THE CHAMPIONSHIPS WINTER PARK 2012
ably the best day of powder skiing of my life. That was also the year that Bode famously
missed his start in the GS. He showed up and they inserted him right in front me at bib 55.
I had few expectations for the day and I knew he hadn’t seen the course yet. He had probably skied four turns that morning from the hotel tram to the start. Jokingly, I asked if he had
any tips for me. With a straight face he told me that the snow was softening up, that I should
take the gates off my shoulder and not my forearm, and to give each turn room. I was dumbfounded — he hadn’t even seen the course and he had a game plan! I ended up finishing
13th that day, making the podium for juniors, and you can be damn sure I took every gate on
my shoulder. I like how Nationals is a quality race and a fun time. Those two don’t always go
together. Plus, it’s in March, the best month of the year!
Since you are not on the USST, you’ve had to work extra hard to earn World Cup
starts, and your strategies have been successful. Do you plan to continue that?
What are your plans going forward?
Having graduated from Williams in ‘08, this was my fourth year post-college. The first three
years had moments of success but were derailed with injuries, and among other reasons,
I wasn’t able to have the success that I wanted. This season I was able to put in a full prep
period with an amazing training program that I would put up against any other in the world.
The opportunity to work with Team Leever and Peter Lange has been a huge contributor to
my success this year. After the season is over I will sit down and figure out the best situation
for me, but only after the season is over!
How did it feel when you first found out that Sasha Rearick had agreed to let you
take a spot in Beaver Creek this year? What were your initial feelings after you
finished your first World Cup race?
In the fall NorAms, I was the top American among those who were not already racing in the
World Cup, so I would like to think that I earned the spot. I emailed Sasha and Mike Day a
couple of days before the World Cup and stated my case, and they said yes. When I got the
phone call with the good news I had so much going through mind that I forgot to respond.
After the race I was emotionally spent, and I didn’t really process anything that happened
until a few days after the Val d’Isere makeup race. One thing that stuck out the most during
the whole race series was the support from Sasha and Mike. They plugged me in and got
me up to speed seamlessly, and truly wanted the best for me. That was hugely uplifting and
I really fed off of that.
