A trip to Park City and some important reading
It’s been a great spring so far. Tricia Byrnes and I drove to Park City to ride with Ricky Bower and Ellery Hollingsworth. It wasn’t a team camp, just a time to ride with friends in the warm weather and soft conditions. I had plans to go to Mexico for my birthday but decided with only about a week or so left in the season, it made more sense to take advantage of the snow while it was still there! We spent three days riding and it couldn’t have been more perfect, we even apre-ed after riding the first day, margaritas and nachos outside with the warm sun and live music, it truly felt like Spring Break 2007! Ha. Every one was pushing one another and we all left Park City sore, happy and with a few new tricks in our bags! Can’t wait to go ride again!
I’m now on a plane on my way to New York for a photo shoot with The Drift which is the women’s magazine insert in Future Snowboard Magazine. I’m also doing a project with ESPN The Magazine called “Jock’s Eye View,” where I document the behind the scenes of my life for a week with photos and video — it should be a good week to document being in NY on an all-girls shoot!
I’m reading the most amazing book, which you can buy at Starbucks right now, called A Long Way Gone, Memoirs of a Boy Soldier. While I was in Park City, I finally watched the movie Blood Diamond. Although I usually go out of my way to avoid watching movies filled with violence and death, I knew it was important for me to watch because it was a real story. After seeing the movie, I was deeply moved — like I knew I would be — and while I was at Starbucks decided to buy this book because I hadn’t been able to stop thinking about the boy soldiers that were portrayed in this movie. Ishmael Beah was born in Sierra Leone and this book is his haunting personal account of losing everything he ever knew to attacking rebels, being forced to roam his country alone and always running, and then finally out of hunger, survival, and the need to be a part of something, becoming a soldier in the government army capable of brutal acts. But through UNICEF Ishmael was removed from the front lines, rehabilitated and now lives to tell the story to educate others about what is still going on all over the world; it’s estimated that there are currently about 300,000 child soldiers fighting in the more than 50 violent conflicts worldwide. This is a must read and something we must not ignore so please READ IT!