Mother Huckers ski the John and Bronco Face!

For more video of my Thursday women's group, click here!

Help Send Rachel Bauer to the Pan American Mtn. Bike Championships!

So there's this chick, Rachel. I met her at Highlands in Aspen last year, and she was just KILLING it on her skis. Turns out, we have a lot in common. She hasn't been skiing that long, but went for her Level 3 anyway, and got it, isn't afraid to huck off stuff, likes to charge hard and play outdoors.

Turns out, she's a hard core insane mountain biker, beautiful woman, hot chick, good friend, and all around awesome person. And she is doing the unthinkable, in two years on a bike, she's qualified for the Pan American Championships. READ ON, and then lets all HELP GET RACHEL TO CHILE!

Follow your dream, girl!

From the Fresno Bee:

Bauer has knack for adapting
Running and skiing background helps smooth local standout's transition to mountain biking.
Wednesday, Mar. 11, 2009
The Fresno Bee


Even though she's only been racing mountain bikes for two years, Rachel Bauer didn't need long to become national caliber.

A former track and cross country standout at Buchanan High and Fresno State, Bauer will represent the United States at this month's Pan American Mountain Bike Championships in Santiago, Chile. The event runs March 20-23.

Bauer, who lives in Aspen, Colo., and works as a ski instructor at Aspen Highlands, will compete in the downhill and four-cross events.

The Pan Am Championships are the biggest race in the Western Hemisphere, one step below a World Championship or World Cup event. A total of 20 athletes will compete for the U.S.

Bauer was selected to the team after winning the overall downhill title in last year's Mountain States Cup, the nation's biggest regional mountain biking circuit, and filling out an on-line petition.

"It's all moving pretty fast," Bauer told the Aspen Daily News. "I had no expectation of actually going [to the Pan Am Championships]. I just thought it might be fun [to apply]."

Bauer said her experience as a ski racer helped her master downhill mountain biking quickly. Both sports require balance and the ability to look ahead on the course rather than the nearest obstacle or gate.

"If you look ahead, it kind of slows down the course," she said. "You don't see as much terrain and rocks and trees and your body is just adjusting to it."

Bauer is believed to be the first Fresno-area native to represent the U.S. cycling team in an international competition.

DONATE TO Rachel's fund to help get her to Chile to represent the US! GO RACHEL, GO!

Did you ski with me? Let's stay in touch!

I started a Facebook group for you guys! Lets stay in touch, so we can plan trips, make group lessons, and watch the videos that I took of you skiing!

Visit the new Facebook group Here, and thanks for skiing with me!!

20 Days to Level 3, New Broken Toe

Yup, I broke it. WOW. I am a bit clumsy, its true. I do get injured a lot. But, hey, that's life. I was hurrying to change clothes and get into town after teaching a lesson on the hill yesterday, and I walked barefoot into a bench foot that was sticking out in the locker room, and broke my toe. In more than one place. Like, kind of... well, shattered the end of it.

Last night, I was pretty sure that I wouldn't be able to ski on it, because walking to the kitchen was incredibly painful. But today, I decided to head on up for the clinic, and managed to get my boot on and buckled, although it was really really painful. I went outside and turned my boot heater off on that foot until it was good n cold, then I flipped it back on. Getting on and off the lift was really bad, because your foot is forced forward in your boot and my toe hit the end every time, but after the first two runs, my foot felt much better, and by the end of the clinic, it was sore, but tolerable.

I taught the Mother Huckers again today, my awesome ladies group, and we did laps in the John and on Bronco Face. So many big breakthroughs! (Videos uploading, will take all night, will post tomorrow morning...) Toe felt okay till I decide to huck it off this little drop, and I decided as I skied out that was probably not the brightest idea I've ever had.

Had a lovely private with Deb again, who also made big breakthroughs, then got to ski with Bonnie and Peggy in the afternoon! We ripped up South Bowl, and Peggy skied Flippers!! It was a blast, and so nice to get out with them!

Taking the boot off was awful, and ever since then, the toe has felt worse and worse, I think the ski boot is like a walking cast, and kept the toe from flexing. Working massage after skiing barefoot was brutal, esp kneeling down. Now, icing and resting. I'm supposed to go ski Big Sky tomorrow, but I might take tomorrow and Saturday off, let the toe heal up a bit, and get a bunch of catch up done. Articles written, homework, studying, and some MA.

Today was my first full day out of the splint for my wrist, and its doing really well. When I deviate to the ulnar side, its still really painful, but otherwise, it feels good. Contrast baths save the day!!

