2013 in Review: Part 2

Missed the beginning? Part One is here.

April

The month kicked off with a nice round of pink eye, so I was forced to wear my glasses (which I never wear except at home) for nearly a month!

I enjoyed some Skyline while still home in Indiana.

I watched enough Game of Thrones with my brother that he decided our family needed its own crest (that's a bulldog and a puggle on it, for those who didn't know).

I worked at Olympic gold medalist Ted Ligety's homecoming celebration at Park City Mountain Resort.

I attempted a juice cleanse (spoiler alert: it did not go well).

I celebrated closing day at Park City Mountain resort by busting out this lovely old speed suit from my speedskating days.

I had a handful of adventures with this lovely duo, Ashley and Korey...

...including an AWOLNATION concert at the University of Utah. 

I had a birthday! And my lovely parents got me a stand mixer! 

Julia took me to a French bakery so I had some macarons instead of birthday cake. 

And...a moose decided to walk through the parking lot outside my apartment. 

May

The month started with a 5k in Salt Lake City with my roommates.

I expressed my feelings towards the Romney name (because there are maybe 10 people out there in the world unaware of them).

I had a run that went so well that it inspired this selfie.

I went to the Spiral Jetty with Korey and Ashley.

 We also went to Twin Falls in Idaho.

I participated in Running with Ed, a Ragnar-like relay race that supports the Park City Education Foundation.

I kayaked the Provo River with Debbie, my wonderful former roommate.

I discovered a fantastic cupcake place in Provo, as well. It's basically the only thing I'll go to Provo for. 

June

I went hiking around Powder Mountain with Julia.

Running on the Rail Trail in Park City became a pretty regular thing for me, as I was training for a half marathon. One day, a herd of sheep decided to join me on my run.

I made s'mores cupcakes. 

I decided to get bangs again (and after reviewing these photos, I think I may have to do it again in the near future).

I relived high school and went to a Fall Out Boy concert. It was amazing. 

Ashley joined me for the concert!

I continued volunteering at Furburbia. There were a ton of kittens over the summer!

I went to a painting thing with Julia. I was pretty proud of the finished product! 

I ended the month with more running. The Willow Creek trail became my favorite weekend trail...can't you see why?!

2013 in Review: Part 1

2013 is almost over! It's been a busy year for me, mainly with work preparations for the upcoming Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, Russia, but there have also been a lot of fun adventures with friends and family! I've got quite a lot to review, so I'll do it in a few parts.

January

The year started off (as it usually does for me...although for in 2014!) in Florida, but I quickly headed from sand to snow and returned to Park City.

 I started skiing pretty regularly in January, so I gave in and bought my first pair of ski boots!

And that purchase was promptly followed by the purchase of my own skis!

Off the snow, I decided to run my first half marathon and opted not to train for it. While not the smartest decision I've ever made, I did, in fact, complete it.

In-N-Out is a must-have post-race. 

Julia and I went to Las Vegas after my half marathon for a bit of sun and fun.

I had my first Sundance Film Festival experience! Julia and I managed to get premiere tickets to A.C.O.D. (starring Adam Scott, Amy Poehler, Jessica Alba, Catherine O'Hara...and even more) despite being on the waiting list and sat in the front row.  

I was just a few feet away from these lovely actors. 

The month wrapped up with the Visa Freestyle International at Deer Valley...a truly wonderful event!

February

I worked at the Sprint U.S. Grand Prix, where I got to watch some amazing athletes do incredible things in the halfpipe, including Shaun White.

And then I got the flu.

 I decided that bangs were a good idea.

 I continued to ski as often as I could.

I explored Park City.

I worked at a skicross/snowboardcross event at the Canyons. 

March

I started volunteering a Furburbia, a wonderful animal shelter in Park City. They take animals from kill shelters and keep them at Furburbia as long as it takes to get them adopted!

 I skied my first black diamond at Deer Valley!

Nigella Lawson tweeted at me.

Yep, more skiing.

 Julia and I got crafty and made a bunch of homemade pizza. My personal favorite combination was ricotta cheese, peppers, garlic and bacon!

I went home for Easter at the end of March and, of course, normal hijinks ensued.

Holidays with USSA Athletes

Holidays with USSA Athletes
By Riley Steinmetz

For the athletes of the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association, the holidays are often a busy time of year. It’s the middle of competition season and, especially during an Olympic year, there is a lot to prepare for. Whether overseas or at home, though, they find a way to celebrate with their loved ones and teammates during the holiday season.

“As a team that spends so much time together, we're practically like a family,” cross country skier Kikkan Randall said, “We get together and do a little gift giving, maybe some baking if we can find a kitchen and share the time together.”

Because the U.S. Cross Country Ski Team has races in Europe immediately following Christmas, they typically do not have the opportunity to come back to the families in the USA. Still, the team makes sure to celebrate the season as best they can. Randall brought one of her family’s traditions along to inject some humor into the holidays.

“My family has this tradition where we all draw names out of a hat and then write a poem about that person and get them a small gift,” she explained, “Then, the person has to read the poem written about them before they try and guess who wrote it—a kind of secret Santa with a twist! We've brought this tradition to the U.S. Cross Country Ski Team for the last few seasons and we usually have the poem night a couple weekends before Christmas. It's quite the riot!”

“It makes for a pretty funny night,” cross country skier Andy Newell said, “Some are short, simple haikus, while others are long songs and always pretty embarrassing.”

For some athletes, despite the busy Olympic year schedules, this season comes with the opportunity to go home for the holidays for the first time in years.

“I'm thankful I have gotten to be with family for Christmas almost every year,” moguls athlete Heather McPhie said, “The previous two Olympic cycles, I was grateful that my family could travel to me as we had Gold Cup right after Christmas, but this year we actually have two weeks off for Christmas.”

