Maui, Collingwood, Las Vegas, Canmore

Right from Vancouver MP and I headed to Maui. 

To be specific, we were staying in Paia and then Haiku, which are the less touristy parts of Maui.

I will let some of our pictures speak for themselves.

One day we decided to have an "active day" away from surfing. We decided to rent one paddle board between two of us and brought our snorkelling masks. We realized that this was the most efficient way to do two things at once.

We saw turtles almost everyday, whether it was while snorkelling, or while surfing. The turtles love to float near the surface of the water, just before the wave is about to break. I guess they too love the feeling of the water freely moving their bodies. 

 Mp and I thought that we would be able to both stand up and paddle. In between giggle fits and falling in, we realized that we were wrong.

Hookipa

 I got burnt the first day... I wasn't going to let that happen again.

The best teammate and travel companion!

One morning we woke up very early to drive up the volcano, Haleakala, to watch the sunrise. Although it was an early morning, it was worth every second of it. 

We met a few new friends and spent many hours exploring Hawaii and attempting to become locals!

Maui was an amazing experience. After I stopped waterskiing, I lost my love for the water. I forgot how much I love the sound of the waves smashing against the sand, as the birds sing in ecstasy. I missed the feeling of the waves rolling under my body, knowing that the ocean is more powerful than I am, but if we work together we can accomplish great things. Now, when I see a river, I think of surfing; when I make a GS turn, I feel like I'm surfing; when the sun comes out, I know that it is a good time to surf. I am hooked, and I bet you can see why!

After Maui, I went back home. First order of business was to sleep for 13.5hours and catch up on my sleep debt. Next, try to get the sand out of my hair and clothes, and finally... make Boulder love me again.

 I was able to have some time to myself to reflect on the year. I find writing to be a way to escape. To put the words in my head on paper, seeing the words that are scrambled in my head, set straight.

I was able to run on my favourite trails.

And witness life from the uncomplicated mind of a dog.

Next up on the schedule was Las Vegas. 

I had a photo-shoot in Vegas for Sports Net Magazine, for the beauty issue. I had an amazing time and the photographer made sure that he got the shot no matter what. 

I have never done anything like this, but it was a great experience and I am excited (and nervous) to see the photos... I had just a little make up on.. 

 Oh and I got to ride in a Ferrari that they rented for James Hinchcliffe's shoot.

Next, I packed up my life and finally got back to the mountains!

Our team traveling up to Sunshine with all of our gear and spend 10 days skiing and staying up on the mountain. In the morning we would do about 10 runs of super G or GS.

In the afternoon, we would practice our skier cross starts and features! At first we were terrified, but slowly we started to get the hang of the rollers and the wu-tang.

 A few of the days we were towed up by a snow mobile, so we would maximize the number of runs we did and minimize our time on the chair.

Robbie Dixon volunteered to be our snow mobile driver for the day!

He made sure never to miss out on a google tanning session.

We were able to get a lot accomplished during these 10 days. We only skied GS and Super G and it was nice to think about skiing in different ways that I know will transfer over to my slalom nicely.

We felt like Europeans during this camp because we trained hard all week, but on the weekend we were able to head home to Canmore and get rested up for another 5 days on snow.

I've been skiing for a long time. I have struggled and overcome some of those struggles. This life is messy and beautiful. However, I can honestly say that I love skiing today more than I ever had and for that I am thankful.