Jackson Hole (Jan 26 -29): Look out Jackson Town

"We are not grand because we are at the top of the food chain or because we can alter our environment -- the environment will outlast us with its unfathomable force and unyielding powers. But rather than be bound and defeated by our insignificance, we are bold because we exercise our will anyway, despite the ephemeral and delicate presence we in this desert, on this planet, in this universe." - Aron Ralston, Between a Rock and a Hard Place


Every day we see ways humans have fought, conquered, and overcome nature with roads, buildings, and bridges. We watch on the news as mother nature fights back, with tornadoes, hurricanes, fires, and earthquakes. Even Bear Grylls, the ultimate nature man, is up against the wild. However, when man and nature can coexist, it is really something beautiful.

Wednesday afternoon we packed up the van with 4 skiers and 4 snowboarders to head to Jackson Hole for the Gatorade Free Flow tour. I had been looking forward to this trip all year, because the last time I had been to Jackson Hole was in the summer on our Sophomore College geology trip, and driving by the ski resort over and over again was just a taunt. The time before that I was 9 years old and just learning how to snowboard, unable to appreciate the greatness of the mountain. Jackson Hole has a looming presence in the ski world as one of the best mountains in America, if not the world. The terrain is steep and technical and the views are breathtaking. I had known from the beginning that this trip was not going to be about the park. Turns out I was in for a bigger surprise than I had thought.
We arrived under the wyoming stars and I knew it was going to be a good trip. I was filled with flashes of my summer in Crested Butte spending night after night under mountain stars - no light pollution, no city smog... just you and the sky. It strikes a chord somewhere deep down that makes you just smile at the grandness of the universe and the beauty of nature. Its a feeling that gets rid of all the small problems of the day, because you are facing something so much bigger than just you. This is a feeling you often miss in the suburbs of New York, or San Francisco, or even Salt Lake City for that matter. It was a feeling I had been longing for for a couple months now.
The next day we woke up to foggy skies and got out of bed slowly hoping the fog would pass. We had big plans for the day - Dustin was going to take us hiking up Teton Pass and show us his old stomping grounds in Wyoming backcountry. No lifts, no park, no snowboard scene, just us and the mountain. By the time we got out of the house and drove up to the pass, the skies were bright blue and near cloudless, it was warm and avy danger was low... a near perfect day. We set out on the 45 minute - 1 hour hike to the top of Glory Bowl. The sun was beating down and it was a straight uphill hike, so everyone definitely got a good sweat in. Some of the boys were not too stoked on the hike, which I will admit was very steep, especially in snow gear and without water. But after I got over the first couple hundred feet, I was beyond ecstatic. Once again I was filled with flashes of the summer, of long hikes and fresh mountain air. Hiking mountains is an unbelievable feeling, because you feel as if you are doing something that no technology can. You progress beyond civilization to an intimate relationship with you and the mountain. By hiking, you are not fighting nature or overcoming it, you are simply coexisting with it. And after putting your lungs to the test, standing at the top of a mountain looking out over what you just accomplished - its hard to say there is a much better feeling in the world. 
(Chillin at the top of Glory Bowl)

At the top of the mountain we were all feeling accomplished and slightly parched, but the hard part was over. We celebrated for a bit at the top, making friends with our fellow hikers. The best part about winter is that once you get to the top you get to snowboard down. I have to say, my least favorite part about hiking this summer was definitely coming down the mountain. I couldn't escape the bumps and bruises that over took my knees and legs. So coming off of my hiking high, we then set out to snowboard down. We were not sure of what to expect - it hadn't snowed in a week and it was kind of hot. To our surprise, it was pretty unbelievable... almost right out of a movie. The whole way down all 8 of us cruised through the trees and gullies getting untouched powder and hitting natural features. When we got to the bottom, every single person was grinning ear to ear. We hitch hiked back to the car, with smiles on our faces. It had gotten late, so we attempted to go to SnowKing to ride some night park. Unfortunately SnowKing let us down and had no park, so instead we chased a moose. We all fell asleep that night, exhausted but fulfilled after an awesome day of new experiences.

(Clifford "getting lost")

On Friday we attempted to go to Jackson Hole (the resort) to check out the park and explore the terrain. However as things happen, we couldn't get discounts on passes and the bottom was socked in, so by the time noon rolled around nobody was willing to pay $90 to ride half a day. Instead, we headed to SnowKing to ride for 3 hours. SnowKing is a pretty small resort, so after about an hour we had already hiked to the best spots. The top was sunny, so it made for a pretty view, however once we dropped below the clouds things were not all that exciting.

