Yardbarker: Skiing

Jamaica Ski Team van

Tue, 22 Jul 2008 15:58:11 -0500

Have a look at the Jamaica Ski Team van.

All Stars Helping Kids

Tue, 22 Jul 2008 11:12:39 -0500

I got invited to a sweet event in San Fran last Friday... the All Stars Helping Kids Fantasy Football Draft. It was a good time. I met a ton of cool people and my coach and I made a lot of great contacts. My buddy Trevor even drove all day from Vegas to South Lake Tahoe to San Fran to get in on some great food and a solid DJ. Jerry Rice, Ronnie Lott, Marcus Allen, Darren McFadden and a whole bunch of other former and current NFL ballers showed up... and the 49ers cheerleaders were there in full force. I want to thank all of the folks at All Stars Helping Kids, SC-Consult, and Yardbarker for putting on such a killer event and I'd like to thank my ski sponsor Atomic for donating a pair of skis and a snowboard to support the cause... clutch. So, keep your eyes out for future All Stars Helping Kids events and help support this great organization. Later

Full Swing

Tue, 22 Jul 2008 10:35:12 -0500

The Jamaica Ski Team got going on June 1st and we're now in full swing. I've been holding nothing back in dryland and it's starting to pay off. We had our first on-snow camp of the season up at Mt Hood from 7/9-13. It was a short and sweet 5 days of free-skiing and GS training and I feel like I got a lot accomplished and was skiing well towards the end. My coach and I stayed with the Andrews family from Tahoe and we had a blast... they're cool people and they dished up some fat and tasty meals. Our next camp is in New Zealand from 7/31-8/21 with a couple of FIS GS races 8/19-20. Should be a ton of fun and I'm psyched to have a full-time technician for the first time ever. If you see our team van cruising around or guys wearing Jamaica ski team jackets give us a holler. Peace

bigbrother 2008

Tue, 22 Jul 2008 04:34:39 -0500

big brother was the last ever big brother ever it whent from 2001-2008 ther last three peple were Ben,Terry,Rory then the next one to go was Ben sadly my sister thout he was going to win then they hade the count down and said the winner for bigbrother for 2008 was Terry!!!!!!!! which ment sadley Rorry lost. Thanks

Ski Cross 08

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 11:43:03 -0500

Here's a little ski cross action for you guys. Watch it! Comment! Enjoy!

Givin'er

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 01:06:53 -0500

I'm less than three weeks into my preparation period for this coming season but so far so good. We're heading to Hood for a quick five day camp in July and then it's off to New Zealand for three weeks in August. However, right now it's all about dryland. I've been lifting (using muscles I never knew I had), doing field workouts, hittin the BMX and moto tracks, riding my road bike, hiking, and even squeezing 18 in every now and then. I'm literally feeling stronger and more fit every day. By the time this coming season rolls around there's no doubt I'll be in the best shape of my life. I'm leaving nothing to chance this year and one thing's for sure, I'm gonna keep givin'er all I got.

Time for change...

