Bib Sales

My friend Jen Williams has created a small charity for a school project.  The foundation is called Art in the Andes.  I donated several signed bibs to the cause.  They are bidding them off on Ebay.  Check the bibs out by clicking here.  The proceeds will go towards getting art supplies for Children in Peru.  

Do it for the kids

Its underway

The ski season has started!  I was so fired up this weekend to watch some ski racing.  The first races happened in Solden, Austria.  With some surprising and not so surprising results.  On the womens side I thought the Americans would have a better showing, especially Vonn, but I thought she was holding back a bit.  Congrats to Megan McJames though.  She has always been a ripper from when we were growing up on the PC Ski team.  I think it is a great result for her, especially being 3rd in the second run.  Also Congrats to Jitloff for finally breaking into the top 30.  Hopefully he can find some consistency and start pushing for a better start position.  He skied well.  A little wild with the arm but kept charging and putting the skis in the fall line, kind of like me.  Ted is showing he going to be a tough contender which was good to see.  But the most impressive person was the Austrian Philipp Schoerghofer.  The kid is NASTY!!!  I didn't get to watch his first run but his second was awesome.  Once he learns to control himself he's going to be dangerous.

Alright thats my recap of Solden, now Im back to killing time until I can ski.  

Oh yeah check out Universalsports.com ski racing is on there and its FREEEEEEE!  No more $5 a month for my cheap pockets.

Push More

 

I'm not one to criticize, I'm jet setting all over the world but I try to do my part when I'm home.  I really liked this vid, its on point.  

A question that always goes though my head is, would you rather want to get to know something really well or know a ton of things vaguely?  I ask myself this with my hometown and surroundings in mind.  A couple of years ago I set out to find some new things in my home town.  I would go bike up into the hills, search gullys, climb mountains.  It was really cool.  I ended up finding a lot of cool stuff.  I even found an old barracks from 1856 when Johnsons army was coming into Utah.  Not many people know of it.  It was grown over with bushes and weeds but there was a plaque on it stating what it was.   There was a lot of history inside that rock embankment.  And if I stayed inside my car and follow the common paths I would have never found it.  

So I keep going back to my question and I tend to lean toward the getting to know something really well side.  

go ride a bike, skate through the streets, slow down and look around you. 

Selko Photo

Jonathan "Selko"  Selkowitz is the man.  He has been touring with us since I have been on the team.  He was with us on our last trip to Portillo and as usual his eye found some good shots.  You can find his work at his site Selkophoto.com.

He has been the ski team for years in all of the disciplines.  Its Pretty cool to have him around and brainstorm with him about new angles interesting shots.  In the Condor Cup GS race he placed himself right in the fall zone of one of the gates and Jimmy Cochran leaned in and slid right into him.  Selko got a sequence of jimmy falling then took the camera away from his eye and jumped over Jim as he almost took him out.  What was even more impressive was Selko was wearing ski boots during the whole thing.  

Good Job Selko

Enjoy

Get Well Mikey

I met Mike at my Chiropractors office a few months ago.  He walked through the door looking all haggard in his tight holey pants, long nappy hair and an old stained trucker hat.  The moment I saw him I said to myself he's famous, theres no other reason he would be in that office.  Well it turned out he was the arguably the best BMX rider in the world.  I got to know him through the Dr Buhlers (the chiropractor) then I kept running into him around SLC.  Mike is a really good dude, heres proof. After receiving some of my chiros voo doo magic Mike went on to win the Dew Tour event in SLC.  He rarely competes but when he does he amazes people.  After winning the event the Utah commission issued Mike a check for 10 G's.  He gave the whole check to Stephen Murray, a fellow BMXer who was paralyzed in a crash a year earlier.  A month later Mike was in a severe BMX accident. He suffered severe head trauma and was in a coma for several days. The medical bills are enormous. Mike is a professional rider and in his line of work he is not eligible for health insurance. They claim he is "too high risk." Mike has contacted numerous insurance offices and has been denied by all.  But you can help Mike and his family through this tough situation.  Mike is a husband and father and in need of your help.  

Thank you so much. 

Learn More about Mike and donate at

5050bmx.com

MikeAitken.com 

Paul Morrison

While I was in Chile we were training along side a BC (Canada) youth team.  One of the kids on the team was Ian Morrison.  His Pops (Paul Morrison) is a world renowned ski photographer, shooting for all the various ski publications.  But last year he decided to get back into shooting ski racing.  His son told him I was in Portillo with him so he sent me some shots of last season at Lake Louise and Kitz.

  

This one was my favorite, it has a lot of energy.

Gracias Ian and Paul

The Man

Hank McKee always gets me fired up for the ski season.  He is my favorite ski writer of all time.  He carries passion, he loves the sport, you can feel it in his writing, he connects to his audience.  

He just posted his latest writes on skiracing.com.  Check it out

 http://www.skiracing.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=6755&Itemid=

I hope he stokes you as much as it does me.  

P.S.  Ted won the Condor Cup.  I decided to take the GS portion off and not race and ski hard the same day I had to travel.  Airplanes are the worst things for my back.  All is feeling well after the travel and Im home enjoying the fall, and looking to get a little more dry land training in under my belt before I take off to Colorado on Nov 1st.  

CONDOR CUP

Every year on the final days of our camp we hold the CONDOR CUP.  It consists of a full length SG and a GS race.  Today was the SG and I won. Yeeeeaaahhh 2008 Condor Cup SG Champ! It was pretty cool because 5 condors were actually flying over the course for the first few runs  My name will go on the bottom of the trophy which we leave in the bar here at Portillo.  I didn't take the full cup though, only the SG portion.  I still have some business to attend to tomorrow in the GS to win the whole thing.  Ted was second in the SG and the event is judged off of world cup points so I have 100 and Ted has 80.  Tomorrow I either have to beat Ted or be one place behind him to take or tie for the title.  Im up for some hard work against the reigning WC GS champ.  

Yeeeaaahhh boyyyeeee.

Its all backwards because of my camera but last years winners were Ted in GS and TJ Lanning in SG and they ended up tying for the overall.