Aspen World Cup Photos

Me and Megan McJames (2010 Olympian)

Me and Chris Klug at the reception (2010 Olympian)

Devin Delaney, Lauren Samuels, Me and Greta Byrne (my 2009 rookies)

Kiley Stapes, Me and Hailey Duke (2010 Olympian)

Julia Mancuso and Me (2010 Olympian)

A young fan with my bell

Some Hailey Duke Fans

Lindsey Vonn

Lindsey Vonn

Lindsey Vonn

Lindsey Vonn

Julia Mancuso Julia Mancuso

Sarah Schleper

Sarah Schleper

Hailey Duke, Sarah Schleper (2010 Olympians) & Me


Kaylin Richardson (2010 Olympian) & Me

Aspen Women's World Cup

This is my fourth winter working with skiers and snowboarders but my first opportunity to make it to the Aspen World Cup. The day after my birthday the head coach called my boss and asked him to bring me to the World Cup this year. He thought it was just wrong that I had never attended a Women's Alpine World Cup. The event fell over Thanksgiving weekend but since I was not going home it worked out great from my perspective. It took a bit more than that though to get me there. Fortunately, my boss was willing to give me a ride over when he went on Friday. Our team manager found a bed for me to crash in and my friend Jess said I could ride home with her on Sunday. I was headed to my first ever Women's Alpine World Cup!

We arrived in Aspen on November 27th around lunchtime. Sarah told me where to find our room and a key and then told me to get out on the slopes. I dumped my stuff, grabbed my key and headed out for my first taste of Aspen skiing.

It might have been early skiing but it was great! I had a fun time getting in some runs before the day finished. Later in the evening the hotel where we were staying had a reception for the athletes and guests staying there. I might have worked with our teams for four winters but that does not mean I have met all of the athletes. So this was a great opportunity for me to meet some of the girls that hadn't passed by my desk at the office. Chris Klug who has a medal in Snowboarding was also there since he was announcing the event that weekend.


Saturday morning it was time to watch some Giant Slalom. Lindsey Vonn hit a rock on her way down in the first run which did not help her time. The rest of the girls had it slightly better and got a second run. It was not our best day, but being there and cheering for the athletes was a great experience. I had my bell and my camera. I had also made small signs for some of the girls that I knew from the Rookie Camps that I had helped with over the past couple of years. Later in the afternoon I was able to get a couple more ski runs in myself. Then the team was signing posters in the plaza. I decided it might be a fun souvenir of the event so I got in the very long line. I met a mom with her two kids and talked to them while we waited. Hopefully I had them convinced to go see the men's world cup the next weekend in Beaver Creek. When we finally made it up to the table I introduced the kids to the athletes which they enjoyed. Later that night there was a concert by the John Popper Project and some fireworks. I ran into some coworkers who took me along with them for dinner at their condo. It was a great first day at the world cup.


Sunday was a much more beautiful day to sit and watch a race. This time it was slalom. Unfortunately it was an even worse day for our girls. No one got a second run. Jess had made it down for the race and brought along one of the girls from our Adaptive team. We had a fun time cheering despite the results. We had the opportunity to talk to a couple of the girls before we left. But since no one made the second run we left early and headed back to Utah. It was a fabulous trip and I'm so glad I got to go and cheer for the girls. It was also great to meet the ones I didn't already know.

Skiing & Snowboarding on TV

Anyone who is a fan of the U.S. Ski and Snowboarding teams will want to set their alarms or DVR's for NBC tomorrow (Sat. Jan. 30).

2pm EST/ 12pm MST- World of Adventure Sports will be a special on Shaun White's special halfpipe that RedBull built him in the middle of the back country in Colorado.

3pm EST/ 1pm MST- Freestyle Skiing from Lake Placid, NY. This includes Moguls, Aerials and Ski cross.

8pm EST/ 7pm MST- "Truth in Motion" This is a movie that Audi produced about the U.S. Alpine Ski Team. It is a close up with some of the athletes. After watching it today at lunch I highly recommend it. My favorite part might be Sarah Schleper's roar before her starts.

Me and Angela with the mascots in 2006.

The road to Vancouver

The process of getting to Vancouver has been two years in the making. I knew I wanted to go, I just didn't know who would be going with me this time. Then my friend Jen went back to school to become a Vet Tech (I hope I have that right) and as a present to herself for graduation she decided to join me at the Olympics. As the schedule continued changing and growing I added my friend Angela for the first two days. She had been in Torino with me and we had a blast. Then for the last three days of events I told my mom I wanted to take her for an early birthday present.



