Alberta has given us our first taste of spring and it has me extremely excited for this coming year. I have now gone the entire winter season without skiing and probably won’t get to until way later in the year. My ACL tear and reconstruction has created the longest time in  my life I have gone without ski racing. Looking back it still feels too crazy to believe. 

My last race was April 19th, 2024. It was actually one of my better races of that season. I had struggled with GS for a while, always failing to make lasting changes to my skiing, but I was always told to “trust the process” and so I did. At this very last race something clicked and it started to come together. My work in training was finally transferring to my racing. Finishing on a successful race left me motivated and happily anxious for the next season. However, four days into our first pre-season training camp in Switzerland I tore my ACL and meniscuses. This effectively stole the whole coming year of racing from me. So now my next competition will be in December of this year, a full 20 months since my last. One of the hardest things about ACL reconstruction is staying motivated. Being out for so long can make you feel hopeless and makes it very hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel. That’s why this new warmer weather is so exciting. It is a constant reminder that I am so much closer to skiing and competing again.

Another inspiring reminder of how skiing is just barely beyond my reach is my progress and success in the gym. I have never been so dedicated to working out and the results are evident. I no longer notice my knee during any daily activities. Walking feels like it always used to. I have been doing lots of track work too, focusing on dynamic movements and can basically run now. Even my testing on force plates has shown some reductions in asymmetry as I learn how to jump again. Although I am primarily focused on my squat form, I am back to squatting a decent weight. My biggest setback for my knee has been the pain and tension I feel when bending it past 90°,specifically the harvest site where they took part of my quadricep tendon and used it to replace my ACL. However, this is to be expected as it takes a long time for my tendon to return to its pre-surgery strength. I am also comforted by all the other CSI athletes who have gone through similar injuries. They share their experiences of returning to snow and help answer all my questions. It is always better to know you aren’t alone.

It feels like my injury journey is coming to an end even though it is far from over. The hardest part of all this was the inactivity. Being stuck in a place where you aren’t allowed to do any recreational activity for an active person is its own type of prison. You have to sit on the sidelines in what feels like a sedentary lifestyle and just wait as your body heals. It has taught me too much about patience and positive thinking, but I am glad to see it coming to an end. Even though it is still ages till I compete at a prime skiing level, my activity and lifestyle has been unpaused. I have been biking outside, throwing the baseball with my dad and brother, working on my football spiral with Caleb, and even playing some soccer with the younger kids in my neighbourhood. It is a weird feeling returning to what should be your normal, but one I am saviour because it proves my hard work is paying off. 

I hope to come and watch as many spring series races as possible. My teammates have been dedicated this whole year and I can’t wait to see how they succeed. I am also very grateful for so many people who have helped me in ways they might not understand. My family has always been there whenever I needed this winter. Caleb and Jamie, my fellow teammates, who I am grateful to have consistently brought life to my recovery and help  me bear the burden of injury. My trainer and Physiotherapist, Nate and Kevin, have been a huge piece of my ability to bounce back and I am grateful for their expertise. It is hard to put into words how excited I am for the next season. My past year racing and coming year wouldn’t be possible with the people at Alberta Alpine and the sponsors supporting us. GMC Dealers of Alberta, Karbon Sports, Genstar Canada, Mountain Fire Foods, and Gear Up Mountain Sports are some amazing organisations that actively support our community. Thank you to everyone! 

 Hi  everyone!

 I  hope  everyone  is  enjoying  the  much  needed  snow  in  the  Bow  Valley  as  much  as  we  are  and  have  hopefully  gotten  some  much  needed  powder  days!  I  last  wrote  to  you  from  the  start  of  the  New  Year  and  we  have  been  quite  busy  since  then.

We  had  an  intense  start  to  the  New  Year  by  getting  humbled  by  the  ice  at  the  two-day  Norquay  NorAm  slalom  which  followed  two  days  of  racing  the  GS  NorAM  at  Lake  Louise.  From  there,  I  then  went  to  Kimberly  to  race  just  the  NorAm  Super  G  before  coming  back  home  to  visit  Norquay  again  for  the  FIS  GMC  Cup  races.  The  FIS  series  this  time  at  Norquay  was  much  better  for  me  after  spending  more  time  training  on  the  injected  surface  and  I  was  able  to  ski  much  better  in  the  GS.  The  surface  at  Norquay  continued  to  be  very  challenging  as  we  had  significant  snowfall  before  the  race  making  it  inconsistent  between  ice  and  snowy  sections.  We  only  had  8  and  9  girls  finishing  the  slaloms  and  only  7  guys  finished  the  second  slalom  race.  Following  the  Norquay  races  we  traveled  to  Quebec  where  we  found  the  snow!  It  felt  like  quite  the  shock  going  from  skiing  an  injected  ice  surface  to  switching  back  into  ruts  but  we  made  the  most  out  of  the  short  trip.  Once  back  home,  we  trained  for  a  week  before  travelling  to  Sun  Peaks.  I  had  a  much  better  series  at  Sun  Peaks  and  was  happy  to  be  improving  heading  into  NorAm  finals  at  Burke.