(Top of snowking above the clouds)
There were a lot of races going on, and SnowKing was not too stoked on a bunch of park rats dressed in bright colors at their mountain with no park, so after a series of incidents and a covert mission through the trees, we headed to Billy's hamburgers to grab some of the best burgers in town. We headed home to change, and then drove through the Wyoming sunset to registration for Gatorade Free Flow. Once again, exhausted, yet fulfilled we all fell asleep.

(Wyoming sunset on the way to teton village)


The next day was probably the first beautiful competition day we have had in a really long time. The sun was shining, no clouds, and no wind. It was too bad that when we got to the course, there were two 15 ft jumps that you had to go as fast as humanly possible into. The course was questionable, but it was whatever. Good thing Jackson Hole is not known for its park. After practice I went to explore the mountain, finding a couple of Jackson's stash parks (all natural features) and riding up the tram (which was beautiful). It was hard to believe that it was ten years ago I had been first thrown up the tram and told to snowboard. Where does the time go?

(View from the top)
 Girls finally got to go at around 2 after all the guys and skiers had gone. Unfortunately we did not know the speed at all and it had been warm all day so it was only natural to believe that the speed had gotten slower. I started off the starting block for my first run and went in to do my back 3 off the first jump. As things go, I overshot the 15 foot landing to flats and over rotated my 3, not landing the jump. Second run I was ready to stomp it. I started BELOW the block  and rolled in slowly thinking I would have no problem because all the big guys had been knuckling all day. Of course, I once again overshot the jump. So I didn't land a run, but ended up in second and got a lot of gatorade. Overall - it was an okay day. The two days before definitely made the trip. I have faith though... a landed run in a competition will come eventually. I'm still hungry.
It's hard to be hungry when every time you start to attack your food you get food poisoning. Yet, we can't stop needing food. We need to be fed and nourished to survive and need feeds desire. Maybe that desire will be dulled every once in a while, but there is a reason you desire to eat. Once you have found that hunger, there is not much you can do to get rid of it, except feed yourself. And even after being fed, the hunger returns. The key to food poisoning is not to gorge yourself once the hunger returns... because your stomach cannot take all that food at once. You also cannot back off completely, because you will starve. It's all about finding a happy medium, with the confidence that one day you will not get food poisoning.

So overall, we definitely took advantage of our Jackson trip. We all headed home happy and tired. It was a great trip and I am so glad I got the opportunity to return to Jackson. I can't help but feel at home under those stars. Half the crew is heading up to Canada for the Canadian Open, and the other half has already departed for Colorado for a fun trip. As for me, I will be in Park City regaining my appetite, ready to stomach a full meal again.

Park City Burton Am (Jan 22): Patience - The Lost Virtue

In our fast paced, high tech, ever-progressing world we have become accustomed to getting what we want, where we want it, when we want it. With high speed internet, cell phones, and fast food restaurants, speed just becomes an expectation. When your sonic burger takes more than 5 minutes, or the internet won’t bring you to the page you want fast enough, or you can’t connect a call, it means that something must be wrong. What was once a luxury is now a given. We cram our daily lives with as much as we can on the basis that things will run as expected, and a screw up, like 10 minutes to get a latte instead of 5, can mess up your whole day. While all of these advancements allow us to run at the highest efficiency possible, it inevitably takes away the ability to be patient. It’s hard to believe that once upon a time people had to wait weeks to simply get a message that we can type on our smartphones and send cross country within seconds.

           

            Sometimes we forget that we can’t just expect things to happen before our eyes, especially in a sport where muscle memory and repetition are the keys to success. We expect because we wish it to be so, it will just happen.

            Well, unfortunately this is not always the case. For the lucky few, the action will just click and the trick is there. However for the majority of people, it requires throwing the trick multiple times and understanding the mechanics of the trick before it becomes a stomped trick. It requires patience.

            It is almost easy to work hard and be dedicated in comparison. Hard work and dedication requires a physical effort, whereas patience requires a mental effort. Waking up early and putting your body through physical routine pales in comparison to overcoming a repeated bodily beat down trick after trick, doing things you know you can land. The mind is our own worst enemy. The pain of a physical beat down will go away eventually, but the wear and tear of a mental beat down can cause life-changing decisions. Our bodies are much more accustomed to overcoming physical pain than mental pain; it requires a discipline unlike any other.

