Pat Biggs

A return to racing

2012-01-09T04:59:00.000-08:00

It's been great to be back racing! Conditions in the first two world cups have made it difficult to find my prior to injury form. Zagreb with +10celcius weather caused the course to fall into shambles after a few racers. Times got slower with every runner, and only a few made the second run from outside the 30 (highest being Lars at 36).

We were excited to arrive to Adelboden and see some ice on the course. It proved to be not what we expected and also fell in bad shape with hard jagged ruts which you would barely see due to heavy snow and wind. When only 37 of 70 best skiers in the world make it to the finish in the first run, you know you there's something up. Of those 30 that got to run in the second run, only 20 of those made it to the finish. WOW! Congrats to Mike Janyk for being so cat like out there finishing in 7th place. Best result for the slalom team this year, well done!

The sad note of the day was seeing teammate Julien Cousineau go down. Things are not looking good. He's on a flight home back to Canada for a full diagnostic of his knee. Speedy recovery my friend!

We're hunkered down in Kirchberg at the moment. The snow won't stop falling. We were lucky to make it through the Alberg on our drive back from Switzerland, the pass was closed due to avalanche danger shortly after we made it through.

Happy 2012!

2012-01-01T08:31:00.000-08:00

I've arrived safely in Europe. We were welcomed by a few feet of snow over the first few days, then by a couple of cm's of rain. Conditions for training have been great regardless, thanks to a great crew of coaches and staff with shovels and slipping. I've had two days in the gates.. kindof thrown right into some pretty high tempo stuff and trying to get up to speed with Cousineau, Spence, and White. I've faired well, and think with another two days of training I should be putting in some winning times.

We celebrated the new year with some fine cheese from Savoie before dinner. Merci Yul. Vous êtes trop gentils. (My french writting is poor, so excuse if I went wrong somewhere there)

On my day off today, I toured around where I'm staying in Kufstein. Right across the street from my hotel is this really cool castle. It's worth checking out if you're ever in the region.

Back in Action

2011-12-28T16:00:00.000-08:00

some of my first days back, borrowing a 4-wheeler to get up the hill while the lifts were closed at Camp Fortune. I'm now on my flight to europe ! training in austria to start

ALINEment: are you aligned?

2011-12-12T13:45:00.000-08:00

I was fortunate to be in Tommy and Lefebvre last week when owner/creator of ALINE insoles was there to explain to me the benefits of his ALINE system. I'm always skeptical about products that offer a miracle cure for your problems, but Gordon was great at explaining the benefits of this product, and was able to show with great accuracy before and after shots of how proper support of the foot while allowing it to move naturally rather than being locked (when all the shock is then taken by the ankles, knees, and hips). Check out how my right ankle was collapsing to the inside as I stood. On the right, it shows how the ALINEment supported my foot and aligned my foot, ankle and knee. Pretty cool. Head into Tommy and Lefebvre and check it out.
aline.com

Knee Injury sets me back a couple of months

2011-11-30T07:28:00.000-08:00

After returning home from Europe, the first world cup in Levi cancelled I thought "This is GREAT! I haven't missed anything. These few weeks my ankle and knee will have to recover and have me back and ready for the World Cup in Val D'Isere". Unfortunately, my knee kept clicking and causing problems even after extensive physio and treatment. It was time to face reality and go for the dreaded MRI to figure out what was going on inside my left knee.

They really make it nerve racking in the sense that you leave the MRI clinic with the fate of your knee on a CD, but without an analysis from the technician. That night I figured I would try and learn how to read an MRI on youtube so I could know before I met the Doctor the next day. Turns out I'm not an MRI technician, and could barely figure out where the lateral meniscus was on the 100's of images. The next morning I met with the Doctor. It was a little disheartening hearing the news that I'd have to sit out the first half of the season. A torn lateral meniscus being the culprit. One flap had torn off the back half of the lateral side, two pieces of loose meniscus were floating around from another section, and some Grade II/III degradation of the cartilage. We scheduled in for surgery with a surgeon in Ottawa who's done my knee in the past. He had a cancellation for the next week and I was slotted in.

The arthroscopic surgery went well, no complications. Although you can usually walk out of these types of surgery, I was under strict orders to stay totally off my leg for almost a week. With the help of an ice and compression machine called the game ready, I was able to keep almost all the swelling out of the knee which has made the transition into rehab that much quicker. Its been a week ago today, and I'm now on the bike, doing quad strengthening, and walking up and down stair gingerly. My goal is to get back on skis in just less than two weeks from now. A slow build up of training should have me back up to full speed and racing in Zagreb if all goes well.

Levi Cancelled

2011-11-05T08:01:00.000-07:00

Hello. Unfortunately my ankle has been slow to recover. I tried skiing yesterday in severe pain, and threw in the towel. Now that Levi has been cancelled, not worth pushing my recovery. I'm flying home tomorrow to get everything fixed up. Here's a clip from the Canadian Team training in Zinal. My question to FIS, why are you scheduling races this time of year. It's not winter, it costs a fortune for the all the teams to find training this time of year and it's bankrupting our sport. I push that we race in winter. First races should be in December.

Indoor skiing at Wittenburg 2011

2011-10-31T05:26:00.000-07:00

Biggs Season Start 2011

2011-10-29T09:07:00.000-07:00

Hello Skiers!

lets start things off this year with a video

2011-10-27T10:59:00.000-07:00

Off to europe! there's been some slight change of plans due to the weather in Norway. I've abandonned plans to train in the north and have rescheduled some training indoors in Germany, and then in Switzerland with the Canadians and French. If you're not already following my facebook page at www.facebook.com/BiggsRacing for more frequent updates.

What do you think of my new helmet? I painted it myself. The boxing kangaroo, a symbol of my australian spirit coupled with the maple leaf

Mt Hutt

2011-09-06T20:17:00.000-07:00

A great view of Mt Hutt. Venue for the final ANC races this week

Someone told me today that the winds get so high up here that they can blow a car off the road. Last year a few hundred people were stranded overnight in the day lodge because the winds were so high.

From mountain to plains. What a view!