Sun, 15 Jun 2008 19:52:00 -0500

First of all I want to thank yardbarker for giving me this platform to blog and speak my mind. I had no idea how viral my last post would be and that it would reach so many interested parties. Its been exciting to read all the replies, ideas and concepts everyone has posted! I truly hope that some of these are expounded upon and incorporated into USSA's operations, as well as Ski Racing as a sport. My intentions were, and still are, to raise awareness of what's going on at USSA and how the athletes feel about specific parts of the organization's approach to athletics. Although I can't speak for everyone, I can assure you that there are many unhappy members, both current and retired, that would like to see some changes made. There is an obvious disconnection between the athletes and the executives and a lot of us feel that our best interests are not always looked after. That being said, I will be the first to say that the Ski Team has given me a lot of great opportunities over the years; in athletics, education and even music. I have traveled all over the world skiing while attending Dartmouth College (the Ski Team provides $5,000/year scholarships to college students on the team), and been lucky enough to open up for Train and the Doobie Brothers at the New York City Ski Ball (courtesy of the Foundation entertainment coordinators), all of which I am grateful for. USSA even helped distribute my CD, "Road Sodas," which is on their online store, again I am grateful. So how can someone like me, who has received a lot of support over the years, be so upset with their handlings? I'll give you one word...accountability. Who is held accountable for these decisions, and why isn't the board aware of most of these decisions? I make this claim in light of Gary Black Jr.'s attempt to bash my previous post by saying that Marolt's salaries were nowhere near what I proposed. If "nowhere near" means I'm way off then support your claims with the real facts you speak of. As a board member and friend of Marolt's I'm sure Gary knows what Marolt makes so lets hear it. If not, then there is an obvious fundamental problem that exists in the communication between the board and the executives. Either way, I stand by what I said until proven wrong, and if I'm wrong it doesn't change the fact that USSA needs to make some fundamental changes, specifically with athlete funding. The athletes are ultimately held accountable for their own performance on the hill, but my question is who can the athletes rely on to fully fund, manage, and provide the necessary resources needed in a program that claims they are "best in the world?" Nobody seems to know who has the answers to our questions and if we do get a chance to meet with Marolt or Jesse Hunt (Alpine Director) our questions are rarely answered directly. Instead they tend to dance around them and give us vague political responses that leave us with more confusion than resolution. This lack of communication and state of confusion is a big reason why the situation perpetuates itself and athletes like Erik Schlopy, Dane Spencer, Jake Zamansky, Caroline Lalive and I are wondering where it all went wrong, who ultimately makes these decisions, and why they make them. Again, I cannot speak for everyone but this type of communication is upsetting, which leads to frustration and is the fundamental reason why these problems exist. The good news is, since my last post I was told that the C-Team is now fully funded and will not have to pay $10,000/each to ski this year. This is a great step in the right direction and I am happy to hear that athlete funding is starting to take more precedence. I also want to reiterate the fact that USSA has made an amazing turnaround during Marolt's tenure, which has set a strong foundation and accounted for great successes. Again, my intentions are to ignite positive change by raising awareness to the situation at USSA. I welcome all supporters to help see these changes through and keep up communication, whether it be on yardbarker, ski racing magazine forums (although I prefer yardbarker), or directly with the organization. Finally, I would like offer an alternative to those of you who would like to donate DIRECTLY to the athletes called the SFI Foundation. The SFI Foundation is an 501 (c) 3 tax exempt organization that Erik Schlopy and I started. The organization is dedicated to providing the necessary funding and resources to high level skiers both on and off the National Team. If you are interested in participating in our next fundraiser I attached the information below. If you cannot attend and would like to help out donations can be made through paypal on the Mens Alpine Team page (www.mensalpine.com) or by check to: SFI Foundation P.O. Box 682632 Park City, UT 84060 Tax ID # 20-4647706 I hope to hear from everyone soon! Thanks for listening.... Bryon

Errol Kerr and Crew Mini-Documentary

Thu, 12 Jun 2008 23:51:44 -0500

This film was put together by Mark Oliver for the Jeep Ski Tour, and is about our travelling crew.

Jamaica's Role in Skier's Dream

Tue, 10 Jun 2008 09:22:09 -0500

Here's an article that was written in the Jamaica Observer in their editorial section, published on Saturday, June 07, 2008. I've included the link below.

Errol Kerr at first World Cup 2008

Sun, 08 Jun 2008 13:20:31 -0500

Les Contamines, France. 2008. Errol Kerr (on the right) battles it out with Davey Barr and Jake Fiala in Ski Cross World Cup.

The thrill of victory, the agony of defeat

Sun, 08 Jun 2008 04:19:44 -0500

Yesterday, ABC announcer Jim McKay died at the age of 86. The most replayed words McKay ever uttered were "the thrill of victory, and the agony of defeat." Read on to find out what sports images represented his intro for "The Wide World of Sports"

Errol Kerr will Ski for Jamaica, the Land of his Father

Wed, 04 Jun 2008 16:18:56 -0500

This past ski season was just awesome. I got an opportunity to travel with the United States Ski Team and represent my country (not only just myself) in international ski competitions. Growing up as a ski racer, you spend your whole life dreaming of that. At the beginning of this year, I finally had the opportunity to compete in my first World Cup. That was one of the more memorable days of skiing in my life. I woke up that day knowing that I was going to have an opportunity to compete against the best skiers in the world. That day I started 89th in my first World Cup, and when it all was over, and the snow had settled, I had made it to 12th. And just as soon as it began, it was all over. This Spring I went to Jamaica to pursue a long term dream of mine to represent the land of my father in international ski competitions, and thanks to the help of countless kind, caring, and compassionate people in Jamaica, that dream is now coming true. There are still some bumps in the road to be smoothed out, and some unfinished business to be done, but the fact of the matter is: Errol Kerr will be representing Jamaica, the land of his father in the upcoming World Cup season.

