MRI's, PCL's, LCL's and more!

(Some serious early rise speed skis!)

Recently I have been training a lot on snow in Vail Colorado. I was surprised to see that the snow coverage here is remarkable. We have been able to run full length GS courses for over two weeks now.

About a week ago I was in a pretty serious SG crash in which I destroyed my brand new skis. To be honest I was more worried about my skis after I crashed, then my aching knee. I ended up in the hospital, where I had to see a knee specialist and get MRI's. Apparently it's not to serious, just loose PCL and LCL ligaments. The doctors told me I would probably only miss two to three weeks on snow, which was actually quite a relief considering I almost wasn't allowed to ski the rest of the season. I then decided to ignore my doctors and I got on snow 4 days later. It probably wasn't my smartest decision, however, my knee feels strong and I'm feeling well.

Tomorrow is the first FIS race of the season and I hope to place pretty well. Last year I started 133rd and moved up to 28th. This year I want to place in the top 20. I'm excited to get into race mode again and start lowering my points. My goal for the season is to get a top 5 at J2 Nationals, and hopefully get my GS points down to about 45.

Thanks for the opportunity to race for SRD again this season.

 .)) Alex Barounos

Barounos' Blog

Just finished the last FIS races of RMD season, and overall, I feel like it’s been a decent year.

In the beginning of March I went to J2 Nationals in Maine, along with 5 of my Steamboat team mates (2 girls and 4 boys). The weather was pretty rainy, which is something we are not used to here in Colorado.

A bunch of races got cancelled, but it was still cool to be racing against a national field. I got 12th in one run of GS, and 20th overall, which I was pretty happy with since I’m a first year J2.

Today, I got 3rd as a J2 at the Breckenridge Surefoot GS. It was really awesome to be racing against some World Cup athletes like Will Gregorak, and some of the US D Team men. I was a bit worried, because I’d tweaked my knee a week ago during high speed training in the soft Spring snow. Spring in Colorado is weird, because we’ve still got lots of snow, but it’s super sunny and everyone gets sun burns.

Our mountain Steamboat is closing this coming weekend. The only race left for my season is the Loveland Derby, which has been going for about 50 years now. I’m crossing fingers for a good result there, and I always have a good time at the Derby.

.)) Alex Barounos

Barounos' Blog

Following the holiday season the Lowell Whiteman School in Steamboat Springs, CO has been on it's skier schedule. It is really helpful for us student athletes that our teachers are ok with us leaving school early every day to go skiing. They also are very flexible with homework and makeup assignment.

Also, on the skiing side, things are looking great as well. I recently qualified as an automatic entry to J2 Nationals, which I am very excited for!! It begins on March 4th, starting with men's GS and goes through March 11th (I'm not sure what the order of events are).

I would be training hard and preparing for Nationals, but in Steamboat there has been massive amounts of snow. We received over 40 inches of fresh powder in four days! It was also frighteningly cold for about a week long period. But anyway, thank you SRD for all the support this season, and for helping me achieve my goal of making Nationals. I hope everyone there likes my cool SRD speed suit.

.)) Alex Barounos

Barounos' Blog

This season has turned out far better than I could have ever hoped. I have already done several races this season, and I placed on the podium 3 times for J2's. I also managed within three GS to lower my points down to 68!! I am very excited, and I don't know if it's because I am using all this great SRD equipment this season or if I am actually skiing better this year.

Along with really good results, there was really cold weather. I received a severe case of frostbite in Crested Bute, and once again training in Steamboat. During the holidays it was great to be able to focus on training and I feel I accomplished a lot. I trained so hard I managed to break my fore arm guards in half.

Now I'm back in school and I already miss my vacation. However, at least my teachers are helpful with getting us back on our feet and geared up for school and skiing. Hopefully I will be able to perform all season. Maybe even to Sugarloaf Maine, where J2 Nationals are held. Thanks for all the support this season, I really appreciate it.

P.S. Above is a picture from my trip to Austria. I went to the Solden World Cup live! It was spectacular, and a great experience.

.)) Alex Barounos