March 8, International Women's Day

I don't normally watch stuff that's like "It's second cousin's day! send this on to all the time wasters in your life!"

But this was sent on to me by a man I love and trust, and I couldn't not open it. And I immediately felt so intimately connected and grateful, that I had to share it. Thanks for reading, and for being there, guys!!

Saddle Peak Powder Fever

AVALANCHE WARNING FROM THE GNFAC
SADDLE PEAK ANTICS

Horsing around in the backcountry has risen to a new level on Saddle Peak in the Bridgers. I’m a bit dismayed at the entire lack of respect folks are showing the backcountry. And yes, contrary to popular belief, Saddle Peak is in the backcountry. Just because you can see it from the chair lift doesn’t mean it’s part of the ski area. Folks are breaking some cardinal rules: skiing the slope together; skiing above one another; not heeding obvious signs of instability like recent avalanches and turning off their beacons once they get off the chair to conserve battery power (I couldn’t make this stuff up). I feel like a parent with one hand on my hip the other wagging a finger saying “Just because all your friends ski Saddle at the same time doesn’t mean you should too”. So there you have it. And if you’re so broke that you have to save money on your beacon batteries, well, maybe you should skip lunch instead.

Mark saw a solo skier shred a line next to a recent avalanche. He snapped a photo you can see at: http://www.mtavalanche.com/photos/photos.php

And here is some of my own personal experience up there:
Two very young girls, probably 14 and 16, hiking along the ridge, got to the boundary gate. One stopped and said to the other, "I don't think we should go out there, I mean, we don't have any avalanche stuff." (I'm not sure how they got on the chair, they were wearing backpacks with one visible shovel).

The other girl responded, "Oh, its okay, we are going to just go out where the other people are, don't worry about it, we won't go where no one else has been. Come on."

And she took off up the ridge. And her friend followed. Later on, Ang and I looked South and saw them coming down some North facing shots, that had not been skied by anyone else (not that it matters) both in huge scary back-seat power wedges. These were not strong skiers by any means, and certainly not knowledgeable enough about what the real dangers are.

I'm concerned, because the ?? "informed" decisions that "adults" are making in going out of bounds the day it dumps on an unstable snow-pack are showing the KIDS that, hey, its okay! Its just snow! Lets play!!

The other horrifying thing that one of our supervisors at Bridger saw was a parent in the rental shop showing his young son how to put on the rental transceiver. He wrapped one strap around the boys leg, like a leg strap on a pistol, and put the other part around his neck. Incredible. Their friend said, "I'm just gonna put mine in my pocket."

Someone is going to die. I'm shocked it hasn't happened yet.

Anyhow, just wanted to share some quick snippets of the insanity I'm experiencing over there, of course minus the stories you guys know so well of people skiing two and three at a time, hanging out in the middle of the bowl, not clearing run-out zones or hazard areas and basically being cavalier idiots.

Please be smart! There are classes you can take to learn how to minimize the VERY REAL danger of skiing in the back country!!

Find them HERE.

Help Make the 3 at Bridger Happen!!

Due to low enrollment numbers, there is a possibility that this event will be merged with the Red Lodge exam March 28-29. To avoid this scenario, if you know of others planning on attending that have not yet registered, please encourage them to do so. The more registrations we get the more likely it is that we can hold the event.

We will keep you posted on any changes.


Kind Regards,

PSIA/AASI-NRM

22 Days to the Level 3 Exam, Training in POW, glad to have Squatty, Kurt and Megan in my Brain!

WOW, the last three days have been EPIC! Laps and laps and laps in the powder with the beautiful and talented Angela Patnode, eating lunch on the chair out of the backpack, skiing till my legs are jelly. JELL-O.

Talking through the mechanics and kinestheic cues to skiing deep powder every night with Kurt, bugging Angela on the chair, (Yes, but what do you feel?), emailing with awesome coach of doooom and powder skier extraordinare Squatty Schuller.

I am so very literal, I tried to explain to Kurt tonight just what my "learning style" is. And I came up with this example. When I was trying to add a rotation to my axle jump, when I was skating, I knew that I needed to swing my free leg all the way through, have a certain ammount of explosive power off the knee, calf and toe, and pull my arms in tight and fast to spin faster.

But I could only add a 1/4 rotation to the jump. Which, as you can imagine, was very painful! I worked hard for MONTHS, and couldn't but occasionally add more than just a titch of rotation to the whole thing. It was not for a lack of hucking myself in the air and committing to the jump, not being afraid to fall, that's for sure!