Days winding down

2011-08-31T01:13:00.000-07:00

After the torrential downpour the other day, I took this picture in the afternoon of the mountain. What a different sight! They can't all be like this.

My view out of my new B&B, The Turret overlooking Lake Hayes. Thanks James and Kate for hosting me this week. What a beautiful spot!

At the end of the camp, everything is hurting. Icing is a must to get ready for the next day. Target areas at the moment: hip flexors and lower back... mmm that feels good. Well it makes me feel much better the next day.

Slalom race pics

2011-08-29T22:43:00.000-07:00

Arcing up the ice. It was really slick up there, important to keep the weight over the outside ski

Some great shots taken by Martin Barwood. Check out more of his on facebook. A little back in this photo I think, but keeping them carving down the ice.

NZ architecture.. WOW, pretty cool

2011-08-29T22:00:00.000-07:00

This is just a great mix of stone work common in 19th century construction combined with clean lines... postmodernism?

again here, clean lines. Giant window headers, beautiful masonry, with the modern flair of rectangular box skylights. Photos taken at Millbrook, Arrowtown

ruling please?

2011-08-25T23:54:00.001-07:00

After hitting out of the snow, do you rake the snow, or leave it? It appears the snow had been raked before I got there... so the answer to me seemed rather obvious

A test run on the new GS skis

2011-08-25T16:45:00.000-07:00

Technician Robbie shows the appropriate way to carry the new 40m GS skis while Brad Spence tests them out in the slalom course (video to come). Behind in the slalom on race arena where the ice has been perfect for training.

Coronet SL ANZ Cup

2011-08-23T23:50:00.000-07:00

My friend and old serviceman Skube

JP decided to protect his shiny new teeth by borrowing my helmet fit with mouth guard. The last time skiing slalom without didn't work out too well for him. I like the logo there JP!

Chris and I on a beautiful day of training prior to the race. Things were gearing up well for some big action today. I had a rather solid first run finishing 4th from bib number 26 against a tough field. Second run I ran into several problems that slipped me back to 11th place.

GS race in Coronet

2011-08-22T01:16:00.001-07:00

It wasn't all that I had hoped for the first race of the year, but it wasn't all bad. This picture was great! First run I ran into a few problems on the flats and ended up in the powder. It slid me just out of the flip for second run by about a tenth. Second run starting 34, I clocked a time almost equal to the leaders starting right before me. Wednesday is the Slalom. Looking forward to it! Congrats Warner for the awesome showing today.

So what's up with this new GS rule???

2011-08-19T16:24:00.002-07:00

After a few seasons of relatively high injuries on the world cup circuit, the international ski body, FIS, has made an attempt to make the sport of ski racing safer. I think most changes in this regard are welcomed from the athletes if they make sense. But after an epic fail with their last round of ski regulation changes that cost ski companies millions, and increased injuries on the circuit, the trust from the athletes in FIS to govern these changes is low to say the least.

What has been proposed for the 2012 season is an increase in GS ski length to 195, and an increase in ski radius from 27m to 40m... I'll let you read the feedback from the GS skiers themselves on this one. Check out what Ted Ligety and Warner Nickerson had to say on their blog:
http://www.tedligety.com/
http://warnernickerson.com/

I'll leave you with this one photo of what GS might look like in a year from now. Maybe a comeback of the legends??

August 19th, 2011

2011-08-19T00:56:00.000-07:00

Overlooking the spectacular scenery at the slalom start. Thanks Stef for the great shot

The Storm has passed!

2011-08-17T01:55:00.000-07:00

Over the past three days I've gotten really good at taking chains on and off my Toyota Camry. With bald summer tires, it's a must to make it up or down any mogul of a hill on these icy roads. With a ride up to the top yesterday, only to have a coffee and drive back down, the drive today was very worth while. The sun was shining and training on race arena has resumed. Anna Goody posted this photo today. Check out her blog, it's also a lot better than mine. The photo shows the grooved out slope as we dug down to get to the hard snow in the SL courses. A pretty cool design was left on the slope at the end of the day. Water injection took place after training, so we should have a smooth, icy surface for training tomorrow!

A better Blog than mine

2011-08-12T17:14:00.000-07:00

For all of you interested in the latest information, tune into http://justripit.wordpress.com by Chris Powers. Chris has joined me down in New Zealand for the summer. He's been a great help on and off the hill, and has a keen eye for the sport. He also does a great job writing about what's going on down here. Check out his blog "Just rip it"

Keep it coming

2011-08-10T01:35:00.000-07:00

Another day of bluebird skies. Two more on the radar!

High winds and hard snow

2011-08-08T01:13:00.000-07:00

Here's a look at the cute B&B that is hosting Chris and I for the three week stint with the Canadian Team. The lovely hosts Pam and David have been great to us. They were even still nice when I told them I was cheering for the Wallabies, and not the All Blacks. Good thing the All Blacks came out ahead in the last All Nations Cup yesterday. Check it out www.willowbydowns.co.nz/

When the storm came in over the weekend, we sheltered it out in the valley. When we hit the snow again, high winds blistered the hills, icing over the slopes, and making for great conditions. Here's a photo of head coach Kip Harrington being blasted by a gust of wind.

NZ training

2011-08-04T23:29:00.000-07:00

New Zealand training underway! Couldn’t ask for better conditions than the last four days. Blue skies, hard snow, and peanut butter sandwiches. The new boards are a pleasure to ski on. Volkl has really put their best ski out there I’ve ever skied on; quick, precise and stable. Grrrrr. Go Racetigers! haha

Here's a great shot of lake Tekapo on the drive down from Christchurch to Queenstown. A great spot to take a pb&j break.

A great shot from the top of snow park

This is the hero snow I got to start out on this summer. Perfect for cruising. If you're a skier, you know what I'm talking about

New website!

2011-08-04T23:23:00.000-07:00

I’m really excited to present my new www.patbiggs.com
It was long over due and wanted to share something bright and interactive for all of you. Now that my videos skills are up to par, I’ll be making tons this season. You can check out my video page and follow my YouTube channel http://www.youtube.com/user/patbiggs
Join me on Twitter for updates and witty comments.
Tell me what you think about this new site, I’d love to hear from you. A special thanks to my lovely girlfriend Kimberly, who with her inspiring vision, brought this all together.

