Freestyle weekend at Buller

This weekend I headed to Buller for what was to be a weekend of new experiences!


First new experience... Driving into Yea solo at 7pm on Friday night, I was asked by police to do a U-turn, drive all the way back to the Hume Highway and take a 1.5 hour detour to Buller (due to a road closure in Yea). I was not in the mood to turn my already 3.5 hour drive into 5 hours, so I decided to take a risk and follow the directions of locals, guiding me to a dodgy single-lane dirt road in the middle of nowhere, with not a light in site. After 30 minutes on this dirt track, I ended up getting lost in the dark, having basically no idea where I was. Luckily a local driving past noticed the hazard lights and a 22 year old girl with a massive map splayed on the dash of the car. Kindly he stopped to give me directions. Thinking back on it now, probably not the smartest move... Let's just say I'm just glad I haven't seen Wolf Creek!


I spent all of Saturday guest coaching TBR, teaching the groms how to lay down some carve turns. In the afternoon, the coolest chicks on the mountain all met at 3pm at Koflers for a quick hot chocolate before we ventured out for an hour and a half of skiing. Despite the weather not being 'brilliant', the snow was great and everyone was really enthusiastic. We skied the recently opened Standard Run, as well as a few down Shaky Knees. Due to the massive turn out (over 25 girls...), we decided to split the group into three. Zoe took the girls who were up for learning 180s; Katie, with her moguls experience, worked on short turns; and myself and Nat took those who were keen to try some big carve / "big mountain" turns.


We had girls of all ages and from all skiing backgrounds. Everyone seemed to have a really great time, meeting new people and doing what we all love... skiing!


At the end of the afternoon, the Chick of the day was awarded to Alice (from Australia's aerial development program) for nailing her first 180 spin! She won a pair of sexy hot pink poles, kindly donated by Shafted ski poles.


To finish up, the girls unwinded by doing a one hour yoga session at the La Trobe Centre. A great way to finish off a fun afternoon!


I'm looking forward to joining in the next Chicks with Stix session at Buller in two weeks time!

Swapping the books for the bikini in Bali

Last week after exams, I ditched my uni books for my bikini, and headed to Bali for a 6 day pre-winter holiday. Being a skier, it’s not often that I get the chance to have a summer holiday, so I grasped the opportunity and soaked up some rays before the winter really kicks off.

I stayed in Seminyak for 6 days with a friend, Julia de Campo, where we spent copious amounts of time on the beach and in the surf.

The highlight of the holiday was the adventurous day trip to Lembongan Island, a beautiful tiny island 30 minutes off the coast of Sanua, Bali. Cruising around on scooters, I managed to find the infamous turquoise-water cliff jump, recommended by a friend. Jumping off the 12m cliff was the easy part. The scary part was trying to grab the dodgy ladder in a big sea swell, and then climbing back up.

The running (wo)man

Cliche but nevertheless still beautiful

Getting my surf on with three new friends from Hong Kong

Within 24 hours, I went from being on the beach in a toasty 30 degrees, to getting off the plane in Melbourne at a chilly 6 degrees. I jumped straight in the car and drove 7 hours solo to Jindabyne, where I am now spending the next week training on snow.

I’ll be a Buller next weekend, and am really looking forward to my first Chicks with Stix session of the season on Saturday afternoon.

From 52nd to 33rd to 18th in the World...

The 2010/11 winter season has finally come to an end, and what a season it’s been! There have been many highs and lows, new friends, great experiences, and overall an incredible five months.

Today was the last race of the season; World Cup finals in Voss, Norway. I finished in 15th place, making it my 5th top 15 result on World Cup this season, and 9th top 20. Overall I finished in 18th place in the World rankings. Last year I was 33rd, and the year before that 52nd, so it has been quite a massive improvement in two years!

I am now on my way home to Australia. I am looking forward to some warm weather, sleeping in my own bed, and a good coffee! I will be heading straight back to uni, where I’ve already missed the first four weeks of my third year Architecture degree. Hopefully it won’t take too long to catch up!

I’ve put together another video blog from the last part of the season. Click on the below link to view it online!

Katya Crema - Video Blog 4 - End of Season from Katya Crema on Vimeo.

