The icing on the cake; and a bit about the cake.
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Peace out winter!
After an amazing few months, the NZ ski season is done!
From my perspective, this season has been the best one yet (like, ever). We basically had a storm every week, with a bunch of good snow the whole way through. It meant that I could ski hard at Treble Cone whenever I had days off work, while also making a point of getting back to my roots of skiing technical "Ibex" lines, with a whole boatload that I had never even thought of skiing before!
For example this line, which is now a favorite for me:
In competition, I also achieved one of my biggest long chased goals, which was to land a whole bunch of tricks other than backflips in comp runs!
The FWQ 2* event at the Remarkables is where I progressed the most, placing 2nd with a run consisting of 5 tricks and one mistake, 2 of which (frontflip, cork 7) I had never attempted in competition and the other two (360's) that I had attempted once and never landed.
I kinda figured, why not just put everything into one run and see what happens, 5 tricks in one comp seems like a better use of time than 1 trick in 5 comps.
My run at the 4* also went well, containing two 360's, and a couple of big airs, although it was still only enough to put me in 7th, against a stacked field lead by kiwis Blake Marshall, Craig Murray and Julian Hampton!
Outside of comp skiing, the biggest milestone this winter was working in my new role as head coach at Treble cone for freeride - a job that I have dreamed about since I left school - which went super well!
It was so cool to be able to train kids in my favourite terrain and to accompany them to all of the Jr freeride events in NZ, both NZJFT and other, and I am super proud of the whole team, including the coaches!
I also had the opportunity to work with the Snow Sports NZ Freeride Junior tour and Freeride World Qualifier teams throughout the season.
TEAM TC WOOOOOT!
The Kiwi freeride family is amazing, and it is something I am unbelievably proud to be part of.
It is comprised of the kids who send it, their parents, coaches, organisers, judges, sponsors, volunteers, shops, mountains!
And the presence and involvement of NZ freeride legends ties it all together!
It is amazing to see how tight we are becoming, regardless of where we train!
From getting to know freeride coaches from other mountains and seeing that their passion is as strong as mine, to observing the respect and friendships growing between competitors, backed by the generally awesome attitudes of the parents, I can see that Freeride in NZ is on the up!
Comp Coaching
Lastly, the icing on what has been a cake of a season!
After coaching was done at TC, I traveled up to Turoa and passed the NZSIA ski instructor level 3 exam!
After 3 attempts over the last 3 years, I am finally a fully certified NZSIA ski instructor, something I never imagined I would do when I passed level 2, as an 18 year old.
I am now more motivated than ever to continue along the path as a freeride coach!
Confidence is a’brimming as I look toward FWT 2019, I have ticked off a bunch of goals, and I have improved a great deal. Still, reflecting on the things learned from FWT 2018, I know that everyone else has as well - the nature of the beast is that the beast keeps growing!
The stakes will be just as high this year as ever before, and I will be doing my absolute best to stay within the fray and push for the top.
My goal this season is to have as much fun skiing as I can, I'll do my thing, they will do theirs, and someone will win!
Standard Turoa signage.