While  it  has  been  snowing  in  the  west,  the  east  we  have  had  challenging  weather  conditions.  We  started  our  trip  by  flying  into  Montreal  and  driving  to  Vermont  to  Burke  Mountain  Academy  where  we  planned  to  train  for  two  days  prior  to  racing  the  NorAm  finals.  We  had  a  successful  first  day  of  training  that  was  quite  similar  to  our  preseason  training  in  Chile.  However,  the  second  day  delivered  a  change  of  weather  from  the  sunny  day  before.  The  hill  didn’t  freeze  and  a  wicked  wind  storm  blew  away  all  the  B-net  from  the  hill.  The  coaches  then  rolled  all  the  b-net  and  implemented  a  salt  program  in  hopes  of  preparing  the  surface  for  the  start  of  the  NorAm.  The  evening  before  the  race  brought  rain  and  more  wind  making  the  hill  an  un-ski  able  surface  kinda  similar  to  the  moon!  The  ROC  was  forced  to  cancel  the  first  slalom  day  in  favour  of  a  double  header  the  next  day.  With  very  challenging  conditions,  especially  with  my  deep  bib  number,  I  struggled.  The  surface  was  mixed  with  an  icy  two  footed  groove  with  its  fair  share  of  bumps.  I  straddled  on  the  first  run  of  race  one  and  then  fell  on  the  second  run  of  race  two.  It  was  definitely  a  challenging  day  but  I  was  happy  to  at  least  make  it  down  once!  Congrats  to  Keira  tho  who  scored  her  first  NorAm  points!  The  following  day  was  another  double  header  but  this  time  GS.  I  struggled  even  more  in  the  GS  and  starting  further  back,  and  was  not  able  to  qualify  for  either  second  run.

 Following  the  two  days  of  double  headers  we  had  a  rest  day  and  then  drove  to  Mont  Tremblant,  but  not  before  making  a  few  critical  stops.  Probably  our  most  important  destination  of  the  season  was  a  visit  to  Ben  and  Jerry’s  Factory!  We  were  able  to  make  it  in  time  for  a  tour  and  got  to  see  how  they  make  their  ice  cream.  We  all  found  it  wild  that  they  made  400,000  pints  at  the  Waterbury  factory  and  over  a  million  a  day  at  the  Burlington  factory.  Ben  and  Jerry’s  was  definitely  my  favourite  part  of  Vermont!  Later  on  the  drive  we  stopped  at  Trader  Joe’s  and  got  some  good  snacks  that  we  wished  we  had  in  Canada  including  sour  scandinavian  swimmers  that  have  become  our  new  favourite  candy!

Since  being  in  Mont  Tremblant  we  have  trained  two  days  at  St  Saviour  on  a  really  good  surface.  It  was  nice  to  train  on  what  we  raced  the  GS  on  today  and  what  we’ll  race  on  for  the  following  days  both  at  St  Saviour  and  Mont  Tremblant.  Today  was  the  first  day  of  Nationals  for  both  women  and  Men  as  the  men’s  race  was  cancelled  yesterday  due  to  high  winds  and  poor  visibility.  Today’s  race  also  had  limited  visibility  and  some  winds  but  was  more  manageable.  We  all  struggled  in  inspection  as  it  was  a  new  run  for  most  of  us  and  we  only  had  about  two  gates  of  visibility  at  a  time  making  it  hard  to  get  a  feel  for  the  terrain.  I  had  a  better  first  run  today  than  second  where  I  made  more  mistakes  but  I  was  happier  with  the  day  overall.  A  big  congrats  to  Zoe  who  was  third  overall  today  and  halved  her  GS  points!  We’ll  be  racing  slalom  tomorrow  at  St  Saviour  before  returning  to  Tremblant  on  Thursday  for  the  Slalom  nationals.  I  will  be  excited  to  be  heading  home  on  Thursday  and  to  be  back  training  in  the  Bow  Valley  before  finishing  our  season  with  our  last  two  series  at  Panorama  and  Nakiska  in  April.

Thank  you  to  our  team  sponsors  GMC  Dealers  of  Alberta,  Karbon  Sports,  Genstar  Canada,  Mountain  Fire  Foods,  and  Gear  up  Mountain  Sports.  I  would  also  like  to  thank  our  community  of  volunteers  and  our  families  for  supporting  us  and  making  the  races  happen.  Our  season  wouldn’t  be  possible  without  them! 

-Katie

Hi everyone!

