Hello ski racing fans!

I’m so excited to get everyone caught up to speed on the really busy month!  We had originally planned to be heading across the pond to Italy for most of January, but after taking a closer look at other opportunities, it was decided that Coach Peter, Logan and I would, instead, be heading down to the U.S. for some racing in Colorado and Wyoming. I was really happy to be going down and extremely excited to get back to racing after a long and productive training block at home, including some very fun days training with my home club, Banff Alpine!

We started off our project with racing in Vail and training in Loveland. It was great to be skiing on some incredible snow that was confidence inspiring and very fun to race on. From there Logan and I were off to Aspen and Eldora for some NCAA racing. These races were definitely a step up in level of competition and it was fun to race with guys who were a lot more experienced than us. Unfortunately, I was unable to successfully battle the tougher warm weather conditions we had and I couldn’t manage to show my best skiing on those days.   While we were racing in parallel with many of our women’s team athletes, with COVID protocols and different race days, this really became a month-long expedition of Peter, Logan and me through “Cowboy Country.” It was nice to see a number of our teammates achieve some great performances in their racing.  Another massive congratulations is also in order for everyone’s new favourite world cup skier, Cassidy Gray, whose skiing in her debut at Kranjska Gora was a moment of inspiration and extreme pride for the entire team!

From there we were off to Wyoming for more racing in Jackson Hole.  Once again, we were blessed by really great racing conditions and I was happy to be back racing in a place that was familiar to me from previous seasons (and a personal favourite).  I was also pretty happy with my racing as I was able to get my first podium of the season with a third place in the Slalom and I also achieved a top 10 in the GS despite some first run mistakes.  From Wyoming, we travelled back to Colorado more GS racing in Copper Mountain.  After all the work training, things started clicking and I felt more confident in my skiing and was happy with my performance in Copper against a field that included some pretty strong skiers.

Unfortunately, what had been a pretty successful month of skiing up until that point took a rough turn. On our last day of training (and a day before we were to fly home in anticipation of new travel restrictions), I broke my leg training slalom in Copper and underwent surgery that afternoon to repair it.  I am doing much better now thanks to the amazing help from a number of people. 

In particular I would especially like to thank the great team at St. Anthony’s hospital in Frisco for the incredible care I received during my stay.  The fantastic staff at Alberta Alpine for taking care of the logistics of getting me home and, of course, my amazing teammates for the warm wishes and support that got me through a couple fairly uncomfortable days in a hospital.  Most of all, I have to thank Peter and Logan for their hard work getting me and all my equipment home as quickly and easily as possible. 

Although I feel incredibly blessed for the opportunity to race in the United States, I have to say I have missed seeing the smiling faces of volunteers, parents and coaches who make up this wonderful community at our own local races.  I’m looking forward to working hard on the recovery and seeing everyone back on the slopes soon!

One last big thank you to our sponsors Sporting Life and Sync for the amazing support they have given us this season!

;)-Dan

This season has obviously been quite different from, well, any season ever. With the lack of competition it has become more of a “preparation” year. It has helped me become both mentally and physically stronger on the hill. Since the new year we’ve been training out of southern Alberta. Pass Powder Keg and Castle Mountain have become our new training sanctuaries. Pass Powder Keg has built a start section for us that has been a tremendous addition to our training. We’ve been able to play with the terrain and set some courses that allow us to run heats and work on ski cross tactics. As for Castle Mountain, you could say our best training is done there. Blasting out freeski runs with Matt Carss and the whole team is my favourite way to get the legs pumping. It’s one heck of a workout but always with smiles.

Unfortunately on January 14 I took a spill and dislocated my shoulder. It caught me by surprise and ended my camp early. The doctor says it will be a 6-8 week recovery. In the meantime I’ve been having fun learning with my left hand and staying as active as I’m allowed. I will be able to start physio this week and I’m looking forward to strengthening my shoulder back up and joining the team for the remainder of the season.

Due to the global pandemic we have not been able to compete even close to as much as previous years. Racing and demanding perfection from yourself until you are completely burned is rigorous, and demanding. I have been training hard at Nakiska for the past couple months, improving on mental and technical ques. This time has allowed for lots of great skiing and lots of reflection. Ski racing has been my whole life for as long as I can remember. Early mornings at Crabbe Mountain, carrying bundles that weighed more than me, and keying in gates trump essentially all other childhood memories. I think I speak for most, if not all of my teammates, when I say: racing defines us. Defeat teaches us to be hungry, Injury teaches us that we can and will overcome anything and the desire to win is the overwhelming force that keeps us going no matter what.