            As it always go, Saturday brought snowy weather and high winds for the Burton Am at Park City. The day before was a beautiful, sunny day. We had been hitting the course all day and figuring out the speed, stomping tricks over and over again. The jump line was looking promising and I had my run all set up. I was feeling confident going into the competition on Saturday, but the winds were definitely gusting. The flags were blowing hard, but that didn’t seem to deter many people. We started out the day checking the speed. It was definitely different than the day before, the first run I knuckled the first, and the second run overshot all three. We had one final run to go before practice was over, and regardless of my speed issues I was still feeling pretty confident. I came into the first one a little slow and barely knuckled, and then took the regular turns into the second. The minute I took off the lip I knew I was going to knuckle the 35 ft step down. At the same time a gust of wind came, and I came down hard to the knuckle to my face and chest. The knuckle and I got very up close and personal. I knocked the wind out of myself pretty badly and got a nice battle scar on my nose. 

Needless to say, I was a little shaken up, both physically and mentally. I knew I had stomped those jumps over and over again the day before, but I couldn’t help but feel like I had just been smacked in the face. I went to go freeride to get my feet back under me, and when I came back a couple hours later for my runs, the jumps had been taken out of the competition because the speed was so slow and the winds were so high. It ended up just being a rail jam, and it was so snowy it was even hard to hit the rails. I was feeling pretty beat up, but competed anyways and once again Jessika Jenson got first (even in a competition with three rails!). It was definitely a little bit of a rough day.

Another competition day, another beat down. It’s all just a test – coming down to how we handle it and how we move on. I have two options: 1) dwell on the falls and the failures and remain stuck in the past or 2) move on, confident in my own ability, with hard work, dedication, and patience. Number 2 is really the only option in my mind. Learning how to be patient isn’t always easy, but in the end, as a good friend has said to me, through endurance we conquer. 








On another note...




First Urban Feature in Colorado on trailer





Write up in the Stanford Daily:
http://www.stanforddaily.com/2011/01/26/better-boarding/

Colorado (Jan 13 - 17): Going Green

Sometimes its not hard to wonder why we wreck ourselves day in and day out, sleep on floors, sit in cars for hours on end (and eat in more fast food restaurants than I can count on both hands), and endure freezing temperatures, when there are many other more appealing options. We ask ourselves why we CHOOSE this lifestyle over hundreds of other that might be more comfortable or more secure...

But then something happens, and it's a feeling you can't quite explain. It's a little glimmer  of hope, and the knowledge that you are pursuing the life you want to be living. It could be a stomped trick or a perfect day, or a piece of the puzzle that fits into the larger picture you are trying to create. It can even be as simple as an encouraging smile or a text message. It is a moment of clarification stronger than any cloud of doubt, and the promise of more of these moments that keeps us going.

