In the Spirit

Hey guys this is Colin, I am currently at Spirit Mountain in Duluth, MN at an FIS race. As a first year J2 I'm just learning the ropes and trying to get the year going. I'm super ecstatic with my finishes so far this year and how I was able to drop my slalom points down to 75 and GS points down to 105 at the beginning of my first year.

The races are a totally different thing though, what with all the new rules (hiking when you lost a ski and what not) and the depth of competition. One of the most memorable races so far this year was Loc Lomond, Ontario one of the steepest GS hills I have skied on.

School is going great as too, I just finished mid-terms with all A's and am hoping to keep it up.

.)) Colin Vogel

Leave it to Leever: Youth Olympic Wrap-Up

Alex Leever and Mikaela Shiffrin Gettin' the chains on in Austria

Hey everyone, sorry I haven’t been able to write recently. With school, traveling, no internet connection, it has been exceedingly difficult to try to get this blog up, but here it is!

Well, the day is over. The week has passed, and suddenly it is the end of the trip. It was more fun than I could have ever expected, even though it ended a little bittersweet. I gave it my all in these races, and that comes with a certain set of risks. I went 110% in my second run of slalom, and pushed it a little too far over the edge. However, I would like to go in chronological order in these things so I’ll start with Thursday and the GS.

The GS was very technical and pushed my abilities probably a little past my comfort zone. When I say this, I mean that I was put a into a little bit of panic mode instead of just skiing like I know how to ski. The first run especially, I was a little tentative. When someone does something that puts them outside their comfort zone, the natural reaction is for their body to try to bring them back in the comfort zone. In skiing, this essentially means bringing your speed to a more comfortable level. On a couple big turns, instead of laying into it, I did a little stivet (a little speed check). This stivet exponentially slowed me down.

These little things added up to a little less speed, a little less aggressiveness, and a slower time. Some of the better guys that hadn’t finished in the super g crushed this race and went all out. I came down after the first run in 9th, and moved back to 16th by the end of the run. I was a little disappointed in my performance but knew that I would go 100% on the second run. I went up and inspected for second run and slipped the course about 2x as fast as I would normally. I get in this zone sometimes that I just know that the line I take won’t matter I’m just going to ski as hard as possible. It started getting really warm before the second run so they delayed the start a little to put down salt. It was getting really slushy and the conditions weren’t looking too good.

They held the race after the first 10 guys to work the course some more so I was excited to get a cleaner course than I might of otherwise. When I got in the gate, I knew what I was going to do and was really confident in my abilities. I charged out of the gate and skied the top section awesome but lost a little time before going into the flats which really slowed me down.

When I got to the finish I was really happy with my skiing, but the time didn’t really agree. I knew where I lost time so I was confident that I could ski with the top guys if I didn’t make that mistake again. It was generally a really fun day and I was super happy to have been able to live that experience and represent the USA!

.)) Alex Leever

Kyle, Kazui and Sam Report!

Sam Morse and Kazui Kusumi

This past weekend a contingent of the SRD team raced in the Sugarbush FIS Devo GS's. Kyle, Kusumi, and Sam all ripped it up and had some good results.

Kyle lead the pack and Sam Morse had his lowest GS score yet scoring a 68.

The first day was a beautiful sunny day, the second day consisted of a cloudy rain drizzle most of the day. Sam definitely stuck out the most with his awesome bright blue SRD suit.

Kyle the second day continued to do well with a for J2's. Great times were shared on behalf of Kusumi and Morse as they stood and laughed at the bottom of the second run. For Sam had is head in a tight tuck and missed the last gate.

The three of us went to Sugarloaf the following week for some awesome Super-G's. It was Kusumi's and Morse's first FIS Super G's, Kyle had a couple of good days getting into onto the podium for J2's.

This coming week we will be racing Speed Week (DH's) at Sugarloaf, wish us luck!

Below is a Slo-Mo video of Kaz training Slalom.

.)) Kyle, Sam and Kazui!

Winging it at Snow King

Molly second from left, 2nd Place!