I am writing to you from our place in Kamloops, where we are staying for the Sun Peaks race! My last athlete journal was during Chile, and a lot has happened since then. We’ve been racing all over the Bow Valley, as well as Kimberley, Panorama, and Quebec. Yesterday we drove eight hours to get here, but the ice cream and goat stop at Dutchmen Dairy made it feel shorter! Today we got to enjoy some tech freeskiing on the race run and a couple fun park/mountain laps in the sun. We have four days of racing at Sun Peaks, then we will get to enjoy a day freeskiing at Revelstoke on our way home!

The races this season have proved challenging, with a NorAm field at our first two FIS races, and the extremely challenging ice at Norquay (ice is not one of my strengths), and NorAms in between. After surviving Norquay, and learning some valuable lessons on the ice, the team flew out to Quebec. The travel, as usual, had its complications. We had boarded our flight and sat on the plane for an hour before getting notified that we had to deplane because of the plane crash in Toronto. We unloaded the plane and got the notification that our flight had been canceled. So, two days later, we did it all again and finally made it to Quebec. This meant that we had missed our two days of training on the race hills, and we got to our house at 10 pm the night before our race. We all woke up tired, but ready to race, and we had to fight deteriorating courses due to soft snow. Thankfully most of us had already skied at Bromont and Owl’s head before, so we were familiar with the terrain. The second day of GS, I made flip after the first run which meant a relatively fresh course for the second run. The course was set in my favourite way, straight. I took advantage of the course playing to my strengths, straight and fresh, soft snow, and it payed off. I managed to score by about 17 points! It was really nice to have a strong run and a good score after struggling so much at Norquay on the ice and feeling a little bit less confident.

In between Quebec and leaving for Sun Peaks, we got 3 days of training at Nakiska. After two days of GS on Mapmaker and a day of slalom on Whoop up I am feeling confident for the next couple of races on similar runs, as well as the race on those runs in less than two months. It was nice to spend some time at home, and be back in the gym with Nate and the team. Being at home also means I can spend some time in the evenings playing my guitar, which is too big to travel with. My favourite song to play right now is Maine by Noah Kahan. The warm weather also meant enjoying some walks in the sun! 

The team is pretty split up right now, with Gered and Zoe at World Junior Championships (Huge congrats on Zoe’s 10th and Gered’s 19th!!!), Luc is still in Quebec, and Aiden, Jamie and Caleb at home working on their recovery. Us girls, Katie, Keira, Polly, Deavyn and I, will be staying in Kamloops together. We leave in two weeks for NorAm finals at Burke, and Nationals at Mont Tremblant, then we are into the Panorama spring series and Nakiska finals! The season feels like it is flying by, but I am happy to know we still have lots of race starts. My next athlete journal will be in May. I am excited to be able to update everyone at the end of my season!

Thank you to all the support from our sponsors, GMC, Wolfe, Karbon, Genstar, Mountain Fire Foods, and Gear up as well as all of the coaches and the huge support system we have that helps us all succeed.

See you next time!

Kyleigh

Hello everyone, my name is Caleb Brooks. I am 20 years old and this is my 3rd season on the Alberta ski team. This ski season hasn’t ended up the way I wanted. But we will get into that later.  In December we had a packed schedule full of racing. We raced in Panorama for the NORAMS and right after the Christmas series. The Panorama NORAMS were a successful race series where I came 14th in the super G. In the Gs I was just out of the top 30. In the Slalom I had two top 20s with top 15 runs. At the end of this race series I was ranked 20th in slalom and 23 in Superg.  I was super stoked! The Christmas series was also filled with solid skiing and I was happy to be headed home for some rest and family time.  My home club Lake Louise was hosting a Santa Slalom just before Chiristmas.  I was excited to come and cheer on the younger athletes and participate in a fun race with my brother and sister.  No pressure, no competition, just plain fun!  Well, the first run was great but the second run, not so much.  I injured my knee and am still working on accepting that my season is over.

The MRI showed a torn MPFL, Cartilage damage behind my knee cap and a MCL grade 1 tear. The MPFL holds and helps your knee cap glide and as described by my surgeon, is the size of a linguiny. This news came as a pretty big shock to me and to be honest I didn’t want to accept it. My life went from skiing everyday, travelling, being active to not being able to ski and train for an undetermined amount of time. I still think about that. In 1 second all the hours of training, the turns made, the sweat and effort put in, my season was over. I miss skiing more than I can put into words. Skiing has always been my passion and how I définie myself. The feeling of carving down a mountain, the rush of adrenaline, and the freedom—it’s like second nature to me. December 30th I entered surgery with Dr Timmerman in Calgary. He repaired my MPFL and took out the floating cartilage pieces in my knee.

Everything went well with the surgery. I was able to bear weight right after surgery and walk with crutches.

After three weeks of rest and recovery with minimal movement, I was cleared to start Physio. Kevin and Nate at the CSI facility in Calgary, have been amazing in giving me the confidence to work hard and regain my strength. Firstly, we worked on range of motion rather than strengthening. We’ve been doing Blood flow restriction and EMS in order to get everything going again. A couple weeks ago, I started squatting again and I never expected to shed tears of JOY over leg exercises. I am now starting to bike, run and soon cross country ski.  As soon as my legs are of equal strength, I should be able to start sliding down on my skis again.

Despite these challenges, I have remained resilient and focused on giving my best effort in everything I do. I know that success in skiing requires perseverance and dedication, and I am determined to keep pushing myself to reach my full potential. While the season may not have ended the way I wanted, I am grateful for the lessons I’ve learned and the experiences I’ve gained. Next year, my goal isn’t just to return to the level I was at before the injury. My goal is to excel by pushing my limits, Conquering new challenges, and becoming stronger than ever before. Although this knee surgery has set me back, it won’t prevent me from achieving my goals and dreams. So,I’m taking this time as a chance to grow. The journey ahead is lengthy, but I’m dedicated to the effort it requires. I’ve invested too much effort and come too far to let a single injury hold me back. I’ll return to the slopes next winter, better than ever.

Thanks to our amazing sponsors GMC Dealers of Alberta, Karbon Sports, Genstar Canada, Mountain Fire Foods, and Gear Up Mountain Sports. You guys make our ski season possible!!  

Hey everyone, it’s Luc! It’s now been almost three months since my last athlete journal, and there is a lot to update you guys on. We’ve been busy with lots of travelling and racing since the season has gotten going. During these blocks of racing the team has had to adapt to extremely varying weather conditions. From icy Norquay to snowy Bromont and rainy Camp Fortune, the weather has been anything but consistent. This has made us recognize how grateful we are for our awesome Karbons team kits. They have been keeping us warm, dry, and stylish on the hill.

The team arrived in Montreal last week, after a few flight delays, and quickly realized how much more snow Quebec has than Alberta. This led to some challenging racing conditions out in Bromont and Owl’s head. However, there was still some good skiing from lots of the team, including a slalom win from Polly at Owl’s head. The team headed back to Alberta after these series, and I’m currently tagging along with the Dino’s for the next week. I have 4 more days of racing out east here at Camp Fortune and Mont Ste-Marie before heading back to Alberta. I’ve been taking advantage of the great poutine and practicing my French while out east!

I’m super proud and happy for my teammates, Gered and Zoe, who are both at World Juniors right now in Tarvisio, Italy. It is an exciting and well-deserved experience for both of them. With them being gone, the team seems to keep getting smaller. I’ve definitely been missing Caleb, Aidan, and Jamie, who are all out due to injuries right now. The team isn’t the same without them.

After this current series, I’ll be back at home to catch up on sleep and training with the team for a week. Then, Gered, Zoe and I will be coming back out east for the speed Norams in Sugarloaf before being reunited with the rest of the team for the tech series. I’ve never been to Sugarloaf so I’m super excited to race a new mountain. We’ll finish off our skiing out east for the season at Mont Tremblant. Next, we have a bit of training back home before ending our season with spring series in Panorama and Nakiska. I’m really looking forward to racing and training back at Nakiska.

This season has been pretty challenging.  I’ve struggled with having confidence and changing technical habits in my skiing. It’s definitely a work in progress. While it’s hard to change habits while racing, I’ve learned the value of every turn. Warmup runs and finding good feelings in your skiing have been extremely beneficial to overall changes in my skiing.

To end this athlete journal, I’d like to thank our amazing sponsors: GMC dealers of Alberta, Karbon, Mountain Fire Foods, Genstar, and Gearup Mountain Sports. We appreciate your support!

 Hey everyone! It’s Keira here again with my second athlete journal. I thought I would do a recap of the past month or so as we have been very busy training and racing. We ended the month of January at Lake Louise and Norquay with some Nor-Am races which proved to be pretty challenging. At Norquay, they had injected the surface with water, creating some of the iciest conditions I have ever skied. I struggled to find grip on the surface; however, I did manage to finish all of my runs which I was happy about. On the other hand, Lake Louise had awesome conditions. It had been around two years since I had last skied there and it did not disappoint. The views were incredible and the track was super fun with all the rolls and breakovers. After we wrapped up that series, we had a couple days off before continuing our training at both venues in preparation for the Norquay series while also battling the cold weather. 

Looking back to just last week, we raced our four day series at Norquay (two GS, two SL) and continued our fight out on the ice. This series was less successful for me, having not been able to finish two runs on the same day. While the surface was grippier than the Nor-Ams, I found it more difficult to ski on as it was hard to anticipate which turns were grippy or slick. Regardless of my results, I felt that I laid down some good turns and learned some valuable lessons. 

This upcoming week, we will be racing out East in Quebec at Bromont and Owl’s Head. Originally we were supposed to have a couple days before to train, but our flight had gotten canceled and rescheduled to the day before our race. In the meantime, I will take advantage of a couple more days off to regain some strength in the gym and do some race prep on my skis. 

All of this would not be possible without the help from our team sponsors so thanks for your support: GMC Dealers of Alberta, Karbon Sports, Genstar Canada, Gear Up Mountain Sports and Mountain Fire Foods! 

Hey ski friends, its Jamie again! I hope everyone has been doing their best to keep warm during these super cold days. It feels like it’s finally winter! 

As the rest of the team is putting in the work on the hill at the height of our race season, I unfortunately am putting in the work in the gym to prepare myself for surgery. During our first training block back from the new year, I took quite a big tumble while skiing GS at Nakiska resulting in a significant knee injury, and I’d like to share the journey it has been so far and the long road of recovery I have ahead of me. 

Throughout my athletic journey, I have always entertained the concept of “if you’re going to do something, do it well.” I guess I also felt the need to implement this when blowing my knee. Although I was in quite a lot of pain and not walking, I waited for my MRI results with delusion and the expectation of a little tweak in my knee. I thought that I would need maybe a day or two of rest, and then I’d be right back on snow. This sadly wasn’t the case. The results from my MRI showed tears in my ACL, LCL,  lateral meniscus, medial meniscus, and posterior lateral corner, with a couple more sprains in a few other ligaments/muscles. 

Of course, I knew the physical battle that I would endure, but what no one can prepare you for is the mental struggles that come along with the process. I have injured myself in the past, however, the concept of a season-ending injury has been foreign to me up until now. For ski racers like me, our sport is more than just a game and it has become a huge part of our identity. A significant thing that I have been struggling with is the fact that I not only have been losing time on the hill but also part of myself. It is a huge mental whiplash and a strange feeling going from 100% to 0% in one day. The abruptness was and has been disorienting, I feel like I woke up in a world that I’ve never been in. For me, movement has always been super present in my everyday life. I have never been used to consecutive unstructured days without the rhythm of training, racing, tuning, meeting with the team, etc. My days feel like they’re a million hours long. That being said, this has been a huge lesson for me; a lesson that I am more than just an athlete. I have been forced to confront who I am without the sport and learn that I have a purpose outside of ski racing. 

I feel grateful to have a trainer like Nate who has been helping me come up with ideas to modify exercises and keep me strong in the gym. I have been able to grind out upper body and single leg workouts which has definitely kept me more sane. Aside from working out and “prehabbing” for surgery, I have been filling my time with learning how to crochet! Beanies have been the main project for now but I am excited for what further projects I have in store! 

At the time I am writing this, I am 5 days out from my surgery. Due to how angry my knee was, it took a few weeks for the swelling to go down and for me to regain some range of motion. It would’ve been an even tougher rehab had they operated on an angry locked-out knee. To say I am excited would be a lie. This will be my first surgery and I have been struggling to go into it with a positive mindset. I guess I still have 5 days to toughen up!! Although the long road of post-op rehab ahead of me seems scary, I know I am capable of tackling it like a beast. Not only do I feel inspired by my two teammates, Aidan and Caleb who have shown nothing but resilience and strength through their recovery, but I feel grateful for the support they’ve shown me since I’ve crashed.  While watching races on live timing from my bed, I can still proudly say I am always super grateful for our team’s support this season! Karbon Sports, GMC Canada, Genstar, Mountain Fire Foods, and Gearup Sports, thank you!!! 

It’s a new year with a new knee! For any unfamiliar readers, my name is Aidan Kometz and I am an Alberta Ski Team athlete who is recovering from knee surgery. My first journal of this season described my situation, so I will treat this one as a thorough update. A lot has changed over these past months, for me and the team, and I hope to share my story. 

The surgery was a success! My amazing surgeon, Dr. Heard, used a section of my quad tendon to reconstruct my ACL. So now my body is securing and healing this graft, which acts as an ACL, in place. He also repaired both my torn meniscus’ which are essential C-shaped discs that help cushion the knee. Due to the root tear of my lateral meniscus, I couldn’t bear any weight on my leg for 6 weeks to ensure it fully healed. After several rest days post-surgery, I started my physio and my long return to skiing. I progressed well for the first 6 weeks; my swelling decreased, my mobility came back, and my quads activated. I was gaining more and more range of motion in my knee by doing lots of exercises with my physio, Kevin. Some of my exercises included biking frequently paired with BFR (Blood Flow Restriction) training to help strengthen my leg muscles.

The first week was the hardest. The pain is pretty bad as your swelling increases, and your quad muscles start to ‘go to sleep’. You try to flex your quad and it just doesn’t move. You try to raise your leg straight but your heel drags along the ground. As the swelling drops you can begin to do more exercises and use EMS (Electrical Muscle Stimulator) to reactivate the quads. Unfortunately, your legs begin to atrophy and lose muscle mass, essentially shrinking. My right leg is now very visibly smaller than my left. The great thing is that you can always build the muscle back which is another reason recovery can be so long. My quad is now fully active and flexing, getting stronger by the day. A whole new world of exercises was available once I could bear weight making my progress much more obvious.

With how everything was going I felt amazing. I hadn’t faced any problems and was progressing pretty perfectly. I arrogantly mentioned to my trainer, Nate, that I didn’t think I would face any setbacks. He assured me that no road back is straight, that every recovery has ups and downs. I didn’t believe him. Now whether this was karma or coincidence, the next day I faced a setback. I was distracted and then fell down some stairs. At first, I didn’t have much pain so I assumed I was fine. However, that night my knee began to squeak and creak. Then the following morning I was getting sharp pains in my knee. I started to panic thinking I messed up my knee over a stupid mistake. There was a chance I tore out my root repair. I was devastated at first because this would mean another 6 weeks on crutches, but we didn’t have a verdict. Later that week I met with Dr. Heard and we decided that an Arthroscopy would be the best option and we could decide from there. A camera scope goes into the knee to see if anything is injured, and then they either fix what’s broken or see that everything is okay. 

I had my second surgery on January 20th, exactly 2 months after my first one. Luckily, I hadn’t torn out my root but rather strained it. This shifted the artificial sutures around in my knee causing the squeaking and possibly some pain. The surgeons removed all the sutures because my scar tissue had formed and secured my meniscus back to its root. This was the best possible outcome and I feel very lucky. The weirdest thing about this surgery was I had a spinal anesthetic instead of a general anesthetic, which means I was awake and watching my surgery on a TV. My epidural was fairly perfect because I still had some motor control in my major muscle groups but couldn’t feel any pain. I could feel the scope going into my knee, the surgeon’s tools in my knee, and the snipping and pulling out of all my sutures but had absolutely no pain. This was my first setback and I learned a lot for the future, it was a lesson I needed. I just missed 2 weeks of progress but am eager to get back to rehab.

Our team had a very unfortunate and dramatic change in late December. Two more of our athletes injured their knees. Caleb Brooks crashed in a Christmas slalom race and dislocated his kneecap, tearing his MPFL. He has since had surgery and is on the road to recovery already. More recently though, Jamie Heisz crashed and blew out her knee too. She tore her ACL and a couple of other ligaments and is awaiting surgery. I was so shocked when I heard about both these injuries because I know how horrible it can feel especially the struggle associated with surgery. However, Jamie and Caleb are two of the strongest and capable people I know. I have no doubt in my mind they will recover and be a better version of themselves. I always believe in a silver lining. While I wish this never happened to them, we will all be recovering and rehabbing together which is so much better than doing it alone. I hope I can help them with my experience and learn from them too. 

I even got to go watch the Panorama and Norquay FIS race series. It was awesome seeing and talking to so many people. I hope to come to as many races as possible and see teammates, future teammates, and friends race their best race. The best way I can end this is that I am hopeful for the future. I believe this recovery is something I needed. I get the opportunity to work on myself both physically and mentally. I am determined to come back stronger and more prepared for the next season. My biggest goal is to come back and compete at the World Junior Ski Championship next year. This forced absence from skiing has opened my eyes to how much I love skiing. There hasn’t been a day where I haven’t wanted to carve a perfect GS turn, kick out of the start, or feel the cold air on my face while I tuck. The lack of skiing in my life has made me want to race so much more.

I have so much gratitude for everyone who asked about me and how I was doing. I am extremely thankful for the Alberta Ski Team and for all our team’s supporters and behind-the-scenes workers. I am very excited to work much more closely with our amazing sponsors GMC Dealers of Alberta, Karbon Sports, Genstar Canada, Mountain Fire Foods, and Gearup Mountain Sports. The impact you have is much more than you can understand. 

Hey everyone. The race season is well underway, and after completing the first races at Norquay and Panorama, I’ve come away with some solid gains, including new FIS points and NorAm points. It was an intense stretch of racing, but it’s all part of the grind. Luckily we had MOUNTAIN FIRE FOODS to keep us well fueled. We then had a much needed break for Christmas, which gave me some time to relax and recharge. I was able to train with my old team, NATC, and also spend some time free skiing at Kicking Horse, which was a great way to mix things up and have some fun before the next block of races.

After the break, we hit the training hard, starting at Nakiska. From there, it was all about preparing for the NorAms, driving over to Kimberly in our GMC trucks to focus on some serious training on the Dreadnought race track, working on downhill and super-G, with focused sessions at Lake Louise and Norquay. Speaking of Norquay, they recently water injected their run, and we got the opportunity to ski the track before the NorAms kicked off. The conditions were tough, especially when it came to getting my skis sharp enough to carve on the ice. The key to making it down Silver Legacy is all about outside ski pressure, separation, full commitment, and a tune from GEARUP SPORTS CANMORE. It’s a brutal track, but it’s the kind of challenge I love. Every run is a test, and each one helps push me to dial in for the upcoming races. Wish me and the team good luck as we’ll be racing the NorAms on Jan 27th! We’re all looking forward to repping our dashing new KARBON race suits!!