We set out on the 9 hour drive to Colorado on Thursday afternoon. On the way there, I took a big leap: I switched out the board I have been riding for 4 years for a new one that I had never ridden before. I had tried a couple different boards over the past few years, but every time I returned to my Rome. However, as time has its ways, I realized it was time to move on. Switching snowboards is like moving houses: you leave everything you know and love in the hopes that the new one will be all that and more, but you run the risk that it won't be. I had heard good things about Niche snowboards from the boys, and I strongly supported the eco-friendly construction, but for the most part I dove in head first, hoping I could trust what I heard.
Call it green-washing if you'd like, but as soon as I held my new Niche in my hands things felt right. It was more than just a snowboard; it was values I believed in. The board is made of recycled materials with a sustainable wood core and a digi-print topsheet that doesn't use lacquer and cuts up to 60% of the material and 75% of the energy wasted during alternative printing processes. This is true progression of the sport - providing a sustainable alternative in a changing world. Obviously there are still a lot of materials and energy that go into making the board, however as we move into the future, industries need to find ways to make their footprints a little smaller as our resources begin to deplete. Niche is taking a bold step forward in leading the snowboard industry to take action in order to save the industry. Without snow, there are no snowboards. Michael Pollan says in his book, Second Nature: "We won't get anywhere until we come to terms with this crucial ambiguity about our role [in nature] - we are at once the problem and the only possible solution to the problem." We all need to believe we can make a difference, and every little bit helps.
Maybe green-washing helps me snowboard, because the next day on snow was one of the best days all season. Keystone's park was unbelievable, the sun was shining, and the feeling of a new board under my feet was amazing. I had put all my trust into my Niche Minx, and I felt like there was so much more than just a snowboard under my feet. It had all the pop of a new snowboard, and all the enforcement of my beliefs... it was all that my Rome was, and so much more. We had an awesome day of filming on endless features at Keystone and returned to our condo exhausted, but grinning ear to ear. Life was just awesome.
We woke up early the next morning to head to Vail for the Gatorade Free Flow tour. The morning started out a little rough with cloudy skies and sore bodies from the day before. The course wasn't great - a little on the small side and it was pretty hard to see. For a while, things were looking pretty dim. But we had 4 hours to turn our attitudes around, and as 2 pm rolled around and after a long day of sitting and waiting the girls finally got to go, the clouds broke open and it was sunny! We actually got to do our runs with blue skies and perfect visibility. I hadn't landed my run in practice, so I was just hoping I would be able to land it in the competition. Things started off really well, I landed my first backside 360 ever in a competition off the first jump, and unfortunately got a little too excited and ended up overshooting the third jump by about 20 ft on a straight air (oops) and didn't end up landing my run. That aside, I was ecstatic for having landed my unnatural 3. Jessika Jenson once again swept the competition and got first place, making her undefeated up to this point, and the boys both made it to finals. All in all, a crappy day turned into a very exciting one and we once again returned back to the condo tired, but happy.
We got to sleep in for a little on Sunday morning then headed back to Keystone to ride the awesome park. Unfortunately the light was a little flat, but we made a day of it on the rails (there were so many!). It was ridiculously crowded because of MLK weekend, but ended up seeing some old friends which is always nice. After riding we headed to Woodward, where we can trampoline and hit snowflex ramps on our snowboards into a foam pit. Learned some new tricks, perfected some old ones, and had an overall good time.
We woke up Monday to the wind howling outside. As it always does, weather overtook us and Keystone was closed. After working hard for three days, we finally packed up Clifford and headed home. Overall a very successful three days in Colorado: stomped some new tricks, had a perfect day, and added a piece to the puzzle of the larger picture I am trying to create. It is so important to live a lifestyle you believe in and believe in the lifestyle you live.

Moral of the weekend:
Find what you love... Then find a way to make the world a better place for everyone around you.

Oh yeah, and did you know there are no recycling bins at Colorado gas stations?  Come on Colorado! Step your game up.

Thanks, Niche for the awesome board! Keep doing what you are doing.

Mammoth (Jan 6-10): Only place to go is up!

The beginning of the season competitions always set the bar for the rest of the season. The good thing about setting the bar low, is that its pretty much guaranteed that you will improve! 

We packed Clifford, the big red van, to the brim on Thursday morning and set out to mammoth for the Burton Am. After nine hours of top 40 hits, a couple dead birds, and a lot of nevada gas stations, we made it to Mammoth. Friday was a beautiful sunny day, and we spent the majority of the day hitting the airbag. It was strange at first to be throwing myself into a big blue bag, but after a couple runs of running into the bag instead of landing on top of it (oops), I started getting a little more used to it. We went to check out the competition course, and besides a little head wind and couple massive overshoots, things were looking good. After a good day of riding we headed home to rest up for the contest on saturday. Woke up Saturday morning feeling confident and ready to take on the day. The competition set up was perfect with 3 jumps (about 35 ft, 40 ft, 45 ft), a hip, and two rail options. The jumps were immaculate. Feeling pretty confident after a couple runs of practice, all the girls sat around for about an hour and a half waiting for the boys. Finally our turn was up. That confidence did not last very long as I overshot my frontside 360 on jump 3 to my back on my first run. Ready to combat the second run, toning it down a little bit in hopes of making it to finals since hardly any of the girls were landing their runs, I took an extra subconscious speedcheck between jump 1 and 2, and landed on the knuckle then bounced about 20 ft down the knuckle to my face, and finished up the run with some rail tricks. To say the least, I did not make it to finals. However, wasatch project rider Jessika Jenson swept the competition and landed best trick. After a long day of beating myself up, I headed home and pretty much straight to bed. We woke up Sunday with hopes of hitting the airbag, however it was so windy that the airbag wasn't up and everyone was so sore, we hiked a rail for an hour or two instead. We packed up Monday morning and tried again to hit the airbag, but once again the wind and cloudy skies overtook us, so after a couple of pictures with the mammoth, we packed up Clifford and began the trek back to Utah. 

