Inside My Head: Red Mt.

This year at the Canadian Open I went through several considerably different mindsets and I would like to share with you how they affected my skiing, and the trip as a whole. The First day I arrived was the inspection, I definitely wasn't on my game, and largely due to the skilled competition I was doubting my myself. Me and my buddy Jon skied around Red which helped cleared my mind, however the anxiety didn't quit until I fell asleep that night. I woke up for qualifiers with a very focused mentality and because of this my confidence went up as well. I knew I could ski my line and built up the intensity up top to accomplish something I was fairly proud of.

 The second day was surely the hardest day of skiing I've gone through this season. I had cleared qualifying to 7th place, but the Semi Final and Final venue was on Mt. Roberts, terrain I had never skied or even really looked at before. This was my first time getting a snowmobile ride, wearing a beacon, and meeting a lot of the competition. I was encountering so many things I had never done before, all on a day that I had put an enormous amount of pressure on myself. Arriving at the top of the venue prompted memories of Lord of the Rings; jagged rocks, fog, ice, all sitting a top a razor sharp ridge. I figured out a line and spent several long hours inside the lodge, waiting for my run. There, I met a good man named Dylan who had coached for several years, he gave me some very good advice. Dylan said that the same energy that goes into fear and anxiety before a competition also is what makes us excited, or in skiers terms: stoked. Despite Dylan's good advice my fear got the best of me and I skied without focus and intensity, missing several lines, grabs, and at one point falling. I made it to the finals and knew I had to forgive myself and move on.

Though I can't say my mind was clear during finals, I knew I could handle the intimidating venue and had a line to ski my way,  so I popped in my headphones turned the Dr. Dre up and dropped.  This is now my go to mindset. I skied with confidence and style, and ended up in fourth. If I had a name for this psychological state it would be called -knowing you have it, and not giving a  fuck about the rest-. I was so caught up in fear that I forgot that just skiing it would ultimately yield better performance.

I'm still trying to gather photos and videos from Red, despite the seemingly abundant media coverage, I can't seem to find much on the internet.