LIFE IN THE FREERIDE JUNIOR WORLD TOUR
WRITTEN BY SAM BUGGY
Origonally posted onparadiseskis.com
My name is Sam.
Im a 17 year old athlete on theFreeride Junior World Tour.
We dont usually know where exactly the competition is until this meeting.
We need to be well-rested for the demanding day ahead of us.
A typical morning starts at 6:00 AM or earlier.
At about 6:00 AM on Saturday, we wake up, eat breakfast, and drive to the mountain.
It will usually be later in the day when we get our next meal.
So, we must eat a good breakfast.
The team’s favourite is scrambled eggs with mushrooms, kale, and tomatoes.
Most of the time the mountain opens early for the competitors to travel to the competition face.
With Freeride Junior Tour events there are no practice runs.
Competitors memorize their lines while looking up at the face for any landmarks that will help during the run.
After around an hour of face inspection, the competition will start.
Typically you want to take this time to calm down, maybe stretch and listen to some music.
With about five riders until my bib number, I put my skis on and started my GoPro.
I double-check that my helmet and avalanche backpack are completely strapped on.
Then I find the perfect song for my run and pause it.
The staff says something like, 3, 2, 1 drop in and then you go.
When they say drop in I start my music and kick off from the start gate.
A run typically lasts about a minute to two minutes.
ABOUT SAM
Hi!
I grew up skiing on the east coast USA, but now I ski in Switzerland.LeysinandEngelbergare my home mountains.
you’ve got the option to catch me freeriding every time I ski.
When the lines are long I grab my touring gear and scramble for a new peak.
