Back on Snow – Colorado Nov 2018

Posted on November 17, 2018 by Adam Barwood

After a much needed and enjoyable break from the ski slopes, time has flown by and it’s back to the Northern Hemisphere! Big shout out to Skeggs Foundation for their amazing support over the years – to all you Otago athletes out there, go and have a look at the funding support on their website!

And for all those Dirty Jobs – go ask the dirty Boys at Just Dig It Thanks Blowie! Appreciate the support, always great to catch up with you and Todd.

Before leaving New Zealand I had a quick trip to Snow Planet in Auckland for a Ski Racing Clinic. Thanks John Harman for organizing the morning and to all the athletes who came along. Great to have Ben Griffin, Alpine Performance Queenstown passing on important skills and information.

Many thanks to the Wanaka Ski & Snowsports Club for your funding support and all the wonderful volunteers and parents who work so hard to make such successful race events happen!

Perfect conditions at Copper Mountain, Colorado

Looking forward to the coming months and without the support of so many people it would be incredibly difficult – thank you one and all! Tineke and Hamish Edwards, Ski Racing NZ Charitable Trust, your support and passion for our team has been amazing; thanks to everyone who is a part of the journey! The Team has just arrived in Colorado for the start of the Northern Hemisphere after a last minute change of plan. Not a lot of snow in Europe for good training conditions where we were to be based so we have just started our first training block at Copper Mountain. Excellent conditions, even if somewhat cold at -22°C and some very early morning starts to fit in with all the athletes out on the slopes.

USA – Beaver Creek December 2017

Posted on December 8, 2017 by Adam Barwood

Time has flown with November gone and December well and truly started. The training at Copper Mountain and Vail continued with some excellent progression in my giant slalom with speed increasing. In no time at all the NorAm races were done and dusted, unfortunately with not the results I was aiming for. Fresh snow the night before the first races didn’t help and I had 2 x DNF for the GS races. With just two days of slalom training before the NorAm SL race, I was quite pleased with how I went in the second run but not so much overall. Had a day trip to Denver and Boulder for a bit of much needed down time and then concentrated on more training getting ready for the Birds of Prey World Cup giant slalom at Beaver Creek on the 3rd December.

Day off, Boulder

thanks Pete

The atmosphere at Beaver Creek was amazing, perfect weather and good slope conditions, started bib 51. Felt a bit slow out of the gate but had some good times lower down, unfortunately missing top 30 qualifying by 0.64 second. A little time to hang out and watch second run before the mad rush to pack and head to the airport for our flight to Europe. Thank you to all the volunteers, athletes, race officials, parents, mountains – all involved in these amazing races.

WC GS Beaver Creek

World Cup GS course

Fans – not much snow

Finish

Young fans

Leaving USA

We are now in France heading for our first taste of training at Val d’Isere where the next world cup giant slalom race will be.

Quiet moment at Lake Annecy, France

Europe October 2017

Posted on November 5, 2017 by Adam Barwood

We arrived to a very spring looking Europe with a lot of green! First race of the season on our programme listed as World Cup GS, Sölden Austria. Training got under way and we got time on the race piste which was invaluable. Starts with a bit of a flatter section then most of the course goes to a pitch around 65 degrees then flattens out again at the finish. As described on the official Sölden website: – the superb slope features a different shape every year. It’s easy to explain: the race track is built on glacier ice which moves permanently. Especially in its lower part, the slope has become steeper and steeper over the last years – as if a 65% gradient wasn’t enough!

We also trained on the piste beside the race area (called The Icebox – with good reason!) and got some more great training. The World Cup race was cancelled due to blizzard conditions so we packed up and got ready to head on to Colorado for the next training block. Was great to pick up some new skis from HEAD as well.

Soelden training

Soelden with Willis

Blizzard conditions race day at Soelden

After a few delays with flights (mechanical problems, re-routing) we finally arrived into Denver start of November on to home base for the next month in Dillon. Training has started at Copper Mountain and it’s incredibly tiring at the moment getting into the new time zone as well as coping with the high altitude (approx 12,300ft – 3,750m)

Big thank you to Skeggs Foundation for their funding support, always appreciated! Now we will concentrate on the next training block before the NorAm races at Copper Mountain and Vail followed by the World Cup at Beaver Creek.

Panorama, Canada

Posted on December 10, 2016 by Adam Barwood

We have arrived in Panorama after some great training on man made snow in Colorado and wrapping up the Copper Mountain race series. It finally snowed the day before the first race so the first super g of the season had some soft snow to contend with along with some still falling. The two super g days were good, more of a training tool for me but team mate Willis did well, picking up 3rd. I was happy with my skiing in the gs, just needed to cut out a couple mistakes from day one, then in the second race I got caught in some soft snow and didn’t make it unfortunately. We had cold mornings around -15° C (5° F) but warming for second run. Just one day of training at Vail, however conditions were too lean so took a day off and tried out the Oxygen Bar at the hotel we were staying in before heading north to Panorama, Canada.