Switch to Volkl

2011-07-10T18:46:00.000-07:00

After long thought and testing in Molltal, Austria, I have made the switch back to Volkl. It's great to be back. Take a look at some video from my trip. We had some poor weather for the first few days, but the rain stopped, and temperatures dropped to make for some excellent training. Check it out

Skiers Helping Japan

2011-03-30T10:24:00.000-07:00

I recently received a letter from a friend and fellow racer on the World Cup, Akira Sasaki. I know everyone was in disbelief when they saw the frightening images that came across the news reels not long ago. It's even more shocking to hear an account from a friend who is witnessing the devastation first hand. It really puts things into perspective on how lucky some of us are. Akira and some fellow athletes have started a website where you can read their stories and make a contribution. Japan needs our help and I encourage everyone to help in anyway they can.

Please take the time to read what Akira has to say, and how you can help:

http://skiershelpingjapan.com

Wrapping up the season

2011-03-22T09:35:00.000-07:00

Things are winding down here on the slopes. My computer charger is fried, so I apologize for the lack of updates. We had an interesting week of racing at the Nor-am finals in Whistler. As hard as they try, I think Whistler should be left for the powder skiers. The first two Gs races were a wash, blizzard, soft snow, and fog. They were amongst the top 3 worst race conditions I've seen in 12 years of international racing.

The slaloms were slightly better, but still extremely soft racing conditions. The highlight of the week was winning the second run on the first day by half a second, but with some troubles in the fist run, it only moved me up to 5th place. The second day started much better, but ended quickly with a straddle near the bottom of the first run.

The bonus of racing in Whistler is that if the racing isn't good, then the powder skiing likely is. Due to the schedule change, I was able to get out with my parents for a couple of days on the mountain. It's always a thrill to get a few runs of knee deep freshies.

I'll be making the long drive over to Calgary for the Canadian championships in nakiska. I'm crossing my fingers we'll have a little better racing over there.

Preparing for Kranjska Gora

2011-03-04T13:07:00.001-08:00

After rushing through so many races in January, it's nice to have a bit of time now between starts to relax and regroup for the next race. I was able to take a couple of days off after the long trip back from Bansko. I have many friends in Slovenia that make it seem very welcome to come to every year. I drove down a little south of Krajska towards Trieste to visit my former serviceman Marco Skube. His son, front in the picture here is a strong young Slovenian racer on the World Cup. Skube and his wife Jana prepared us the most spectacular feast. mmmmmm, hvala (thank you)

Since my stomach is full and I have all my strength back, we've been training just across the border in Innerkrems, Austria. The hill provided a nice slick injection for many of the world cup teams prepping for Kranjska. Training right next to the Swedes for two days was a real treat. The guys are all real nice to ride up the lifts with, and are always a good group to keep an eye on for technique.

Apart from skiing, my afternoons fall into the routine of lunch, nap, coffee, dryland, and physio if needed. Once video and a shower are added in, it's time for meeting and dinner. Rinse and repeat and that's a day of a ski racer between races.

We get a chance to check out the hill tomorrow after the GS and free ski down the piste. I'm looking forward to seeing the snow conditions. Apparently it'll be one of the icier ones of the year, but we'll see.

22nd in Bansko!

2011-02-28T11:07:00.001-08:00

Sorry for being away from my updating my blog in the last few weeks. I'm now back on the road and will back post all that's been going on with my racing over the past few weeks!

I've got some exciting news to update you on. I had a great race on Sunday in Bansko where I finished 22nd in the World Cup slalom. It was the first time the circuit has ventured as far into eastern Europe. There were many racers hesitant about having to take a charter flight, then 3 hour drive to a place no one had ever skied at. It's further south than Rome, and only a few hundred kilometers from the Aegean Sea. Hard to believe they'd have any snow. I was a little surprised to find these enormous peaks that recent powder ski films have been shot. I must say from the racers perspective, Bansko surpassed all our expectations. The atmosphere was great, the fans were loud and excited, and the course crew worked incredibly hard to get the hill in excellent shape despite all the snow fall. The Bulgarian cuisine has room to improve, but they make one hell of a soup, and the beer is really cheap from what I hear.

I was in pretty good form both runs. I made a rather big bobble on the 4th gate in the first run, but regained my form to slide into 28th slot from bib 51. I had a clean race in the second run, and posted the 11th fastest second run (with the 4th fastest bottom split time). I felt really smooth, precise and very confident. I'm excited to be back in game.

I've just arrived in Kranjska Gora, Slovenia, where I'll be training until we race here next Sunday.

Get your OSC 100th anniversary baseball caps!!

2011-02-02T07:09:00.000-08:00

I've got my new limited edition "Go Biggs or Go Home" baseball caps for sale. There are only about 40 left and going fast. Get your order in fast to make sure you reserve this tribute to skiing in the Ottawa area. The Ottawa Ski Club/Camp Fortune Ski Club celebrated it's 100th anniversary this past year.

Hats are available in two 'Flexfit' sizes S/M and L/XL. $29.99 + shipping. There are two colours: Black and Beige. You can purchase on ebay, or by email:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=220730803295&var=&ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT

pat@patbiggs.com

Schladming Night Race

2011-02-02T06:55:00.000-08:00

It started out to be a good looking finish to cap off the January Slalom Bonanza. I had a great first run, flawlessly navigating the very turny and rutted course to finish 25th. I had the advantage of a smooth course second run (starting 6th) to really attack and make some big moves up in the field. As was the case in Val D'Isere, I slipped up and lost another good opportunity. No excuses, but I just got caught a little back going into a hairpin on the pitch and missed a gate. I tried to salvage a few points by hiking, but ended up being disqualified for not hiking far enough.

I'm back home at the moment. There was a chance of being named to the World Championship Team if I had finished strongly in Schladming, but now I'm sitting as the first alternate. It just happens that the slalom team is by far the most competitive group on the Canadian Team at the moment and qualifying for these events that limit quota to 4 athletes leave me sitting on the bench once and a while.

