Greetings folks! I want to start off by saying thank you everyone for all the ongoing support though these crazy times.

My name is Austin Boehm, and this is my second year with the Alberta Ski Cross Crew. This past year has been quite different for me compared to the rest of my team. After suffering a major knee injury in November 2020, I’ve been on a vigorous rehab plan into order to get back to competition with my team. I’m very happy to announce that everything is feeling amazing due to everyone at CSI and Alberta Alpine. With so many hours dedicated to the gym and at physio, it is all paying off. As soon as I got my skis back on snow in January, the hardest part was trying to hold myself back as everything was feeling superb.

When my team left for Europe there where a lot of emotions, I felt alone, and I missed my support system. I managed to work through these feelings and was blessed with the opportunity to train with Rocky Mountain Adaptive. They are an amazing group of truly motivational and driven skiers that gave me a new perspective. I learnt a lot about resilience from this crew and am extremely grateful for the environment and training I received.

As soon as the team touched down in Canada, Nationals were on everyone’s minds, especially mine. I had been training all season waiting on my chance to get back on a track, this was it. I had a blast forerunning at this race and was so pumped to all the smiling faces that I had been missing. It was the perfect track to get my feet back under me. There were challenging features, but it was low consequence, allowing me to start pushing my knee back to pre-injury levels. Being back around my community and in the race environment reminded me what I’m doing this for, spreading the stoke of ski racing.

I’m so happy to let everyone know my body is feeling great and so is my mind. Let’s keep this energy though the rest of spring and hit the weights hard this summer! I look forward to tree planting, working out, and mountain biking.

Another special thanks to all our amazing sponsors, Alberta Alpine, S&C coach Nate, coach Kya, physio Izzy, Mom and Dad as well as everyone who has supported me on this crazy journey! I can’t wait to see what’s next!

Austin Boehm
Alberta Ski Cross

Hello everyone,

Kiki here, writing my very last Alberta Ski Team athlete journal. This year was my third and final season on the Alberta Ski Team. By the time this is posted I will be starting my first camp for the 2022-2023 season at my personal favorite resort, Sunshine! For now, I am at home enjoying some down time before the real work begins on snow and in the gym. For this journal, I want to embrace some of the emotion this year has brought and share some of the highlights that made this year so incredible. So, here is a quick video that sums up my season!

I want to personally thank Gavin and Jim. I credit these two incredible coaches as they are the biggest reason for my success in this sport. They have both helped me through so much diversity and have shown so much support. They helped me find the confidence I needed to be able to accomplish everything that I did this season. Thank you two for always being in my corner and my biggest supporters!

Another big thanks to Kendra Scurfield and Banff Sunshine Village! Having my home mountain as my head sponsor this season was such an honor and I love representing home when I am away. Thanks to other sponsors that have shown lots of support this season, to Sporting Life, GMC, Raymond James, Karbon, Tangiers Mountain Construction, Team Versa and BioSteel. Last but not least to my family, teammates and the community! Thank you, none of this would be possible without you all!

For now, enjoy this video that recapped my season! I’m proud of this team and I can’t wait for what is next!

Hi everyone,

My name is Andrew Wilson and I am an athlete on the Alberta Ski Cross Team.  As many of you know I am coming back from a knee injury sustained in training last season. It has been a tough season and I have been working as hard as possible in order to come back to skiing and competing on the ski cross team. 

My return to snow began in January after months of training in the gym. However due to covid restrictions and the team racing in Europe, I did a lot of my recovery near Nelson BC. There I was able to get in 6 days a week of skiing on perfect terrain and snow for my recovery. 

During my time there I trained a fair bit with the Whitewater Ski Team as my coach from the sunshine ski team was there coaching the U16 program. They are a truly inspirational bunch of kids and are some of the most passionate and dedicated people that I have ever met. Reminding me always of why I love to ski. 

After the team’s return from Europe a couple of weeks ago, I was finally able to rejoin the team and get back on a ski cross track before the season ended. Although I was not ready to race, I was able to forerun for the Canadian national championship races at Nakiska AB with the rest of the team either racing or forerunning as well. Thank you to all of the event organizers and coaches for putting on a great event.

Saturday the team, along with many members of the AST went to the Bozo Cup dual event at Norquay. It was the first event that I competed in all season and was an amazing day to pay tribute to a skiing legend of the bow valley. There was lots of intense, close racing, resulting in a ton of fun and some pretty big bruises.

Thanks again to all of the coaches, sponsors, parents and my fellow athletes for making this season possible and for giving me the opportunity to recover to my full potential. The work is not finished yet. 