Sunset at Dillon

Testing new skis, Copper

Vail

Heading to the Oxy Bar

Oxygen bar, Vail

Oxygen Bar

We are currently in Panorama having arrived a few days ago and have had some good training days. Super cold after Colorado though, we were greeted with -20º C at Calgary airport when we arrived late evening.

On the road to Panorama

Training at Panorama has also been particularly cold, around -20º C which takes a few more layers to get used to and the feet start to suffer. Still not the best snow cover here in Panorama either so it is a bit of a mission some training days to get many runs in with the turn-around time being close to half an hour – catching lifts and traversing back around to the training course. Only managed three slalom runs before the course was pulled yesterday. We have today off so it’s time to do a grocery shop which is approx half hour drive down the road to Invermere, so it’s good idea not to forget anything! The whole team has been a bit crook with a bad cough which coach picked up a month ago and generously gave out, so hopefully it’s not so bad when races start again in a couple of days. The NorAm series starts on the 11th Dec with super g followed by a couple of GS and slalom.

Panorama

Training At Copper Mountain

Posted on November 17, 2016 by Adam Barwood

Training is now well under way in Colorado and we have had some excellent conditions in spite of the lack of snow and training space. We arrived 4th November into Dillon, CO and did out best getting into the new time zone and altitude by starting on snow the following day. With so many teams going for the limited spots, we have had many early morning starts with the 6.00am – 9.00am time slot being a regular. The snow conditions have been first class and the weather perfect – no good for fresh snow and a little warm, but great for training. Luckily it has been cold enough for snow making.

Picked up some new skis for the season so have been getting used to the stiffer model and so far pretty happy with their performance.

It is quite different seeing the mountain on the chairlift ride up than the usual winter scenery but on the upper slopes conditions are producing plenty of good runs for working on improving technique.

Thanks Blowie and Just Dig It for your support – awesome!

Racing In The States

Posted on December 8, 2015 by Adam Barwood

Since arriving in Dillon we’ve had good snow, cold temperatures and a lot of excellent training, joining in with a number of international athletes. Our first races for the season were at Echo Mountain, CO (see results on link) with two slalom races and a large field of 120 international athletes. I managed to put in a really good first run coming in .42 seconds ahead of the field. The snow was a bit soft on top but a good layer underneath and I was really pleased to finish the second run well keeping me in first place ahead of Robbie Kelley in second and Ola Buer Johansen, Norway in third . It’s an awesome way to start the season – with a podium and my best points result in slalom of 15.08! Day two was a similar field but I wasn’t quite as fast, coming in 3rd after Robbie Kelly 1st and Marco Reymond, Switzerland 2nd.

Echo Mt with Robbie Kelley 2nd, Ola Buer Johansen 3rd

From Echo Mountain the races moved on to Snow King, Jackson WY for the NorAM slalom races, ten athletes under 10 points! The course was incredibly slick on the bottom half where the watering crew got a bit carried away. On day one, I put in a good first run moving from start 26 down to 11, unfortunately I broke a gate which fell down in front of me in the second run which wrecked my rhythm, coming out lower down. Day two I moved a bit too laterally, hip checked and came out – less than one third of the field managed to stay in on day two.

Slalom Course inspection – SnowKing

Back to Dillon for two giant slalom NorAM’s at Copper Mountain, CO 30 Nov and 1 Dec with another large field of top athletes including number 5 in the world, Fritz Dopher plus 24 athletes under 10 points. The race course was quite aggressive man made snow. Day one starting bib 55 I had a good first run putting me into 22, unfortunately with a few tough turns in the 2nd run I dropped back to 30. Day two I made a few errors in the first run, where I drifted in to the top of the turn on some turns so missed making the flip but had a cleaner second run coming 18th putting me in 28th position. USA athlete Tommy Ford took out the win on both days.

Couple of images below from Jackson, Wyoming with the Main Street and antler arches!

Next up was a Super G at Copper Mountain where I managed to move up a little from start 21 finishing 12th and making a few points, 44.28 but we skipped the second day of SG racing to get in some giant slalom training at Vail before the World Cup. Had a really good session doing timed runs with some of the German team including Fritz Dopfer and Felix Neureuther, and managed some very respectable times. I finished off the racing in the States with my first World Cup Giant Slalom race on Birds of Prey, Beaver Creek. (photo inspection time looking up from the finish) It was a pretty tough long course with a number of the top athletes not finishing, including Ted Ligety. I started bib 63 and managed to finish in 49th place, 1.21.34 unfortunately I made a mistake near the top just before the flats so lost speed! Only top 30 get to do the second run so it was time to finish packing and head to Denver to catch the evening flight to Calgary. Arrived into Lake Louise after midnight where we will be based for five days for the NorAM speed events before heading to Panorama. It is currently snowing and team mate Willis is battling the elements as they attempt to get the men’s training run for the Downhill done .

World Cup GS Finish

Copper Mountain -Training

Posted on November 21, 2015 by Adam Barwood

GS Course at Copper Mountain

Arrived in to Dillon, Colorado 2nd November to fairly mild temperatures and not a lot of snow. Dillon is a small town approx 110km from Denver and pretty centrally located between Loveland and Copper Mountain, about 20kms/20 minutes drive to each so a good place to be based for training.