Since my last blog, I have had my first J3 qualifier race for Western Region Champs. The race was held in one of my favorite ski towns, Jackson Hole Wyoming. The rustic town is full of great restaurants and is home to one of the best racing resorts, Snow King.

The race consisted of GS on Saturday and slalom on Sunday. It snowed Friday night and Saturday morning so there was a lot of course prep to be done. The snow was very moist and dense so hard to push of the track. My first run placed me in second. The course was relatively mellow with a short run, no steep pitch, and slow snow. My harsh edge pressure and my fail to tuck on the flats were my two costliest mistakes.

Due to the snow, they were not able to re-set for second run, so the course had a few grooves going into second run. I skied the top portion very well but as I was skiing onto the false flats, I tried to grab my tuck at the exact moment I hit the biggest rut of the course. I was bounced out of the course and missed the next gate without having time to react. Do to my speed and the piles of slipped off snow on the hill, I was not able to come to a complete stop till a few gates later so was too far out to hike.

The wet snow froze on Saturday night so Sunday’s snow was superb. On the first run, due to my hips being back, I fell after the hairpin on the first pitch (the same mistake I made both days last year). Without any major hiking to do, I quickly got up and destroyed the rest of the course. My bottom section was so good, I finished the run in third! My second run, I slid out after the hairpin on the first pitch but got back in the course and had set down another amazing bottom section. The racer in first made the same exact mistake on the same gate so I still managed to win the second run by a solid second. With both runs combined, I finished second.

I am now back in Park City and training for the GS race at home next weekend.

.)) Molly Leavens

Burcin's Blog: The FIS Points Chase

Hi Guys, Hope everyone is having a great winter.

I have been very busy racing at many different places. Most recently, I had 2 FIS GS races at Sugarbush, Vermont. I had a good start position both days, just outside the seed at 17 the first day, and starting 9th the second day. The first day I had two solid runs, coming in 15th and scoring a 66. I had some trouble finishing in previous races so it was really great to get back some confidence that I brought into my skiing the next day.

The second day, I had a better start position and took advantage. I had a fast first run and was in sitting in 9th. My second run wasn’t as good but I still managed to score a 60, my best FIS score of my career to date. It was a great feeling to finally put a solid couple races together and bring my points down a bit going into the middle of the season.

Before Sugarbush, I was in Sugarloaf, Maine for 3 days of Eastern Cup races, 1 GS and 2 Super-G’s. Unfortunately, I was charging a little too hard in the GS and the first Super-G ended up with DNF’s. In the 2nd Super-G, I wanted to stand up and get a finish, which I did. I ended up 38th and got a score for Super-G. Overall, it wasn’t a great series but I got some great experience on a tough hill with some great racers.

I am now off to Sugarloaf for all of next week for speed week. We will be doing downhill all week, as long as the weather cooperates. The first day we will be doing speed elements such as jumps and terrain. The next two days I think are training run followed by the last two days being races. It should be a fun week and overall a great experience.

Good luck to all SRD racers and pray for snow!!

.)) Kyle Burcin

In the Swing: At -22 Degrees!

Hey SRD blog readers. I have been racing a lot the past few weeks. Two weekends ago I had a race at Cochran's Ski Area. This is a very, very small mountain. It is not steep so I always have trouble there because of my weight. I came down my first run with a 6th place run, but The next run many people fell so I got a 2nd place run. Christian Gallagher Won the run, and the race overall. I got fourth overall. I was only .03 away from third.

This week I trained a lot of GS, but at Sugarbush we got powder so I got to try out my new Fisher Mavens.

This Monday I had my Burke Mountain race. It was -22 degrees. I got slight frostbite on my fingers. My first run I took fourth. The second run was a very spread out course, and I got 8th that run. I made a mistake coming onto the pitch, and that cost me a lot of time. I got fifth overall right behind David Frisk.

The next day I went to a SuperG camp at Stowe. I practiced SuperG jumps, and short courses. It was fun to have Patrick Gallagher in my group.

.)) Eli Swing