Mammoth Athletes on Top 

 Ladies and gentlemen, a round of applause for the Mammoth Mountain team skiers and snowboarders who are taking winter sports to a new level. Mammoth-sponsored athletes have been setting foot on podiums in 2008. Congratulations to:

Stacey Cook 23-year-old US Ski Team member and Mammoth-sponsored racer Stacey Cook had a breakout ski performance at the 2008 US Alpine Championships March 23-24, winning two titles in two days: Super G and Downhill. “I think the downhill title is the big one to win at U.S. Championships,” she said in a news feature on USSkiTeam.com. “It’s the event that people strive most to be best at.”

Greg Bretz Five podiums (three World Cup, two Grand Prix) and an appointment to the US Snowboarding halfpipe pro team is not bad for a 17-year-old. Greg is a homegrown Mammoth shredder and has been demanding attention all season. “It’s so exciting to see one of our junior team athletes make it to the next level,” said Oren Tanzer, director of Youth Action Sports at Mammoth. Greg took his first career World Cup win at Stoneham, Quebec on March 9.

Danny Kass Rarely failing to impress in the halfpipe, Danny Kass won the top prize shiny cup (and $20,000) at the Vans Cup Superpipe March 1-2. This was a repeat win for the Mammoth team rider who brought seven styley first place tricks to Northstar’s pipe.

Mason Aguirre Mason was also at the Vans Cup, but more notable were his big wins this season: battling against snowy weather at the World Superpipe Championships (second place) March 8 in Park City and at the Burton US Open Halfpipe in Vermont (also second place) March 23.

Molly Aguirre Molly has been a busy lady with pipe and slopestyle contests. She proved her spot among the best at the Vans Cup at Tahoe Rail Jam March 1-2, where she won first place for riding the on-snow multi-feature rail set-up.

Trevor Jacob And a mention for one of the flying snowboarding chickens at the Roxy Chicken Jam, 15-year-old Trevor Jacob. “Trevor has been competing all over the place, from Vermont to Colorado, and brining home good results,” said Tanzer

The season has unofficially come to an end. Woo hoo.  And what an exciting end it was.  The past three weeks have definitly been the highlight of the season, and now that I can finally take a breath I will take you back. Three weeks ago-  After I wrote last I continued my journey across Switzerland to the race venue in Crans-Montana Switzerland.  It was the first time I had been to Crans-Montana and it was absolutely beautiful.  You could see the Matterhorn across the valley as well as the tallest mountain in Switzerland, which I am spacing the name of right now.  As far as the race was concerned this was another one this year to throw out of the memory bank.  Conditions were very different each day, and the weather was unstable.  In the downhill race, I placed just out of the points again, to have a less then spectacular end to the season in what I consider my best event.  The second race was a super combined, in which I found myself in a comfortable place in the first run of downhill only to screw it up on the second run of slalom.  I still managed to get a few points and end the season with a satisfactory ranking in that event.   Two weeks ago- Excited to get out of Switzerland and move on, the next destination took me to Bormio, Italy.  Bormio was hosting the “Grand Finals” which is the final event of the World Cup season for all skiing disciplines including Alpine, Snowboard, and Cross Country.  It was the first time since the Olympics all these events have been brought together and made for a very exciting environment.  I only qualified to race in one event here; the Super-G.  The men took to the coarse in the morning, which was very helpful for me as I got to watch them run the same course we were to take on that afternoon.  I drew bib number 1 for the 3^rd time this season, which was half of the races in the event.  Lucky me!  It really helped me a lot to get to talk to the boys about the course before hand, as being the first one out of the gate usually equals having very little information about what lies ahead.  I took the aggressive attitude the boys put on display and had one of my best runs all year.  I came in 13^th (for the 3^rd time this year) and was happy to end the World Cup on a high note.  My final ranking in Super-G was 21^st in the world, which matches my best ever season ranking.  That was very welcoming to see, after what I felt was not my best year.  After Bormio it was finally time to leave Euro land! Last week- Instead of going home after Europe, the next destination was Sugarloaf, Maine for one last week of racing at the Nature Valley US Alpine Championships.  I would have sworn by the weather it was not the end of March, but more like the beginning of January.  We were caught in a brutally cold and windy storm that cancelled 4 of 8 days of scheduled events, but somehow the race crew was still able to pull off every championship race on the schedule.  To add the perfect topping to my season I came away with TWO National Championship Titles in Downhill and Super-G!!!  I could not have hoped for a better championship and was so excited to be at the top of the podium.  Check out the photos.   Thanks for checking in and I will be back with you soon as the next few weeks include some very exciting events as well.  Stacey

Here are a couple of press releases from my recent results at US Nationals.  Enjoy!