Have a great end to your season. Andrew Wilson ABSXT.

Hello everyone! My name is Makenna Lebsack and this is my first ever athlete journal. I am currently a rookie on the Alberta Women’s Ski Team but have been ski racing since I was five years old. I am presently writing to you guys from Panorama as we race our 24th (and last) race up here before coming home for one final series at Nakiska!

This year was a vast change of pace for me as I went from doing 16 race starts in two years to 15 starts in just one month. Although it took some time to shake off the nerves and get back into the race mindset, it was so amazing to be able to see everyone come together once again and feel that adrenaline every ski racer knows. For the first time in thirteen years, I got to experience racing outside of Canada and I can say my favorite venue was when Avery, Tora, Jim and I ventured to Montana for some NCAA races. It was so fun to see everyone cover themselves in their school colors, carry flags everywhere and of course cheer extremely loud to support their teammates. You could really feel the sense of community which brought back so many happy memories and made me feel so grateful we were all able to race again.

Unfortunately, at the end of January, I took a very hard crash racing GS at Panorama and injured my back and tailbone. Even with endless physio, massages and hot/cold baths, the healing process took longer than I thought and I ended up missing 2 big Norams that I had been preparing all year for. I was feeling very confident in my skiing before getting hurt so making the decision to not race and fully let my back heal was very hard and heartbreaking. On the upside, I got to get back into the gym with our phenomenal trainer to rehab and get strong for the rest of the season!

Fortunately, after missing numerous races this year due to injury or sickness, I am feeling good and have been able to turn my season around in the last month or so. My redemption came this week at Panorama and I am leaving with two personal best scores in SL and GS. Before Panorama I was in the US with Katie and Cydnie and we got the opportunity to do some FIS GS races in Vermont and New Hampshire on our way to the Noram Finals. Although I can say unhappily that we experienced ALOT of rain, Vermont is filled with very cute, unique ski towns and hills. Even with some soft and slushy conditions, the young baddies still managed to lay down some good scores and walk away with some hardware (giant metal plates to be exact!). Hopefully, the upward trend for me will continue this week; stay tuned!

This year, whilst it had its challenges, has been filled with tons of excitement and fun and I am very sad to see it ending so soon. I wanted to thank everyone for reading and supporting our journeys in ski racing which wouldn’t be made possible without our sponsors Sporting life, World Cup Supply, Raymond James, Karbon, Alberta Alpine and BioSteel. I would also like to thank Dynastar/Lange, and Shred for the sick set-up this year!

Hello Ski race fans.

I’m writing to you from our final race series of the season in Panorama.  After a long season it’s nice to have the entire team together and racing hard one more time this year.  The season so far has been fun and challenging. We’ve been lucky enough to get back to traveling away for races more regularly and it’s been very fun for me to get to experience skiing at new places, notably, legendary east coast resorts like Burke Mountain and Whiteface.  We’ve also been lucky enough to get some races in Quebec and Ontario as well.  I’m also very pleased to see the return of the GMC Alberta cup! One of the hardest parts about last year for me was the absence of races in our home province. I’m so happy our community can once again safely come together and celebrate our favourite sport!  The return of racing at castle mountain resort was a big highlight for me as I had not been there to race since U14 and I absolutely love the race hill and would like to extend a big thanks to the hill and volunteers for setting that up!  

On a more personal note, this season has definitely been the most challenging of my FIS career.  After rehabilitating a Leg Injury from last season, I broke a small bone in my wrist on my gravel bike in the summer. This injury required surgery and took a really long time to heal.  I was unable to join the team for fall camp in Europe and my training was pretty limited for the first part of the season.  Despite this frustration, It has been amazing to see all of my teammates achieve a massive amount of progress and surpass their goals.

A huge amount of thanks to the supporters of our team, Sporting life, GMC, Raymond James and Karbon for everything they do to help us ski fast and realize our dreams.

I would also like to thank the members of Alberta Alpine and the readers of these journals for their support and enthusiasm of our team and their contribution to our amazing ski racing community in Alberta!

See you all out on the slopes!

-Dan Molesky

I am writing to you from Munich on the last day of our 2 month trip away from home.

We got back to our regular scheduled programming with a Noram in Calabogie, Ontario and in the two days of racing we left with two bronze’s and a gold.

After a strong start to the trip, we made our way to hit our first of many European races starting in Grasgehren, Germany, where some of our athletes were starting their first ever Europa Cup! Unfortunately, heats only went off one of the race days due to weather, but it was still a great start to the trip.