While the competition did not go as well as it could have, it was still an awesome couple of days at Mammoth. I got to hit my first airbag, and am feeling more and more comfortable on snow everyday. I have got to give props to their park for probably the smoothest jumps I have ever ridden. It's nice to be home riding Park City for a day or two. 

Off to Colorado on wednesday for Gatorade Free Flow!

Just a thought...

“Strength” has taken on a new meaning in my life. The word has come to encompass not only physical strength at peak condition, but also mental, emotional, academic, and spiritual strength in all conditions, but most notably, finding strength when it is almost impossible to find. To be strong in all of these areas ultimately makes a person invincible. While sometimes I like to imagine I am invincible, I know that I am far from it. However, it is the struggle for the invincibility that contains the sweat, dreams, tears, frustration, sacrifice, love, and most importantly the beauty. All of these struggles are a part of living the dream, but more importantly, living my dream. The convergence of “the dream” and “my dream” has become an important concept to me, because this is all part of a larger picture than just me. How I pursue my dreams, how I live my life, and what I choose to do with my education is just a reflection of who I am and what I believe. This is a picture that I am painting for the world to see. The people in my life have shown me their pictures and inspired me to create something so unique, that sometimes I can’t even believe it. But their inspiration reflected on me has instilled in me a great desire for people to experience the world the way I do: to see every day as opportunity and grasp that opportunity, embrace the hard times as a learning experience, laugh endlessly, give back to a world that has given so much to us, and ultimately just live. I’m not perfect, I’m not invincible, I’m not always going to have the best day of my life, I will not always perform at peak performance, I’m not going to be the best at everything or change someone’s life everyday, and I might even make some mortal enemies. But I am beginning to come to terms that all of this is okay. It’s okay to be knocked down hard. It’s okay to be frustrated. It’s okay to want to give up. Everyone is going to reach rock bottom at some point in his or her life and feel like there is no light at the end of the tunnel. This is the tipping point, the denoument, whatever other synonym would fit in here. Here is when ordinary turns into extraordinary. I will not give up. Do I know if the end will be worth it? No. But I don’t care. To me, it is not about the end goal. It is the picture I am painting, what I am taking from my life and giving back to the world around me. Accomplishing great things are only really worthwhile when they are great for the people around you. A fabulous university is not the end of my academic career. In fact it is only the beginning. I have been given the opportunity to have an impact on the world and I will not take that for granted. An athletic opportunity to pursue competitive snowboarding not only gives me the opportunity to pursue my dream to the fullest, but hopefully can inspire others to dream big. I don’t really believe anything is impossible. I believe there are a lot of barriers, but when you set your heart to something that is worth it, those barriers only make things more exciting, and I’m ready to take on those barriers with all I’ve got: sweat, tears, frustration, and all…

New Beginnings in 2011

Welcome to my blog! This blog is dedicated to all family, friends, teachers, and coaches out there who have been a part of my life, and have supported (or challenged) all of my endeavors. If you are reading this, then you may already know that I have decided to take winter quarter off of school to pursue competitive snowboarding. After years of taking tests on the road and traveling with 100 pounds of books to snowboard competitions, it became clear that I wasn't just going to let snowboarding slide off the radar. Finally, as a junior at Stanford, my major allowed me to organize my classes in fall and spring so I could take winters off to snowboard and give my back a break from all the books (thanks quarter system!). After rigorous strength training and trampolining in the fall with my roommate and partner in crime, Anu Khosla, and the one and only pterodactyl-man-coach, Carl Paoli, I packed my room into my subaru and moved out to Utah to train with Dustin Linker and the Wasatch Project (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Wasatch-Project/90694842548). With the help of Carl, and Naka Athletics (www.nakaathletics.com), I felt prepared to take on the season at full strength. Two years after ACL surgery, I finally said goodbye to my knee brace. This season is about pushing boundaries, defying odds, and dancing with dreams. I am a firm believer 1) in full recovery from injury (in one way or another) and 2) that you will never recognize your full potential unless you go for it. The Wasatch Project has given me the opportunity to take my fall training to the snow, as we travel around the United States to competitions this winter. I am very grateful for this opportunity and cannot wait to see what adventures this season has in store.

With my winter schedule already packed, I figured I would create a blog to document my travels, achievements, not-so achievements, and everything else that comes across my path in the next couple of months. To all of you out there - thank you so much for all the support throughout the years, I wouldn't be where I am without all the people in my life who have inspired me to get here. Stanford, I'll see ya in April!

Enjoy!


"Seize this very minute; whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it; Boldness has genius, power and magic in it." -- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe