I was going into my hometown Olympics with everything lined up perfectly to achieve my dream of grabbing that gold medal. 4 races out of the 5 I did before the Games I made it to the finals. Two of those finals, I ended up on the podium. I was confident in myself and was having fun. Until Lake Placid, the last World Cup before the Olympics, where my dream was on the verge of being crushed…The course in Lake Placid was the closest course we have had to a motocross inspired ski cross course yet. There were rollers galore. It was exciting to ride the chair over top of the fun course looking at the different options through out the track.

We were the second training group so we got to spy on the first group of our fellow ski crossers. All of the girls were absorbing these 4 big rollers in a row. It didn’t look fast.

The first training run I just felt it out and did the same. The third run Kelsey and I were confident we could double those big rollers just like the guys were doing. I went first and doubled the 2 rollers easily, but wasn’t ready for the one after. Instead of absorbing the roller following, I was a bit back on my heals and shot off of it landing on the take off of the next step up feature with my butt on my bindings. My left ski caught a bit of an edge and I landed on the other side of the jump with adrenaline pumping through my body. I hobbled off to the side of the course and watched the roller section that did me in for the rest of the training.

We figured since I couldn’t click into my skis without two people helping me push down, that I should go get an MRI to see what damage I had done.What a bad time for my first injury ever.

The doctor came in and said he had “mixed information” for me. I had torn most of my ACL, partially torn my MCL, had a complex tear in my Medial Meniscus, and a bad bone bruise in my Tibia. When asked what my chances were for competing in the games he told us 60%.

No problem. One month until the big race.

I spent the time in Lake Placid, while the rest of the team was racing, crutching around, icing constantly and going to my physio (Chris Napier) twice a day. In between all of that I was doing a lot of repetitions of tedious exercises.

On the way to Aspen we made a stop in Vail for a doctor’s second opinion. He caught something in the MRI that the others didn’t see. I also had what is called a bucket-handle tear in my Lateral Meniscus. My Meniscus was torn horizontally and folded on top of itself! This made things much worse and explained why I couldn’t get pass 100 degrees while bending my knee in physio. He told me it was very risky to race in the Games and recommended against trying anymore.

The drive to Aspen was not the greatest road trip after that news. But I decided I would continue with what my physio and I were doing. Physio twice a day with tedious exercises, a lot of icing and being a part of a cheering squad for my team mates.

One more doctor appointment with the Olympic doc in Vancouver as soon as I got home pushed me in the direction of Arthroscopic Surgery to clip out my bucket handle tear in my Meniscus if it wasn’t repairable. The catch was, if my Meniscus was repairable they would go ahead and re-construct everything in my knee, which would leave me immobile for sometime after and unable to race. It was the first time I’ve hoped for something in my body to be irrepairable.

I came out of the surgery with a little less Meniscus and a whole lot more range of motion.

To get me to the Olympic debut of ski cross consisted of some tough decisions, 100 hours of physio, plenty of gym sessions and many nights sleeping with my ice machine.

After a painful month of doing absolutely all I could to make it to the start gate on Cypress I was there. I had achieved my goal of making it to my hometown Olympic Winter Games!

The first training day was a day to feel out the amazing course that Jeff Ihaksi built. There are so many great jumps and flowing roller sections. Training day two was spent taking a more aggressive approach and getting back into the flow of skiing like myself. It felt so good to be on a ski cross course again! I did have a few flat landings that jarred my knee and sent quite a bit of pain through my body. But it only lasted a few minutes, then I could get back at it.

To see the crowd at the boys race sent chills through my body. Everyone loved the show and thought ski cross was the most exiting sport in the Olympics. It was good to know what to expect for our race day. The atmosphere was exuberant.

One more training day to nail the start, then came race day. First thing in the morning I saw my amazing friends and family with Julia signs cheering me on as I walked to the chair. I loved seeing them there to support me no matter what happened. My qualifying run felt very smooth, but it wasn’t very fast. I was used to qualifying top 4, so 14th place was a bit of a disappointment for me. But I knew the start was pretty fair, so lane choice wasn’t what would determine the winners.

The atmosphere at the start gate was different in the Olympics than in any other race. We could hear the crowd in the distance cheering for us, yet it was unusually quiet up in the start. It was eery. There was a ton of energy pumping through my veins that I needed to hold in to use for my start and the course. Deep breaths and leg swings until they called my name.

