More from Deer Valley
The snow let up for one day in Deer Valley to make for a great race day. The course was a little faster, the sun was out, and I was hell bent on breaking through for my first win of the season. I watched Jake Fiala get tangled up in the first heat. He was cut off by Stanley Hayer going into the first jump, got twisted in the air, and landed sideways. His day was done. Then I watched Daron Rahlves in his first three heats. He was back to his old starting habits, meaning he was last out of the gate every time. Somehow he was able to go from 4th to 2nd and advance to the final. A lot of his moves were skill but he also had luck on his side. He hung back and waited for guys to screw up in front of him. Daron is so fast on course but it is difficult to win Ski Cross when you are last every time out of the gate.
The final heat was Daron, Davey Barr, Michael Schmid, and myself. I was first out of the start but Schmid caught me over the first jump because I flew too far. Schmid beat me to the first corner. I put a lot of pressure on him in the next corner, we had contact, and we both got pushed up high on the bank. Davey took advantage of our screw up and shot out in front. I followed Barr and Schmid through the next set of features and pulled in tight through the uphill part of the course. Then Schmid screwed up on a right hand turn over a jump. I took advantage and passed him and almost got Barr too. Barr stayed in front of me and I ran out of passing opportunities. Barr took the win, I was 2nd, Schmid 3rd, and Daron 4th. It was the first World Cup Ski Cross held in the U.S. and I think we put on a pretty good show for the folks in Deer Valley. You can catch the action on February 10th on NBC.
The night after the race we decided to go up and watch the dual mogul compitition and the De La Soul concert to follow. I was talking to Steve Porino and Heidi Voelker as we walked down to the base from the concert when I slipped. I had boots that had no traction and in a split second I was down on my elbow. When I landed I actually heard a crunch and a sharp pain shot through my arm. Porino said with surprise “Oh my god, did you just dislocate your shoulder?” I screamed in pain “I don’t know, I’ve never done it before. I just know it hurts like hell.” We managed to get the ski patrol over and they diagnosed me with a separated shoulder. I was shaking uncontrollably and had terrible pain. I got a ride down on a snowmobile and Heidi rushed to get her car and take me to the clinic. Porino came with us and we were off to the clinic. On the way to the clinic Heidi was calling to try and get her favorite doctor to have a look at me. She asked Porino to look up his phone # and as he was looking for the doctor’s number he said inquisitively “who carries a phone book in their car?” We finally arrived at the clinic and as I was sitting there in excruciating pain the doc said “this is really going to hurt, it’s not going to be very pleasant” and I told him I thought I might vomit. First we needed to take off my jacket, which was really awkward. We finally got the jacket off my left arm and then we had to tackle the right arm. They started taking the jacket off my right arm and I started screaming. I told Porino I need counter pressure to pull off the jacket. So he grabbed my elbow and started pulling on the jacket. I screamed in pain and suddenly my shoulder, crackling, popped back in. I said “oh that’s better” and Porino goes “are you screwin’ with me?” The doc said “Oh it’s back in, let’s get some x-rays to make sure there are no breaks.” Porino said laughing “you’re welcome, I’ll just charge my regular fee and I’ll be on my way.”
Every time someone points out the danger of Ski Cross I tell them that you can hurt yourself just walking down the street. I just proved my point. I fought a hard battle all day risking a lot and ironically I ended up dislocating my shoulder walking a slight, yet slippery grade. I’m going to hang out and watch the Super Bowl with D Rahlves and his family, Jake Fiala, and Jonathan Weyant. We’re off to Squaw Valley for the next big event – 48 Straight.