I started working on our tickets in July of 2008. This was when I was planning what we wanted to see each day. The request period began in October/November of 2008. It wasn't until January 2009 that I learned that I had received 7 of the 12 events I had requested. Throughout that spring I was able to add curling and then Women's Super G, Men's Aerials and both Snowboardcross (SBX) as different sales opened up. I had finally put together what I hoped would be the perfect schedule of events.



Next it was time to work on lodging. This is always an issue for me. In 2002 we ended up staying in Evanston, WY. It actually wasn't too bad, although a bit far away. Then in 2006 my friend Joe worked out the lodging. We ended up in a small town in the mountains between Torino and Sestriere. This time I was pretty sure I could not afford Whistler so I started searching Vancouver and the surrounding areas. It took a lot of emails before I got lucky. One of the B&B's that I had emailed passed my request on to a friend of theirs who was interested in renting out her condo. It worked out that since there would never be more than 2 of us at a time we were perfect for the condo. We are near downtown which will be great for hockey, curling and our days off. And since we will have a kitchen hopefully we can make ourselves some regular meals. The woman renting the condo to us has been a huge help too. Anytime I have a question she is always ready to assist and send me in the right direction.



Transportation ended up being the hardest area to figure out. VANOC created the Olympic Bus Network. Right before I left the country in December I received an email letting me know we would have to pay for transportation to the Cypress and Whistler events. This is not my first trip to the Olympics, but it is the first time I have had to pay for the mandatory shuttle to an event. To make matters worse there is no shuttle or any kind of transportation available between Whistler and Cypress. You have to go back down to Vancouver. So that put an end to my plans to attend ski events in Whistler in the morning and Cypress in the evening. We are now down to 10 events but the transportation is sorted. Now the big question is how long will I spend sitting at the border going back and forth to Seattle making airport runs?



But no complaints, I have tickets, lodging and a way to Vancouver!

My Olympic Adventures Begin

It feels like the Olympics have always been part of my life. I cannot even be sure of my first memory relating to the games. Although I do remember going to swim lessons during the 1984 Olympics and wanting to learn how to do the butterfly. That did not last long since I was never a strong swimmer. There might have also been a brief hope of being a gymnast after watching Mary Lou Retton. Unfortunately I have the right height, but no flexibility. Growing up I played soccer and dreamed of being in the Olympics someday. That dream was dashed when I was told that Women's Soccer was not an Olympic sport. Fortunately, in 1996 I found myself in Atlanta watching the USA win the first ever gold medal in Women's Soccer. What an amazing experience!

My dad took our family to the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. We went to soccer, basketball, track, gymnastics, team handball and more. By the time we left Atlanta I knew that I wanted to go to Salt Lake City for the Winter Olympics in 2002. I cannot begin to fully explain the difference between the summer and the winter, but there is a difference. The best I can do is tell you that the winter is smaller and has a better spirit to it. Everyone wants their athlete to win, but they are still cheering for all the other athletes. After watching skiing, hockey and luge I was ready to start planning my trip to Torino for the 2006 Olympics. In Italy I expanded my reach and attended Curling, Ice dancing, Bobsled and of course some different alpine events. We were fortunate to be there when Ted Ligety won his Super Combined gold medal. Everyone there who did not follow skiing outside of the Olympics were disappointed when Bode was disqualified. I knew though that Ted had some great results that year and was sure he would end up on the podium. How great to see him win the gold. There was no question that I would be trying to find a way to Vancouver in 2010. The real question was whether I would find a job that would send me or would I be taking myself again.

The answer turned out to be that I would take myself, my friends and my mom. This February I will be in Vancouver to see Men's Snowboardcross, Women's Snowboardcross, Cross Country Sprints, Curling, Women's SuperG, Women's Hockey (play-off), Men's Skicross, Women's Bobsled, Women's Aerials (finals) and Men's Aerials (finals). I originally had Women's GS and Nordic Combined. Unfortunately VANOC did not organize the transportation so that we could attend an event in Whistler in the morning and an event in Cypress in the evening. So I had to choose, which was probably the hardest thing I've done in preparing for this trip. Regardless, I am excited to head up to Vancouver and cheer on all the American athletes!

The thing that makes this Olympics different from the past is the fact that I work with many of the athletes that I will be cheering for. So even on days that I might not be attending a ski or snowboarding event I will be anxiously waiting for the results for my athletes. I hope that you will follow my adventures in Vancouver and the excitement of watching the success of our American athletes!