Jamie Anderson, 19, is one of the top female snowboarders in the world. She dominates slopestyle events. She is aiming for the Olympic halfpipe team — slopestyle is not an Olympic event.

Home resort: Sierra-at-Tahoe

Jamie Anderson

Why did you choose this resort?: Because it’s close to home and it happens to be the best!

How often are you in Lake Tahoe?: Not very often.

When you aren’t training and competing where can we find you and what would you be doing?: Either hiking, swimming, camping, bowling, skating, or chillin at the beach.

How long have you been participating in your sport? 10 years!

Who inspires you most and why? My mom is a huge inspiration to me. She is so real! I learn so much from her all the time and it’s so empowering to be around people like her.

Your life is devoted to an event that is over in minutes, how do you prepare for that thrill of victory or agony of defeat? I have no attachments. I sincerely love what I do, and of course I’m happy if I win, but I’m not sad if I don’t. I know that I’m only doing it for the love, so all is well.

Anything else you would like to add? One Life! Send it!

Publisher’s note: Read about what is happening along the Olympic torch route on Jan. 8.

By Lindsey Sine, USSA

MAMMOTH — There couldn’t be a more exciting and poignant story told in Grand Prix history that the one that unraveled at Mammoth Mountain on Wednesday. Danny Davis (Detroit, MI) put down a historic run in the name of friendship, and Kelly Clark (Mt. Snow, VT) laid it all on the line for her third Olympic team berth to each win the Sprint U.S. Snowboarding Grand Prix.

Davis led through both runs of the halfpipe competition, followed by Olympic champ Shaun White (Carlsbad, CA), and Scotty Lago (Seabrook, NH) in third.

Hannah Teter

Looking down on a crowd full of signs supporting Pearce and his recovery, Davis stood atop the 22-footer and channeled his friend, who remains hospitalized in Salt Lake City, before landing a monumental second run that included a landmark three double corks.

“I had Kev on my mind and right before every run I was making sure I had him in spirit. I know we’re sending vibes back to each other and it was good,” Davis said. “I asked Kev to help me through that one. He’s not up, but we’re mentally on the same wavelength now. He’s helped me through my runs and it’s been nice to have him.”

After he dropped the double cork cab 10, front 9, straight air, double cork front 10, switch double back rodeo, Mammoth’s spectators brought the noise and family and friends ran to the finish to embrace Davis, whose run was nothing short of epic.

It was the first time Davis had ever landed three double corks in one run.

“It was a decision by all. Jank [U.S. Snowboarding Halfpipe Head Coach Mike Jankowski] and Bow [U.S. Snowboarding Halfpipe Coach Rick Bower] helped me decide what tricks to do and we came up with a plan of just trying to land that third double cork,” Davis said. “I hadn’t landed it in practice, so it was a gamble but I landed it.”

As for the historic nature of his run, Davis shrugged it off saying, “It feels good. It’s snowboarding, it’s supposed to be fun so as long as I have fun then that’s what matters.”

For White, the second is a fuel to his fire as he heads into Saturday’s competition hunting for the win and an Olympic spot to defend his title.

“There was some great riding today. This was by far the heaviest contest I’ve ever been in and being at the top with one run to go, I pulled the trigger and went for it, never surrender,” White said.

In the women’s pipe Clark’s consistency and her overall riding quality were undeniable as she stomped a clean frontside air, backside 5, frontside 9, backside air, frontside 7, cab 7 for the win.

The gold medalist, who stuck a claim on her third Olympic Team spot, was reeling after her victory lap.

“I couldn’t be happier with my result today and it’s a privilege to be going to my third Olympic Games,” Clark said.

Being able to ride so solidly thus far in the season was a huge source of pride for halfpipe’s strongest woman.

“Being able to come out and win the first two Olympic qualifiers is great and everything now will be practice for me,” Clark said. “I’ve been getting ready for these qualifiers for a long time.”

At the end of it all, there was just one word Clark could think of to describe how she felt.

“It’s a pretty overwhelming thing and I would just say I feel privileged right now to be 26 years old and heading to my third Olympics. It’s a really incredible thing,” Clark said.

In the second place spot, Hannah Teter’s (South Lake Tahoe, CA) smooth style was a shout out to the world that she’s still going strong and, after not being able to compete due to injury at Copper’s Grand Prix, the Vermonter was happy to land her run.

“I feel really good. It’s nice to come back after having a slight injury in the first Grand Prix. I’ve been doing a lot of visualizing, and seeing everything in my head then just putting it out on the snow,” Teter said. “It definitely boosts it up bit to have a good result.”

And, if you guessed that her money has a one-way ticket to the village she sponsors in Africa through the production of her maple syrup and the donation of all her contest earnings, you guessed right.

“I’m excited to donate the money I won from second place to the kids and elevate the charity,” Teter said.

The exciting outcome of Wednesday’s pipe is going to be hard to beat, but the athletes have a shot to do it again on Saturday as they drop into the pipe at Mammoth for the third of five Olympic qualifiers. Stay tuned.