After Grasgehren, we continued on to Reiteralm, Austria for a FIS race, a Europa Cup and some training. This track is one of the best SX training venues I have ever seen, with multiple lines/set options. We were fortunate enough to get lots of laps in as well as work the schedule so that our days off matched up to the Olympic ski cross races and watched it together at our temporary home in Ramsau at Sport Pension Ischi.

After a long stint in Austria, we made our way to Italy starting off in Alleghe for a FIS race. This was Alleghe’s first ever ski cross track and we were incredibly impressed with the quality they provided as well as how receptive the builders were with any and all adjustments needed to be made to improve the course. The team did really well on this active and tighter than typical track, walking away with two bronze medals!

Our next races were up in the air for a bit, but eventually were made official that we would have a FIS race, followed by a Europa Cup race, on back to back weekends at the beautiful Passo San Pellegrino, Italy (only 30 minutes from Alleghe). This track required quick feet in the start and strong gliding skills as it was a little flatter and more open than our two previous stops. We had athletes put down some strong quali times as well as strong finishes (including a 3rd and 4th one of the days of the FIS race). A few of us also managed to get away on one of the days off between the two races and were able to visit the Dalbello factory thanks to Sandy Webster’s arrangements. It was incredible to see how the boots are made from start to finish and even more incredible that every piece is made right there in the factory!

After completing the EC in Passo San Pellegrino, we had some time before our final event and by popular demand, we returned to Reiteralm! The best part of this time around was that this was right after the World Cup event there and the track hadn’t been changed at all since the World Cup athletes had their go at it. The extra time on a track of that size got the juices flowing and excitement up to make our way to our final destination of the trip, Les Contamines, France.

Lastly, we had French Nationals and Europa Cup finals to complete. The Les Contamines track was very similar to previous World Cup tracks they had ran there in the past. It was sharp turns and high speed, which was cause for excitement for our final event ofour Europe trip. We had extremely warm spring skiing weather to work with which made for some challenging conditions but still managed to achieve a few athlete’s personal bests at a Europa Cup.

On the last day of the race, we got all packed up, travel prepped skis and fit in some time to watch the Red Bull race happening at Andermatt. It was the perfect way to round out the trip. 

All in all, after two months on the road, and more importantly a full season back in the gate, these athletes were able to take a lot away from this experience. From being in more competitive heats with a lot more unfamiliar faces, to getting to experience the different track styles each country has to offer. Their comfort of skiing in a pack again has returned as well as an increase in race IQ after experiencing more challenging situations and less predictable heats. 

The team is excited to link back up with our return to snow athletes that have been preparing back home and with all of this, we are ready for the final event of the season – Canadian Nationals at Nakiska! 

Kya Fairley
ASXT Assistant Coach

Hi, My name is Logan Dunn. I’m from Calgary, Alberta and this is my second year with the Alberta Ski Team and my 5th year of FIS. My home team is NASA (Nakiska Alpine Ski Association) 

I was recently selected to be a part of the 2022 Canadian Ski Team at the World Junior Championships in Panorama. Qualifying for this team and event has been a goal of mine for some time now, and it was truly an amazing experience representing my country on an international level. I had the Opportunity to train, live and be teammates with the best junior athletes and coaches from across Canada. During World Juniors, I not only got an opportunity to see what the next level is like and compete against the best in the world. The field was extremely competitive but I was able to earn two top 30’s and one top 10. Racing at home and having the Canadian gear on is something I will never forget and will continue to use as motivation for the rest of my career.

Thank you to GMC Canada, Raymond James, Karbon and sporting life. Thank you to my family and friends. Thank you to my team and coaches for all your support this season! 

Hello Alberta ski racing community!

I am writing to you from the beautiful town of Falcade in the Italian Dolomites. We are on the tail end of a long two month trip on the road! Our trip began in Calabogie Peaks, Ontario for a series of two Nor-Ams. I was able to make the podium both days with a pair of third places. After spending a few days in Toronto (huge shout out to the Ralphs for being amazing hosts!!), we were off to Europe for Europa Cups.