Although I am disappointed and eager to race, I feel this season has allowed me to prepare my skiing more than ever for the day that I finally get to step back into the starting gate. In a sport that is entirely a race against a clock, it can be difficult to press pause and take a step back. Changing something flawed in your skiing is unbelievably difficult. On the average training day we do hundreds of turns, hardwiring both good and bad habits into our technique. Skiing is a highly reactionary sport, therefore we need to train our brains and bodies to react with the correct movements. During the race season it is nearly impossible to train in this way due to a lack of volume and the subconscious forcing us to our natural skiing, which isn’t necessarily the most fundamentally sound or fast skiing.

As some racing opportunities approach, I’m feeling prepared and excited! I’d like to extend a massive thank you to our team sponsors, Sporting Life and Sync, as well as my personal support: Head, POC and Level Gloves. Also Crabbe Mountain and the amazing Crabber community.

Well, what an interesting start to our season! A lot of twists, turns, and unknowns. Trying to plan the 2020/2021 race season has been a moving target thanks to COVID-19. I have also been facing my own challenges due to my knee surgery in the summer. This is the first season in my career that I haven’t been able to join my team on the hill when the snow started to fly. I have to admit, it’s difficult to watch from the sidelines and I can’t wait to join you on the slopes.

That being said, we are very thankful to have Kya Fairley rejoin the group! Since Kya has been running the show on hill, with the assistance of Matt Carss, I have asked her to bring you all up to speed on what ASXT has been up to throughout the first part of our season. I hope you enjoy. Stay safe and be well.

-Jean-Marc Martel, ASXT Head Coach

It is so good to be back with my team! I coached the majority of these athletes 2 years ago and I am so excited to get to work with them again, especially after the longest amount of time any of us have been off snow. They are such a hard-working and positive group, which makes every day incredibly rewarding!

We started off the season getting our feet under us again and back to the basics on the classic Cascade and Wiwaxy 500, then made our way to Panorama for a solid few preseason blocks! Panorama provided us with the alpine training we needed, including some beautiful speed training days, as well as an awesome start section we were able to use following gate training each day. The days were full and extremely productive! (Thanks so much Camille, Maryse, Shayne and the Panorama staff!!)

We finished up the 2020 portion of our season with some free skiing days at Louise and Sunshine, as well as alpine training at Nakiska. One of the days at Nakiska we were even able to cheer on our friends at CSX racing the Arosa night SX by streaming it on an iPad at the top of the course! It was a solid block/wind down for the holiday break.

After taking some time off at Christmas to avoid the holiday rush, we are back at it here at Pass Powder Keg fresh and ready to keep up the momentum!

These athletes have been incredibly adaptive to the ever-changing Covid policies. Although we have not been able to race yet, the time and effort is being put in on their end and it shows. From improving alpine skills, free skiing with a purpose, pulling starts, prepping skis, keeping up with school and staying on top of a solid out of gym program until we are able to return to Winsport, they have remained committed and focussed.

I am so thankful for this wonderful group of athletes and can’t wait to get them in some heats!!

-Kya Fairley, ASXT Coach

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My name is Avery Lebsack and I grew up skiing with the Lake Louise Ski Club until the end of U16. I moved to Team Panorama Ski Club for my first two years of FIS. This is my first season with the Alberta Ski Team and so far we have trained three weeks in Switzerland and six weeks at the Panorama Ski Resort. With the lack of races occurring at this time, our ski camps have been very productive and enabled everyone on the team to work really hard on improviding  skills without the pressure of the high-performance aspect. I am very grateful that we have been able to continue training during these uncertain times and cannot wait to get back in the gates after the Christmas break. I would like to thank Sporting Life and Sync for the amazing ski attire and their support this season.

Avery Lebsack

Hello everyone, I should start by introducing myself. My name is Austin Boehm, I am 19 years old, and the newest member of the Alberta Ski Cross Team. I was raised in a small town in Northern British Columbia called Williams Lake and have been racing for 5 years. When I am not skiing you can find me outside as my favourite summer activity is mountain biking. In the summers I work hard as a tree planter to raise enough funds to ski all winter and go to school. Currently I am enrolled at the University of Calgary and taking classes while skiing.

