Kirkwood

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!!

Jackon Hole

Well a rodeo in Jackson, ain't what it used to be! I came to the Cowboy State hoping to win the coveted belt buckle in the legendary Dick's Ditch Banked Slalom. When they said "turn it up to eleven!" we said "Hell yeah!!"

Dick's Ditch is a natural gully/canyon that runs deep down the middle of Jackson Hole Mountain Resort. It was named after a local ski patrolman that had been buried alive by an avalanche for about 45 minutes there. Since that day it has existed in infamy.

We arrived in Jackson on a snowy night, in the end of February. The entire west coast had been pounded with snow and we were grateful to be where we were. When we woke up the next morning there were blue skies and tons of fresh snow. It was an epic day to be in Jackson Hole, but there was a race to be won. We warmed up on the Granny Shoots and then went to Paintbrush and Toilet Bowl just off of Thunder. Once we had gotten our legs underneath us, we headed for the dreaded Dick's Ditch.

The course started out in between a stand of pine trees, and once you shot into the Ditch, there was no turning back. Tight turns over tree roots and rocks, then into the doubles, if you lose your rhythm there you may never get it back... double, double, cat-track-gap, jump over the tree back into the Ditch, up, down, fly off the Terrieh hit, down and up one more time to sail off the finish line. Exhilarating right?

Day one went well, I qualified third and all top three ladies were within two seconds of each other. We all knew the next day was going to be battle roy-al... and we didn't disappoint. Each of us took several seconds off of our time and shuffled up the winning order a bit. A Jackson local Kate Reed, ended up winning the coveted belt buckle and the number one spot and I ended up 2nd and $350 richer in the Womens Pro, just a half second behind Kate, and Diane Phelps rounded out the 3rd spot.

Sadly I didn't win the coveted belt buckle this season, but Dick's Ditch turned out to be a run for the money!!

This season has been a whirlwind, but winters in Utah are never a disappointment. In an area that averages over 500 inches each season, we always manage to get powder when it seems that there is none to be had. After a season on the road it is nice to be home and ride the mountains that I love.

This competition season started out with a bang right here at Snowbird, with The North Face Masters of Snowboarding. Some heavy hitters showed up and brought their big guns to the table. Travis Rice, Chris Coulter, Rob Kingwill, Pat Moore, Shannon Yates and Susan Mol were among a few and they were all truly inspirational to watch and ride with.

[Sarah Baca, Ratty Sheidow and Meg Pugh at Snowbird
Photo Courtesy of MSI and Snowboard Magazine]

The next stop of the tour went on to Crested Butte Colorado, where the mountain looks like a shark's fin and it's teeth were lurking under fresh snow. The venue was gnarly, but the riders were up for a challenge. We all strapped in on Friday the 13th of February at the top of the Headwall and hoped for the best run. However my luck ran out before that unlucky day. As I set myself up for the first of four drops, my board was bitten by one of the sharks teeth and I went flipping off the first cliff and cascading off the second. I was not the first to fall, nor was I the last but we were all lucky to have escaped the shark unscathed.