What was missing was the literal explanation that you have to swing your free leg through powerfully, but you have to wait for the full range of the swing BEFORE you explode off your take off leg. You need the mass of your free leg to pull you up, so that you are in the air long enough to rotate as fast as you can.

As SOON as I understood this, I landed the jump. That day.

So we were talking about overthinking skiing today, and I guess that I find my way to the basic mechanics through overthinking, its hard for me to add or change a movement unless I know how to do it and WHY I am doing it, what is the desired result, not just in the drill, but in my skiing? What are we trying to change, and WHY?

And once I get that, I can go away and work on my own for quite a while, because I know what I am reaching for. I can experiment with it, play with it, think about it, write about it, read about it, ski it. Then, I can come back with some questions that are relevant to the technical aspects of fine tuning it, and have a fun, geeky conversation about the theories behind it.

So powder skiing has been the hardest thing for me, because I don't do it that much, and I haven't been skiing that long! And last year, I heard "bounce" and "reach in to the fall line with your feet" and "Don't finish your turns as much" and "Keep your bdy in the fall line, facing down hill..."

Which was all very well and good, but I still couldn't figure out how to get my skis to turn, and especially how to get them to turn quickly enough to avoid trees and objects without doing it from the back seat, which is painful on my leg bones to the xtreme!

Squatty took me out into the powdery bumps last year and taught me to bounce and to feel reaching with the feet and retraction of the legs by having my legs steer around the bumps while my body traveled over them. Then, we went out into the Highlands Bowl, and I felt the "bounce" for the first time ever. It was awesome, it was easy. I only felt totally out of control every fourth or fifth turn.

This year, I'm on powder boards for the first time (Well, I guess technically they are Big Mtn skis, as powder boards are lighter and floppier), and its taken some getting used to. I finally cornered Angela and was like, "Explain what you feel, step by step, as you make a powder turn." She, like just about everyone else when I ask this question, was like, "Um, what do you mean?"

"What you feel, as you feel it, if you could only describe it. Like, what do you do, one step at a time, what do you feel as you make a turn in this kind of powder on that steep of slope?"

And she totally clicked it all together for me! She said she gets some speed, and then compresses the snow, and sort of jumps off that compression, twisting her skis slowly across the fall line (but not very far across), while they are light, then compresses or stomps or hits again, and then bounces off of that. This made SO much sense to me, I had been wondering about how to steer when there is nothing to steer off of, nothing to push on, last year, and Squatty had turned on the lights by telling me to steer off of whatever I had in the powder at that moment.

So the combo of these two got me bouncing again. And then on the next day, when we hooked up with Lonnie Ball and his rippin' wife, Mary, I worked on it, just feeling the stomp, and turning with a big up unweight, and it worked! Better on stuff less than 30 degrees, not as well in the steeps, but I need mileage now.

Now I feel like I have some concept of what I'm trying to do, but still, controlling speed with turn-shape without getting into huge sweeping turns accidentally is still a puzzler to me. I think it will come with some laps, though. What a week!

Now, completely swamped. Trying to do MA every day, study Ron Le'Master's book again, email with my mentors, ask my examiners, get out there and ski hard, and drill tasks, keep my massage obligations, and catch up on weeks and weeks of homework (I have three make up exams on Monday). Things are falling out of my brain that I need to do, despite being really organized. The time just isn't there.

Decided not to ski every single available moment this week so I can cross some stuff off my list and feel sane as the exam approaches. Can't wait for Squatty and Weems to come visit for ESA at the end of March! And Brent Amsbury is coming too! WOW how fun will THAT week be? I think its the week of the exam, and it would be amazing to have those guys out here to play with!

Thanks for all the great playtime, Angela! And thanks for the pics, Lonnie!!

24 Days to Level 3 Exam, Which May Not Go!

Took a day off today to get over my tummy bug, only to find out that there were probably about 3' of fresh today at Bridger! WOWZA! Went up to teach at 10:30, shuffle skis around, pick up the POC demo gear, and came back home and got right back in bed.

It is a possibility that the Level 3 exam may not happen in our division this year due to low sign ups. I'm completely kerfufled at this. I mean... I do totally understand that the numbers have to work in order to make an event go, but I trained so hard all year, spent money traveling to get a good, deep training, put my family through a ton of grief working my tail off, traumatized my classmates and stressed out the head of my school, jeopardized my grades, raised the dough for the exam, and gave up a seat in the Heli in Alaska to do this!