Mammoth Mountain, Jan. 5, Halfpipe

Men

1. Danny Davis, Detroit, MI, 49.20

2. Shaun White, Carlsbad, CA, 46.20

3. Scotty Lago, Seabrook, NH, 45.00

4. Louie Vito, Sandy, UT, 45.00

5. Elijah Teter, South Lake Tahoe, CA, 44.90

6. Greg Bretz, Mammoth Mountain, CA, 44.50

7. Jeff Bachelor, Canada, 43.50

8. Mathieu Crepel, France, 43.00

9. JJ Thomas, Golden, CO, 41.30

10. Jack Mitrani, Mammoth Mountain, CA, 40.30

Women

1. Kelly Clark, Mt. Snow, VT, 48.40

2. Hannah Teter, South Lake Tahoe, CA, 45.20

3. Holly Crawford, Australia, 44.40

4. Gretchen Bleiler, Aspen, CO, 42.50

5. Elena Hight, South Lake Tahoe, CA, 42.40

6. Maddy Schaffrick, Steamboat Springs, CO, 38.70

7. Ellery Hollingsworth, Stratton, VT, 31.00

8. Clair Bidez, Minturn, CO, 39.90

Elizabeth Karam, USSA

ZAGREB, Croatia -– Italy had a solid day taking the top two spots in Wednesday’s night slalom in Zagreb. Giuliano Razzoli was on top with Manfred Moelgg in second. Jimmy Cochran (Keene, NH) was the lone American to qualify for the second run, finishing 25th.

Razzoli added a win to his belt, beating out teammate Moelgg. Finishing not far behind the Italians was France’s Julien Lizeroux.

The race hill at Zagreb proved to be a bit more challenging this year with outside factors coming into play. The weather has been quite erratic creating an inconsistent snow track for the racers.

“It was just tricky snow, it had been rained on, then it had been warm then it got cold then it snowed,” said Cochran. “They were trying to scrape the snow off, but it was just really inconsistent and tough for sure.”

Ted Ligety (Park City, UT) was a having a solid first run before crashing near the bottom of the course. Ligety was uninjured, but did not finish the run.

“I was skiing OK but it wasn’t super clean,” Ligety said. “The course preparation is good considering they had no snow and it’s kind of warm here.”

Cochran has been skiing incredible slalom, scoring World Cup points in every slalom race this season improving his standing to 25th in the World Cup start list.

“That’s good, I mean I had wished I finished a little better,” said Cochran. “But it’s nice to score some points and maybe move up the rankings a little bit. I’ll take it.”

Cochran put forth a strong performance on Wednesday, finishing 13th the first run. He was knifing the second run, over a half a second ahead at the split, before experiencing trouble when he leaned in too much. The mistake forced him onto his side and set him instantly four seconds behind the leader.

“I had a solid run, nothing special but it was solid,” explained Cochran. “Second run I was trying to go for it a little more and I just paid for it.”

Tim Jitloff (Reno, NV), Dave Chodounsky (Crested Butte, CO), and Paul McDonald (Bellevue, WA) have all been skiing and training well. Unfortunately, all three experienced a bit of unlucky and difficulty in attempting to attack the course.

“We wish Cody [Marshall] was here,” said McDonald. “He dominates this hill.”

The World Cup slalom and giant slalom racers will be busy in January with almost every weekend filled with races. Next up for the tech team is Adelboden, Switzerland.

“This is our time to go to work, slalom month. I’m a little nervous,” said Cochran. “They come at you fast, if you are not dialed in for this month you can sort of blow your season. I feel pretty good and confident.”

World Cup, Jan. 6 Men’s slalom

1. Giuliano Razzoli, Italy, 1:50.00

2. Manfred Moelgg, Italy, 1:50.23

3. Julien Lizeroux, France, 1:50.49

4. Mitja Valencic, Slovenia, 1:50.75

5. Reinfried Herbst, Austria, 1:50.84

–

25. Jimmy Cochran, Keene, NH, 1:55.43

DNF: Tim Jitloff, Reno, NV, Ted Ligety, Park City, UT, David Chodounsky, Crested Butte, CO

DNQ 1st Run: Paul McDonald, Bellevue, WA

North Lake Tahoe Fire Protection District will conduct avalanche training classes on Jan. 8, Jan. 11 and Jan. 13.

Training will be in the Tahoe Meadows area off Mt. Rose Highway.

For information, contact the Sierra Avalanche Center at www.sierraavalanchecenter.org or the National Ski Patrol Avalanche Program at www.nsp.org.

During College Weeks, college students can receive a $54 lift ticket at Sierra-at-Tahoe Resort when they present a current college photo ID at the ticket office.

College Week Dates:

Jan. 4 – 8

Jan. 11 – 15

March 22 – 26

March 29 – April 2

April 5 – 9

Clouds are filling up the sky and that white stuff is in the forecast. Here is today’s ski report from Curtis Fong, the Guy from Tahoe.

By Lindsey Sine, USSA

MAMMOTH MOUNTAIN — No, it’s not déjà vu. Olympic gold medalists Kelly Clark (Mt. Snow, VT) and Shaun White (Carlsbad, CA) are just so consistent that for the second Sprint U.S. Snowboarding Grand Prix in a row, they have qualified first and will lead Wednesday’s finals.

