CONGRATULATIONS TO SARAH FOR HER PODIUM AT WORLD JUNIORS!!!!

We just wrapped up our first comps in Rovaniemi Finland, and made it back to Norway today. It was the first time any of us girls had been to Finalnd, and we were all stoked to get a small dose of a new country and a new hill. It was really trippy to wake up and have it be totally dark outside, and even crazier when we would pack up to go to the jumps around 3pm and it would already feel like the middle of the night. The food was nothing to be psyched about either… every day we had some kind of pasta casserole and potatoes and cabbage. The joke was, “What did you have for lunch today?” To which the reply was, “White.” So glad I brought the Cholula. I had also made a rookie mistake before we even arrived in Rovaniemi… I managed to leave my computer in the Helsinki airport. Good one, I know. I am extremely lucky though, because someone had turned it in and I got it back today on our way back to Norway.

The hill in Rovaniemi was a little bit “old school”, had a short transition in the inrun and a short table, and it was more high flying than a lot of the newer hills. For official training, the hill was in perfect condition and the sky was actually clear, which unfortunately didn’t carry over to the comp days. On the first comp day, it warmed up a little bit, it was foggy and the track had started to fall apart slightly, and the inrun was getting grabby. Sarah put two jumps together and came out as the top American placing 6^th. Alissa had a good first jump, but fell back after the second and finished 19^th. I ended up 22^nd, and Abby was right behind me in 26^th. For the second day, conditions had worsened and we were dealing with all the same problems from the day before, with inconsistent wind and a rutted out landing hill to boot. Sarah continued kicking ass and again, was the top American placing 5^th. I had a better day and came out in 16^th, and Alissa again, had a good first jump, but not so much the second and ended up 22^nd. Abby also had a good first jump, but caught an edge in the outrun and fell on her second. Fortunately, nothing is broken or torn, and she came out 23^rd and sore. For complete results from the first day, click here, and for the second day, here.

Yesterday we flew back to Norway and are staying in Drammen, with the jump just a little north of here in Vikersund. Comps are Saturday and Sunday.

Cafe Prego. Funny.

Top 6 podium. Sarah 5th.

Alissa, Sarah, and Abby with the giant snowman.

Alissa and Sarah at the hill.

Sarah and myself. Not sure why this is in the Helsinki airport... but it's funny.

For complete results for all the events, click here

We had a lot of technique sessions, weighted plyos and strength sessions, and a few days jumping the K88 in Marikollen.  Before I left, I decided to invest in a new suit.  I say “invest” because getting a good suit is often difficult, and they’re not cheap.  There is one legal cut everyone is required to have, and just this summer FIS changed this rule for the women.  We now have to have an extra seam over the breast panel.  There was never a test period for this rule…  I remember one euro FIS official saying something a few years ago like, “the suits are not flattering on the women’s bodies…”  Hmm.  No test period for the new women’s suit rule.  Seam directly over the breast to create a more “hourglass” shape.  Makes some of us wonder if this “rule” was implemented for flying purposes (which is why suit rules are created in the first place), or if it was more for the spectators.  You can see what I’m talking about….

Old suit rule in red, new ladies suit rule in teal.  Regardless, suits are unflattering on everyone in my opinion.  I’ll make a stink when FIS requires us to wear pageant make-up and glitter… a new seam doesn’t change much.

Another thing about picking suits is the material.  Contrary to what most people think, jumpers don’t usually pick the colors they think are the prettiest.  Each color passes a certain amount of air and feels different when flying.  Some people like faster materials, some people like them slower.  Regardless of speeds though, every section of every panel must pass at least 40 liters of air.  There is a machine they use to test this, and if it passes, you get a “plum”, or a little silver button on the right calf of the suit.  A suit has to have a plum to be used on the hill in competition… but since there are ways to clog the pores of a suit (to restrict air flow and create lift in flight), they can test suit air flow right after a comp jump.  So even if you have a plum, but the suit doesn’t pass at least 40 liters in every spot, you will be disqualified.  There are also rules pertaining to the difference in percentage of air flow in the front panels versus the back panels, but I wont get into that now.

This is the raw suit material at the Spinno factory,  and the almost finished product.

With all the rules on how a suit needs to fit, the process is extremely time consuming.  When I have gone to Spinno with the team in the past, we spend 8 or 9 hours making alterations.  The people at the factory have our measurements, and the suits are all pre-ordered, so when you show up its made.  I’m talking 8 or 9 hours for alterations alone.  This past time when I went, it was only myself and another jumper who needed suits, so for two of us it only took 5 and a half hours.  Jump suits are a pain in the ass, to say the least.  Here, my pseudo coach Roy is checking the fit for the eleventy billionth time.  This guy knows his shit.  He called in the suit for me and told me he would pick the special colors.  Hello, mystery suit.

