A look at the last 4 weeks: Part 3 - Redemption

Whoops! I thought this got posted months ago. Well, here it is now. I have an exciting ski trip in the works so stay tuned for news on that! My blog has not been that active the last few months, but you can always get updates here and here. 

Part 3: Redemption

Photo courtesy of Lake Louise Ski area

After a few days of rest I headed off to Lake Louie for the Ken Jones Classic. It was both the final race of the season for me and the final race of the 2012-2013 Canadian circuit. With the start of the race at 8:00am, I was up at 5:00am to eat and get to the pre-race meeting. The temperature was eerily reminiscent of the Jackson Hole race in January, -20 without the wind chill. Right off the start race Eric, Peter and I were testing each other with small accelerations, and unlike the Dogtooth Dash the weekend before I was feeling fast.

Elite Men's podium - Ken Jones Classic
(Peter, me, Eric, Stano)

The race was lots of fun with great descents on steep terrain and well-set skin tracks. The three of us stuck together all the way to the end of the last climb, when I was able to put a gap into Peter and Eric. I finished first, followed closely by Peter and Eric. It was a close race! Check out a great race report here.

Following the race I headed up to the Columbia Icefield for some skiing. The first night my friend Marc and I slept in the parking lot in anticipation of our trip. We left early the next morning with the goal of making it to a spot on the Icefield commonly referred to as "The Trench". This is a common spot to spend the night before trying to summit Mount Columbia. We had a clear skies, but two -20 nights with no sleep took their toll and we did not summit. Other contributing factors were our lack of boot crampons and motivation. So after two days on the icefield, we skied out and went our separate ways.

Skiing off the Columbia and on to the
Athabasca Glacier

What an amazing winter of racing it has been! I have learnt so much about training and know that I have so much more to learn. There is something very fulfilling in working towards being the best you can be at something you love.
The journey to find my full potential is just beginning and this keeps me moving forward. Thank you to Millet, Julbo, my wonderful coach Jen Segger, my very understanding wife Aimee, and my great team members for all their help along the way. It's time to start working towards World Championships in 2015! But first it's time for spring skiing! Find something you love and start working towards your full potential.

Just hanging out on the Columbia with my best friend.
That's what skiing is all about!