Sammy Starts with a Bang

I was really stoked to start skiing again once I arrived in Switzerland for the Freestyle.Ch. I took a break from the southern hemisphere this summer. I needed to let my body rest and get strong. I had not skied in over a month it felt like forever! Once I saw the jump, like all city competitions, it looked pretty sketchy. This one had a really big compression where the unusually steep landing met the flat. I was really confident in the trick I wanted to do. Before the contest I told myself to just "have fun," which I did. I did a double cork 1080 - it felt smooth, just the way I wanted to do it. I ended up winning the semifinal, and going into the final I tried to remain calm. Boom, after what seemed like a quick flash, I won the Freestyle.ch. It was really cool to start my season off with a big win. I was training really hard this past summer in Whistler, Canada and Mt. Hood, Oregon. It felt good to feel my hard work paying off.

After Zurich, I flew home from Europe to Oregon. I was home for just enough time to get rid of my jet lag. Then it was time to fly back across to Berlin, Germany. I was super stoked to go to Berlin! I have heard a lot about Berlin growing up. I felt really fortunate to be able to check the city out. I flew in a day early so I could meet up with one of my friends I grew up with, who was in Europe studying abroad. It was a lot of fun, and I tried not to think about the contest too much, my confidence was high from the week before. We checked out the Berlin Wall, toured some museums - it was cool. Then it was time to get to work. The jump in Berlin was almost identical to the jump the previous week in Zurich. All the riders felt really comfortable right away. Everyone was throwing down like crazy. Double cork 12 followed by double cork 12, all day! In the end I ended up getting 2nd, which was cool. I stomped a double cork 12 off a relatively small jump so I gained confidence from the contest and Henrik Harlaut won. He's a good friend of mine, so I was pumped for him. Now I am back at home resting up and getting strong. I was lucky enough yesterday to hike up Mt. Hood a ways and ski my favorite run at Meadows resort, 1 Bowl. I skied 1 Bowl twice top to bottom - no rocks! Such a good feeling to link up turns again!

I hope everyone has a great winter and lots of POW days!

Sammy C

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