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SL
Monday, March 27, 2006

Today I skied conservatively on the top portion of the course, not killing it, and after the first interval I was in fifth. Then on the lower section I started letting my skis run, lost my edge, and slid past the next gate. And the day was over. So I took a few runs with Mom and some friends on my GS boards looking ahead to tomorrow.

On a bright note, SRI had a great day with two junior athletes, Colin Devore and Laurel Carter, on the podium so things are looking up.

w

posted by Warner at 3/27/2006 09:10:00 PM (permanent link to this post) 0 comments


a tough day at the loaf

Everything was perfect this morning firm snow, a great course set, and a good bib draw of 13. I hammed out of the start and skied exceptionally through the top and upper middle section of the course and was a tenth off the lead at the first split. Then came the head wall turn, one I’ve done countless times, I knew I could pull off a tight line so I pointed my skis down the fall line and looked for speed. Unfortunately, I didn’t just find speed. It was choppier than I expected and my downhill ski shot out, it didn’t fall off, but it lost snow contact and my tight line failed. I immediately found myself standing on the side of the course with despair. But, oh well. I took a calculated chance and it didn’t pay off. Rather than dwelling on the outcome, it wouldn’t be that hard, I’m tuning up my slalom skis and getting ready to make tight radius turns again.


Slalom here we come. w

posted by Warner at 3/27/2006 09:08:00 PM (permanent link to this post) 0 comments


Another good day on the slopes
Friday, March 24, 2006

Today we raced in a FIS Downhill at Sugarloaf, my college home. It’s nice to be kicking it back at the Loaf and it’s even better because the weather isn’t bitterly cold, windy, and raining. However, I do know the week isn’t over. Anyway, the fast guys (Daron and Bode) both opened the starting wand far before they pushed out of the gate loosing tons of time. This tactic is their way of giving everyone in the race a generous gift; it provides all of us a chance to land an exceptional point race. I skied a clean line, nothing too aggressive, and finished 9th. It was fast enough to score a 28 point race, my best DH result ever (by far). Tomorrow we have the Nationals DH on the same course so it’s time to pony up. My plan is to straighten out the line on the headwall, try to hold bully on the entire bottom section, and land a similar result.

US National Championships commences in the morning and will continue for the next four days (DH, SG, SL, and GS).

Let the games begin. w

posted by Warner at 3/24/2006 03:54:00 PM (permanent link to this post) 0 comments


9 anyone
Monday, March 20, 2006

I’ve never really enjoyed racing in Canada, but it’s growing on me.

In the two GS races the last couple days I skied really well, but was inconsistently fast for reasons beyond me. I just couldn’t put down two fast runs. However, I did finished in the top ten (9th and 7th) both days.

Today we strapped on our slalom boards not really knowing what to expect with such a flat piste. I drew bib 14, which was fantastic seeing as I didn’t think I was going to be in the top seed with only 29 Nor-Am slalom points (the first fifteen starting positions are based off of individual event Nor-Am points rather than world rank).

The first run went well. I was cutting off the line in a few sections and was bending my skis at the top of the turn. After the first run I was around a second off the pace and in 7th place. Second run had much larger sweeping turns so I hopped into the rut and hammered. But, half way down I shot out of a rut and slipped off the line. Luckily my skis were up to the challenge as we snapped off a couple of quick turn to stay in it generating more and more speed. I finished six tenths off the leader in sixth place and scored a 9 point race. My best result ever. Two other SRI skiers Mark Heinrich-Wallace and Colin Devore also scored their best results of the season (a 15 and a 17).

It was a great day and we’ll strive to do better tomorrow.

posted by Warner at 3/20/2006 10:21:00 AM (permanent link to this post) 0 comments


North America
Sunday, March 05, 2006

“It’s nice to be back in North America” -Cody Marshall

This was the sentiment of our weekend. Instead of getting beaten up in Europe against competitive world cup racers, we spent the last few days getting paid to race in Camp Fortune, Ontario. We were paid to bring in low FIS points. It was perfect. The first day I put together two solid runs, nothing amazing, to win and scored a 16 (which is my best slalom result of the year). My slalom skis are starting to come into their prime and so is my slalom skiing. The second day I blew out and hiked. But needless to say, it’s nice to back in North America.

All of our team is crushing back here. Europe forces you to find a new gear and we brought it back to the US. Chris Frank and Colin Devore are destroying at Eastern Champs in Sugarloaf, while Cody, Mark, Johnny and I were lighting it up in Canada.

The next few days I’m home in Gilford trying to get my speed skis up and running before Nationals. The schedule for the next few weeks is pretty intense as it’s the end of the year push. Our next races are Nor-Am Finals in Panorama, U.S. Nationals at Sugarloaf, Eastern Cup Finals at Sugarbush, and then Rocky Mountain Trophy Series in Breck, CO. .

Hope all is well. w

posted by Warner at 3/05/2006 11:39:00 AM (permanent link to this post) 0 comments