Training Update

Tue, 03 Jun 2008 08:58:03 -0500

The past few weeks at home have been very good. Splitting my time between the gym, physiotherapy and schoolwork (and time with friends of course) has been working out well. I started out going to pysio at Carleton University 4 times a week! Six weeks into recovery and I'm down to two times a week and my knee is feeling very good. According to the physiotherapist my knee should be fully healed in a few weeks at the most. After a few visits to the physio I was cleared to go back to the gym for a few things and I've been in the gym 4 times a week for about 3 weeks now. The list of exercises I'm able to do is growing daily it seems. I'm lifting as much or more weight than I was during summer training last year in almost every exercise, which I find really strange, but hey, I'll take it! I'll be home for another month before heading out to Fernie, BC in July. I'm excited to get back to Fernie because it was so much fun last year (albeit, extremely hard at the same time). Then in August I cross the pond for our first on-snow camp in Zermatt, Switzerland. Dustin

Ski Resorts. Where's the loyalty?

Wed, 28 May 2008 09:06:13 -0500

Probably one of the most frustrating things in the world for an avid skier is to look out the window at a snow storm - and the local ski area is closed. Sure I could hike the back country, but you know what they say about avalanche experts...there are no old ones. I don't even claim to know much more about snow stability other than to say that unpacked snow base forms layers. It's a whole lot more fun to ski the local resort in late season. But we live in different times for ski resorts. In "the old days" about 20 years ago, it was common for ski resorts to stay open at least on weekends if late season brought good snow conditions. The seasonal staff was ecstatic to ski without the worry of the time clock. The full time management staff wanted to just plain ski because most of them had hardly been on snow all season. It's not that way any more. Nowadays its all about the bottom line. Giving the faithful few skiers their final snow fix of the season is not part of the program. Turning a profit and selling real estate have become much more important. They don't seem connected to the die hard skier. The destination skier is long gone- probably playing golf some place where it's 70 degrees in April. But the die hard ski local is looking wistfully up at the mountain and 12" of fresh, heavy weight cream and dreaming- just dreaming. They used to get the president, marketing VIP's and all the other salaried staff to trade off liftie jobs every couple of hours on Satudays and Sundays. If they weren't tucking butts, they were skiing. It was great! You could meet all the higher management resort staff and ski some great snow - usually the deepest snow base of the year. The upper management staff got the chance to meet the REAL skiers. The ones that would smack people with the business end of a ski pole if they said something bad about THEIR mountain. Sometimes the die hards could even sit down at lunch and talk to the VP of Operations about ideas for the upcoming season. But it's different now and maybe it's the nature of the beast, I guess. I hope your local ski resort is willing to buck the trend. Or maybe you can get a day off from work so you can hike or ski the back country. Whatever you do, ski fast and have a blast! Cheers. Parker

What's wrong with the USSA ?