The job I want next year requires a Level 3 certification, and while there is absolutely no guarantee that I will pass, I certainly want to try!!

Tomorrow: Keep training like its going to happen, fat skis in 3' of pow with Angela, laps on the ridge. Fingers crossed!

I emailed our division to find out what the options might be... stay tuned!

Teton Weather Info for back country skiers!

Check out this amazing site!

As reported by RandoSteve on TetonAT.com:

Thanks to Chris Larson and Chris Hansen, Teton skiers now have a new internet resource for checking out current mountain conditions. TetonSnowInfo.com is a conglomeration of most of the weather sites that valley skiers, snowboarders and snowmobilers have come to find useful when deciding what to ski on any given day. Information on weather forecasts from the National Weather Service, Mountain Weather and Bridger Teton National Forest Avalanche Center, as well as snow reports from Jackson Hole Mountain Resort and Grand Targhee. I’ve already created a quick link on my browser for TetonSnowInfo.com and so should you. -Steve.

tetonsnowinfo
TetonSnowInfo.com.

Jackson Hole, WY—Backcountry travelers in the Tetons region of Wyoming and Idaho now have access to a new Web site that combines much of the available snow, weather and avalanche information into one convenient location. TetonSnowInfo.com provides snow reports from Jackson Hole Mountain Resort and Grand Targhee Resort, the daily avalanche forecast from the Bridger-Teton National Forest Avalanche Center, weather reports from the numerous National Weather Service (NWS) automated weather stations in the region, and snow and weather forecasts also provided by the NWS. Data is updated every 15 minutes and the site contains prominent links to all data sources.

“The genesis of TetonSnowInfo.com was a growing frustration with the number of Web sites that I would look at every morning to learn what happened in the last 24 hours and to understand what’s going to happen in the next couple of days,” stated site developer, Chris Larson of Victor, Idaho-based The Software Ranch LLC. “It’s something that many of us backcountry travelers go through every morning, whether we’re planning our ski day or just keeping tabs on conditions between outings.”

And being somewhat ‘under-employed’ at the moment,” added Larson, “I am motivated to work on the type of projects that both benefit me and my community while expanding and showcasing my software development skills. Perhaps it will even lead to a paying gig.”

While all of the information aggregated by TetonSnowInfo.com is available online, much of it — including historical and forecast information provided by the NWS — is presented in dense, tabular formats that can be hard to quickly decipher. For years Larson has considered how to present this information in a graphical format, and it is something he has accomplished with this site. The presentation of the data is still evolving and does not include the majority of the data available (e.g. snow intervals/totals), but is what Larson describes as “a good start.”

TetonSnowInfo.com has so far received very positive feedback from many in the local backcountry community, and while only now officially launched, the site has been receiving strong traffic since going live in mid February.

Phase two for TetonSnowInfo.com is the creation of a public snow and avalanche observation network, which is currently under development with the help of avalanche forecasters, guides and other snow science professionals active in the western U.S. The observation network builds on the extensive work that Larson did for the Canadian Avalanche Association while developing their private InfoEx online network over the past several years. The observation network is scheduled to launch by mid-March.

From a technology perspective, TetonSnowInfo.com was built utilizing the state-of-theart Windows .NET 3.5 framework, the new and very powerful ASP.NET chart control, Ajax for a more responsive and interactive user experience, and Linq for SQL to easily and robustly handle the database interaction. Larson explained, “It’s really amazing what a powerful development platform these tools provide and how quickly a complex product such as TetonSnowInfo.com can be developed.”

The Software Ranch, with many years of experience in a wide variety of fields including clinical medical, cable TV, and even ski area design, provides a broad range of software development services. They specialize in practical and easy-to-use software solutions for many types of problems, from data-driven Web sites to general simulation and modeling. You can reach The Software Ranch at the softwareranch@gmail.com or www.TheSoftwareRanch.com.

The Software Ranch LLC
Contact: Chris Larson
208-787-4111

26 Days to the Level 3 exam!

And I have the ick! I've been in denial for two days that I'm sick, but its true, I have an evil tummy bug. Bleh.

I figured that a good way to feel better would be to pound a Red Bull, eat almonds and chocolate on the chair lift, and do an infinite number of laps on the South Boundary of Slauchman's in like 16" of fresh snow on top of a bunch of wind drift... Yeah, it was at least knee deep, pillowing up to mid thigh all the way down...

