Aspen Ajax Cup!

2nd Place Team. Andrew on far left.

Last week I was lucky enough to get involved with a fundraiser ski race for the Aspen Valley Ski Club called the Ajax Cup, the Ski Club's biggest fundraiser of the year. It is a duel GS race on the bottom of Aspen Mountain.

There are 12 teams competing and each team is bought by a sponsor for $25,000. Each team has four "racers" and a captain chosen by the owner of the team, then the AVSC appoints a J2 or older racer and an adaptive racer to each team. Every team also gets either a US ski team athlete or a former pro on their team for a total of eight racers. Since the field varies from intermediates to US ski team members, they use a handicap system. Sometimes you get to leave the gate first and other times you have to wait in the gate and then try to catch the other racer; it just depends on who you are racing. The team I was on had US ski team member, David Chodunski; Bobby Moyer (AVSC J1), Vancouver Olympian Jake Zamansky's dad, Dave, and a few other people who were friends of the owner.

In our first round we did pretty well, I won my race. Then the second race we did just as well, I won again, so we were tied for 2nd. In the third and fourth rounds we got to race team Ochi. They had some good skiers but the most impressive part was that they had famous actor Antonio Banderas on their team. The third round we were on the red (slow) course and our team (including me) lost about half our races, putting us in sixth place. But in the fourth round we got to race them again on the blue (fast) course this time, our team won all eight of the mach-ups putting us back in second place. Before the fifth round they eliminated eight teams, leaving only the top four. The points reset and we went head to head in a playoff style, half of the people on one course and half on the other. I raced one of my teammates, Devon Cardamone. It was an intense race but he got whiplashed by a gate, and I prevailed with the win. That round was close but our team made it to the finals.

Unfortunately, in the final round two members of our team (who were both in the lead) fell right by the bottom giving the other team the win. So we got second place but it was really fun and everyone enjoyed themselves. At the after party, they gave away bottles of tequila for our second place team, but Bobby and I got gift cards for a popular restaurant in Aspen.

But it was a great experience that reminded me ski racing is about fun and the event raised $500,000 for the Ski Club.

.)) Andrew Hancock

Football to Skiing- Life in Aspen!

Hi Everyone – There’s snow on the mountains and it is time to think about skiing. I have been enjoying football season this fall and my team (Aspen Skiers) are 6-1 overall, 4-0 in division. We have three more regular season games and hopefully, we will make it to the playoffs again. I had my first varsity interception last Friday – it was awesome.

Because of my results last year, I was selected for the Colorado All-Star Team. I went down to Boulder for the mandatory physical in September. The weightlifting part did not go very well since I have been taught a football-style technique and the trainers wanted to see a different type of technique. Luckily, I did well enough on the other three tests to still pass the test. I am now working on both types of weightlifting techniques.

I went to the RMD Luncheon last weekend and got my Colorado pass (can ski at any Colorado ski area for free). I went to Mt. Hood in June with some of my AVSC teammates and really liked the training. There was more off-snow stuff to do than there was in Chile last summer so it was really fun. I did some ski testing so I know exactly what I want for this year. It was a great trip. The day after I got back, we left for Hawaii for 10 days. We did so much – boogie boarding, paddle boarding, kayaking, hiking, snorkeling, mega sandcastle construction – there wasn’t a lot of sitting around. See you on the hill –

 .)) Andrew Hancock

More from the Whistler Cup!

The season has finally come to a close. I recently returned from the Whistler Cup. What an amazing experience! It was really great to be up there with 3 of my Aspen teammates and to meet the rest of the U.S.Team, and including SRD team members Sam Morse, Breezy Johnson, and Serina Kidd. I didn't really know what to expect, but the entire week was really incredible.

The first two days were time trials for the U.S. Team and I didn't ski my best. I blew out the first two runs of slalom and got banged up pretty badly in the first run of GS. Even though
I didn't do very well I felt that I could ski much better when it came to the actual races. Whistler is a really cool mountain and I wanted to free ski the next day, but I was pretty sore from the previous days and thought I should take it easy. The next day we had free runs on the SG course and then got to explore the mountain a little.