Mon, 19 May 2008 17:26:39 -0500

Bryon Friedman's article "USSki Team comes up short....again" gives - saddly - a realistic image of - only - some of the shortcomings exisiting for more than a decade at the USSA. The USSA's leadership direction has undoubtedly produced some important positive results, nobody denies that. The fund raising efforts led by Mr. Bill Marolt, its CEO, has produced one of those very important positive results. Some of the advertising efforts of the success of the USSA in general and of some of the USSA's athletes in particular is another positive endeavour. However, for the past eleven years I have first hand witnessed numerous and somtimes serious flaws in the way that no-profit organization is lead, staffed and functions. With all the right intentions Mr. Marolt, lacks the actual modern knowledge and professional understanding of the specifics elements needed to develop and help individual athletes to become "Best in the World" in an individual and dangerous sport. Beacuse of that, some of the key staff people he surounded himself with along the years got to their positions.............. following Peter Principle. Before addressing the point Bryon makes in that article, showing that he does NOT suffer of the systemic sickness many people suffer from these days, i.e. "Political Corectness", I am just touching one very telling point, The one reffering to the "adventures" of Bode Miller, the greatest American Ski racer of the moden era, faring through and now..... out of the USSA!. Bode is a racer who helped the USKI Team to come out of anonimity and claim of getting close to be "Best in the World". I have first and second hand knowledge of Bode being a Maverick athlete and person, our paths have crossed several times when I was privately and part time coaching and mentoring Bryon Friedman and Erik Schlopy, bewteen 1997 and 2005. Bode is an honest young man, outspoken, faithful to his true friends, a gutsy and generous person who races and lives life at his own drum beat. Skiing is a VERY specific and individual sport, once described by a famous ski Guru [George Joubert) as being "An Art, a Technique". Bode confirms Joubert's understanding, but in his unique way of enjoying, understanding and perceptually feeling ski racing, while living life "his way" he was never understood and genuinely liked either by Bill Marolt, Jesse Hunt [Alpine Ski Director] or Phill McNichol. Jesse tried for years to coach Bode to ski with parallel shins, which Bode - thanks to his outstanding perception - never accepted to do, proving the so called modern technique as being just an isolated tool [used mainly in Slalom] in a great racer's technical tool kit. Phil McNichol, the head coach of the USSki Men Teams for many years, is another example of inability to understand great athletes: he tried unsuccsessfully to "put up " with Bode. Phil was not pshychologically/professionally prepared to understand and help individual athletes who were different. The wrong combination of personalities and professionals like Marolt- Hunt - McNichol resulted in Bode being forced to leave the USSki Team at the end of 2006/2007 season, the very team HE carried on his shoulders for several years. As deserved, Bode, racing outside of the USSA, on his dime - as Bryon puts it - just finished this last season as the number 1 alpine ski racer in the World (sic!). Bode is just an example in a long list of top USSki Team athletes not understood by the USSA executives and leaders. Kristina Koznic, a former great American ski racer was also forced to ski outside of the USSA, on "her dime", because a stiff-minded approach took by the USSA leaders. Jeremy Nobis, Tommy Moe, AJ Kitt, Kyle Rssmussen, Jeff Olson, etc., etc. are other athletes, who, because of their different personalities were not understood and not treated properly by Bill Marolt and other USSA leaders; these frustrated atheltes decided to retire too early..... Bryon Friedman is an honest, outspoken, gutsy young man, who found himself at the short end of the stick several times with the USSA leaders. So did Erik Schlopy. I believe that, with the help of ski racing fans, Bryon will raise "enough dimes" to demonstrate once more that the USSA continues to be led by people who need a more open minded approach and lower personal salaries and bonuses, when it comes to develop and help individual racers involved in a very risky, dangerous sport. It may be time for the USSA Board of Directors to truly listen to the athletes who are risking their limbs to make the USSA a success, thus justifying the salaries of the organization leaders. ....and perhaps to make the needed changes ! Back to Bryon ....and Erik Schlopy and Dane Spencer and Jake Zamanski..... They "cannot" be funded because a huge amount of the money raised by the USSA go to fund a.....Building !! The USSA new Center: some call it........... the "Marolt Mausoleum". Along with executive slaries out of the normal - decent - ranges, the Mausolem is hurting BIG TIME the USSA athletes! That's just one of the realistic answers to "What's wrong with the USSA" ? Dean Nicholas, PH.D., former USSCA Coach & Official. PS: The list of USSA athletes of every sport who were/are frustrated goes on and on..... So does the list of blunders unwilingly produced by the USSA leaders.

U.S. Ski Team Comes Up Short... again!

