Friday, July 24, 2015

It's almost time to leave for South America!

The 2015/16 season is officially upon me, and I couldn't be more stoked.

The 2016 PSIA National Alpine Teams Selections are in April of THIS year, they only happen once every four years, so here we go again!

There are several processes, applications and interviews to go through in order to make it to the final on-snow interview, but I'm training as though I'm going to get there.

To that end, last year I spent a huge amount of time working on my mental performance, first in India practicing yoga, and then when I came home with my mental performance coach Thomas Crum ( http://www.aikiworks.com/).

The final product at the end of the 2014/15 ski season, a jumping off point which came out of my work with the incredible Thomas Crum.
I also had the honor to work with Bill Fabrocini, an incredible and world renowned strength coach.

This year, it's all about FITNESS and FEET. Lucky me, I'm headed to South America for TWO MONTHS of training!

I'm honored to report that Strafe Outerwear, Leki, Blizzard, Tecnica, Marker Bindings, SportTube, and Wicked Chile (campervans for ridiculous adventure trips) are helping out by sponsoring me for this adventure, and I am amazed by the support! There's a chance we may even get photos and mini blog updates posted to Outside Online of this ridiculous South American Adventure ... stay tuned for updates on that front!

I plan to share lots of fun pictures and blog posts of this journey, I've never taken a trip like this before, and I'm excited to be living in a van in the snow while getting my feet schooled in the South American Andes. I'm looking forward to seeing my friends and colleagues who travel south every single winter, I can't wait to see their haunts and favorite places.

Ski Touring in Colorado with Kurt this spring.
It took more than gear sponsorship to get the this particular trip going, it also required the generous help of some clients and benefactors, and a slew of friends, family and coaches, to whom I am profoundly grateful.

I can't wait to get back on snow and apply all that I learned with Jonathan Ballou (my technical skiing coach), Josh Fogg (trainer at Aspen/Snowmass) and Kurt Fehrenbach (my intrepid training partner) at the end of the season last year.

This trip should be epic: The plan right now is: I'll be in Portillo with a client skiing in the Camp of the Superstars ( http://www.chrisdavenport.com/videos/#/ski-with-the-superstars-camp) for a week, and then we'll head off on our own on a fun Heli ski trip for a week. Then, my client heads back to the US, and I head to Santiago to pick up the camper van.

From there, I'll drive it down solo to Corralco, ski touring along the way. In Corralco, I'll meet up with Chris Fellows, who is running a NASTC skiing camp ( http://www.skinastc.com/corralco-chile-ski-adventure/). (Check it out there are still some spots open!)

Kurt will be coaching with Chris this SA Winter, so we will hang out in Corralco until the end of the camp, skiing and training.

Then, Kurt and I will hop in the van and head south all the way to Ushuia, at the southernmost tip of Chile!

We'll be ski touring along the way, living in the van and doing our best not to get lost or run out of gas!

We hope to arrive in Ushuia just in time for the International Skiing Congress, ( http://www.interski-2015.org/en/) where we will watch our very own PSIA National Alpine team present, along with teams from skiing nations all around the globe!

Just before the 2012 tryout in Snowbird, Utah. I can't wait to get after it again this year!
After Interski, we'll be in Ushuia for another couple of days, training, and then we head to Punta Arenas where we will drop off our camper van and say hi to some friends of friends.

From there, we'll hop a plane and head back up to Las Lenias where we will train for a few weeks before heading home in the beginning of October.

What a way to start the season! Thanks again to all the companies, friends and family who have generously donated gear, discounted prices, welcomed us with open arms onto their couches and spare bedrooms, sent encouraging emails, and basically just have been super duper supportive!

Adventure on, my friends!