Im too tall!! haha

Kitzbuhel ate me up and spit me out! It was a wild ride there. I had
tons of emotions the whole week! It was only me second time there and
I knew what to expect with the scene and all. On the hill I felt
great. I was quite comfortable and had a good approach, I was proud
of my training runs where I was fast in all the sections. I felt like
I was ready for the race. But I had to face the SG first. They moved
the start of the Sg over to the DH track due to the fresh snow they
received. I was stoked I felt like this suited my style and it did.
I was leading in the first split by a tenth then on the second split I
was in fourth. But as I jumped of the Hausberg the fog totally socked
me in and I couldn't see anything especially the terrain across the
side hill. I misjudged a bump and went way off line and missed a
gate. I was quite bummed, but it was good to know I was skiing fast.

Then came the Downhill day. I felt confident with my approach except
for the last jump. So I went to the start and found the TV to watch
how the last jump ran. It just so happens that Scott Macartney was
the guy I was watching. To shorten it up, he crashed really bad, I
felt sick to my stomach and I really didn't want to charge anymore.
My Mom was at the bottom of the hill and I knew she was freaking out
and all I wanted to do was make it down safe. I ran safely down the
hill and then I went off the hausberg and again the fog was there. I
think the fog Gods didn't like me this week. I was the only one in
the whole race to have fog. But I made it safe. I survived!

Then came the Slalom day. I was planning on racing the combi and
during the warmup I hit a rut funky in the course and jarred my back.
It just so happens I have a compressed L4 and L5. This tall body is
having a hard time holding itself up! So I am going to miss
Chamonix. My rehab is going well and things are looking up for Val
D'Isere, I am pretty sure I will be back in full swing there.

Enjoy the Powder at home! Im jealous
Steven

The Monkey off my back

Wengen is over and now I am in Kitz. It felt so good to get the DNF
monkey off my back. It had been six races since I finished! (One I
finished but flipped around backward half way down the course, which
was basically DNFing). What a relief.
Another good ting that came out of Wengen was how I finished with the
intensity I put into it. I skied very safe and didn't take many risks
and still was 11th. Its a good feeling to know I can do that but it
is a bad feeling not leaving everything on the hill. Physically I was
exhausted but mentally and emotionally I was disappointed in my efforts.
Like I mentioned earlier, I am in Kitzbuhel now. Awaiting my first
race down the full legendary piste. (06 was the shortened course, 07
cancelled) The training runs have been going pretty well. I am
excited with my current form. The first time I ran Kitz I was simply
out of control and lucky to survive the piste. Now I feel like I can
regulate my skiing and push myself to different limits. Today I skied
really well on the top, then I got flagged exiting the steilhang. The
reason for the flag was because Andreas Buder crashed and they needed
to helicopter him out. I restarted from that point and skied well to
the finish! I was only 30 min and 52 seconds behind 1st place! haha.
I hope Buder will be alright. He was having a great season. I think
he had a couple of podiums and just came off a fourth place in
Wengen. Hes a good dude. Send him your best if you can.
Alright time for bed!
Steven
P.S. Ted Ligety is really good at Slalom! I trained today with him
and I am amazed with every turn he makes! I hope he wins the Slalom

Sleep deprived

Hey Folks!
For some reason every night before I have to fly to Europe or any ski function I can't sleep the night before! Maybe it is because I am horrible at packing my bags? Maybe it is because I want to see everyone and I am awake until the weeee hours or the morning. Maybe it is me trying to pre adapt to Euro time zone. But if you ask me I think it is just the kid inside of me. It is the excitement in my bones! I love racing. I enjoy the fact that hundreds of people come
together, close down a massive strip of snow for us to hurtle our carcasses down. I enjoy scaring myself and testing my limits.
Last night I ended up going to sleep at 2 AM and then waking up at 4:45AM. Before I went to bed I was wide awake. I wasn't burdened by tiredness. Thoughts were streaming through my head. I want to ski I want to race. I decided to sleep because I thought it would be good for me! haha
Home was nice. After 30 some hours of traveling I finally arrived at home at 5 AM instead of the scheduled 11PM. I got three hours of sleep woke up at 8Am and went shredding at my old stomping grounds, Sundance. There was 2 feet of fresh awaiting me and I shredded all day! I even found untracked stashes the next day! Did I say Sundance? I meant uh....Sugarloaf, Main... ha ha.
To summarize this blog. I am stoked, I want to race. I feel good, I'm re energized and ready to go.
Steven

P.S. I got a Ukulele for Christmas, I'm going to be really annoying! haha