Fri, 16 May 2008 12:30:01 -0500

As they say, History repeats itself, and once again the U.S. Ski Team cannot afford to fund their athletes, including me. After one of the best seasons in the history of U.S. Skiing (2 overall World Cup Titles, 3 discipline titles, 15 World Cup wins, and 37 Podiums) the National Team, led by Alpine Coordinator Jesse Hunt, does not have the financial backing to fully fund their team. What's wrong with this picture? As of now the athletes who are not funded include Erik Schlopy, who happens to be one of our best skiers and a 3-time Olympian, 7-time National Champion, World Championship Bronze Medalist, and 3rd place overall World Cup G.S. skier...again, what's wrong with this picture? Dane Spencer, also one of our best skiers, is coming back from a near fatal injury and happens to be a 2-time Olympian and National Champion. Oddly Dane was not even named to the team, even though this was his first year back after breaking his neck and crushing his pelvis. Dane and I were both given access to train with the National Team on our own dime, which is proposed to cost between $20,000 and $30,000 for the Season. Furthermore, Jake Zamansky (currently ranked 5th in the U.S. and 54th in the World in G.S.) who earned a World Cup spot by winning the Nor Am G.S. standings has been ostracized from the U.S. Ski Team and is not even allowed to pay his way to train with the World Cup Team...once again, what's wrong with this picture? Just wait; there's more. Recently the entire Men's C-Team was told they have to pay for the competition portion of their season, which will cost each of them $10,000. The C-Team includes the best up and coming athletes in our country including Will Brandenburg, who is ranked 1st in the World for his age, and Travis Ganong, who is one of the best 4 event skiers I have seen since Bode Miller. Do I dare say it again...what's wrong with this picture? I'll tell you what's wrong. Our organization, or "company" as upper management likes to call it, has lost site of their core values. To put it bluntly, Jesse Hunt (our Alpine Coordinator) summarized it best by saying "the organization is not going the direction of the athlete/individual." This was a direct quote that I received from Hunt when I asked for help in my recovery from my injury. If the organization is not going the direction of the individual (keep in mind skiing is an individual sport, not a team sport) then where is it going? I'll tell you where. It's going to the pockets of the upper management, specifically CEO Bill Marolt, who egregiously recorded a $300,000 bonus this season on top of his already high $700,000/year salary (up from $559,880 in 2004). That's right, over $1million dollars for the CEO of a non-profit organization that can't even afford to sufficiently fund their own athletes...that's what's wrong with this picture! (Although I cannot find this year's accounting information as of yet, I have a reliable source within the organization that backs this claim). Either way you look at it, Marolt is overpaid, and although he is entitled to a good salary due to the stellar results the Team posted this year, his athletes are suffering. What makes the problem worse and harder to swallow; is that all of us were told by Hunt that the Ski Team is downsizing because he believed it was best for "everybody." By everybody I'm assuming he meant executives like himself and Marolt, so they could cut athletic funding yet maintain his astronomical salary for a non-profit organization *(I make this claim in light of study done in 2007 by Charity Navigator, which keeps an eye out on non-profit organizations, and found that the average salaries for non-profit executives fell around $145,270). Hunt's poor excuse for a cover-up did not resonate well with current Ski Team members, as none of them agree with his philosophy to downsize. Furthermore, every single named athlete protested Hunt's decision to cut Dane Spencer, Jake Zamansky and myself because it was unethical and downright illegal in Zamansky's case. I say illegal because Zamansky actually made the Ski Team's published criteria for his age, and is entitled to a spot on the team regardless of any individual criteria he was given. That's what's wrong with this picture! So, to answer any questions about my position with the team here it is. I am not a named athlete, but I am able to train with the World Cup Team on my own dime, and compete for World Cup spots next season. My plan is to solidify my comeback and attend to the unfinished business I left on the hill after my injury. If you are interested in joining my comeback I welcome any and all support. Thanks for listening... Bryon

Dobro Session

Wed, 14 May 2008 11:53:48 -0500

This short documentary takes an intimate look into US Ski member Bryon Friedman's, exploration of his musical career. The scenes in this film are taken from an unreleased documentary tentatively titled, Untracked: The Bryon Friedman Story.

Heal The Snow

Thu, 08 May 2008 17:11:11 -0500

Just wanted to share a short documentary on Heal The Snow with everyone...my music is actually featured in it too so let me now what you think.

Heal the Snow...