I'll be at home for a little break before heading back over to join the team for training and racing. There are two world cups at the end of the month/early march, and a couple more europa cups to try and win.

Kitzbuhel

2011-01-24T06:58:00.000-08:00

It was another weekend of "ever so close". One little slip in the middle of the course cost me a place in the second run. I'm still working off some good feelings from the 5th place Europa Cup and a strong first run in Westendorf. I'm sure things will fall into place with the turns I've been laying down. I'm crossing my fingers for some ice in Schladming... please, it's been over a month. Congrats to the boys, 4 in the second run kitz.

Above is a picture of Ryan, Darcy, and I at the bottom of the course after Ry finished 12th in the combined.

Some training Clips

2011-01-20T06:52:00.000-08:00

Training in the rain, and some other clips from before Zagreb. Sorry I don't have better film than this. Will have more up after Schladming!

5th in Europa Cup today!

2011-01-19T12:40:00.000-08:00

Super day in Zuoz, Switzerland. Starting 37, I moved up to 5th against a strong field. Tommy Ford took some great photos which i am waiting to get via email. I'll have them up shortly.

Wengen: did April arrive already?

2011-01-19T12:12:00.000-08:00

It was great weather for the spectators, but not great weather for racing. They’ve come a long way from the days they spread rock salt or brown high nitrite fertilizer, but we’re still a long way from getting icy conditions when the temps are well above freezing. (Photo: the winner Kostelic in the slushy conditions)

After dealing with my over-excitement of the last two races, I came out of the gate a lot more grounded this time, and had one of my better runs of the year. I was real close to making the flip despite my start number, but was still .2 seconds (about two meters) short. When the course is injected a bib number in the high 40’s is quite a strong position to attack from. With the weather we’ve been dealing with over here the past couple of weeks, you don’t want to start any worse than 35.

With Kitz just around the corner, the weather is cooling and things looking better. With about 5 nights with temps below freezing, we should expect the race hill to be in good shape by Sunday.

Below is a photo of a Swiss Jet doing a fly by at Wengen. They always put on a good show for the crowd!

Adelboden

2011-01-11T01:59:00.000-08:00

It was another short day at the office Sunday. Conditions were warm all week, and left the hill in pretty bad shape for the race. With my higher start number, i knew I couldn't give up much time on the upper section where the conditions were the best. I took a little too tight of a line and narrowly straddled a gate. I'm not too phased by the two DNF's. The training has been going well, and my skiing is strong at the moment. If I keep with the same focus, I'm confident things will happen.

I'll be training at our home base in Kirchberg this week, then driving across to Wengen on Friday for the race on Sunday.

Congrats to Mike Janyk for his 5th place finish. It's the first time since Grandi for a Canadian to go home with one of these classic trophies.

Zagreb blowout

2011-01-07T06:25:00.000-08:00

I'm not quite sure what happened to the team on thursday night. I think maybe we were all a little excited after Val D'Isere and tried to do a little too much on a flat hill that needed smooth precision combined with a strong attack. The lead up training went really well for me. We were able to train on the race hill in Kitzbuhel, which should be very beneficial when we race there in a couple of weeks. The training hill in Kirchberg was perfect.

I started the race strong across the first section, but around the big delay onto the pitch, I tried to to arc a really clean turn which few were trying to do. I carried a lot of speed around the bend, but was low in the line coming onto the pitch. I hit the rut on the next gate really hard, got twisted, and forced me out of the course. If the snow had been as hard as it was a few hours earlier when we free skied on the hill, I don't think i would have had any problems with running my line. It was unfortunate for us later start numbers that a gale force wind of warm air up the hill was softening the hill as each racer went. Few made it in from the back. With Temperatures 9 degrees Celsius in Adelboden, it'll likely be another fight for higher start numbers.

Today we made the adventure from Croatia to Adelboden, Switzerland. It was a pretty smooth hour and a half flight and 3 hour drive from Zurich into the mountains. I'm crossing my fingers that we get a really cold night on saturday, but it seems quite unlikely. For now I'll focus on what I can control, my skiing and energy levels.

Louis Pierre Helie Bormio Crash and Interview

2011-01-03T02:09:00.001-08:00

Tightest Parking Garage Ever

2011-01-01T10:44:00.001-08:00

Great two days of Racing in Collingwood

2010-12-30T13:19:00.001-08:00

I decided to make a trip to Collingwood to compete in the Miele FIS cup races. It was a good opportunity to get some more race days under my belt and gain some confidence as we move into this busy month of World Cup racing. I walked away with two golds over the two days, and got a chance to race infront of many home fans and sponsors who have supported me this season. Thanks to the race organization for putting on such good races!

After a few trips too and from collingwood over the years, I've gotten better at navigating through Denbigh, Kinmount and Bancroft! Although there's some great countryside there, i don't think i'll be moving in anytime soon.

Ski day with the NCO

2010-12-29T20:11:00.000-08:00

I had a great day of training with the NCO in Calabogie over the holiday break. Great skiing guys! keep it up. Take a look at snap shot

Post race report - Val D'Isere

2010-12-15T11:57:00.000-08:00

Interesting race in Val D'Isere. Almost exactly as I had predicted, the challenging bellevard hill spit out a lot of the competition. I am happy with the race despite straddling. With the excellent start number in the second run, sunlight still hitting the hill which it didn't for the final 20, I saw an excellent opportunity to make a big move up and try and crack the top 10. My time from the first run was still close to the leaders, and my conditions gave me an unfair advantage. The french skier was a perfect example (moving from 27th to 3rd) just how great an opportunity it was. Unfortunately when you risk a lot in slalom, you have a greater chance you won't make it all the way to the bottom. I'm confident that if I keep pushing, the results will only continue to improve. Go Biggs or Go Home as they say.

Beautiful morning in Val D'Isere

2010-12-11T01:29:00.000-08:00

I had a great session of training this morning as we go into the race tomorrow. I was surprised to find this sight as I came over the ridge at the top of the mountain. Hidden from view below was a gorgeous green, purple, and pink sunrise.

