from down south

Every summer leading up to the first on-snow camp is a bit of a grind. It takes a lot of patience to spend at least 3 hours a day in the gym (not to mention the other hours spent doing outdoor cardio…not as bad!), picking up dumbbells, jumping on boxes, spinning on a stationary bike one leg at a time, giving 100% doing something you often realize you despise.  And one thing I definitely despise is working out inside. It’s hard to find the motivation to push myself in a stinky gym with sweaty meatheads, piling questions and stares, and no one to work out with (thank the gods for mountain biking!). But after the first day of skiing every summer I know why I do it, where I find the drive, how I get all crazy-eyed and squat more than I even want to.

It happened again! Here I am in El Colorado, Chile. Skiing my face off. In fact, tomorrow is our last day of training…then I’m headed back to Oregon. Back to the gym. Back to the heat. It’s funny to transition between seasons so many times a year. Coming down to Chile is an especially drastic transition. It has been below -10 (Celcius) for the last few days of skiing, and it felt like -40. My body is just not used to the cold at this time of year. But now I’m becoming addicted, and I’m not sure I want to leave.

Although I’m sad to leave, the progress I have made here has been incredibly fruitful. I feel so good on my new equipment (thanks, Völkl/Marker/Lange!), and so many changes that I have been trying to make for years are naturally occurring with the help of what’s on my feet. I will post some videos of skiing soon, but for now…enjoy these pictures from the GoPro!

Peace and love.