Wed, 07 May 2008 14:22:03 -0500

LOGLINE: A short documentary about a non-profit organizations endeavors to educate on the issues of Global Warming and sustainable living. Running time: 06:59

The Shred Wagon

Wed, 30 Apr 2008 19:55:57 -0500

Hey everyone...I wanted to tell you about a really cool organization that is dedicated to helping ski areas and companies within the industry become more environmentally friendly. The organization is called Heal The Snow, and their first project was the Shred Wagon. I will attach photos so you can get a better idea, but the Shred Wagon is basically a mobile hostel powered by solar energy and bio diesel. It's purpose is to travel from resort to resort and provide affordable lodging for ski bums who can't swing resort prices, all the while keeping it environmentally friendly. It's a great alternative for young skiers and the Shred Wagon followed a lot of Freeride and Big Mountain competitions throughout the winter. It even came to my last race series in Mammoth, California where I got a chance to hang out and play some music for a couple hours. Their website is www.healthesnow.org, so check it out and let me know what you think!

Two for Two

Sat, 19 Apr 2008 14:17:48 -0500

Well...the season is finally over and I'm happy to say that I won another Downhill in Mammoth, California, my last race of the season! The conditions were great for being Spring, the snow was rock hard, the sun was shining, and the wind was calm. It's great to end my comeback year with a win...hopefully it will set the tone for next year. It feels like the Winter swept past me without warning but I'm excited to take a break. It's time to put the skis away, pick up my guitar, get on my surf board and enjoy some time off snow. I will be posting more pics and videos from the season soon, as well as some from our spring and summer camps. Have a great weekend...

Spring Series Win

Fri, 18 Apr 2008 12:10:43 -0500

Hey all...just wanted to let you know that I have been skiing fast and won my first downhill of the season in Mammoth, California. It was a two run downhill, which is quite unusual as they are usually only one run, but I won both runs and secured the lead by over half a second. Believe it or not, half a second in ski racing is a lot so I was pleased with my performance! It's great to be skiing fast again and I hope that my results will be proof enough the the National Team that I am rehabilitated and ready to get back onto the World Cup full time next season!

Good News from National Championships

Tue, 25 Mar 2008 11:04:45 -0500

As I write, I'm sitting in my hotel overlooking "Narrow Gage," the run we are racing on this week at our National Championships in Sugarloaf, Maine. Although Sugarloaf is considered a big mountain on the East coast, it's fairly small compared to what we see in the West. Regardless, "Narrow Gage" is a great run for racing and has us going 70 to 80 mph in the Super G and Downhill. The course has a lot of flat sections mixed with terrain as well as two steeper sections and a long flat that takers you to the finish. The most intimidating section of the course is called "Headwall" where the run drops into an icy bowl as the hill falls away and eventually spits you out of a gully and into the fastest section where we are clocked at upwards of 80 mph. Even with a great course set and ready to go, the races were off to a shaky start due to bad weather. We sat around in our hotel rooms 4 days straight wondering if we were ever going to get chance to race. After getting pounded by snow, rain and wind the weather finally cleared and the temperature dropped considerably, which set the snow up perfectly for the speed events. Now here comes the good news! Although its been a long and at times frustrating season I can finally say I've turned the corner and found the speed again! In skiing there's a fine line between skiing well and skiing fast, and I'm fired up to say that I'm skiing fast again with a 2nd place in the Super G at the U.S. National Championships. It was a tight race as I was only .11 of a second behind the winner Kevin Francis and just ahead of world cup winner Marco Sullivan. It would have been nice to win another National title but I'm pleased with the result and can't wait to find more speed in the Downhill tomorrow.

Bode Miller wins the Overall World Cup title again!

Sun, 16 Mar 2008 17:49:48 -0500

Once again Bode Miller has proved his critics wrong. After leaving the U.S. Ski Team to pursue his racing career privately, Miller arguably posted his best season to date winning the Overall, Super-Combined, and placing 2nd in the Downhill standings. He has won more World Cups than any other American skier and has shown that it's possible to be the best without the National Team's resources. As a former teammate I'm proud that he won on his own terms and is enjoying his career more than ever. The only accomplishment that alludes Miller's trophy room is an Olympic Gold...where he will have a shot in Vancouver 2010.

Bode Miller speaks out!

Tue, 11 Mar 2008 18:12:14 -0500

With only 3 races to go in the World Cup season, Bode Miller is leading the overall World Cup standings and has a good chance to win it all for the second time of his career. Unfortunately race organizers cancelled the last Downhill of the season in Bormio, Italy, which puts Miller at a disadvantage to maintain his lead. He was not very happy about the organizers' decision to cancel the race, and claimed it was strategy on the parts of the Austrian and Swiss coaches in order to give their athletes a better chance to overtake him for the overall crown. Both Didier Cuche of Switzerland, and Benjamin Raich of Austria are vying for the title as well. Check out what Bode had to say and the decision!