The unfortunate truth of the matter is that I still suck in powder. But I'm getting better. Angela gave me some great pointers, and basically, I played in the snow all day with my friend like a little kid. We went through the trees, down the super steep stuff, hiked all over the ridge line, and on our final lap I dropped off the cornice and launched BIG off a rock, kinda hitting the one below it, but just scraping along it, and then landed POOF in a big powder pillow, but went forward, which is good, but not in deep pow, and CLICK! Right out of one of my skis, over the handlebars like falling in a deep pile of leaves. I came up with a giant grin on my face, and had to take off my other ski and hike back up, HIP DEEP to get the ski. Awesome.

I'm so sorry that I didn't have my camera! It was a truly spectacular, beautiful, amazing and an awesome play day. Just what the Dr. ordered.

Now... good night!

Donation Love!

Thanks, MH, for the lovely donation to my training fund! You are amazing! This helped me get back from Aspen, and pay for my Level 3 exam! Its mucho appreciated! (My couch cushions are a little lean lately...)

27 Days to the Level 3 Exam!

What an AMAZING day! Got up to Bridger for the early morning clinic, which was supposed to be on skiing low end demos, but there was at LEAST a foot of powder, so we talked about wedge christies, (I now have five, count em FIVE different descriptors for how they should be skied! I've skied them all, and I talked with Josh this evening and now I know which one to focus on, at least!), and then we went skiing!

I struggled a bit in South Bowl, but really enjoyed the bumps in Last Chance, then I took my ladies group (who ROCKS!) out to Southern Drawl and down the South Boundary fence line. They were awesome! Like a bunch of six year olds playing in the snow! It was amazing how positive and excited they were, this group is absoulutely full of positive can-do energy. I love it! And they rocked it, and all made great changes to their skiing! Then, Deb and I had a private after lunch, and we went down North Meadows and Crazy Woman, she took her first tree run in SawMill Gulch, and then we headed back over to the South Boundary.

At two, I went up and skied Flippers (SO FUN!) and then did laps in the whirlpools with Dave Evans and John Saam, working on getting the pressure in the turn more at the apex and less in the bottom in the steeps, and working on moving my pivot point back to under the boot, in the steeps, I'm resorting to pivoting around the tips, which is effective, but I'd like to make nice round turns with flow. I got a few good ones on the fourth lap, then we met up with Karen Kirk and ripped up Flippers again. I hucked it off the rocks on Angel's Flight, the first time I've done the "big" line, and it was GREAT! What awesome snow to do that in!!

A fantastic day, but I am pooped! Knackered! Wiped out! I have tons of stuff I should do tonight, but I have a bit of a tummy bug, so I am going to go to bed early, because tomorrow, if its safe enough, Angela and I are going to go ski Saddle Peak! Its our day off, and I need a hike, need some girl time, and need to ski the steeps! And YES, I'm hiking with my heavy skis!

27 days to the exam and I feel GOOD. On track. Strong. Understanding deepening every day. Time to go re-read Ron Lemaster's book (I can't wait for the new version this spring!) and fall asleep to JGS 5!

Massive explosion in downtown Bozeman!

I wasn't there, I was up at the hill, and I found out about it when my ladies group camp up. Unbelievable. I heard there was one fatality, but otherwise, no injuries, which is amazing considering how incredibly busy main street is in the morning! We are lucky it dumped snow last night! People weren't out and about like they usually are. No massage until further notice, downtown is closed!



Breaking News: Explosion Devastates Downtown Bozeman, One Person Missing
By KFBB News Team

Story Published: Mar 5, 2009 at 11:52 AM MST

Story Updated: Mar 5, 2009 at 2:50 PM MST

Updated 2:45 p.m.: BOZEMAN, Mont. (AP) - One person is unaccounted for after a natural gas explosion rocked downtown Bozeman this morning.

Assistant City Manager Chuck Winn says initially eleven people were unaccounted for after the fire that destroyed Boodles restaurant, the Rocking R Bar, Montana Trails Gallery, the American Legion building and Lilly Lu's children's store. He said police had been able to find ten of them.

The explosion happened at about 8:15 a.m. in the 200 block of Main Street. Crews allowed the fire to burn into this afternoon because NorthWestern Energy crews were unable to completely shut off the natural gas. Winn, the former fire chief, said the rubble of the collapsed buildings was not yet safe to search.

Students at the Hawthorne School in Bozeman were moved to the Bozeman Public Library due to possible air quality concerns, Superintendent Kirk Miller said early Thursday afternoon.