Stacey

Boston Globe
Cook feels just super about title
CARRABASSETT VALLEY, Maine - Last week, Stacey Cook was lamenting what had been a tough competitive season for her, one in which World Cup results did not match her hopes and expectations. But if there was one way to boost her confidence at the US Alpine Championships, it was winning a national title.
Full Story: http://www.boston.com/sports/other_sports/skiing/articles/2008/03/24/cook_feels_just_super_about_title/

Lewiston Sun Journal
Cold Comfort: Cook, Francis win super G titles
CARRABASSETT VALLEY - Stacey Cook doesn’t really like Maine temperatures. The Mammoth, Calif., native finds it difficult to adapt to Vacationland’s seemingly frigid climate and recent gusty winds, but if she can continue to win National Championships in such an environment, it is a trade-off she’ll gladly accept.
Full Story: http://www.sunjournal.com/story/257787-3/LocalSports/Cold_comfort/#

Associated Press
Cook, Francis survive gusting winds to win at US Alpine ChampionshipsCARRABASSETT VALLEY, Maine: Battling gusting, swirling winds, Stacey Cook and Kevin Francis claimed the super G titles at the U.S. Alpine Championships. Cook collected her second national title when she edged teammate Leanne Smith by five hundredths of a second. Cook also won the super G crown on the same hill in 2006.

Full Story: http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/03/23/sports/SKI-US-Alpine-Championships.php

Lewiston Sun Journal
Cook dishes up win
CARRABASSETT VALLEY - Lindsey Vonn brought the World Cup champion’s globe to the U.S. Alpine Championships.
Stacey Cook is the one carrying the broom. Cook completed her sweep of the speed events in the national skiing showcase at Sugarloaf, edging Vonn by nine-hundredths of a second to capture the women’s downhill Monday afternoon.

Full Story: http://www.sunjournal.com/story/257931-3/LocalSports/Cook_dishes_up_win/

Racing at the Loaf fast and furious
CARRABASSETT VALLEY - Downhill competition at the U.S. Alpine Championships is so fast and intense that it typically follows two full days of training runs. This year, thanks to last week’s non-stop nasty weather at Sugarloaf, training was like sound check at a concert or a few minutes on the putting green before a golf tournament.
Full Story: http://www.sunjournal.com/story/257929-3/LocalSports/Racing_at_the_Loaf_fast_and_furious/

Boston Globe

Downhill wins take shape for Cook, Lanning
CARRABASSETT VALLEY, Maine - Stacey Cook’s story seemed to have a happy-enough ending: a disappointing World Cup season capped off by a national title in super G Sunday at Sugarloaf. And, by the way, wasn’t World Cup champ Lindsey Vonn among the racers Cook beat that day?
Full Story: http://www.boston.com/sports/other_sports/skiing/articles/2008/03/25/downhill_wins_take_shape_for_cook_lanning/

Associated Press
Stacey Cook, T.J. Lanning win downhill national championships
CARRABASSETT VALLEY, Maine –Stacey Cook won her second title in two days by edging out Lindsey Vonn, while T.J. Lanning beat Andrew Weibrecht for the men’s crown at the U.S. Alpine Championships on Monday. Organizers of the event at Sugarloaf ski area made up for time lost to weather by conducting four downhill runs — two mandatory training runs and two national championship races.
Full Story: http://www.boston.com/sports/other_sports/skiing/articles/2008/03/24/stacey_cook_tj_lanning_win_downhill_national_championships/

Boston Herald - cool AP photo of Stacey signing a kids helmet
http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/other_sports/general/view.bg?articleid=1082725&srvc=rss
  