My first heat was going well. I got out of the gate in second place and stayed there. I had a bit of a painful mis-hap though. Off of a big jump in the middle of the course I got kicked back and landed with my butt on my bindings! This is exactly what I was happy to have avoided all of those training days. In physio, I still wasn’t able to bend my knee all the way, but this landing forced it to bend 100%. Ouch! The adrenaline I had from the crowd and the race kept me going and I finished the course using mostly my right leg, as my left one felt very noodley.

The second heat was a battle to say the least. I had a horrible start that put me in third. I had to make a pass somewhere. I caught up to the two ahead of me and tried to be patient and wait for the right time to make my move. I decided to go for it before a big double into a step-down feature. I got back onto my heals again and flew off of the double and managed to land the step-down. Fanny Smith, beside me was battling to stay on her feet as well. At one point I looked beside me and her skis were level with my head. I thought she was going down. She snuck back in front of me.  I then tried to absorb a double and lost all of my speed. I had no chance of moving on.

I had to be happy with 12th place in the Olympics… That is a hard thing to be completely satisfied about. But I was incredibly fortunate to even be there with what I had to go through the month prior to the Games. I worked as hard as I could to be back to my normal self for the big show. These Olympics were what pushed Canada to develop a ski cross team 3 years ago. These Olympics changed my life to what it has been for the past 3 years. It would have been amazing to end off this 3 year stint with a podium finish, but I know that I was close to being there. It was an unforgettable experience to be a part of. I can now have the title: “2nd generation Olympian”.

It’s out! yes all that powder skiing I did in January with RIDE GUIDE is now viewable

Click here to re live my 9 day catskiing and heliskiing trip to Chatter Creek and Great Canadian:

RIDE GUIDE-CHATTER CREEK

I ventured back to my home land- Rossland B.C.- to meet up with the crew from Snowboard Canada: Dean Seguin, Russell Dalby and fellow North Face teamate Dave Short. The sunny skies prompted me to bust out the 80’s zinc tube! Me and Dean slathered our lips in fluro yellow to encourage sun while Dave went Smurf on us and starting painting his lips and nose blue. Our mosaic of riders spent the day lapping groomers and hitting up Red photogenic mining Pits. All in all this day filled me with nostalgia and made me realize why Rossland will always be home!

Day 2 with snowboard Canada beckoned me to home of the glory bowl salad- White Water Ski resort- or as locals slang it- wH2o. Under the watchful duty of our backflipping ski patrol guide Orry Grant we launched a cliff band and feasted on the delicious caferia food.

Last season while watching Wrangle the Chute at Kicking Horse, some of my friends asked me ” Alex, why have you never done any comps?”, I said I didn’t know, but the reason was that it had never crossed my mind that I had the skills to. With that I decided it was time to challenge myself to become a stronger, more confident, more ripping skier. After an epic snowfall and some rad days at Revelstoke over New Year’s this year I decided to register for the Smith Optics Fernie Freeski Comp in February.

With my Fernie registration, I had no option but to charge hard to try and get prepared for the comp. I was fortunate enough to enlist Leah Evans (of Girls Do Ski) to give me some pre-comp preparation at Revelstoke, which allowed me to really reach a state of full preparedness. Just spending one day with Leah, and getting the advice and insight of such a talented female pro was all that I needed to make me feel 110% prepared for Fernie. Leah and I focused on learning how to choose lines, comp judging and technical aspects of my skiing; though by far the most valuable part of skiing with Leah, was learning how to mentally prepare yourself for both competing and challenging yourself every day on the mountain.

I showed up in Fernie a few weeks later, not knowing what to expect, and not really knowing anyone. It ended up being a blast. I crashed in qualifiers (with a huge grin on my face), but before I had my skis back on, I knew I would be back for more comps! The skiers I met in Fernie were all incredible people from across the west, and the environment was one of both pushing each other and supporting each other to make sure we all constantly improve and constantly have fun doing the sport that brings us all together! If you are a girl that can rip and have never thought about skiing a comp, I can promise you, you will have an incredibly memorable experience and improve your skiing while doing it! Go for it!

 

Alex and new Friends

The day was truly a dream and we can’t thank the team at Great Canadian enough for making it happen! Re-live our dreamy day with the photographs below

loading the great canadian helicopter! Andy Mirabito Photo

Leah Evans checking the scene

morning lite

Me, taking some shots. Andy Mirabito Photo

Leah and I. First true heli turns of my life! Andy Mirabito Photo

I think I love life

Leah, switch in the pow! Andy Mirabito Photo.

me! Andy Mirabito Photo.

