The weekend of February 2, 2014 was the IFSA Jackson Hole stop in Toilet Bowl. It was one of the smaller and the least technical venue on the tour. There were 4 prominent hits on the venue. Everyone was hitting the same lines so originality was non-existent.
The main downside to the comp was that no inverts were allowed. The jumps on the venue were all right hand spinning jumps (I spin left). It really gave the right spinners leverage over the left spinners. As a left spinner myself, spinning downhill off a hip at high speed is not ideal, especially if the run out is as sketchy as it was. It was a bit of a let down for me, but I still had a ton of fun!
I went into the first day in 3rd, and ended the finals in 4th. It’s much different then last year when I was in 12-14 year category. I am now in 15-18 category and it is definitely a step up. The competition will push me a lot more! I like to learn from kids like Casey Rose who won the whole event. I admire his aggressive and sendy style.
I’m stoked for it to be snowing again! I had been skiing in the terrain park for a long time before the competition to practice all of my tricks. I ski big mountain religiously when we get snow but in January ’14 we didn’t get much fresh powder. Its always fun to mix it up and do something different! I love to flip and spin off nice clean jumps like the ones at JHMR. I have been working on switch tricks like Switch 900’s and switch rodeos, both ways. I have noticed how much stronger I have been! I really noticed when I took some hard crashes and got back up with no problem. I feel like I’m wearing armor in a way. I also have noticed that I can ski faster and more aggressively without feeling intense leg burning. It has been one of the best decisions of my life to strength train and prevent injuries!