__________________

Update: 11:40 a.m. MST: An explosion has leveled at least three buildings in downtown Bozeman. ABC Montana's Dave Griffiths reports from Bozeman that the governor and Montana National Guard officials briefed reporters at 11:00 a.m. Firefighters are still on scene, but officials say the fire has now been contained in downtown Bozeman. At this point, there are no reports of injuries.

In addition, ABC Montana's Christina Marrazza reports from Helena that legislators have been briefed this morning on the explosion, and the governor has canceled all activities in Helena to be in Bozeman.

BOZEMAN, Mont. (AP) - An explosion rocked downtown Bozeman this
morning, collapsing three buildings and prompting evacuation of a two-block area. The explosion happened at about 8:15 a.m., sparking a large fire.

Boodles restaurant and bar were destroyed, and the adjacent Rocking R bar was heavily damaged. Police evacuated the two blocks surrounding the businesses, housed in historic brick buildings.

Jason Shrauger with the Gallatin County Disaster and Emergency Services said it was unknown what caused the explosion or if there were any injuries.

Witnesses reported seeing debris fly three times the height of the two-story building. Glass windows on downtown storefronts two blocks away were shattered by the blast.

City officials were investigating the possibility that a natural gas leak caused the explosion.

At 11:25 a.m. MST: U.S. Senator Max Baucus released this statement on the Bozeman explosion:

“Like all Montanans, I was shocked to learn of the explosion in downtown Bozeman. I pray that no one got hurt in the accident, and have full confidence in the emergency crews that have responded to the scene. Right now, my staff and I are working quickly to gather more information and determine where the federal government might be of assistance in this matter.”

At 11:45 a.m. MST: Senator Jon Tester released the following statement in response to today’s explosion:

“Sharla and I send our thoughts and prayers to everyone whose lives are affected by this disaster. Montana has some of the most capable emergency responders in the country, and I appreciate their hard work and dedication. I am following this story closely as we sort through the questions, and my staff and I are standing by to help any way we can.”

Mother Huckers! My Lady's Day group video is up!

We stole our name from cliff hucking camp! These women ROCK!

Its Bridger Bowl's Thursday morning lady's group!

28 Days to Level 3 Exam!

What an AWESOME day! Went up with the intention to be very disciplined, and ended up skiing on my fat skis in a posse with Jeff Abelin, Joe Krakker, Zach Rogala and Angela Patnode! Wheee!

We were trying to carve on the groomers with the fat skis, and carve the bumps on flippers as well. It was fun, but at about 9:45 I went down to get my exam skis. I still ski a bit in the back seat on the fatties, I'm kinda scared to get forward and really pressure them, and that's not confidence building for the exam, and I really need to focus right now. So they all went over to Slauchmans and then did a ridge hike, and I went down to get my brain in exam mode.

So I changed feet, but I only brought one ski up on the lift, I left the other at the snowflake, and rode up to Pierre's, where I did about six laps on one ski, switching feet. Upper Thunder Road is a bit tricky on one ski! But whats FUNNY to me is I remember my first day with Karen Kirk, three Februarys ago, standing at the top of that run for our warm up and thinking, holy hell, we are warming up on a black diamond, I am going to die. We call upper Thunder Road the "funnel of death" because it gets all scraped out and icy. But today, it got a bit bumped up but was carvable.

I was working on making the ski function like it is supposed to, engaging the tip, moving across it like I would were I on two skis, rather than flattening it and pivoting it. It was SO much fun! I ventured into the crud when it was on my left foot for about a quarter of the run, but hopped back out because I wanted to really focus on the mechanics of what makes the ski function most effectively in the turn. It was great to only have the one ski on, because there is TWICE as much to think about with two skis on!!

I went down and got the other one at noon and took one "arcing" run to see what the practical application of the drill to my everyday skiing would be like, and I have to say it was AWESOME! It did something significant to the transition portion of the turn, my inside leg was softer faster, and I was on the edge earlier in the turn, but not with a hard move. I also felt more stacked, less broken at the waist and was skiing into and out of counter better. Very nice!! We'll see if it sticks.

Right now, its DUMPING outside, but I think I'm going to take my slalom skis up tomorrow and try them out in the powder, they are only 63 underfoot, and see what happens. I have my ladies group tomorrow (Whoops, better upload that video!), and then some time to train at lunch. I think I'll probably be working on powder technique and tactics all day!! Wooo Hoooo!

29 days to level 3

All life maintenance is on total hold. no homework is being done, no studying. working at massage and getting some tutoring, training like a fiend. loving it. need to take a non-sunday off to handle things like mail and phone calls.