The next morning was the nicest day of the entire week and we were all really excited for the Super G. I skied pretty well and ended up in 12th place. Our whole team really killed it and we put 7 of us in the top 15. I'm not sure, but I think that is a record number for a U.S. Team at the Whistler Cup. After the race we got to march in the opening parade and it was really fun. There were a lot of Americans up there on vacation that cheered us on.

The next day was the Slalom and it changed back to typical Whistler cloudiness. I skied most of the first run well, but ended up hiking three gates form the bottom. Cody Wilson led after the first run, but had problems in the second and didn't finish. Most of our team had troubles on one of their runs, but SRD team member Sam Morse put two solid runs together and got on the podium in 3rd.

Sunday was the last day and we were all getting really tired. I love GS, but I wasn't that fired up because I was so beat. I almost fell asleep on the chair lift on the way up to the start and skied pretty poorly to a 20th place position. Normally I would have been disappointed, but I was actually surprised I did that well considering how bad the run felt. I managed to pick myself up for the second run and skied much better. I had the 9th fastest second run, and passed a lot of people to end up in 11th. My teammates Ryan Mooney and Colby Lane finished 1st and 3rd and we ended up with 5 of of us in the top 15.

All and all it was a great experience, our team won the K2 championship, and I got to meet and ski with some of the best kids from around the world. I made a lot of new friends and I hope I get to compete with them again as I get older. Whatever happens, it was an experience I'll never forget.

Have a great summer everyone.

.)) Andrew Hancock

Andrew wins Junior Olympic SL- Off to Whistler Cup!

I finally caught up with school work so now I can write my blog. This year the Rocky/Central Junior Championships were held in Aspen, my hometown, which was amazing. It was the first really big race that I have had at home and the top five Rocky qualifiers were all from the Aspen Valley Ski Club (AVSC). The first event was downhill. I used 208 Super G skis for the first run and got 6th place. Then I decided to try a pair of 210 downhill skis for the second training run. Unfortunately, I lost a ski and ended up in the B-net. The next day was the Downhill, and I definitely decided to return to the Super G skis. I think I was a little shook-up and ended up in 13th.

I wasn’t focusing on making Whistler at this point. My goal was to improve as the week went on. After a disappointing Downhill result, I was looking forward to the Super G. I placed 6th and the AVSC took the top six places. At least I was moving in the right direction. I was excited for the GS because I have been skiing GS really well all season and felt like I had a good shot at making the podium. My teammate, Colby Lane, picked #1 and I picked #3. We both like low numbers so we can lay down solid runs and put the pressure on the rest of the field. AVSC doesn’t train on Javelin very much but I wish we would because, I agree with what Colin Vogel said, Javelin is a fantastic GS hill. My first run felt solid and I was in 2nd behind Colby. We ran flip-30 so I ran 29th. I had one small mistake but felt like it was good enough. AVSC swept the podium; Colby in first, me in second, and Ben Throm in third.

We had the next day off. While I was taking a few slalom training runs, my SRD teammate, Serina Kidd, took silver in the women’s GS. The final day was the Slalom and my last chance to make Whistler. Having podiumed in the GS, I felt confident. Even though we train at Highlands all the time, I had never run Slalom on this part of the hill. It was a tricky set but I felt ready. A lot of kids had trouble in the first run, but I skied one of my best Slalom runs ever and was in first over my teammate, Travis Lundin, by over two seconds. Approaching the second run was difficult because I knew I had a great chance to win and Whistler was on the line. I was pretty nervous and skied a bit conservatively but still won by over two seconds.

So I finished my week with enough points to be 2nd in the overall and qualified for Whistler Cup. I am excited to accompany my three SRD teammates and three AVSC teammates to Whistler and I can’t wait to go and represent the USA and SRD.

.)) Andrew Hancock

No Kidding! Serina dominates Junior Olympics!

HEY SRD!!! I haven't blogged in a while because I've been really training hard for the jo's and for Whistler Cup! My season has been great so far I couldn't of asked for a better season or better coaches. My coaches have really brought my far this year on the hill and mentally.