The steeps of the Bellevard race hill will offer many challenges for even the best in the world. The controversial hill has had racers complaining for the past several years. Regardless of what they say, there's going to be a winner at the end of the day. With the challenging piste combined with some aggressive snow conditions as we saw in the GS today, I expect to see some big time gaps and quite a large attrition rate. My plan will be full attack, but being mindful of any tough sections to assure I'm in the finish with a fast time.

Canadians Levi Video with race footage!

2010-12-10T05:10:00.000-08:00

Movember Closing

2010-12-08T09:19:00.000-08:00

It's been a long time coming. Four years of being harassed at every dinner table, coffee bar, ski hill, and grocery store, but the tides have turned. People are growing mustaches to support men's health awareness and raise money for prostate cancer research. The first year I was the lone soldier sporting the stache, but we had one more taker the next year, and now the entire team including coaches and support staff. Congradulations Nick (top left in the photo) for officially growing the worst stache and still being proud of it! Join us next November if you weren't participating this year.

Recouping after the Nor-Ams

2010-12-06T12:25:00.000-08:00

I've arrived in Europe after a long series of races in Colorado. For the most part, things went well. I forgot how high you're up there in Loveland and Aspen. First landing at the mile high city, then climbing up well over 3000m to where we would sleep and ski. It's all dandy for a trip to the grocery store, but the final couple of gates down a full length course leave you scrambling to catch your breath. Luckily I'm in the pinnacle of strength and conditioning.

The first Slalom and the first Giant Slalom I was really happy with, except the part of me abandoning both of them. The second slalom and the second GS I didn't ski quite as well, but made it to the finish with "solid" finishes considering the strong field. Both the slaloms and the GS Colorado Nor-Ams boasted the toughest field I've seen in over 6 years.

I'm making some final touches to my Levi Video, so that should be up soon.

Norquay Training Video - how to deal with the cold

2010-11-26T12:46:00.000-08:00

Dealing with the Cold

2010-11-23T14:35:00.000-08:00

It's been a cold week of training in the Rocky Mountains. Temps went well below -30 today, moving Calgary to the second coldest region in the world for the day! Not ideal for ski racing. If all your skin was covered with tape and rags, you could usually make it two runs before your toes lost feeling. I can't really complain too much, i remember skiing in these cold temps all the time when i was young.

The first couple of days we spent at Nakiska, then moved over to Norquay to do a few days with an old coach from Ottawa Vernon Finckenstein. Conditions were a little harder at Norquay, and no snow guns pointed at the hillls. Thanks Bob and Andre!!

If you haven't seen the new video on the ACA website, check it out, and take a laugh.

Calgary Training

2010-11-18T19:58:00.001-08:00

We had quite the spectacular flight back from Europe. It was my first time flying over the poles direct to Calgary. The view beside you was of Greenland, but there were almost identical over Baffin Island.

We were welcoming in calgary with a blizzard and -15 temperatures. I'd like to say it was a shock, but it was equally cold in Sweden/Finland.

I began training in Nakiska today. Back on the GS boards for the first time in a month. Conditions could be better, but there's not much you can do about mother nature (except lower your greenhouse gasses ;)

I'm working on my Levi film, but because we left so quick after the race running to the airport in our downhill suits, we missed getting the race footage. This is putting a little delay on the whole project. Should be up soon though.

Levi Race

2010-11-14T09:20:00.000-08:00

It was a great start to the ski season for the Canadian slalom group. I was happy with my result today. Great first run moving from start number 45 to move to 18th. I was a little slow to the rhythm in the second run and fell back a few spots to finish in 22nd. It's always a relief to get the first race out of the way. You never really know ahead how you will stack up against the competition until the first one is out completed. I'm quickly passing through Helsinki, so i should have some more info and video up when i get a good source of internet

Funasdalen Video

2010-11-09T22:12:00.000-08:00

Training has been going really well in Sweden. I'll be hitting the road today on the way to Levi, Finland. It's about a 15 hr journey from here.

Sweden

2010-11-05T06:09:00.000-07:00

Just landed in Stockholm. Not much to report yet. One more flight and we'll be at our final destination in Ostesund! Excited to see everyone on the team almost a week into mustache growing for Movember. I have a slight feeling i wasn't the only one who took a few day head start to give it that extra pop.

Fundraiser Success at Tommy and Lefebvre

2010-10-28T14:41:00.000-07:00

Thanks to everyone in attendance for your generous support, and to everyone that made the event last night such a success!

Ottawa Ski Club 100th Anniversary

2010-10-24T12:18:00.000-07:00

It was an incredibly inspiring night at the the 100th anniversary. A great turn out of members coming back to their home club from all across Canada. It was quite humbling to be in a room with so many champions, all coming from the same small hills of Camp Fortune.

Camp Fortune was the place where I really developed my love for skiing. The adventures I had with friends in Camp Fortune's Nancy Greene program will be with me forever.

Because the hill terrain obviously has it's limits in this region, we were always looking for more adventurous skiing activities. Both tree skiing and jumping were not allowed at the time when I was growing up, so it was a constant cat and mouse game we played with the Ski Patrol to make sure we didn't get our lift tickets pulled. Knowing the best entrance and exit points to the hidden ski tracks through the woods was a valuable piece of knowledge passed down from racer to racer. We also became very skilled at building a jump on the side of a trail, making a few quick jumps before the ski patrol caught on and brought out their shovels to break it down. What great experiences we had as youngsters at Camp Fortune!

Thank you to everyone who made the event such a success, and all the individuals that guided me through the OSC/CFSC programs through the years. You were my skiing role models and mentors and showed me how to love this great sport.

Video from Tignes

2010-10-20T05:21:00.000-07:00

Equipment Set Up

2010-10-19T02:09:00.000-07:00

A lot of people ask me about equipment. How much different is a Nascar stock car from the GM in my driveway? It's pretty much the same difference with ski equipment as it is with cars. Higher speeds, and harder snow conditions require the skis to be stiffer and more torsionally rigid, and the binding dins higher. The skis are very responsive to small moves, but require a fair amount of speed and pressure to turn properly.