Today: Wedge Christies with John Saam and Alex Sweeney (Who has a DAMN GOOD EYE.), Medium Radius turns in the bumps over and over and over...

I'm not sure what is going on with me there, it doesn't seem to be improving. Wedge turns, I understand. Wedge Christies, I understand (but need to check with Josh) rythem changes in the bumps, yes, approaching, needs work, but I know what. Javelin turns, need some work, but I understand them.

Freaking MR Turns in the Bumps are making me scratch my head. I have discovered this week i am a very literal person, and so when i think MR Turn in Bumps, I see an arc'd line through the bumps, and in my mind, my body is thinking of what it feels like to arc on the groom, which is incongruous with what you do in the bumps. Must talk this out with someone soon. I think its lack of understanding stopping me from asking my body to do what it needs to do. Sometimes it feels pretty good. But I can't reproduce it because the understanding isn't solid yet.

Tomorrow: More MR in the bumps, Charlestons, open parallel and Wedge Christie check.

Bath time bliss

The boys, Bodhi, ethan, and duke after an awesome NIGHT at the hot springs.

32 Days, 16 hours to Level 3 Exam

Today, one hour of wedge turns, one run in the Whirlpools with Dan Hall, visiting with lovely wife Jen from Brighton, forty minutes of Wedge Christies.

Wedges feel good. Wedge Christies need work. Tomorrow: Teaching, more wedge christies with video and someone watching.

Never, Ever, EVER Leave your Wingman!

Another quick update post before we tackle the backlog of Aspen and Crested Butte training...

So the reentry into Bozeman was bumpy at best. I have to say this last week and a half has tested my belief in myself and my sense of self in a way that its hasn't been tested since... well, since LAST year at this time, about four weeks before the Level 3 Exam.

Because I want this blog to be a true account of what it takes to get to teams tryouts in five years (with only THREE LEFT! AHHH!) I need to write about the warts and the bumps as well as the good times. So here goes.

The trip to Colorado was spectacular. I learned a LOT, changed my skiing significantly, gained deeper understanding of skiing in general, and my skiing in particular. I learned to face fear (hello, jumping off a waterfall on my skis), and I learned that its okay to go straight, and maybe even okay to go fast.

On Wednesday, I drove home about 15 hours, got in late, got up early, taught at Bridger all day (YAY ladies group! WOO HOO!). Things felt weird in the locker room, just a little off, and I thought, okay, well, I've been gone for two weeks, so thats to be expected. I'll just quiet myself down a little rather than ranting on and on about how much fun I had cliff hucking, and sharing everything I'd learned or been working on in Aspen.

This was hard, because, you know, I'm a bit verbal, and I get really excited about stuff, and I really wanted to verbalize what I'd learned in Aspen so I could help make it stick. But, concerned about widening the gap I was feeling, I decided to turn the volume down on Kate a bit.

On Friday, I went back to school, where things felt really weird there as well. There had been some hard feelings that I was allowed to go on my trip while others were not. When I left we were all very good friends, when I came back, there was a large gulf between us. This really rattled me, as I have come to rely on Health Works as a safe haven, and my friends there have helped me through a lot. The day was tough, we had some good conversations that made the issue clear, but the sadness was thorough on both sides.

On Friday night, Tom and I killed the dream. I suppose there was a part of each of us that was hoping that one day we'd end up back together after a good break, but we realize on Friday that that's just not the case.

Saturday, I went over to Mama Jen's house (This is one of my very closest friends, we nursed each others kids! When the chips are down, this is the friend I run to.)

I spent the day in her house processing through the shock of the conversation Tom and I had had the night before and letting the reality sink in. That night, the boys slept at Jen's house, and Tom and I had a farewell party. We spent the evening sitting in front of the fire, talking through how we ended up there. Tom put it well, "So, what did you do last night?" "Well, I got a massage, hung out with my best friend, and divorced my wife. And there were only the two of us all night!".

Sunday, I went up to teach at Bridger with a little TINY (uh) hangover, emotional and physical, and landed right in the lap of friends who care. Shannon and Alex gave me snuggles as I fuddled my way through the day, ending in a great lesson, which helped re-energize me. I ended up doing something I never do, I canceled my evening massages and went home to my family.

It was fine at home, warm, safe, still a family, nothing has changed from the day before, the week before, the year before, and I'm so proud of Tom and I for that.

Monday, back to school, and of course, a torrent of tears in Chair massage, worried about my friends, just too emotionally raw to take any more and I lost it.