I would like to start off by saying “wow” what a crazy year. It appears when things get wild, everything gets wild at the same time. Well at least that is the story for me. I was accepted onto the team this summer and had been hitting the dryland training hard thanks to the amazing trainers at CSI. Approaching the season our team had a slight hiccup; a COVID-19 scare. The team powered though, and we all came out healthy. It was now time to get some real training in. We packed our bags and headed to Panorama for a first training camp, but for me the camp came to a quick close. Unfortunately, on the second day I took an unlucky tumble while training GS and later found out I had torn my ACL. Just over three weeks has passed since my injury and I have been rehabbing in preparation for surgery in Golden later this week. I am very grateful for the support received from Alpine Canada and Alberta Alpine during this time. My focus has changed from skiing fast to healing fast. With all the new time on my hands I have been able to dedicate a lot of time to school and have developed a few new hobbies, like playing the guitar. I would like to give a huge thank you to everyone who has helped me, especially everyone at Alberta Alpine. I will be back soon thanks to the support of my team, my coaches and many more. Wish me luck! Happy holidays!!

With Covid on the rise in Calgary, there was a lot of pressure on us to keep up our Covid protocols during our races in Panorama this past week. Racing is usually a fairly social event for the Alberta Ski Team, as it is one of the few times we get to see our friends from other provinces. While they were still there, we had to be mindful to keep our distance despite our desire to go back to normal. We were all just happy to be able to race, and I would like to thank Panorama and volunteers for putting the race on responsibly and safely. It was great mentally for us to get back into the swing of things in a safe way, and was super fun too! I am very grateful that we do an outdoor sport and were still able to race while staying healthy and safe while following all the protocols put in place. Each team had a different area of the corral and kept far apart from one another, all volunteers wore masks, and all athletes wore masks until we were in the start. As athletes we are continuing to be extremely mindful of the privilege we have of continuing to train in such a difficult time, and are continuing to be safe and social distance whenever possible, and wear masks when not. We now have a large training block coming up since provincial restrictions have solidified, and the whole team is extremely grateful for our opportunities to train in a safe environment, thanks to Alberta Alpine and Panorama. Looking forward to a good Christmas training session, and wishing all those reading a safe and happy holiday season!

Last week saw our first ski cross camp in almost seven months! While we had a few days skiing around Calgary before hand, it was really great to be back in the mountains and to feel a little cut off from the crazy world that we currently live in. I cannot express enough how lucky I feel to be able to escape to skiing in times like these. We are very fortunate to continue to do what we do safely outdoors! We were also extremely lucky with beautiful, warm weather last week, a treat for this time of year!

Any day on snow where I can feel my toes is a great day in my books! We are also so grateful for the amazing start sections provided to us in Panorama! I think the whole team was excited to feel like we had barely missed a beat when we got to skiing it! One of our guest coaches for the next few weeks, Matt Carres, even got in on the fun and was ripping up the start with us! It was super awesome to see him progress throughout the days, and trying out our coaching skills is also a fantastic way for us to learn and improve ourselves. Thanks Matt for being so optimistic and stoked every day, your energy on the hill was fantastic! Also huge thanks to our coaches JM and Kya for navigating these crazy times with absolute grace.

Our plans have changed so many times and they will continue to change throughout these next few months; knowing you guys are always one step ahead takes so much stress off of us and allows us to focus on what’s important: skiing!

I wish everyone a safe and healthy holiday season. While many things in the world are uncertain right now, I am certain that we live in one of the most amazing places on earth and we are blessed here in Alberta with so many winter activities! I know this season I will appreciate skiing more than ever before, and I wish you all do as well.

Thank you for reading!

-Alexa

Hey guys, Alex here!

I know I am not the only one eagerly waiting for the 2021 competition season to kick off as the past year has been quite the change of pace. Although, the time off has given me the opportunity to re-group and reflect on my past season and how to improve for the next.

Upon reflection, I can say that I found my stride last year,  which brought up my consistency and intensity and enabled me to enjoy my sport more than ever. Finishing 4^th overall on the Nor-Am circuit for 2019-20 was a tremendous highlight for me and I can’t wait to carry that momentum forward! It was disappointing to not cap off the end of the season with more races, but everyone’s health and wellness is the highest priority.

A little recap on what I have been up to this last little while:

Working as a framer throughout the spring and summer months helped me stay physically fit when the gyms were closed. Since re-opening, I have been working nonstop in the gym and having lots of coffee fueled nights as a Dinos varsity athlete does. When the weather was nicer, I took every opportunity to enjoy the great outdoors. Taking mountain bike day trips and getting a little lost in the wild backpacking.

I took the 6 feet rule seriously and made it more of a 60-kilometre rule! I couldn’t say the same for the wildlife as I had some curious cows visit my tent throughout the night.

It has been such a blessing to have my family of teammates and coaching staff as support. It has made this last bit of quarantine manageable. From zoom meetings and game nights I have felt much less isolated here at home. I don’t know what I’d do without everyone’s infectious positivity (probably something on the side of re-enacting The Shining).