The ski companies are the biggest help in getting an athlete set up with the proper ski. From years of experience they generally know what works and what doesn't. It's for this reason, that most of the athletes on a given brand end up skiing on the same ski. Some skiers prefer a bit stiffer ski than others, but the overall design and sidecut generally don't change much. The lean angle of the binding (the ramp angle) is often slightly different from one racer to another, but the variance is usually less than 2mm. It's unlikely a weekend warrior would be able to pick out the subtle difference.

The summer and early fall months are the best time for trying the new models of skis and boots. It's beneficial to get your equipment dialed in early so that a good block of training can be used to focus on ski technique and become adapted to any equipment changes. For myself, I've decided on the exact ski setup for my GS ski, but am still making some final tests on stiffness of my slalom ski. The conditions for testing in Tignes are excellent, so I should have a final decision made by the 23rd.

Thanks to all the folks at Fischer for their help this summer. Fischer's boot technician, Reinhold, came over from the factory last week to make some final fittings of my new boots. Above is a picture of Trevor and I's finished boots, ready to rock!

October 27th, 2010 Fundraiser Details

2010-10-14T09:55:00.000-07:00

King of the Flats

2010-10-13T12:37:00.000-07:00

In preparation for our first race in Levi, Finland, we've spent a couple of days practicing our technique on the flats here in Tignes. The flatter sections of Levi are often the easiest places to loose time. Since you don't have gravity to pull you down the hill, you've got to generate your own speed by pushing and driving your skis at just the right moment.

To push the team to new levels, the coaches put up some incentives to get us up to race speed. Usually Dusan would throw a beer on the line, then never pay up, since we "shouldn't be drinking beer anyways". Instead, we had little bags of french candies on the line, but i think it's bragging rights more than anything.

The past two days I've walked away with my head high, finishing just .03 seconds ahead of teammate Brad Spence over 5 combined run times on the first day. The second day I was able to pull a gap of .23 seconds over Brad in three specific "race" runs of the 15 runs.

The flats have always been one of my stronger elements. In recent years it's slipped a bit, but i feel I can really generate a lot of speed with the new Fischer skis I'm working with at the moment.

Worth the Wait

2010-10-10T06:19:00.000-07:00

There's only a few glaciers I've been to that have equally as brutal load times and line-ups. The French have got a few things right.. high fashion, crepes, and cheese. One thing they are not too good at are organizing line-ups. The Germans, and Austrians are a lot better at this, as you would probably guess from their personalities. If nobody gets trampled amongst the yelling and pushing, it's a good start to the day. Just make sure all your equipment is latched on tight as barn-sized doors open and 500 people fight for the 150 spots the train to La Grande Monte carries.

Despite the chaos in the morning, we've been fortunate to have great weather up on the mountain thus far. I've lowered my volume of training, and increased my intensity to get up to race speed and keep my body in top shape for the first races.

I'm working with a new ski from Fischer that seems to let me keep my hips more up and forward. Seems to be going well, and the times are getting faster and faster against my other team members.

Off to France

2010-10-04T12:41:00.000-07:00

I'm waiting at the airport in Ottawa for my flight over to europe. I'll be training in Tignes, France for the next three weeks. Tignes is only one valley over from the famous Val D'Isere race course that was conquered by Canadians John Kucera and Mike Janyk in 2009 world championships winning gold and bronze.

Tignes is one of my favourite fall training locations with great hills, tasty food, and familiar language, all contributing to a productive environment to get things accomplished. It also helps to be training next to one of the best slalom teams in the world (the French). Ski with the best, be the best!

Look for more updates to come!

Ski Season Send Off Party for Pat Biggs

2010-09-28T10:39:00.000-07:00

Come join us for an evening of wine, cheese, beer and snacks to celebrate the coming ski season. Pat will be off in a few weeks for rest of the year, and he needs some new socks and underwear, so donations are accepted to go towards his costs on the slopes. Bring your friends, and enjoy stories from the Olympics and a preview of this season's World Championships.

Who's invited: Everyone !
When: Saturday, October 2 · 2:00pm - 10:00pm
Location: Biggs house, 854 Lawnsberry Drive, Orleans, ON

Dissapointing 2nd in SL

2010-09-04T14:39:00.000-07:00

I didn't get the 6 point result i was looking for the in the ANC slalom. I had a strong first run, but struggled a bit on the second and lost time to the American leader and ex-Dartmouth team mate David Chodounski. That'll wrap up my trip in New Zealand. I'm currently on my way back to Ottawa where i'll have another month in the gym before heading for training in Europe.

GS is back!

2010-08-31T00:13:00.000-07:00

After only two days of GS training this summer, I wasn't expecting miracles, but this was a great start! It was a rough ride today, especially starting far back in the first run. I moved from 18 to 7th in the first run, then 7 to 4th in the second.

Treble Cone

2010-08-28T19:33:00.000-07:00

I've made it back to the New Zealand after a week visiting friends and family in Australia. It rained almost everyday while in Melbourne, and it seems to have followed me back here. At least it was snow up on the mountain, but pretty wet stuff and soft conditions. More snow is scheduled for tomorrow for my first race of four at coronet peak.

I've teamed up with the Treble Cone Race Academy for a few days of training and the races. Check them out - http://www.trebleconeraceacademy.com/about.asp

A skiers other talent: Bathroom Guitar

2010-08-20T01:02:00.000-07:00

Two Canadian team athletes ripping it on the guitar in New Zealand. Trevor White and Travis Dawson singing Cold War Kids - Hospital Beds. Check it out!!!

Victory

2010-08-17T01:19:00.000-07:00

things came together today in the rain and fog to take the victory in the Australia New Zealand Cup slalom race. It's my best score of the year, and should move my world ranking up by quite a bit. I'll be racing in a few more races in the next two weeks where i hope to improve my ranking even more. Day off tomorrow, then back at the slalom training the day after.

Bucket List: jump out of a plane = check

2010-08-14T01:04:00.000-07:00

What an incredible day! A sponsor of the team, Hermes, took us to 16,200 ft today, and threw us out of a plane!!! not too bad.

A New Zealand Roadblock

2010-08-12T17:33:00.000-07:00

back is good, back on snow

2010-08-11T01:38:00.000-07:00

Great news, I have been up on the mountain for two days now and was able to get into the gates for the first time in a week. Great to back skiing! I was getting pretty bored of rehab, physio and pool workouts for a whole week.