As I write now, I am sitting in a hotel room by myself in Zurich.  A few days on the road has left me here, as I was too tired to drive any further last night, and the lure of free internet has me staying longer than I should this morning.  This past weekend was an interesting one for sure.  The world cup tour was suppose to race in Zweisel, Germany, but thanks to one of the fiercest storms I have ever seen, we sat in the hotel most of the time (may I add in the dark as the power was out!).  I actually heard that the storm was named a hurricane, which would be my first!  Lightning struck the truck that carries the big screen from venue to venue and blew it up I heard, didn’t actually see it though.  And the wind… wow the wind!  It was a bummer not to get to race there; the fan base is really strong in Zweisel (pronounced like weasel, but with a Z).  Next time you drink a glass of wine in a restaurant, check the bottom of the wine glass, as it was probably made in Zweisel.  Zweisel is huge in the world of glass and crystal.  Yesterday took me to Munich with the rest of the team that still remains in Europe to meet with the Munich base of one of our new team sponsors Delta.  We had an autograph signing in the airport, which drew about 50 airport employees and 1 traveler, and then enjoyed a very tasty Bavarian meal.  Now I am off to Crans-Montana, Switzerland for the next race.  I have heard it has been warm there, and the first training day has already been cancelled because they have to helicopter snow in to the bottom of the course.  Well, I really need to leave, so until next time, Smile!

My ride through the last few weeks can only be described as an emotional roller coaster.  I have come to name my roller coaster  “The Blizzard” as I found that best describes a bad mid winter storm.  My roller coaster starts out like most, on a long climb with the anticipation of what is going to happen ahead. It seems like this climb goes on and on, you get higher and higher, and you know in the back of your mind what goes up must come down.  You reach the top of this peak and you stall, looking over the edge.  Suddenly you fall.  You are picking up speed and you see things flying by without recognizing what it is you are seeing.  All you can do is hope that your cart is still attached, and you can regain control and stay on track.  You fall about as low as you can fall and you hit a compression at the bottom.  Your speed is enough to keep you going as you twist and turn, go up and down some more hit one more high speed loop that carries you into the finish. 

My roller coaster was designed with each section having specific meanings.  The first long climb is the whole start of my season.  It has been filled with some great skiing, but mediocre results, and anticipation that things will break through at some point.  While I was climbing this part of my coaster, I was hoping that the top would bring that breakthrough, but it brought quiet the opposite.  The stall at the top of the hill with the news I got one night in Switzerland that my Grandpa had passed away.  A couple thousand miles from home, and news like that was when I went over the edge of my hill, and started to pick up speed.  I knew that all I could do at the time was try to focus on skiing and do my best.  I went out to the race hill that weekend with an inspiration to ski for my grandpa, as that was always something he loved and was so proud of.  At the finish line, my coaster reached the bottom of my hill and hit the compression.  I was greeted at the finish with a time so unbelievably slow I thought at first it was a timing error.  Unfortunately my time was right and there was not a whole lot of explanation for it.  I thought that was going to be my time to shine, with my grandpa looking over me, but instead I got last place but a large margin.  So now the coaster starts to twist and turn, cause I knew the only thing to do is pick myself up and continue on and look towards the future.  It goes up with the amazing support I have from my coaches and teammates, and then down and hits a corkscrew when again and again I don’t get the results I am looking for. Then you go into the loop when finally I get news that puts a smile on my face. Even after a season of things not going my way, I was able to do just good enough to make World Cup Finals in Super-G, which is reserved, for the top 25 racers in the world.  So without the weight of having to qualify for that on my shoulders I am on the final stretch to the finish still going full speed! I get off my roller coaster, maybe slightly unstable, but smarter about what to expect next time you jump aboard.

A friend recently asked me why it was taking so long to write my next journal entry.  I told him that I didn’t know what to write, that I needed to be inspired by something.  Then I realized that I was answering my own question.  What inspires me? What inspires everybody? It is a deep question and my journal was further delayed as I tried to answer the answer to my first question.  Anyways, I came to a conclusion that I am inspired by two specific pieces of my life. 

First I am inspired by the journey.  Skiing has turned into a journey, and every journey has to have a purpose.  My purpose is obvious to me, to be the best skier in the world.  To get there I am learning takes a lot of time, patients, and hard work.  To wake up everyday and work so hard and do everything I can to be the best is all just stepping stones along the path.  To look back at what I have done as well as look forward to what I want to do inspires me.  The achievements of the past and the unpredictability of the future is what keeps me going. 