I went into the 2nd part of our jo qualifiers tied for first! The first day was sl and I was feeling pretty confident and just relaxed and laid down a good solid first run. On the second run I was in first and got a little stressed out like every racer but my coach told me to just have fun, so I went and had a blast, got a little late but still laid down a really good consistent run. By the end of the day I was in first for the overall but barely although there was still GS.

On the morning of the GS race I felt a little bit off my game but nothing that couldn't be fixed. When it came time to start I felt fine, but I didn't feel like my self by the time I got into the course my GS was okay at the top of the course and I was just happy to of made it down that far! Although as i came to the bottom of my run I approached the GORILLA turn and unfortunately got back and late causing me to lean in.. and fall.

After falling i was really ready to lay down a strong second run. I had a great second race, when I came down I was in first but little did I know that Katy Harris killed it and came down right after me only 7 hundredths in front of me! But that was okay because we were more than 2.5 seconds ahead of 3rd place:) At the end of the weekend I was pretty happy with my results and ended up second overall and qualifying in the first seed!

After Jo qualifiers i trained really hard, and really worked on a lot of my fundamentals!

When jo's finally came around the corner I was really excited! It was a good 3 hour drive down to Aspen so it gave me a lot of time to work on my homework. In Aspen we were staying at the Aspen Inn right at the base of the mountain which was really cool because all we had to do was put our skis on and we were right there at the lift!

At the first training day of the DH I was in 2nd, and the second training day of the DH I was in 4th. When it came the night before race day we had bib draw and I picked the latest of all the girls 30th, unfortunately I didn't have a very strong race run and finished 11th. But I kept my head up and was ready for the SG.

Once again we had bib draw for the SG and I picked bib 21! I was very nervous having to wait so long like the DH and have to hear everyones results but I stayed focused and had a fairly good run. I finished the SG run in 3rd only 12 hundredths off of first, and now the pressure was on to qualify for Whistler.

Later that night we had our parade and bib draw which was really exciting because I picked my lucky number 8 for the GS!! The following day was the boys GS race and they killed it especially my SRD teammate Andrew Hancock fishing in second place. My first run I had trouble and had to scramble for the finish but ended up third 94 hundredths out of first. I was really stressing out that I couldn't make up a second but I just went out there and skied how I knew how to ski, problem was I didn't get the second that I need only 8 tenths, so I finished second by 22 hundredths! Talk about pressure! Its worse now, only have SL to qualify for Whistler and the central girls are always tough! MY LAST CHANCE! I laid down a sold first run and stood in 3rd 2 tenths out. Thats a margin I can live with. I love to come from behind! My second run needed to be solid but fast and with out mistakes. It worked and I won the second run by 86 hundredths taking the SL by 1.65 total. And on the men's side another SRD teammate Andrew Hancock owned the mens SL winning by 2.3 seconds!! WHISTLER HERE WE COME!

But before I leave for whistler I've got to make a stop in Telluride to sew up the Smartwool Championships as I have the lead by 41 points! Then off to Whistler. I can't wait this is going to be an awesome US team and an experience of a life time:)

.)) Serina Kidd

Duct Tape Saves the Day!

Last weekend I had a USCSA race in Winter Park on the same hill as my tech qualifiers will be held on. I have never had a very good race there before so I was ready to put an end to that.

I woke up on Saturday ready for the two run GS race. When I opened the curtains of my hotel room I saw 6-9 in of new snow. When we got up there the course was covered in snow, and it was cold. My first run of GS was really snowy and powdery. The visibility was terrible I couldn’t differ the horizon from the sky. All I could see were gates no snow or terrain. Out of the gate I could tell it wasn’t going to be a good run. As the pitch got steeper I got later. Then on the 10th gate I hit either a rut or a pile of powder, witch launcher me out of my skis and through the panel. So that day was over.

But the next day was slalom. I had been skiing slalom really well in training, so I was pumped. I was starting at 18 which is a good start from the field of 112 people. Once again it snowed a lot. So the start was delayed and I was able to get extra inspections.

My first run was off to a bad start, a course worker was in the course at the third gate. That threw me off my line. Then at the bottom I pole planted on top of my outside ski and in turn I was forced way low and I scrubbed all my speed right before the finish line. I was in 7th over all and 4th for j3s. I was still not too far out and I had a chance if I could pull off a good run. At the start of the second run I realized that the straps of my shin guard had broken off. So the guy ahead of me was in the start and I was trying to find duct tape. Right as he left I found some tape, so I was a bit flustered and distracted but I was ready.

