Lake Louise Big Mountain Challenge

This past weekend I went to Lake Louise for the Junior Big Mountain Challenge. This was a very challenging competition because of the flat light that we had both days. The venue was on ER7 which is in a big bowl on the back side of the hill. Even with just overcast, it was flat light. Sadly the snow there was also terrible. It was a layer of ice which made the skiing that much harder.

The first day you couldn't see which affected the lines we chose because you had to be able to see your landing. During our inspection, we sprinkled tree branches on the snow so we could add some depth to the snow so it was a tiny bit easier to see the landings and find your take-offs.

After my inspection the trees I put down had become moved so by the time it was my run there were no trees in some of my landings. Which led my to accidentally put a hand down in the middle of my run and do a very big hip check/ small crash off a drop to flat. I wasn't happy with my first run at all; I didn't expect to qualify. I managed to edge my way into 8th which was the last qualifying spot.

Sunday morning when we woke up it was a blue bird day and It had snowed 20 cm in the past 2 days. That day I was super excited to compete because I had nothing to lose and I could see perfectly. I picked out a line that I couldn't wait to ski. Just before my run, the clouds started to roll in. It was a very light overcast so I could still ski, but it was getting thicker by the minute.

I managed to throw down a solid run that made me proud of my skiing ability. I wasn't sure what I would end up because I was so far back from the first day. I got awarded 3rd place overall with the second highest scoring run of the day! This ski hill has to be one of my favourite venues and I hope to compete there again next year.