Second, I am inspired by the people around me.  Some people might say that this is a weakness, that I should be able to fuel myself.  But the sincere appreciation of everyone that is helping me makes me want to show that their effort is paying off.  When I stand in the start gate, I want to prove to my coaches that their endless amount of work and support can produce, and to my sponsors that they are backing the right person on and off the slopes, and to my family and friends that just a normal person from a small town can make it on the world stage. 

 Right now, this is what I live for.  Everyday is special to me, and not everyone in this world can say that.  I know I am one of the lucky ones.  But having an inspiration can make everything worthwhile.  Maybe you have seen the video of the dad who competes in triathlons, pulling or pushing his son the whole way solely for the purpose of seeing the joy on his disabled son face? Talk about an inspired dad.  So, to challenge your brain for a couple of days, what inspires you?  What is it that keeps you going? Sometimes it is important to remind yourself every now and then! 

I have had an exciting new Christmas experience this year.  An Austrian Christmas in a farmhouse with a very nice family!  I was invited to spend Christmas with the family of a fellow racer Marlies Schild.  Marlies, as well as being one of the most successful skiers on the slopes today, is a very nice person and has an extremely down to earth family.  Other than knowing Marlies from the skiing tour, most of the faces in the house were new to me.  When I first arrived I meet right away Grandma and Grandpa who spoke absolutely no English at all.  Then I started meeting the rest of the family one by one as they arrived back from all their daily activities that usually has families of active children spread out across the globe.  I found it easy to remember names as every boy in the house was named Josef except the youngest son named Lucas.   Marlies has one older brother, a younger sister, and a younger brother.  It was kind of a running joke of the night that Marlies’s sister named Bernadette looked more like me than anyone in her family.  Once everyone was home, we all sat around a table and drank tea and ate the most delicious homemade cookies.  Dinner was prepared downstairs in the grandparents living quarters, and we all made our way there once it was ready.  Dinner was so good, yet very different than the traditional American feast.  It was a very simple yet plenty tasty soup of chicken broth and noodles, accompanied by the best sausage I have ever had.  It was a veal sausage that was made that morning by the butcher and must be cooked right away.  It is special only for Christmas.  Bread was also served fresh from the bakery, which is always tasty in Europe.  Dinner was followed by more cookies (I would have like to have found the inexhaustible supply of these cookies, to take a pound or two home) and some singing and story reading.  Marlies played the guitar and Lucas was incredible on the accordion, and they even played Jingle Bells so that I could join in the singing.  The party then moved back upstairs to the Christmas tree, which had real candles and sparklers going which was a novelty to me.  I had only heard that people actually put real candles in their trees in order to successfully burn down their homes, but never seen it.  The sparklers looked so cool and I was told that they have been doing that since the grandma and grandpa were young.  Presents were given, and there were a lot of happy faces.  One thing I noticed about the presents was that they mostly give practical necessary things, and not so much toys and unnecessary items that we in America are accustomed to getting. They gave me some honey from the area, and a dictionary of their local dialect, which is so difficult to understand.  They said they gave it to me to practice so that next year I can understand them better.  A very thoughtful gift.  More cookies followed presents with some coffee, and then some bed time soon after.  The next day (actually Christmas day) saw everyone go off in different directions again in the morning and then convene back at the homestead of a special “Turkey Dinner” lunch that they made to make me feel more at home.  It was incredible and so tasty to eat and American meal.  They got the recipe from some American friends and they turkey from a friend that raised a couple on his farm.  Full turkeys are very hard to find over here.  I then had to make my way back to my European hometown of Kirchberg for a team dinner.  I am so thankful to the Schild’s for sharing their Christmas with me, and giving me the chance to fell like the holiday actually exists.  It was very special and something I will always remember.  Hope you all had a very special Holiday also. 