Tuesday back at Bridger for the epic ski day with Alex and Mike Leslie, which set me back to normal, including four huge wrecks and a possibly fractured wrist (whatever). Starting to normalize.

Wednesday. Integration seminar at school. This means we all sit around in a circle and talk about what's working and what isn't. I have to say I wasn't looking forward to it, because I knew that the subject of me being allowed to leave for training trips was a sore one, and was going to come up.

I have to say its an amazing thing that Ruth, our head of school does, getting the whole school together (all 13 of us!) and talking through any issues we have. We talked about a lot that day, and then, the issue that was bothering my friends came up, and we talked through that. It was hard, but great, and in the end, I felt that things could get back to normal there as well.

Now is the strange transition time, I have all of March off, and I am catching up on school missed, and shifting my focus with all I have in my being to training for the Level 3 exam. This week they overlap as I go in for tutoring and take some missed exams, but get up to Bridger as much as I can.

I had the opportunity to ski with Josh yesterday and get his eyeballs on me. I was lucky that it was a deep powder day and I was on my fat skis, which I don't ski my best on. In other words, Josh got to see me NOT at my best, but at my most mediocre. Which is a good thing. I have a lot of work to do. Powder is my weakest point, and fat skis are still confusing to me!

Josh asked me, "Where'd Kate go? We need that chameleon back. The one who could change her skiing every run. You've plateaued."

I thought about what he said, and he's right, my intensity and intention for absorbing information and being a master student had all but disappeared in the last two weeks. And it wasn't turned up to high before I left, as my attention was split by all the issues with school and divorce and my private practice and my kids and paying bills, writing a book, a technical manual, and arranging details of upcoming trips with sponsors and magazines.

That afternoon, I went in for tutoring with Aubrey for Pathology. It was incredible, a terrific session, but the thing that was wild was that she said the same thing that Josh did. "Why are you hiding and apologizing for being you? Why are you taking on the guilt of the whole room?"

We talked quite a bit about that, it doesn't happen to me very often, but I had definitely come to a place in the last two weeks where I doubted my choices, who I was, at what cost would I go to this try out, was I making good decisions or terrible, horrible, destructive ones, and why can I not tell the difference between a good decision that keeps me on my path with balance, and a catastrophic decision?

I decided then and there that my gut is right, that Josh and Aubrey and Shannon and Jen have all seen that the choice to pull back myself and be more quiet, not ask for what I need, not honoring myself, was hurting rather that helping.

And so, once again, I decide that who I am is who I am, and that some people may feel overwhelmed by that, and that's okay, they don't have to stay close, and some people like it, and that's okay too. Right now, I have four weeks to the toughest certification in skiing. I need to be me, believe in me, give myself permission to learn like I learn, turn up all the receptors in every cell in my body to absorb and understand the changes I need to make in my skiing.

After I left Aubrey, I went to give a few massages, and I was thinking about how for the last five years, I've been working on staying true to me, trusting my gut, honoring who I am rather than subjugating to what is convenient or comfortable for others. This subjugating is an old habit brought on by being raised by a man with Narcissistic Personality Disorder.

And if there is ONE THING I'm NOT gonna do, its let THAT GUY get in the way of me passing my exam! Here's when it hit me, the thread from the past that tied it all together: I'm sixteen, we're at Disneyland as a family. He asks, "What's your favorite land?" to all of us.

This is a game, the game is a competition for who in the family can come up with the deepest, most creative, most meaningful answer, and the prize is pride for the person with the best answer, and crushing devastation for those who weren't quick enough on their feet.

I decided to go with honesty. "Fantasyland!" because its true, I love it, I love how much work and time they put into carving the designs in the wood on Mr. Toad's wild ride, the promise of the castle, the creativity of Alice's wild ride, the coming of age of learning to love the teacups...

The answer: "Of course it is. Because you live in fantasyland. You have no concept of reality what so ever. And you never will. I'm not surprised to hear that at all." And guess what? We had been walking through Fantasyland, and we left. Immediately. Lets cut that dreamer off at the knees. (What's a more Reality based part of Disneyland, IS THERE SUCH A THING?)

And yesterday, I reached back in my mind and found that moment, and then raced forward, stopping at each moment that I found in my memory where I apologized for thinking differently, where I felt badly and didn't follow who I was. I systematically unplugged those moments in my mind, identifying them as reactions to how someone else felt rather than as my true self making decisions.

And today, I head to Bridger on a bluebird powder day to work low end demos on groomers for a few hours. I'm back!