 

Now for a quick summary of the season in a few words…

Best new experience: Backcountry hiking and skiing in Verbier, Switzerland.

Worst experience: The unfair decision to re-run my best race at World Champs.

Favourite ski cross track: Grindelwald, Switzerland.

Best pizza: San Candido, Italy

Favourite new destination: London

Best view: Top of Grindelwald, Switzerland. View of the Eiger and Jungfrau Mountains.

I hope you’ve enjoyed keeping up-to-date with my somewhat crazy and fast-paced life overseas on the World Cup Ski Cross tour.

(Dani (CAN), Ophelie (FRA), Kelsey (CAN) and I - World Cup Finals, Voss)

(Spring in Norway! It still looks like mid-Winter. I can't see the snow going anywhere for a long time!)

Qualified for World Cup finals!

Great news! My most recent 14^th place result in Branas, Sweden, has put me into 15^th place on the overall World Cup rankings list, securing my spot in finals next week. Only the top ranked 16 women and 32 men qualify for the final World Cup of the season. This is the first time I have finished within the top 16, so I’m very excited!

Here in Branas, I qualified in 14^th place, however was unable to progress to semi finals today. I had a tough heat; racing against three girls who have each won World Cups this season; Marte Hoeie Gjefsen from Norway, Ana Woerner from Germany, and Ophelie David from France.

We head to Oslo tomorrow and then on to Voss on Wednesday.

Will keep you posted with how it goes!

 

(Bib number 1)

Once again, disappointing 17th!

Hmm... so Meiringen didn't quite go to plan! I finished 17th in qualifications, just 0.2 of a second behind 16th, meaning that I missed out on a spot in finals today. This is the second time I have finished in 17th position on World Cup this season. Not quite what I had in mind after Grindelwald!


The good news is my past two World Cup results has moved me up the overall World Cup rankings. I'm currently sitting in 15th place in the overall standings (of non-injured athletes), meaning that I'm in a good position to qualify for World Cup finals. Only the top 16 girls and 32 guys are invited to compete at finals.


Tomorrow we head to Zurich for three days, then off to Scandinavia. Back to the cold! Switzerland has been beautiful, sunny, blue skies and warm. I'm assuming the weather in Sweden isn't going to be as kind to us! I have one more World Cup in Branas, Sweden, to secure my spot in the top 16 for finals in Voss, Norway.

(Flying high in qualifications, Switzerland)

Video blog 3 from Grindelwald, Switzerland

Katya Crema - Video Blog 3- Grindelwald, Switzerland from Katya Crema on Vimeo.

Lucky 13th, third time round!

Today I finished in 13th place, in the Grindelwald World Cup, Switzerland.  It is the third time I have finished in lucky 13th this season. Lets hope that things happen in three so I can break this trend and finish in the top 10!

Yesterday was qualifications. The training day was cancelled due to soft snow, so basically we had only two runs to figure the course out before it was time to race. The track was extremely fast with some big jumps and few turns…almost like a downhill. Speeds were estimated to be around the 100km/hour mark., which is very fast when you have three people racing next to you!

I qualified in 13^th position (out of a field of 30 girls), so I was happy to be well within the top half of the field. Top 16 women and top 32 men went through to finals the following day.

Unlike any other World Cup, the Swiss decided to do it in style and use a helicopter (instead of a chairlift) to transport the athletes to the top of the race hill during finals. The last time I rode in a chopper was three years ago in Meiringen when I injured my knee. It was a trip from the race hill to the hospital and all I could see was the ceiling of the helicopter, strapped into an ackea. So as you can imagine I was pretty excited!

The helicopter ride, although short, was a lot of fun. Flying through the Eiger and the Jungfrau, some of the most famous mountains in the world, was spectacular. It definitely made my day!

We are now in Meiringen, Switzerland, for the next World Cup. Again we have no training on the course due to warm snow conditions, so tomorrow is inspection only. Training is on Saturday and finals on Sunday. Let’s hope for another great result!

(Hitching a ride back into town with the Americans and Frenchies after training)

(Above the clouds in Grindelwald)

(The Eiger)

 

(Switzerland's most prestigious DJ)

(Public bib draw. Qualified 13th)

(Finals)

(Chopper rides for finalists)

(View from the helicopter)