2009 US National PGS Champion

Posted by admin on April 9, 2009 12:33 pm / 0 Comments

It has been a busy week since returning home to Aspen from NorAm Finals, combined US/Canadian Nationals, at Mont-Tremblant, Quebec, Canada where I finished the competition season as the 2009 US National Snowboarding PGS Champion. I was stoked to wrap up the season on the podium and on a high note. It is my tenth US National title. The racing conditions were not easy in Mont-Tremblant with a challenging mix of ice and spring slush and rain, classic April East Coast. I was proud that I was able to persevere through the interesting snow conditions and weather to claim the PGS National title and finish fourth in slalom the next day, just behind my friend and teammate Josh Wylie. Mont-Tremblant is a cool place. Missy and I had a lot of fun walking around the base village and checking it out. I’m hoping to continue the momentum from the podium finish into this summer’s training and preparation for next winter.

I rallied back to Aspen from Quebec to ride in Aspen with Zach and Conor with Make-A-Wish last Thursday. We had an awesome day of riding at Buttermilk. Last weekend was my 9th Annual Aspen Klug Spring Snowboard Camp 2009. Everyone had fun, improved and stayed healthy. I really enjoyed hosting the camp again and sharing my snowboarding experience with all of the participants. My guest coaches ruled. Thanks to everyone that joined us and helped make the camp a great success! Stay tuned for next spring’s camp dates, our tenth anniversary camp. I will post the camp photos for download soon.

I celebrated a successful end to the competitive season and a great snowboard camp with a hut trip to Goodwin Greene Hut above Aspen with my friends. It was a long five hour split-board in Tuesday night. We arrived at the hut just before dark and enjoyed a spectacular sunset over Richmond Ridge. We rode down Gold Hill in the dark with our headlamps. I hiked Gold Hill yesterday morning and made a few fun turns from the top. It was nice being in the backcountry again spending time with good friends, one of my favorite things to do.

I’m headed over to USASA Nationals tomorrow to cheer on the youth and junior racers and do some final filming for our “Carve” TV special and documentary project. We plan to edit the piece this summer for late summer release. I’m excited to share the project which showcases the sport of alpine snowboarding and the athletes. I’m happy to be back home in Aspen after a long winter on the road. I’m looking forward to freeriding and mountaineering this spring around Aspen. I’m hoping to take a break sometime this spring and do some kiting and surfing and head to Moab for some mountain biking. Thanks for checking in and for all your support this winter! Enjoy your springtime. Happy Easter!