I’d like to thank everyone in Alberta Alpine for working as hard as you do and that’s a cornerstone for how great this season will be, COVID setbacks and all.

With hills open and all the safety guidelines in place, it’s looking to be another wonderfully snowy season that I can’t wait to share with all of you.

Stay healthy and earn those turns!

-Alex

Game on!

After what has been the strangest off-season we have ever had to navigate, the AST was able to manage a successful camp to Saas Fee, Switzerland.

The team set off to Zurich on September 25 for a scheduled 18 days of training up on the beautiful Saas Fee glacier at 3500m above sea level. Talk about a shock to the lungs! After climbing 1800m in 25 minutes, with all of our gear and a bundle in tow, the coaching staff just about fell over! I’m happy to report that we adjusted nicely after the first few trips up and through the mountain (there’s actually a train that takes you up through the mountain after two gondola rides).

The camp started with five perfect days, the ones that all ski racers and coaches dream about: hard snow, sunny skies and happy faces. We all soaked in this return to snow and something resembling a normal season. This was surely going to be a camp for the ages, until a meter of snow fell which left us with three consecutive down days and skepticism on what we would get out of the camp.

As it turned out, 10 more consecutive days was what we had in store and we were determined to get the most out of this opportunity. Was it challenging? Absolutely. But everyone put their heads down and worked hard each day. Of course, we had to monitor fatigue and ensure the environments were appropriate each day, but I am proud of the effort everyone put in and the steps that were made.

All in all, I would chalk this trip up as a success. The team of athletes and coaches came together organically and were able to set the tone for the season. With the exception of one minor injury, all athletes are home healthy and ready to go for November.

I’d like to thank our wonderful host at the Hotel Tenne for their hospitality and food, the soccer field for some outstanding games, saves by Jimbo and the kneipp for its freezing cold rejuvenating dips. Of course this camp would never have happened without the 18 athletes and their families who put their trust in us to travel during these times. Thank you all for the opportunity and the lasting memories. 

As we enter our North American ski season I want to assure you that once you get familiar with wearing a face mask all the time, it really is not that bad. Humans are extremely adaptable and I was shocked at how comfortable it all became as time passed.

Let us all stay safe and ski fast! The AST looks forward to seeing you all on the hill!

Gavin Preziosi

Hey everyone, Zac here!

I would like to start off my athlete journal by saying that I hope everyone is staying healthy and sane during these difficult times while quarantined.

I am well and doing everything I can in order to stay healthy. These days I have been doing home workouts every day. My workouts include sprints, weighted lunges, weighted squats, core exercises and of course some upper body exercises as well. Although the gyms are closed I have found the motivation to do these workouts every day in order to be on track for next season.

With my season being cut short I was a little disappointed as I missed out on achieving one of my biggest goals which was to compete at World Junior Championships. Although it was canceled I am still pleased that I qualified and was selected to attend. I did accomplish my goal of forerunning the World Cup at Nakiska, what a great experience it was to be in a World Cup environment and around the best athletes the world has to offer. With that said, overall I had a good season and I am happy with my results. Although I am happy, I am still hungry for more and ready to achieve many more goals and accomplishments next season.

Last Tuesday I had the fantastic opportunity to go on my first mountain bike ride of the year with Alberta Ski Team athlete Caeden Caruthers as well as Alberta Alpine President Rob McCloskey. Although this was my first ride of the season it was also my first mountain bike ride in Alberta and it was great! We did a total of 18.3km, each six feet apart of course, and I am already eager for more!

Not only was it an amazing change of pace to be in the great outdoors but it was also nice to be around friendly faces and be able to have real conversations that didn’t involve a computer screen or a phone. Although quarantine is not over, with the parks and recreations in Alberta slowly opening back up I believe everyone will begin to regain sanity and morale will surely go up!

With such a positive experience getting back out in the mountains, I now have hope that the upcoming ski season will go off without a hitch. Although it may have a few restrictions, I am impatiently waiting to be able to be back on the slopes, clicking into my skis, and pulling out of the start gate once again!

Lastly, I would like to thank my coach JM, Alberta Alpine, the MSM World Cup Athlete Development Fund, the Mont Ste Marie Ski Club community, and everyone who supported me over the past season!

Once again stay healthy!

This has been Zac Reynolds, over and out!

Check out Zac’s Athlete Profile here.

Check out the latest ASXT Athlete Journal video submission from Reece Ralph. You can also find out more about Reece here.

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