Month: January 2014

Snowboarding with Team Utah Sundance

I had an awesome snowboarding experience a few days ago – riding along with Team Utah Sundance! Team Utah Snowboarding has chapters all over the state, but the Sundance chapter is extra special since it’s my home mountain.
 
 
Sundance Mountain Resort works in tandem with Team Utah to provide a developmental program for youth age 10 to 18. Although small, this group is committed to learning new skills and progressing in the sport. These riders are already hitting jumps, riding boxes and working on spins, even though two are first year team members.
While riding with Coach Jordan Rehrer and his group I learned a wealth of information – how to ollie and nollie, on hill 180s and 270s, practicing boxes and jumps. It was challenging and tiring but so worth it.

Coach Jordan Rehrer trains with riders every Saturday and select Wednesdays throughout the season. He started snowboarding at Sundance Resort fifteen years ago, moving to coaching at age nineteen. His philosophy involves emphasis on form and fundamentals while riding according to conditions, whether that’s park tricks, powder lines or tree skiing.
 
 
These riders are learning new skills while preparing for the Team Utah banked slalom race in March, hosted by Sundance Mountain Resort. My day with the team inspired me – just in time for the X games and Olympics.
 
Go Team Sundance!


Team Utah Snowboarding Boardercross

I had an awesome opportunity to snowboard with Team Utah Boardercross – an elite group of athletes training for all levels of competition including the World Cup and Olympics. It originally posted here:

http://teamutah.org/team-utah-boardercross-team-profile-by-guest-blogger-susan-strayer/

But I thought I’d give you an exclusive on the blog as well:

“Boardercross is fast, sketchy, head to head racing, baby!” said Team Utah Boardercross rider Hunter Wilson last week at the Canyons resort. He and his teammates train five or six days a week to master the art of going fast under the direction of head coach Jon Casson.

Even though this is Casson’s first year at Team Utah, his program is well established thanks to more than 14 years of coaching athletes from all over the US, Australia and New Zealand out of Steamboat Springs, CO. When the opportunity came to bring his technique to Utah’s terrain, Casson made the move and brought along an impressive coaching team.
Assistant coaches include World Cup champion and two time Olympic athlete Graham Watanabe, World Cup rider Cody Brown and Team Utah founder Lane Clegg. Watanabe began coaching full time this year and told me, “I was kinda surprised that it’s just as rewarding to coach others to success [as to achieve success myself].” As rider Olyvia Weston puts it, “These are best coaches around.”

 
“Good Boardercross comes from a good boarder,” said Casson. “Our team focuses on versatility – riding on any terrain at any time, confidence and adaptability.” Their focus on aggressive riding has already paid off for teammate Jarryd Hughes (AUS) who came home with a World Cup Win from Lake Louise Canada on December 21, 2013.
Other World Cup hopefuls include Mick Dierdoff, Jenna Feldman, Roger Carver (previous World Cup athlete and Junior Olympian), Rosie Mancari, Duncan Campbell, Cole Schreiber and Alyssa Dolgin. Current Gold medalist in half pipe, Torah Brite also joins Team Utah Boardercross as a guest athlete at World Cup races in her attempt to be the only athlete to qualify for the Olympics in three snowboarding disciplines.


With riders from all over the country and several from Australia, the boardercross team has a busy schedule ahead. They race in Andorra January 10-12, 2014 followed by Veysonnaz, Switzerland January 17-18, 2014. Follow that up with the Olympics in Sochi, Russia, the X games in Aspen, Coloradeo and NorAm races in Canada and the US, and it’ll be tough work ahead for this crew. From the looks of it, they’re up for the challenge.



 

Team Utah Boardercross, The Canyons Resort, Utah

This winter I’ve had the amazing opportunity to shadow some different Team Utah Snowboarding Chapters. Team Utah is an organization committed to furthering the sport of snowboarding, and several of the athletes I’ve met are training for North American, World Cup, Olympic and Paralympic races.

It’s been awesome, and inspiring. Here’s a video of my recent ride with Team Utah Boardercross. So fun!

 


January is Birthday Month!

 
January is a big birthday month in our mountain home. Not only did I turn 31 earlier this month, but Big E turns 5 in just a few weeks. I always get excited about birthdays, so much so that I celebrate a birthday week (or longer). That way I can do all the fun things I want to do and not have to cram them into one day.
 
Have a party? Sure. Go snowboarding. Of course. Fancy dinner with Mountain Dad. Yes, please. Birthdays are a time for joy and celebration and I’d love to share our special month with all of you. Please leave a comment with any fun birthday traditions you have in your home. Here are a few of ours:
 

1. Special Birthday Meals – Ever since I was a girl, the Birthday Boy or Girl chooses what the family eats for breakfast, lunch and dinner. As a kid that meant Lucky Charms and chicken nuggets. Now it’s more likely to involve anything I don’t have to prepare myself.
 
2. Favorite Memories – During the Birthday Dinner everyone at the table says a favorite positive memory of the Birthday Boy or Girl. Good times.
 
3. Heavy Heavy Hang Over – When opening presents, the Birthday Boy or Girl gets bumped on the head with the gift in time to this little rhyme:
 Heavy, Heavy, hangover, thy poor head. What do you wish with a BUMP on your head?
 
I’m not sure how this rhyme came to be, or why it was used in my family growing up (especially since my parents didn’t drink and therefore never had hangovers) but now it’s a tradition.
 
4. Cookies, Candles and Ice Cream – Of course the Birthday Boy or Girl chooses what flavor of dessert they want, but in our house we rarely have cake for a birthday. I prefer Mrs. Fields’ decorated cookie cakes, Mountain Dad is an ice cream fiend and Big E is allergic to wheat so he usually gets rice krispie treats. Little G doesn’t have an opinion yet.
 
5. Parties – I love parties, so every month I convince our extended family to get together and celebrate something. Among my two parents, eight siblings, their spouses and my twenty two (soon to be twenty five) nieces and nephews, there’s always someone’s birthday to celebrate. 
 
Whatever your family birthday traditions are, I hope they make your day something special. Happy Birthday!