It had been two long seasons since I was last racing in Europe and I was both excited and nervous to get back into some aggressive racing! Our first stop took us to Grasgehran, Germany. We ended up with some exceptionally warm weather, enough so that we were unable to run heats the first day. I narrowly qualified for heats on the second day. It was a humbling race for me, going out first round when in the past I had been used to achieving top 8 results consistently. We were then off to Reiteralm for one of the biggest and fastest tracks many of us have skied. Reiteralm is a track that has challenged me greatly in the past, and I was ready for redemption. Unfortunately, our first Europa Cup was lost due to heavy snowfall. The men were able to run quali runs but it was determined to be too dangerous for the women to run. The second day started off much better for me. I was able to put down a great quali run of 5th place. My first heat did not go as great. In trying to avoid a crash in front of me, I crashed in a roller pack and took a very hard hit to my body. I winded myself so badly that I lost consciousness. I was later diagnosed with a concussion and some very bruised ribs. I am very grateful that Canada Ski Cross was at this event and they were able to provide me with physio to get started on concussion protocol! After just over two weeks, I was cleared to get back on skis! Instead of jumping straight into racing, I got to play coach for a FIS race. I had a lot of fun helping out my teammates and awesome to watch them get a handful of podiums! However, I was not willing to stay in that position too long.

Last weekend I was able to get back into the start gate and race again. We had a FIS race and Italian Nationals in the beautiful resort of Passo San Pellegrino (yes like the water). In my first race back, I was able to qualify first. It was amazing for my confidence as I was worried I was falling behind due to being out so long. Unfortunately, the injury to my ribs reared its ugly head throughout the day and I had to dig deep to try and stay competitive. At the end of the day, I ended up 4th. While I had hoped to make the podium, I was still very pleased with what I was able to accomplish coming back from injury and still skiing with a significant amount of pain. I sat out the second day of racing in order to heal more and be ready for the upcoming Europa Cups on the same track. While I was very confident I would be able to get some podium performances, I have suffered another set back that made me sit out of this weekend’s Europa Cups. It is a bitter pill to swallow as my two major setbacks this trip have not allowed me to achieve the results I know I am capable of achieving, especially since the factors have not been in my control. The only thing I can control now is staying positive and getting myself healthy for the last race of our trip in Les Contamines, France.

I will definitely be going into that race with a lot of motivation to get on the top spot of the podium. I want to thank my teammates for being so supportive on this trip. Being on the road this long can be hard but they make everyday positive and fun! I want to also thank our coaches Shayne and Kya. They work so hard for us and I have felt so supported by them through the highs and very low lows of this trip. I could not do this without all of you!

Until next time,
Alexa

Hi, I am Kaite Fynn and am 18 years old. This is my first year on the Alberta Women’s Ski Team and I am a Canmore local. I competed for Burke Mountain Academy in Vermont, USA for my first two years of FIS while still in high school, prior to coming back home.

I recently returned from a trip over to Europe with Kiki, Cyd, and Gavin. Our first stop was in Meiringen, Switzerland where we got a couple of days of training before all starting in our debut Europa Cup. It was definitely a much different crowd than us Albertans are used to, with a field full of top-tier skiers from across the world. We then moved onto Italy for some National Championship races and high-quality training in Pozza di Fassa. Here we definitely had some of the best views of the Dolomites and personally, I’d say it was the most breathtaking place I’ve been so far in Europe. After eating more pizza, pasta, and gelato than we thought possible in such a short time we hit the road, headed for Zel Am See, Austria for our final Europa Cup races. Unfortunately, we got almost two feet of snow on the second day in Zel Am See and were unable to race but this meant we were able to take our time driving and make it safely to our next destination.

With how the timing worked out the group of us were able to go to Venice, Italy to sightsee, something that we don’t normally get to do, because of how busy we are racing and training. I’ve been to Europe several times and have never really seen anything besides the hill, the hotel, and the views from the top of the chairlift so this was an exciting change for all of us.

On our way back from Europe we landed in Toronto and met up with the rest of the Women’s team and drove to Collinwood for a NorAm tech series (2GS, 2SL). The team had some great results, and I definitely laid down some decent turns but had a hard time putting two runs together. From there we drove a quick 8hrs to Whiteface, New York for another NorAm series (2SG, 2AC, 1GS, 1SL). Unfortunately, it was very cold and I took a hard crash in the first SG race. But I have to say it was quite a masterpiece, lots of spinning and ballerina moves were accomplished that day and to my surprise, very minimal injuries were sustained. Thankfully I was able to race GS the next day and scored my first NorAm Cup GS points. We then headed home for some much-needed rest after a long five weeks on the road.

Now, the team is currently in Panorama for World Junior Championships. Kiki is competing and ready to kick butt, and the rest of the women’s team is here forerunning. This is a great opportunity as we are able to watch some of the next generation of World Cup skiers, and get some valuable race scenario training in the books before our upcoming races at Castle Mtn. and Canadian National Champs in Collingwood, Ontario.