Mother Nature seems to have it in for me these days.  For some reason, I am just not on her side right now.  The World Cup circuit is now in full swing with the first two weekends of speed racing in the record books.  In the last two years, the first race of the year has brought me my best result for the entire seasons.  This year I am hoping it is the opposite, cause the new season sure has not started off right. I feel I am skiing the best I ever have though, which is why I am writing this entry in a happy tone.  Two weeks ago, in Lake Louise Canada, the first speed race of the year got under way.  We had three days of training before the racing started, and I was in the top 10 every day.  Come race day, I felt prepared, and ready to charge down the icy track.  I skied a good run, but arrived in the finish to find myself so far off the front of the pack it was almost amusing.  There was not a whole lot of explanation for my time other than the fact that it was dumping snow, and very foggy when I went, all of which cleared out right after I went, to allow the other racers to see the track better.  Usually a mistake or a bad line down the course can explain a slow time, but the video of my run showed none of these.  But one bad result I can brush off and I was able to move on and excited for my next opportunity to show my stuff.  Next up was the only American stop on the tour in Aspen, Colorado.  This was my first time racing my best event, Downhill, in front of a home crowd.  Again we had two days of training on the course before the race.  In the second training run I was able to clock the 6^th fastest time and was confident and ready to give the home crowd something to cheer about.  Our first attempt to race on Friday was cancelled as it snow about 2 feet over night.  No one was crying too much, as it was one of the best powder days any of us have had in a couple of years.   I was joking I needed a snorkel because the snow was so deep in some spots it was hard to breath.  The race crew in Aspen was able to do an amazing job and prepare the track to race on Saturday.  Saturday morning I felt great and once again put down a run I was proud of until I saw my time in the finish.  This time the racer in front of me was held for a commercial break for the TV’s.  During the hold, the fog rolled in nice and thick, and I was barely able to see the first couple of gates on the course.  No one after the TV break was able to put down a good time, and the race was cancelled before all the racers were even able to go because of the fog. I am not normally one to blame my problems on something external, but the past two weeks have been so unexplainable otherwise.  I have just not been given the same conditions as some of the others that are winning.  But the good news, I know at some point I will be the one to be given the break, and will be cheering in the finish.  So in the meantime, I am keeping a smile on my face, and my chin up and will keep plunging away, and laughing at this string of luck that has not gone my way.   

To subscribe to Stacey’s Blog, simply write an email to subscribe@staceycook.net and state your name and email address, or click on Register below.  You can also find this blog at www.athleta.com under “Athleta in Action” then click on ”Introducing Stacey Cook.”  

In the spirit of the Thanksgiving holiday (and because of the fact that I will be aboard a plane on Thanksgiving Thursday) I would like to share with you my feelings on this holiday, but first as promised, the results from the last race.  I raced on October 27^th in Solden, Austria. Unfortunately the race did have quite the desired results. Nonetheless, it was good to get out of the starting gate for the first time this year and have that under my belt.  So back to Thanksgiving… It has always been one of my favorite holidays.  The giant feast is one of the main reasons.  My mom can cook one of the best Thanksgiving meals around, and my Auntie Gail’s Yams are to die for.  Don’t even get me started on Pumpkin Pie; I wait for it all year and enjoy every single little morsel.  I treasure how this day can bring family from all over the place together not to mention that I also love the Thanksgiving Day parade.  It is a tradition in my family to watch the parade and NFL football throughout the day.  But the true meaning of “Thanksgiving” is something that gets left in the dust. 

I remember in elementary school how we always did a Thanksgiving play with half of the class being Native American Indians, and the other half being Pilgrims. We went around the circle telling the story of how the two groups made peace for that day and what we were thankful for.  It is too bad that tradition ends in elementary school, cause I think it is good to remember at least once a year everything that we have to be thankful for.    Here is my shortlist.

I am first thankful for the people I have around me.  My family, friends, teammates, coaches, sponsors and supporters.  I am so lucky to be surrounded by such wonderful people and companies, and each and every person has played a part in my path till now.  I have the best group of teammates ever right now, and my coaches are amazing.  Rossignol, Athleta, and Mammoth are some of the most incredible sponsors, and I am so lucky to get to represent these companies with such high standards.  And my family has played the biggest part, and I cannot thank them enough.

Second, I am thankful for the fact that I get to do what I love.  To be able to ski and race around the world is a dream job, if I can even call it a job.  Most kids dream of being a professional athlete, and I am for sure living in a dream. 

Lastly, I am thankful for dogs.  They are mans best friend and the perfect companion.  Now I just have to figure out how to have a traveling dog!  You didn’t think I would have three serious thoughts, did you?

Happy Thanksgiving!

Stacey

Check out this video from www.usskiteam.com about my feelings on training at Keystone Resort! The link to the article is below.

Article- http://www.usskiteam.com/public/news.php?pA=2&dId=2&sN=1&aId=3109

Thanks,

Stacey