While others get to spend the holidays stateside, it does not mean that there is a break from training. For ski jumping and nordic combined athletes, Olympic Trials take place in Park City, UT, only days after Christmas.

“This holiday season, we will be getting ready for the Olympic Trials in Park City on January 28th,” nordic combined athlete Taylor Fletcher said, “I would like to see everyone out there to watch the top athletes in the nation fight for the automatic berth to the Olympics. I hope to be in the fight for that so I can take the pressure off and let myself perform!”

Fletcher’s teammate and Olympic Champion Billy Demong will also be hoping to earn an Olympic berth at Trials, but Demong returned to Park City a week earlier for another competition, the FIS Nordic Combined Continental Cup at Soldier Hollow and Utah Olympic Park. Demong won two of days of competition and placed second in another, earning the U.S. Nordic Combined Ski Team an additional World Cup spot.

“Part of my reasoning for coming home was not only to help earn a spot for the next period of World Cup, but also to be with my family,” Demong explained, “I’m based here in Park City, so now I’m looking forward to being able to be home and take a few days to go skiing with my family and just enjoy the holidays stateside. I’m looking forward to kicking back a little bit and then ramping up again for Olympic Trials and the next period of World Cup.”

Whether in Europe or at home, the athletes of the U.S. Ski Team, U.S. Snowboarding and U.S. Freeskiing have found a way to celebrate their favorite parts of the holiday season.

“My main tradition around the holiday is to be with people I love and take a break from the often crazy travel schedule that is our December through March,” McPhie said.

“I love to make cookies for Santa,” halfpipe snowboarder Arielle Gold said, “You can never be too old for that!”

“The only tradition I try to bring with me is my Denver Broncos jersey, a good attitude and hard work for the competition season,” Fletcher said, “With all these combined, a good time will be had!”

Ultimately, despite their busy schedules, the holidays are a time to relax and spend time with loved ones—even for Olympic Champions.

“I’ve spent one Thanksgiving in the United States since 1998 and I’ve spent one Christmas in Europe,” Demong said, “Christmas has always been a priority to be home whether it was years ago with my parents in Lake Placid or now home with my family in Park City. It’s a good time to take a break.”

Happy holidays from everyone at the USSA!

Celebrating USSA Thanksgiving

Celebrating USSA Thanksgiving
By Riley Steinmetz

For skiing and snowboarding athletes, Thanksgiving often becomes just another day. For some, it’s a competition day. For others, it’s just another travel day during a long journey to far flung destinations in Europe. This year, though, a few athletes took matters into their own hands and hosted USSA Thanksgiving several weeks before the actual holiday.

“Because a lot of us are going to be out of town for Thanksgiving, I thought it was really important to get everyone together and celebrate before we're scattered across the world,” slopestyle skier Emilia Wint said.

“Since I don't get to spend Thanksgiving with my family, it was nice to be with people who feel like family,” snowboardcross athlete Jackie Hernandez said.

Wint, along with fellow slopestyle skier Jess Breda, organized the event while another slopestyle skier, Ashley Battersby, offered her house in Wanship, Utah, as the location. Dozens of athletes were invited and asked to bring their favorite Thanksgiving dish to share.

“My favorite part of USSA Thanksgiving was the collaboration,” cross country skier Noah Hoffman said, “Every single person contributed a vital part of the meal. Everything was homemade. Everyone clearly put a lot of time and effort into their dish and many of us were cooking way out of our comfort zones.”

From turkey to pie, all of the traditional foods were present at USSA Thanksgiving. And with over 20 athletes contributing to the dinner, there was no shortage of good eats.

“I would say the best food contribution was by Mac Bohonnon,” Breda said, “He made mashed sweet potatoes with some sort of crust on top. It probably could have been considered a dessert with the amount of maple syrup and butter that were in it and it went perfectly with the tart cranberry sauce!”

“The butternut squash stuffing,” nordic combined athlete Nick Hendrickson said, “I actually don't know who brought it, but it rocked.”

While many of the recipes were tried and true favorites, there was one Thanksgiving staple that required a little bit of experimentation: turkey.

“Emilia and I were in charge of the Thanksgiving staples: turkey, cranberry sauce and gravy,” Breda said, “But this was our first time ever cooking a turkey and we cooked two! We cut out the turkeys' backbone and broke the breast bones so the turkeys laid flat and each cooked in under two hours. It was quite an experience!”

Despite the nontraditional scheduling of the holiday, the athletes were excited to have the chance to get together with teammates and celebrate the spirit of Thanksgiving.

“I have not been able to enjoy Thanksgiving with my family since 2004,” Hoffman explained, “As a skier, missing holidays becomes normal. Consequently, it felt very special to do Thanksgiving with my USSA teammates, who have become some of my best friends.”

Since the dinner was held in Wanship, just a short drive from the USSA Center of Excellence in Park City, Utah, athletes from a variety of sports and disciplines were able to attend.

“We had friends from slopestyle, snowboardcross, halfpipe, freestyle aerials, one of our strength interns and a couple nordic skiers,” Hendrickson said, “I've never seen a more tight knit group of athletes in the gym than this summer."

Despite the busy schedules and Olympic season looming ahead, it was an opportunity to relax and enjoy the true spirit of the holiday.

“It was just a good way to get together and have some fun before the season kicked off,” Wint said, “We didn't do much of the traditional Thanksgiving practices, but the vibe was there, so I don't think they were necessary!”

“My family Thanksgiving is all about having fun, laughing and being with people you care about,” skicross athlete Whitney Gardner said, “And USSA Thanksgiving was all of that!”