Training at Copper Mountain. Race gear by One Studio

We have had some solid training since arriving with slalom, giant slalom and also super g. With the colder temperatures and high altitude (12,313 ft / 3,753 m), Copper Mountain have been going full speed with snow making. This has also been topped up with a few falls of fresh snow and colder temperatures since arriving. Due to the large number of athletes all needing to get training in and limited lane space, we have staggered starts with the earliest being 6.30am on snow. Other time slots are 10.00am and 1.00pm. We usually get a couple of hours, around 7 – 8 runs of quality training. Andres Zampa from Slovakia has joined us for the start of the season and it’s great to have him on board, along with team mate Willis Feasey and Coach, Nils Coberger.

Thank you to the Skeggs Foundation for their continued support in the latest round of grant applications. The Skeggs Foundation do a fantastic job helping to support the athletes throughout Otago working towards their goals – check out their website! Many thanks also to the Wanaka Ski Club for their continued support.

Awesome gear by One Studio – Taking care of our race suit. Stuffing your race suit into your ski bag when you’re travelling the winter world doesn’t do it any favours and shortens its life. One Studio have come up with a plan to help your suit and your planet. They up-cycling all the off-cuts and print/fabric seconds and turn them into handy protection for the clothes that make you fast on the hill.
Every race suit leaving the One Studio workroom now has it’s own custom suit bag.
Always working to keep your race gear safe and fast – check them out for the best race suits on the hill!

Races have begun

Posted on December 8, 2014 by Adam Barwood

Aspen GS Course

After some good training at both Copper Mountain and Vail to kick off the season, and finally some snow, races have begun. With snow conditions in Europe not the best and World Cup races in the States, there is a large number of Europeans training and racing here, so the first at Echo Mountain (a night slalom) was a stacked field. These races were quickly followed by the first of the NorAm series, again with an incredible field of top athletes. Snow conditions were rough and icy for the giant slalom at Aspen. I started bib 57 and couldn’t quite find my rhythm on a very tiring course. Unfortunately, I didn’t complete both runs. We then travelled back to Dillon for the slalom races at Copper Mountain where the chalky snow conditions created challenging grooves and fell apart quickly. I was really pleased to have won the yellow bib from the ANC series as it meant a 31 start in a world cup field of athletes including Sweden’s Mattias Hargin on 2.8 points and ranked 4th in the World! Day one didn’t go quite as hoped with a few mistakes which cost me dearly however I had a better second run. Day two was a much better day and I had the 3rd fastest time in the second run; I was happy to finish 15th overall.

The Team. Fresh snow at Copper 26 November 2014

Just arrived in Canada for some more races with the first for me being a slalom at Norquay (6th Dec) where I took out first place. Several more races and then the NorAm circuit continues to Panorama, Canada, from Dec. 13 – 20 where there will be one super combined, two slalom, two GS, and two super G races.

Fresh Snow

Posted on November 16, 2014 by Adam Barwood

Week one, Dillon

We have been in Colorado two weeks now and training has been going well. We arrived to very little snow which has meant a variety of start times to get our turn on snow along with all the other teams currently at Copper Mountain. Some mornings we’ve been up at 4.45am for a 6.30am start while other days it’s been around 2.00pm. Even though there is little snow, our training area has been very good. It has also taken a bit of time getting used to skiing at altitude (12,330 feet / 3750m at Copper). A few days ago we had our first snow storm arrive which was very welcome, although made for some frosty training.

I have been training predominately slalom and while it is early in the season, feel I am making some progress. Managed to sprain my thumb in the first week while skiing through ruts but fortunately it hasn’t stopped my training. Today we were supposed to have our first gs session but it has just been cancelled due to snow and lane space issues.

Week Two

Very lucky to have the HEAD technician working on my new boots, getting them fitted this week.

Boot fitting – Thanks HEAD

Another beautiful day

Copper Mountain Races

Posted on November 11, 2013 by Adam Barwood

The first races of the season began today with a busy day, two FIS men’s super combi races at Copper Mountain. Really long day with the Super G inspection starting at 7.00am for the first race starting at 8.00am on the U.S. Ski Team Speed track. With blue sky and good snow conditions it felt great to be racing again. Second run super g went better unfortunately still not fast enough to make the flip for the slalom runs.

US Ski Team photo of the super g course, Copper Mountain

The slalom section of the races got under way at 2.15pm with the final race run not finishing until 4.00pm. They went reasonably well for me I just need to let it run a little more, especially on the grippy surface. Staying hydrated and getting plenty to eat was a big part to maintaining energy and focus throughout the day.

Finish area for all races – this from the 2nd slalom run 10th November.

Also like to say a big thank you to Skeggs Foundation for their continued support. They do a fantastic job in helping athletes in the Otago area.

Adam Barwood

Check out what I am up to, where in the World my skis take me.

Tag Archives: Copper Mountain