This season started with a bang! Almost literally, I hit a tree and severely sprained my ankle and tore some tendon from the bone. I missed the first Winter Dew Tour of the season and was crutch ridden for about a month. Luckily I have a good doctor who patched me up to heel and I was back on snow 7 weeks later.
The second Winter Dew Tour was at Killington in Vermont. The turn out was great for this invited riders only contest, I got in on a wild card spot. Almost every female pro snowboarder was there, including the famous Kelly Clark. I placed 9th in the contest, which I was happy with because I took all that time off snow.
The next, and last, Winter Dew Tour Stop was in Utah at Snowbasin and I again was the wild card. This place was baller, with a huge base lodge and a world class half pipe. The last contest was the championships for the series and everyone was here for the big pay out. I still held my ground to grab a 10th place overall finish and an invitation to next year's series. A coveted spot to say the least.
After Utah I traveled to Japan to check out Tokyo, Nagano and ride at Oze Tokura. My time there was amazing, Japan is such a cool and advanced place; you should take a look at the video blogs about it. My travel from Japan to the Burton US Open was hectic.
I went from Heneda, Japan to LAX; had a six hour layover then hopped on the rest eye to Toronto. I landed in Toronto at 5:30am and went to my parents place to sleep. I woke up at 12pm, said hello to some family, ate and was on the road driving to Vermont by 3pm. Hit a snow storm at 9pm and had to stop driving due to freezing rain and winds at midnight. What was supposed to take eight hours to drive was extended to twelve hours of driving and a overnight stay. UGH!
So, the Burton US Open was the last stop for this season. This contest is one of the biggest and attracts the largest number of riders. This year I had to qualify for the contest and out of 32 riders for qualification I placed 2nd. This meant I moved onto the next round with 16 invited riders. Semi-finals was a wet snow and low light day; after my last run the course was put on hold for two and a half hours because of fog. I placed 12th, which is my best finish at a US Open. The fact that my family came down from Toronto in a snow storm to support me was the best part of the weekend. I was grateful.
Overall, I'd say the season went pretty well. Minus an injury, which is just part of the game, I had a lot of fun. Now it's spring and I am starting the season where I learn new tricks, hit the gym more consistently, and enjoy the soft snow and sun. This is the best time of the year!
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