Luc and I just wrapped up 12 solid days of training in a row, and to celebrate, we stayed up until 4 AM to watch the legendary Kitzbühel DH. It was totally worth it! Watching the race live, we saw two of our Canadian boys, Jack Crawford and Cam Alexander, take 1st and 3rd. The energy was unreal, and we were going absolutely crazy as they flew down the course, especially when they crossed the finish line. We watched it with our other injured teammates, Aidan and Caleb, and it was a bittersweet moment—such a boost for the team, but also a reminder of how much we miss having everyone healthy and training together.

Training has been going great, but it’s just not the same without my three teammates, Jamie, Caleb, and Aidan. They’ve all been sidelined by knee injuries, and I really miss having them out there pushing alongside me. The energy they bring to training is something I can’t quite put into words, and it’s been tough not having them with us. Still, we’re all staying positive and supporting each other as we push through. We’ve got each other’s backs, and I know we’ll be back stronger than ever once they’re back on their skis.

As the team is getting pumped for these upcoming NorAm races, I’d like to acknowledge that this busy season would not be possible without our tremendous support from our awesome sponsors. Genstar, GearUp Sports Canmore, GMC Dealers of Alberta, Karbon, and Mountain Fire Foods you guys are truly the best, THANK YOU!!

Hello Everyone!!

It’s been a while since I last checked in and a lot has happened. The season is picking up and we are heading into the busy season after Christmas break. I hope everyone was able to get to the mountains and had luck finding snow over the holidays! It was nice to have a little reset from racing and have some rest days.

Before Christmas, we had a big block of racing at Panorama for the Norams and a FIS series. Huge thanks to the volunteers for running smooth and efficient races. I was really happy with my results from the Noram slalom. I scored points on both days and had a top-10 run on one of the days! The GS was less successful, I am still trying to figure out how to ski fast on Old-timer. The FIS series was a little tough for me. I crashed pretty heavily on the first day in the GS and decided not to race the next day.

After the break Zoe and I headed straight to Colorado for the university races. Boy did the elevation hit me like a train there. I realized Colorado was high but I didn’t realize it was quite so high. Walking up a flight of stairs in ski boots left me out of breath. It was nice to race in a different environment, meet lots of coaches and see how college skiing works. I was able to score college points in both the slaloms. I ended up not racing the second run of GS as my back was in a lot of pain. I was able to get a last-minute flight home to avoid an 18-hour drive for my back. Since being home I have been attending a lot of physio and dialing in on active recovery. I had a bone scan last week, and the results read like a whole lot of gibberish. A big thanks to the team and the Benson Concussion Clinic for explaining to me what a “pseudo articulation” is and making sense of the report for me. It appears I have some focal bone remodelling on the right L5 transverse process and some partial fusions on the sacral articulations. For those of you like me and are not up to speed on specific medical terms it essentially appears I have a lot of inflammation in my lower back area causing the pain. At training have been focussed on a very technical warm-up and managing intensity and volume. While some of the team was in Kimberly doing speed, Katie, Keira and I were training a watered lane on Bronze. It’s great to challenge myself and get reps on a surface like this as we haven’t had much ice training this year. It’s still gonna take a bit of work to have full confidence in my downhill ski but I am making progress every day. 

This week the team is getting the opportunity to train at Lake Louise and Norquay. It’s nice to train at these venues in preparation for the upcoming Norams the following week. 

As the season picks up I would like to recognize our team sponsors GMC Dealers of Alberta, Karbon Sports, Genstar Canada, Gear Up Mountain Sports and Mountain Fire Foods. Their support is crucial to our team’s season and we wouldn’t be able to do all these awesome things without them!

Thanks for checking in with me!

Polly

Hello Everyone and Happy New Year!

I last wrote to you from Chile and it’s hard to believe we’ve finished our first few races and are back to training at home following Christmas.

When we got back from Chile, we settled into the gym for a few weeks while waiting for the hills at home to be ready for training. Once ready, we had some good camps at both Nakiska and Panorama in advance of our first race series.

Our race season kicked off with a Slalom at Norquay on the first weekend in December. Because Panorama was hosting the first NorAm of the season the following week, we had a strong women’s field which made for good scoring opportunities. The ROC did an amazing job running a race that was almost full quota with early season conditions.

Following Norquay, we headed to the Panorama NorAms the following day. The NorAms were tough! The Pano series included Super G, GS and Slalom races and attracted athletes from all over the world and some with World Cup experience. I’m really happy for my teammates Polly, Caleb and Gered who all scored NorAm points in slalom! I want to also congratulate former AST athletes Jesse Kertesz-Knight for winning his first NorAm slalom and Liam Wallace for a successful return to racing following his injury winning one of the GS races and achieving a podium in the other.

