Three days after coming off of the podium in Jackson, I hit the road again. This time headed to Lake Tahoe for the North Face Masters Finals in Kirkwood, California.
I was driving head on into a storm that I wanted to hit. The system pounded the entire west coast, so the weather was crazy the entire drive there.
In Carson City, Nevada I met up with my friends and fellow competitors and we all set out toward South Lake Tahoe. We had driven for twelve hours at that point, but once we got to South Lake we found out that that storm did not disappoint. The pass that we needed to cross was not expected to open for a few more days because of the intense snowfall. We then had to drive back to Nevada to find a different route.
Once we made it to the highway to Kirkwood we realized how much snow they really got. As we ascended the walls of snow along the road kept getting higher and higher until we were basically in a tunnel of snow. Kirkwood reported 8 feet of snow in three days and once we got to the resort we saw that they were not kidding. No parking overnight has a whole new meaning now.
Day one of competition was on Vista. With all of the new snowfall we had a venue with 8 feet of virgin snow. The competitors, judges and poachers alike, all shralped that venue from top to bottom. Tom Burke, Julie Zell, Temple Cummins, and Andy Hetzel were who we were trying to impress.
The line I picked was one that fit my style, not one that I thought would score off the charts but one that I would shred whether I was at competition or just riding with my friends. I jumped into the venue off of a big wind lip right at the top, then made my way to the three tree cliff... past the camera men and with no hesitation jumped into the pow 28-30 feet below.... it was onto the finish line, but before I got there I took a killer fun run through the powder pockets and jibbed my way to the end.It was my best competition run of the season and I had more fun than I could have imagined. I ended up in 9th place and as one of "Franky's Favorites," a coveted spot to say the least.
The Finals Venue was on the Cirque, an area of the mountain that is permanently closed. Locals attempt these extreme events just to get a chance to ride it. The start was on a steep and narrow chute and there was not an inspection run that made your line selection any easier. As you sat in the start tent your own fragile existence became increasingly obvious. It would have been less nerve racking to stay strapped in because then at least your edge could stop you from tumbling through the chute and off cliffs to the spectators 1500 feet below.
I was fourth on the start list and my nerves were spiked. The event was being broadcast live and the pressure was on. As I stood up to strap in, I did not know what that run had in store for me.
I stayed high on the mountain to make it to my drop point, and I took the run of my life. Powder through the trees, over rocks, off cliffs it was shred-tacular. I made it to the bottom in one piece and full of adrenaline. I ended up placing ninth in the finals which put me 19th in the North Face Masters tour, and tied for 31st in the World Freeride Tour.Overall, it was a ridiculous season with tons of traveling, new friends and even more snow. Next year I hope to chase the storm with the even more success on the podium!!