After throwing down for the mystery suit, we headed to Lillehammer for the weekend and I was stoked to test my new digs.  My jumper friend Eirik Kjelstrup and I went up a day early to meet up with some of the Nordic Combined guys and stay at a friends cabin for the night.  The rest of the team was leaving Oslo the next morning at 7am to be in Lillehammer for the morning session, so we figured this way we could sleep a few extra hours and join the team at the hill.

Sturla Sandøy, Taylor Fletcher, Eirik Kjelstrup, Christian Erichsen, Nick Hendrickson, and Brett Denney.

Yes, the cabin was made of wood and we ate brown cheese for breakfast.  Weird, I know.

We jumped all weekend and fortunately for me, Roy knows what he’s talking about.  The suit felt great, especially with thicker air and good pressure on Lillehammer’s K120.  Suit material can get worn out fast, so it’s best to take a few jumps in it, see how it feels, and if it’s good, save it for when it counts… in competition.

Although I definitely won’t miss Wasa and fish-in-a-tube, I was pretty bummed to have to leave.  It was fun to get into a different team dynamic and work on other hills besides Park City.   For the next week or so, we are jumping here in PC and getting ready to head back to Lake Placid for Nationals on the 6th.  Til then.

The weather has been pretty typical… A lot of overcast days and rain, very little sun.  The other day it cleared up just long enough for me to get this shot from my hotel room window.  

On Wednesday we all had the day off, so I headed down to Hamar with the NC guys to hit some of the diving platforms.  Here, Billy D. reminds everyone why you shouldn’t dive in shallow water.  (Yes, it’s real.)

I also wanted to share this everyone…  Before the girls left, we had a “Raptor Competition.”  We were judged on distance and Raptor noise.  Here is the video of the winner, Sarah.  Enjoy!

The night of the fundraiser I had to bail a few minutes early to catch the red eye to JFK, then to Burlington for Ryan and Kate’s wedding.  I got a ride down to where the wedding was and met up with Andy, who had been busy doing Stratton camps all week.  As I’m sure you’ve all read, he thought it would be a good idea to not bring any clothes with him and ride up on his bike wearing his rehearsal dinner slacks.  Not the best call he’s ever made, but he made it work.  Aside from the bug situation, the weather was great and the wedding was an awesome party.  Being from Park City, I’m not used to having to apply bug spray every 20 minutes for 3 days straight.  Now I know why a lot of people from the East coast aren’t into camping… I wouldn’t be either if I lived out there.  

The day after the wedding, I flew out to Oslo for a training camp.  There have been competitions in Europe for the past few weeks, but the majority of them were on smaller hills, so the team decided it would be better for the younger crew to go and represent.  I don’t know if anyone has been following the girls’ results, but they have been kicking ass.  We had a 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 6th from Sarah Hendrickson, Nita Englund and Nina Lussi, who were both first-timers to the euro circuit, scored points in over half of comps, and Karin Friberg managed to stay consistent and didn’t place below 40th in any comps.  The field this year was harder than in the past, with over 60 girls in every competition, and the point spread closer than normal.  Congrats to all the girls!

Anyway, I arrived in Oslo a few days ago and met up with some of the girls for a training camp here in Lillehammer.  The jumps here are sweet, and being close to sea level, it’s nice to feel some “pressure” when flying, as opposed to Park City where the air is thinner.  PC has the highest jumps in the world; the next highest are St. Moritz in Switzerland.  It’s pretty normal for people to have a hard time transitioning from lower elevation jumps to high elevation jumps, and it’s no wonder why Simon Ammann (from Switzerland) won both the K90 and K120 events on the PC jumps for the 2002 Winter Olympics.

We have been jumping double sessions every day so far, and yesterday we drove 2.5 hours down to Marikollen to jump the K88 to get different feelings from a different hill.  It’s right outside of Oslo, so after jumping we took a detour to Holmenkollen to see how the construction for the 2011 World Champs was going.  It was really weird to not see a tower at the top of the hill, and the entire outrun has been completely ripped out for renovations.  This would be the 19th time the hill has been redone since it opened in 1892.  The XC stadium is also being redone, so the place was a mess.  It’s going to be interesting to see how they will pull off a jumping test event in 6.5 months.

Today it was rainy and foggy for our second session on the big hill, which turned into “survival skiing.”  A little rain and fog isn’t a problem, but not being able to see the landing hill until you’re about to hit it can get sketchy.  Unfortunately we had to call the session short and finished today off with a run back to the hotel.  Hopefully tomorrow will clear up a little bit so we can get some far jumps in.  

Tomorrow the Nordic Combiners come in for a training camp of their own, so it will be nice to have some teammates on the hill with us, and Sunday we are planning on heading back to Marikollen for Norwegian Nationals.  It’ll be fun to get some other girls in the mix and have a competition.  This weekend should be awesome skiing, so check back for some pictures, and possibly a few helmet cam videos (if I can figure out this whole “youtube” process.) 

Until then, here are a few pictures from the fundraiser and jumping from the past few days.  Thanks to Sullivan Images for documenting the event!  And I would post pictures from the wedding, but Andy already used my good ones.  Next time I’ll remind him to bring a change clothes, and a camera.