After the NorAm, we stayed at Panorama for the Maclachlan GMC Cup. Once again, we had a huge field for both women and men and the ROC was amazing getting through the series on some of the shortest days of the year. We were on the hill for some beautiful sun rises and finished before the sun set! A big snow storm meant that the men lost one slalom race during this series but were able to complete two GS races.

Unfortunately, I did not get the start I was hoping for and did not perform to the level I was expecting. I definitely struggled to ski my best when we were racing and was struggling to make second runs. I was disappointed, because I felt more prepared than ever before, and had amazing pre-season training. It was an awesome experience but a long 12 day block of racing and I left Pano feeling very frustrated in my skiing and ready for our Christmas break.

Before settling into Christmas, I picked myself up and went to join my home club at Lake Louise to participate in the “Santa Slalom.” It was so nice to go back to my home club for a fun race with multiple age groups that really showed how passionate the skiing community is. It was a much needed reminder of how fun ski racing is and why I love the sport.

I spent Christmas at home in Canmore with my family, including my grandparents who were visiting from Nova Scotia. It was a much needed break to rest and reset for the upcoming training block. I went for some ski days with my family, walks with my dogs, and was pleasantly surprised to discover that the mountain bike trails weren’t snow covered so I was able to do some rides and enjoy the nice weather.

The team is now back into training after the break at Nakiska. The whole team is here except for Polly, Zoe and Kyle who are down in Colorado racing in some university races. I am really looking forward to this training block and am hoping to figure out some things in my skiing before hopping into our next NorAm series at Lake Louise and Norquay.

Thank you to our team sponsors GMC Dealers of Alberta, Karbon Sports, Genstar Canada, Mountain Fire Foods, and Gear up Mountain Sports. I would also like to thank our community of volunteers both those on the hill and behind the scene. Our season wouldn’t be possible without them!

-Katie

Greetings, fellow ski enthusiasts! My name is Deavyn Parchewsky, and I am thrilled to embark on this journey as a proud member of the Alberta Ski Team.This will be my first season on AST I am truly thrilled to be alongside such amazing teammates this season. At 19 years old, this represents a significant milestone in my skiing career, and I am eager to share my experiences with you all.

Originally from Calgary, I consider Canmore my true home, having spent all my summers there and many ski seasons while with the Banff Alpine Racers. This summer I worked at Brewsters golf course and Old School Ice Cream Bus when I wasn’t in the gym with our amazing trainer Nate at CSI. My passion for skiing ignited when I was just three years old, and by the age of six, I was already racing with the Bow Valley Quikies. After an incredible 12 years racing with the Banff Alpine Racers at Norquay, I reflect fondly on the unforgettable experiences, particularly events like the Dress Up Cookie Cup, Caribou Cup and amazing coaches! 

Growing up in the ski racing world has provided me with a truly unique childhood experience—imagine trading school days for thrilling Friday escapes to the slopes from November to April! My summers were equally exhilarating, filled with ski camps alongside friends in breathtaking destinations like Whistler, Europe, Chile and New Zealand.

My journey through ski racing has profoundly shaped my character, instilling in me essential values such as hard work, dedication, and time management. Setting both short-term and long-term goals has become second nature. Most importantly, skiing has fostered my resilience, enabling me to navigate the highs and lows of competition. Overcoming challenges, including an ACL tear during my U16 season, has been a valuable lesson in focus and determination.

My guiding principles include:

Work Ethic: Commitment to every training session is essential; I strive to enhance my technique and physical fitness continuously.

Adaptability and Perseverance: This year has tested my ability to adjust to new teams, coaches, and equipment, but I’ve learned to advocate for myself while staying focused on my goals.

Team Values: Building a supportive and uplifting environment among teammates is crucial for success in skiing; I am dedicated to fostering this sense of community.

Resilience: Each obstacle I’ve faced has reinforced my mental and physical strength.

One of the most fulfilling aspects of ski racing is the remarkable community I’ve become a part of. The support system within this sport is immense, and I have come to appreciate the dedication of volunteers and supporters who contribute to every race—it truly takes a village to raise a ski racer. The friendships I’ve formed within this community are treasures that I hold dear, as we continue to cheer each other on in our individual journeys.

Recently, the team has just finished the norquay slalom races! Woohoo first race of the season! Looking ahead, the team is very excited to compete at Panorama for ten days of racing! Which will take us to Christmas time where we will get some hard earned rest days. 

Thank you for joining me on this exciting adventure! Thank you for all your support of our online auction and raffles! Thank you for all the support and thank you to all our the sponsors of our team GMC Dealers of Alberta, Karbon Sports, Genstar Canada, Mountain Fire Foods, and Gearup Mountain Sports. 

Warm regards and happy holidays,

Deavyn Parchewsky