Happy snowstorm! We also had a storm here in France! However, it sounds like your is providing more snow depth.

It has been a few days since I have written an email to you all. We have had a busy week with training, traveling, video, homework, and some physical testing. The howling windy weather and the crowds at our hotel have kept our wifi use to really small windows of time. Uploading video for you to watch in Colorado has been impossible! I can’t even get one clip to load and a group email can get stuck in limbo as i stare at the spinning wheel until I fall asleep. (I hope this one makes it though tonight.) Although you haven’t been able to view much media, the athletes have been watching their training videos every night as a team. Something that we only get to do when traveling to competitions and we stay in a house together.

Overview of this week.

Monday we went to La Clusaz village to use their airbag set up. It looked sketchy, but the athletes liked it! It had a great shape and a different airbag company. Driving to and from La Clusaz was an epic adventure in foggy driving and mystical mountain views. Cas was loving it. We deem him our team photographer and made many special stops for him.

Tuesday. After taking the long drive back from La Clusaz, then getting some sleep, we got up and put our ski gear on. Just before heading over to the Tignes Funicular (ski train), we learned the ski area was closed due to high winds. I guess a day off was suppose to happen. We were all moving slowly this morning, but decide to forgo a day off and keep on skiing! Things happen for a reason.

Wednesday. Well rested with some homework completed, we got out of bed and skiing for a 1/2 day until the wind and fog (then snow) became too much. The visibility was mediocre at the halfpipe, but every athlete kept hiking the pipe.They were determined to get work done and be ready for the next few sunny day. It was a surprisingly productive day.

Thursday. Today was a sunny day as planned! Whoohoo! This was the best day of our trip for training. Every athletes put there new tricks to the test and landed what they had been working on this week. Broby landed his double flat spin. Zac and Felix landed switch sevens. Cas landed switch 5 and got another 9. Switch is a new dimension for these 3 guys and will be a great addition to their halfpipe comp runs this winter. Annalisa linked her tricks together as planned-very challenging combinations. Paula got her left five back and went higher. Anais did her first spin tricks since her knee was scoped. Allie landed several flares & fives. Also, the whole crew had a chance to participate in a video project that Anais organized. It is with Alex Black. He has a channel on YouTube. Alex will have his edit out on YouTube by the end of the weekend. Alec was super stoke on our crew and is coming up with us again tomorrow. I heard Alex mention us on the phone to his sponsor and specifically Zac’s name. “This kid, Zac, wore a GoPro for me…”

Friday, tomorrow, is our last ski day. My hope is we end the day the same way we start it. We’re all still friends, everyone is healthy, feels accomplished and “we get the shot’.

Please check our Vail Freeski Instagram and Facebook for some pictures and video. It is all we have right now. When I get back to Colorado I will upload more for you to see.

SATURDAY, NOV 15TH- DEPARTURE DAY AND RETURN HOME DAY. We will leave Tignes at 6:00am. We drive to Geneva airport. Zac and Cas will hop on a train. The rest of us will hop on an airplane. Annalisa with fly to Boston, the rest of us will fly to Colorado. I have transportation pre-arranged from DIA to my home in Vail for Broby, Felix, Paula and myself. (Allie we can drop you at Federal if you want.) We should arrive in Vail at 10:30pm Saturday night (pending any slow road contains or delayed flights).

~

Let it snow

E. Chase, Programs Director Big Mountain

Park & Pipe

Snowboard