Bringing my little recap to an end I’d just like to thank all of our sponsors; Karbon Sport, Sporting Life, GMC, and Raymond James! Along with my amazing coaches, Jim and Gavin, who have helped me make huge improvements in my skiing throughout the season so far and gotten me ready for the final push through the last races of the season. Thank You!!

Hi everyone! Alex Rubinoff here from ASXT with your monthly athlete journal

This season is making out to be a whirlwind experience. We started with a month-long trip to Europe which for me was the longest continuous stay out of Canada. The training opportunities and tracks available to us was an invaluable part in everyone achieving success this season. And especially at the Nakiska ski cross venue where we had access to a local track and cheering on my teammates dicing it up on the World Cup.

While we’re all enjoying skiing at the cusp of spring, I’d like to still caution everybody about the risks of cold weather snaps and very real threat of frostbite and other cold traumas. You never know how bad it can get until it happens to you.

In early January I had been out on the hill and unfortunately, became a victim of frostbite myself. I didn’t think too much of the weather that day after all us hearty Canadians are brave to the cold. My feet got exposed, and the end result for me was days in the hospital for treatment to save my toes. I will be making a full recovery but the consequences are I’ve had to take the rest of the season to heal.

If you feel cold: go inside

Want to push through frosting: get warm

And above all

Get medical attention if you or someone else recognizes the signs of frostbite

I’d like to thank my family, teammates, coaches, members, AHS, Alberta Alpine, sponsors and supporters for all you do to make the dream happen. 

Till next time!

It’s hard to believe we’re nearing the end of February, time flies when you’re having fun and constantly on the move.

Given this platform, I’d like to take this time to recognize the athletes for their work and dedication to the ski team. It is incredible what this group of women have achieved on and off snow to date and every time I get a chance to reflect on the successes of the team, it inspires me to keep pushing to be better. To the athletes’ parents, thank you for your un-waivered support of your children and trust you’ve put in Jim and I and to the sponsors of the ski team and Alberta Alpine, none of this could happen without you.

To the up-and-coming ski racers in our community, this season more than any other has taught me some valuable lessons. Most importantly, keep focused on the process and know that what you may feel like is the biggest race of your life is only the next step along your path, so enjoy the moment, ski as fast as you can, take what you can from your experience and use it to propel you to be better at what will inevitably be the next biggest race of your life.

Secondly, embrace the infamous “grind!” Getting to the top of this sport requires countless hours, long days, and consecutive weeks that can turn into months of hard work. If you want to be the best, you need to get on that grind and know that over time it will not only make you a better ski racer but will also translate into an incredible trait of resilience that will benefit you in all aspects of life. The best victories in life are the ones you work extremely hard for.

Lastly, find time to breathe and reflect on what you’ve accomplished periodically, this sport comes at you fast, it’s important to recognize the small victories and celebrate the goals you’ve achieved along the way.

With that said, I’m off to Panorama for the World Junior Championships, keep your eyes on Team Canada, there are some extremely talented athletes representing your country and home province of Alberta including Kiki Alexander, Cassidy Gray, Britt Richardson and Logan Dunn!

Hey everyone,

My name is Jesse Kertesz-Knight, I am 18 years old, and this is my first season with the Alberta Ski Team. I am checking in midway through our season from Whiteface, New York, as we are just finishing up the first Noram stop of our US tour. So far, thanks to great weather and competitive racing, it has been an amazing experience for myself and the team to really show our stuff on a higher level. The boys have been skiing really well out here with Logan notably already racking up two junior Noram podiums, and myself with multiple point scores and personal bests in Slalom, Super G and alpine combined.

During our days off in Lake Placid we enjoyed ourselves playing some fast paced hockey on the lake and watching Olympic ski racing on TV as a crew. At the time of writing I am just driving with the team to our next series in Vermont.  We are off to Burke Mountain for 2 more norams (1 Slalom, 1 GS),  and Bromont Quebec for some more racing before heading home for some well needed rest and a training block. Although the beginning of the year was super exciting with lots of racing and training in the Bow Valley and Panorama, it has been amazing to have the opportunity to travel and race somewhere new.

This year has been amazing for me so far thanks to the great teammates and coaches I have pushing me every day to become better. I also want to say a huge thanks to our team sponsors Raymond James Mission Wealth Advisors, Sporting Life, World Cup Supply and Karbon for their support this season, and to all the people who have helped me reach my goals so far, your support means everything. Hope you all have a great rest of your winter and thanks for reading!!

Jesse