Zones

Up up and away!…. Andy Mirabito

GCH. Andy Mirabito Photo

Leah popping outta the trees! Andy Mirabito.

Me having a pow wow. Andy Mirabito

Leah

Leah is a heart in the sky!

Hiking and a sunset. Andy Mirabito

Leah and Zoya having the best time

The End

You used to catch a glimpse of her shredding the slopes of Kicking Horse, but this interior BC girl is now onto her 2nd season of dominating the Whistler Blackcomb ski scene. Tessa Treadway is young, married to the youngest Treadway brother Dave and skis like a prettier version of all 3 brothers. A hunting, clothing designing, non-profit working professional skier. Yep, guess she’s got a lot going for her. Read more to find out what this Chick Who Rips has planned for the winter.

(Interviewer: Sarah Frood, Images: Amy McDermid)

SF: Age?
Tessa Treadway: I am 23 and a half

SF: Sponsors?
Tessa Treadway: Peak Performance, Faction Skis and Carrera

SF: Favorite place to ski?
Tessa Treadway: Dogtooth range in Golden BC

SF: We’ve heard rumors that you’re the Treadway brothers little sister? Fact?
Tessa Treadway: Fiction…yuck!

SF: What projects or goals do you have for this winter?
Tessa Treadway: The Rad Boob Calendar was my big project for this winter and it has been very successful! We have raised lots of money and are hopefully blessing lots of people by using our talents and gifts! Other than that Dave and I are hanging out with the high school kids of Pemberton and spending as much time on snow as we can.

SF: What’s your favorite type of skiing, big mountain or little mountain?
Tessa Treadway: I actually prefer HUGE Mountain skiing.

SF: Who are your favorite boobs to ski with?
Tessa Treadway: Sarah Frood (you), Kirsten Lyle, Izzy Lynch, Leah Evans…and many more!

SF: Speaking of boobs, tell us about the Rad Boob Club Calendar and why you decided to start the project?
Tessa Treadway: I was getting annoyed at how selfish skiing can be and I was ready for a change in focus. The Rad Boob Club is all about promoting healthy outdoor lifestyles and encouraging other women to do what they can to be healthy!

SF: You’re doing other non-profit work too with Pemberton youth. What’s the deal?
Tessa Treadway: Dave and I have started up Pemberton Young Life. We are leading skiing, hiking, climbing and surfing trips all focused on loving teenagers! Look for us on the Blackcomb every Saturday, and I can tell you more about it.

SF: You’ve been traveling to promote the Rad Boob Club Calendar all over BC. How many times have you driven across BC this month?
Tessa Treadway: Five, hopefully next time I will get to stop at Miniature Land and the Enchanted Forest!

SF: I hear you can gut a partridge as well as you ski? What other skills do you have?
Tessa Treadway: My sewing skill is the skill I’m most proud of at the moment.

SF: How DO you gut a partridge?
Tessa Treadway: No problem take a look….http://www.doglotion.com/chicks-who-rip-interview-tessa-treadway

Carrie I signed up for Girls Day Out knowing that it would be an awesome weekend, and like each past event, Leah and the GDO team did not disappoint!

Girls Day Out is all about getting females together to share our passion for all things ski. There were great coaches, fabulous women, delicious lunches, and most importantly, lots of skiing. Conditions at Kicking Horse were good; hard-packed in places and the traverses were a bit sketchy, but the chutes near the end of the traverses were sweet. A few cms on Saturday night helped to soften things up. A tip on the traverses: stay just below the main track and below all the rocks, you don’t have to ride the top of the ridges to get to the good stuff.

Our coaching group was working on doing drops all weekend. Our mantra: hands out, skis up, and eyes open! So much fun! We also had a good time finding little kickers to practice 180s on. Good job ladies – You all rock!

Follow Christine’s Adventures at www.rockies-insider.com

All I can say it that Girls Day Out is all about sharing the passion for skiing and that is exactly what happened this past weekend at Kicking Horse Mountain Resort. Several females realized what they can accomplish on skis and where able to learn many things fromour amazing coaches: Izzy Lynch, Tessa Treadway and Sarah Frood. Also our guest nutritionist Pam Romanchuk reinforced that food is fuel for your body and mind! Stay tunned to the site for pictures and some healthy recipes that will have you revved to ski with your best girlfriends every weekend!