Lanzinger Loses Leg

Wed, 05 Mar 2008 16:36:03 -0500

Austrian skier Mattias Lanzinger crashed into a World Cup Super G while skiing in Norway recently, and had a terrible accident which eventually called for an amputation of his leg. Reports and a personal blog by a member in his camp state that the amputation could have been avoided, had a helicopter been on site to fly him out of the mountains. A helicopter not being there caused him to wait for hours, only to experience massive swelling and cutoff of blood to his lower leg. Though it's already been expressed – I can't believe how an obvious thing like having a helicopter on site wasn't included in the skiing competition's safety measures. Check out the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V28GKbLN3pE My knee has been in pain recently due to Patellofemoral Syndrome (Runner's Knee), and it pisses me off that my running ability is slowly weakening. I can't begin to imagine what I'd do if my leg was amputated. Check out my scene: www.sportsfly.com, v2thaj.blogspot.com *Read more articles, Get the daily buzz, play casual sports games and earn prizes.

Austrian racer loses leg

Wed, 05 Mar 2008 11:26:51 -0500

I have some disturbing news regarding Austrian skier Mattias Lanzinger. For those of you who haven't heard, Lanzinger crashed in a World Cup Super G in Kvitfell, Norway and broke his left leg severely. The injury was so severe that it required immediate surgery, but there was no helicopter on site (a major mistake on Kvitfell's organizing committee), and he was forced to wait hours until he was finally transported to a hospital in Oslo...those few hours proved to be critical. During the delay he experienced massive swelling, which cut off the blood flow to his lower leg and caused poor circulation. Upon arrival he underwent emergency surgery but the doctors couldn't restore circulation to his leg and were eventually forced to amputate. This hits a little to close to home for me as I had a similar injury 3 years ago but was flown to the hospital quickly where my doctors performed surgery right away and saved my leg. Although it took me two years to recover I didn't realize how lucky I was until now. It breaks my heart and makes me sick to my stomach that one of my competitors can no longer walk on his own two feet due to the ignorance, not only of the Kvitfell Organizing committee, but of the FIS (Federation of International Skiing). One of Lanzinger's doctors was quoted saying that if he was brought to the hospital right away the amputation could have been avoided. This is clearly a breach of safety regulations and has caused a great deal of controversy in the Alpine Skiing world. I certainly hope someone is held accountable for this tragedy as Lanzinger deserves some answers! Out of respect for Lanzinger I am not going to post his crash but if you would like to view it here is a link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V28GKbLN3pE

Skier breaks leg

Tue, 04 Mar 2008 10:40:42 -0500

These super giant downhill skiers must have some screws loose in their heads. When they fall they fall hard - here is a video of Matthias Lanzinger breaking his leg on one run. How fast he was going I am shocked he didn't kill himself. I will stick to skiing the bunny slopes thank you very much.

Top ten finish!

Fri, 25 Jan 2008 16:41:27 -0500

As some of you may already know I've been on the sidelines injured for nearly 3 years and started to make my comeback this season. Well I have good news...it's moving in the right direction! I have been on the Europa Cup tour, which is basically like the Minor Leagues of skiing one step below the World Cup. Our last competition was in a small Northern Italian town called Sarntal where I finished 8th in the last Downhill. This was a big step for me considering I haven't raced much in the past 3 years, and it showed me that I can still ski with some of the best skiers in the World. This result gives me a better starting position in the next Europa Cup, which is next week in Chamonix, France. I hope to bring you more good news then. Here's a pic from the start of the downhill...not a bad view from my office!

Who can possibly claim ski jumping is not exciting?

Thu, 24 Jan 2008 21:38:27 -0500

Here's a petition to start ski jumping as its very own category here on Yardbarker. A sport that the Finns are good at, and therefore worthy of attention. To whet your appetites, here's an article about the greatest ski jumper in the world, Janne Ahonen, making history by winning the Four Hills tournament for a record-breaking fifth time. I'm expecting a lot of support here...