I am trying some new fischer models tomorrow. Should be fun!

forced recovery

2010-08-05T12:15:00.000-07:00

I had a bit of an unfortunate set back the other day. My back went out of line while i got caught out of position in a compression training GS. I've had the past three days off working on getting it moving again. So far it's been a slow improvement, but many times it is. It's most likely some swelling right around the L4/L5/S1 that is compressing my nerve. It's nothing new for me, so I'm looking forward to getting past this one for a fourth time in the past 5 years. Until the next update, I'll be rolling no socks!

the Result of the Storm

2010-08-02T02:02:00.000-07:00

The result of all the rain isn't great news; it rained pretty much top to bottom on the mountain. The hills we left a few days ago looked very different today! Brown patches were showing through, and a lot of little rocks were spread across the hill. The hill managers are doing a great job moving snow around, so we should continue to be able to have good training until the cold weather hits on wednesday. We trained slalom today, and with a lot of salt, we ended up with pretty decent training.

When the fog came in heavy for about an hour this morning, the move of the day was a mid run goggle wipe. This proved to be quite the task when you consider how big pole guards are these days, and that plastic on plastic doesn't really clear a lens from condensation and saltwater!

snow rain?

2010-07-31T15:50:00.000-07:00

We were forced to have another day off here today! It's been pouring with rain in the valley since about 2AM. Apparently it's been raining at the top of the mountain, and raining at the base lodge. Not a good sign for training in the coming week.

Guess I'll be doubling up my time in the ski room and gym this afternoon. There's always lots to keep busy with in New Zealand on a day off.

baaahh

2010-07-30T13:09:00.000-07:00

It's 6:30am on my day off.. so much for sleeping in. I guess you can't expect much with jet lag and going to bed at 10pm. I might head over to Wanaka today to catch up with some friends training at Treble Cone or parouse the art galleries in Queenstown.

New Zealand 2010

2010-07-29T23:16:00.000-07:00

It's great to be back on snow! I kicked off my 6 week training/racing camp down in Queenstown on Sunday. So far everything is running smoothly. I have to admit I'm a lot more busy than I usually am. My deal with the ski team leaves me on my own for ski service. Ryan Semple and I have searched the globe for a technician with no luck, so I've been putting in 1-2 hours a day preparing my own skis on top of dryland in the afternoons. Ski tuning is a really skilled trade that requires a lot of experience to master, something I'm lacking. Luckily we don't hit the injection (water sprayed hill) for another few days. This will be the real test of my tuning abilities.

Charles Hulse Students

2010-03-24T20:09:00.000-07:00

Hey Guys, if you're checking out my website, here's a picture of us from my visit to your school. I'll try and post the other photos soon!!

US National Championships SL

2010-03-24T16:59:00.000-07:00

After an issue with my start number in the nor-ams the week before, I was lucky this week with drawing start number 1 in Lake Placid. The early start number helped me set the fastest first run time against the best in the United States. Despite having a big lead, i was unable hold it in the second run as I fell victim to the large ruts and holes caused by warm weather and soft snow. I got shot out, skis high in the air, and flew past a gate on the pitch.

2nd in Nor-Am Cup Finals

2010-03-24T16:52:00.000-07:00

Last week I finished strong in the Nor-Am Cup finals in Waterville Valley, NH. An unfortunate event occurred in the seed meeting the day before the race. An error by the race office staff resulted in me being left out of the draw for the first 15 start numbers. I was quite upset by the mistake which caused me to have to start with bib number 20 after the first grouping. The course deteriorated quickly, which made it very difficult to have a fast time in the first run. I used some of the built up frustration, and took it out on the hill in the second run. It wasn't quite enough to move me into the top place, but I moved up 5 ranks to finish in 2nd.

Olympic Jacket Fundraiser SOLD

2010-03-11T19:55:00.000-08:00

***Thank you for your bids. I raised almost $2000*** I've decided to auction off one of my Olympic Jackets to fund raise for next season's expenses. It's currently on ebay. If you're interested please follow the link below.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=220566541577&ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT

GMC Cup Win

2010-03-08T06:08:00.000-08:00

On Saturday I competed in a GMC cup at my home mountain Camp Fortune. Two of my team mates, Ryan Semple and Dustin Cook, were out challenging for first place. Unfortunately for them, the years and years of training I've had down Upper Canadian and Chute gave me too much of an advantage for them to de-thrown me as King of Camp Fortune. Cynthia Stewart took some great photos which I'll post here.

Closing Ceremonies

2010-03-02T18:42:00.001-08:00

The entire city was buzzing after the Men's hockey gold. Walking down the streets of Vancouver after the game I felt this incredible pride to be Canadian. The atmosphere of the crowd was extremely vibrant, and welcoming. Everyone was so open and keen to share their experiences over the past two weeks. It's something that I have never witnessed before.

The show, in my opinion, was a great representation of Canada, and what kind of culture and people we represent. Well worth the 2 hours of standing around in holding before marching out.

After the performance, we were shuttled back to the athlete village. It was great to celebrate with the other athletes and share our experiences. You may have heard this before, but I have to say it myself: the other Canadian athletes are such incredible people, and people I looked up to when I was younger, and continue to aspire to today.

A lucky guy

2010-03-02T14:11:00.000-08:00

On Friday I got a call around 3:00 from my team mate Ryan Semple that he had tickets for the Canada - Slovakia hockey game. I didn't really believe him at first. Then he said we had to be on a bus to Vancouver within 45 minutes. I knew he wasn't messing around.

The game looked like it was going to be a blow out, but turned out to be a nail-biter. We were sitting in the athletes section, which let us meet a bunch of other athletes. Go Canada Go!

Bobsled

2010-03-01T21:19:00.000-08:00

Wow! The bobsled was really exciting to watch. It's hard to get a sense of this sport without seeing it up close in person. I strongly recommend watching this event live at least once in your lifetime.

Talking with some of the athletes, in the 16th turn, at over 140km/h the sliders have to react in fractions of a second to remain on line while under extreme physical stress. In some sections, they are pulling huge G forces. At these forces, your vision begins to tunnel, and the stresses on your body are immense.

