety netting.  Thankfully I stayed on my feet and safely came to stop with anger in my veins.  I let out a f-bomb that all of the spectators could hear.  Once I cooled down a little a went down to my coach to tell him how much BS it is that my ski is popping off under those circumstances.

To Be Continued...

Unexpected Bro Trip III

Super-G Jump

It was around 11:30 in the afternoon when I packed up all of my ski stuff to load it on the van with a destination of Bogus Basin.  It was my first Super-G race of the year and I was stoked to actually get some real speed and get my adrenaline pumpin'.  The drive was about five or six hours through flat, boring, cattle filled plains.  Our team took a grey hound bus there and it smelled like a porta-potty the entire way there.  All of the older kids on the bus were saying how badly put together the race was and how there is always course holds.  Despite some empty doubts I was still so excited to get on my skis in a town other than my own (Park City, Utah).

We finally arrived at the hotel after a couple naps, headaches, and a terrible stench in my nose the entire way.  The hotel was very spread out and big and I could already tell that it was going to be a pain in the butt to get to my room.  I picked up both of my pairs of skis and my backpacks and starting walking up to my room.  It was on the second story and as far away from the stairs I come up then any other room in the hall.  The upside was that the beds were so damn comfortable that I never really wanted to get out of them.  I was rooming with my buddies Shane, and Charlie who I have known for basically my whole life.  Once we got settled in we had to go buff out our skis for the next day and put on all the necessary wax to get our skis as fast as possible.

Next Day

Beep... Beep... Beep.. went our alarm at around 6:30 in the morning and we all groaned in unison.  I stayed in bed for another five minutes while Charlie and Shane went back to the waxing room to scrape their skis that they didn't finish the night before.  I finally got up and took a quick shower to get woken up and started throwing on my ski clothes so I could make breakfast in time.  I had fifteen minutes to get all of skis, poles, and backpacks in the van and get something in my stomach.  I ran out with two skis on my shoulder and a backpack hanging from my arm.  I threw everything into the van and sprinted to breakfast.  Got there with just enough time to sit down for a couple of minutes and eat a couple bites before I had to make my way back to the van.  I got to the van with two minutes to spare and shortness of breath.  Now I had to sit through an hour long, windy road up to the ski resort. I put in my headphone and closed my eyes...

About an Hour and a Half later

I opened my eyes and looked out the window to see what was supposed to be a ski resort.  There was barely any snow to cover the trails.  This took away all of my excitement for the race and I was all of a sudden in not so good of a mood.  Coming from a dry season in Park City right back to another resort with a snow shortage.  After emptying the vans I headed up to the lodge and put on my ski clothes and decided to make the best with what I have...

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