Unfortunately I straddled one of the last gates. So I was out both races. An unsuccessful weekend at Winter Park.

Back at Aspen I had one day of school when Tuesday was a snow day! It was the first snow day in 3 years. So I got together with 4 of my friends so we could hit the slopes for an incredible powder day. It was a great day. The snow was really deep and it just kept dumping on us. By far the best powder day of the year. Every run we took we found some untracked snow. The highlight of the day was near the end when one of my friends and I started to do back flips, it was really fun.

Then today on Thursday the women’s NorAm cup came to Aspen Colorado for the second time this year. This time it is speed. And I was lucky enough to fore run the super combined. In the Super-G part we got to go over Aztec an incredibly steep pitch on the downhill course. The women weren’t allowed to even run over it till a few years ago. The pitch goes from about 5 degrees to 40 degrees in 20 feet. It is very intense. I was fore runner A so I got to go down first. It was the scariest run of my life, and the most fun so far. It was super steep and fast.

It was a great opportunity and was super fun (beats school). I was glad to be across the finish line, safe and not broken. In the after noon was the slalom portion of the day I was exited after having a good Super-G. After inspection could tell the course was my type, long and difficult. So I was ready to rock it. When I came down I could tell I put a good run down, one little bobble but it was nothing big. I hiked up to the timing hut to get my time and laid down a 47.77, I thought it was pretty good. I watched all the best people go (some of them are on the US and Canadian C teams.) To my surprise the fastest time was a 48.38, 6 tenths behind me, and the next after that was a 49.38. so I won a slalom run of a NorAm.

.)) Andrew Hancock

Topolino Time!

Hi everyone. It's been a while since my last blog so I figured it's time to catch up.

I did a lot of training over the holidays as I was getting ready for the Topolino time trials. I guess it's actually called the Skofja Loka time trials this year because that's where the winners are going. It's in Slovenia and I don't know much about it except all of us wanted to win the event so we could go there to race.

The trials were held in Vail on New Years weekend and it was super cold. There were 18 boys from the Rocky and Central Divisions that qualified to race and we spent the first two days training and getting to know everyone. The first race day we had three runs of GS and everyone counted only their best one. I was in fourth place after the first day and knew I had to really go for it in the Slalom to have a chance. Only the winner goes to Slovenia, so there's no point in holding back. I skied my hardest the first two runs, but crashed both times and broke my helmet on the second one. I borrowed a helmet from a girl who wasn't racing and this time I held back a little and finished. It wasn't my best run and I lost one place and ended up fifth overall. I was pretty happy with the way I skied and our club [Aspen Valley Ski Club] did really well. We took 1st, 3rd, 5th and 7th place and my buddy Colby Lane won and gets to go to Slovenia and represent the United States.

This weekend we have the Super G portion of our JO qualifier. It's going to be held on our home hill so I'm looking forward to it and hoping to get a good seed for JO's.

Have fun everyone and ski hard.

.)) Andrew Hancock

News from Andrew in Aspen

I'm psyched for the ski season this year. As a second year J3, I feel like I am on top of my game. I qualified for the Topolino Tryouts and Aspen is going to host the Wilder Dwight Super G qualifier and the JOs. My new equipment from Atomic arrived and it looks awesome and fast. Since it has snowed a little bit, it is starting to feel like ski season. Aspen's World Cup race is coming up so ... it is time to get this year rolling.

This summer I did a lot of dryland and strength work. The coaches did an individual workout plan for each of the kids in the ski club. I did a lot of weightlifting (at 6:30 am) and running.

Then I went to La Parva, Chile for two weeks to train. We trained Super-G and GS. It was really strange going from summer to full winter and La Parva is 7,000 feet above Santiago and the drive up there was crazy. There were also some intense winds that made closed the upper half of the mountain. I trained with some different coaches and it was cool to hear different opinions about technique and strategy.

See you on the hill!

.)) Andrew Hancock