It was extra special watching a friend I had met earlier this year win Gold. Above is a picture with Heather Moyse after her race.

Olympic GS Day

2010-03-01T21:09:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the delay in getting this post up. Seems that since the race, I've been non-stop running around to competitions and shows to try and take in the experience while in the present.

The race had it's ups and downs. I had expectations on myself to make it into the top 30 in the first run. I realized during inspection that this would be quite the task with a fast and open first run course set. I skied some sections well, but was not able to crack the 30. A mistake near the bottom of the course where I caught my head in a panel cost me quite a bit of time.

In the second run I put down a better run on a course that was tighter to my liking. Because I was starting outside flip 30, it limited my ability to move up much. I did end up gaining 8 places, finishing in 35th position.

I'm really excited I got to experience an Olympics at home. It was great racing in front of Canadian fans that were so energized with Olympic spirit. Everyone I talked to really enjoyed the games and how it brought Canada together.

start position

2010-02-22T21:38:00.000-08:00

I'm just off to bed the night before the race. Feeling good, ready to go!! I'll be starting 51 tomorrow. The sun should be hitting parts of the hill by the time I go closer to 10:45 pacific time, which might help with visibility through the rougher conditions at the back.

the race course

2010-02-22T11:17:00.001-08:00

I was up on the mountain bright and early this morning for the race track free ski. It seems to be in good condition despite numerous races and variable weather conditions. They've put some more water in sections to harden it up. This should help me with a later start number tomorrow.

I wanted to add this picture of my friend Nicole and her famous sign "More Cowbell" that has got more TV coverage than any other sign in the Olympics. Look for it again in the crowd tomorrow.

Whistler arrival!

2010-02-21T20:59:00.000-08:00

Finally here! It's an incredible atmosphere in town. I was able to cruise around the village this afternoon with some friends and family that came to cheer me on. We stumbled on a Sam Roberts band concert in the village square and watched an unfortunate loss of the Canadian Men's hockey team at the Canada House.

The setup in our townhomes is incredible! A full gym in the garage, our team chef Marcel to cook, and walking distance to the village. It doesn't get more convenient than this.

encouragement

2010-02-19T16:09:00.000-08:00

When I opened my HBC Olympic bag last week, one of the most pleasant items was a booklet of Cheerios cards that people had posted in. These people sent in their words of encouragement on the back of a Cheerios box not knowing which athlete they were going to. It really shows the support from all over the country. I posted the cards here. Please let me know if you see one you sent in!

Panorama

2010-02-18T10:57:00.000-08:00

It was good timing moving over to Panorama. It seems the bad weather came into Nakiska the moment we left while blue skies adorn the hills here across the border in BC. I trained slalom yesterday and will likely race a small race on Saturday to remain in race mode coming into the GS at Whistler.

It’s another day off for me today. Not too much on the schedule other than an afternoon lift session and some much needed ice on my sore joints. I don’t have too many complaints about Panorama other than what I would consider the worse internet access we see for the whole year. I’ve been in the café for an hour now trying to get this one post online.

GS rescheduled

2010-02-16T16:04:00.000-08:00

I'm not sure if it's finalized yet, but the GS has been rescheduled to the 23rd. The delay is a result of the bad weather and postponed races in whistler. I'll keep you posted!

Training went well again today. With the change of schedule for the race, I'll be staying in Alberta for another few days of training.

February 15th

2010-02-15T19:05:00.000-08:00

The day off seems to have helped refocus my GS. I made some big jumps in my skiing today training against the Italians. Being faster than some of the Italians, who have had much success on the world cup, has given me added confidence as I move forward this week and on to Whistler

I have begun tapering my training volume as we move through this week. At the beginning of the training block I was doing 6 runs in the course and about 6 free-ski runs. This week I will perform between 2-4 runs in the course and only 2 free-ski runs.

We got a little bit of snow here in Nakiska today, but the conditions are still very good. It’s tough to complain with almost perfect weather and conditions this last week, quite different from what we’ve seen in Whistler.

Go Canada!

2010-02-15T06:51:00.000-08:00

WOW! what an awesome day for Canada. Bilodeau, Groves, Edney. All the skiers here in Nakiska are pretty stoked for our fellow Canadians, and excited to get over to Whistler and compete for ourselves.

I'm back on snow today after a relaxing day off. We're training GS with some of the Italian men today (probably the strongest GS team currently on the World Cup). I've always known that training with stronger skiers makes you ski faster. Let's see if I can pick up some tips from the masters.

First day of competition

2010-02-13T16:09:00.000-08:00

I'm sitting here about to watch Jennifer Heil in the womens moguls. Excited to see what she can do!

GS training went better for me today. I was getting some good feelings again on one of the most challenging training slopes we’ve skied on this year.

We’re training along side the women’s tech skiers. We don’t cross paths as much as most people think. It’s been very encouraging to hear a few extra voices as you push out of the gate. Here’s a pic of Anna, Brigitte and I.

Opening Ceremony

2010-02-13T06:19:00.000-08:00

Although I wasn’t at the opening ceremony, the experience of watching it with my teammates was really special. Having received my HBC gear yesterday, I dawned the opening ceremony jacket, hat, and boots on the way to watch on the big screen. I wanted to thank everyone for sending me a message saying they saw me on tv. If you are one of these people, please have your eyes checked! Haha.

It’s GS training again today, and then a much needed day off!

2010-02-12T13:18:00.000-08:00

We’ve finished 3 days of training in Nakiska, skiing venue of the 1988 Calgary Olympics. The piste has been water injected for race-simulated conditions. If you’re hesitant on skis, you could switch to ice skates, but I think I’ll stick with my skis.

I still have no confirmation that I’ll be racing the GS on the 21st, but I will sure be ready if I get selected. The GS team will be named after the SG competition on the 19th.

Olympic Prep

2010-02-12T12:44:00.000-08:00

And it begins! I’ve arrived in Calgary to begin training for the Olympic GS. I flew in from Ottawa on Tuesday and began training on Wednesday. I’ll be here until the 17^th before heading to Whistler.