Under the sunny California sky, Clark was once again the queen of the halfpipe, landing frontside air, back 5, front 7 tail, cab 7, indie front 5, indie backside air, for her top of the pack status.

Backing Clark up in the standings was fellow gold medalist Hannah Teter (South Lake Tahoe, CA). Teter noted her overall excitement to get qualifications out of the way after crashing in qualis at the Copper Grand Prix and not competing. And rounding things out for the dream team of women’s halfpipe was Gretchen Bleiler (Aspen, CO).

According to Clark, landing a qualifying run sets her up perfectly for finals.

“It’s always encouraging being able to make it to the finals having done so well. Being able to be consistent in the qualifiers is a great way to head in to the finals,” Clark said. “I’m looking for some consistent results, and it should set me up for a fun week.”

Clark was also stoked to be at Mammoth Mountain, where her friends are able to see her competing.

“It’s great being at Mammoth. A lot of my friends are able to come up and support me and I have a high value for that, so I really enjoy it,” said Clark.

In the ultra-competitive men’s halfpipe field, athletes again double corked their way to the tops of heats, led by none other than the great White whose second run of the day, a frontside air, backside 540, frontside double cork 10, cab double cork 10, frontside 7, cab 10, was the top of the charts for the men.

But the innovative trick didn’t stop with White’s board as Greg Bretz (Mammoth Lakes, CA) showed some love for the home crowd, finishing first in his heat and second overall for the day with an air, back 9, front 10, cab 10, front double cork 10.

For Bretz, the run was a step forward in what he hopes will be a level of consistency for him.

“It feels good. I’m trying to work on my consistency. Louie [Vito, Sandy, UT] and Shaun are two of the most consistent guys in our sport and I can’t watch them win anymore,” Bretz said. “I’m just going to try to come from behind and blind them. I’m stoked to be at home shredding. I’m just doing my thing and having fun.”

Canada’s Jeff Bachelor followed Bretz in third and Vito finished fourth.

The Sprint U.S. Snowboarding Grand Prix continues Wednesday with men’s and women’s halfpipe finals at noon, the second of five Olympic qualifiers. While the Olympic Team will not be named until after the final event Jan. 23, White and Clark will virtually assured themselves a spot if they pick up a second win.

Mammoth Mountain, Jan. 5, Halfpipe Qualifiers

Men

1. Shaun White, Carlsbad, CA, 47.10

2. Greg Bretz, Mammoth Lakes, CA, 45.90

3. Jeff Batchelor, Canada, 43.80

4. Louie Vito, Sandy, UT, 43.40

5. Danny Davis, Detroit, MI, 43.30

6. Elijah Teter, South Lake Tahoe, CA, 43.00

7. Broc Waring, Edwards, CO, 42.20

8. Justin Lameroux, Canada, 41.30

9. JJ Thomas, Golden, CO, 41.20

10. Jack Mitrani, Mammoth, CA, 40.70

11. Steve Fisher, Breckenridge, CO, 39.70

12. Matt Ladley, Steamboat Springs, CO, 39.70

13. Scotty Lago, Seabrook, NH, 39.60

14. Brennen Swanson, Stillwater, MN, 39.00

15. Andy Finch, Truckee, CA, 39.00

16. Mathieu Crepel, France, 38.90

Women

1. Kelly Clark, Mt. Snow, VT, 46.50

2. Hannah Teter, Belmont, VT, 43.90

3. Gretchen Bleiler, Aspen, CO, 43.10

4. Ellery Hollingsworth, Stratton, VT, 42.40

5. Maddy Schaffrick, Steamboat Springs, CO, 41.90

6. Elena Hight, South Lake Tahoe, CA, 40.50

7. Clair Bidez, Minturn, CO, 39.90

8. Holly Crawford, Australia, 39.00

By Elizabeth Karam, USSA

ST. JOHANN, Austria -– Daron Rahlves knifed the injected ski cross course, landing on the podium in second place in Tuesday’s World Cup in St. Johann. The German young gun Simon Stickl won the race with Canada’s David Duncan in third.

Conditions were tough in St. Johann with the course totally injected for the ski cross, creating an ice rink like surface. Although the course posed an added challenge to the athletes, the field of competitors pulled out of the starting gate launching their bodies down the hill.

“It was a really exciting ski cross race to say the least. The course itself was fully injected so, it was just an ice rink,” explained Ski Cross Head Coach Tyler Shepherd. “It made for difficult conditions all around.”

Stickl skied exceptionally well to take the coveted win, pushing Rahlves into second. Trailing Rahvles was Duncan to close out the podium.

Rahlves slayed it the entire way down the course, making an essential pass to qualify for the final. He also showed particular strength in his starts, out pulling most of his competitors.

“For the first time since I’ve been working with him, his starts today were extremely good,” said Shepherd. “The first two heats he got the whole shot and never looked back. In the semi final he actually barged a bit but he did a really good job, kept his head cool and made the pass necessary to get into second and move on to the final.”

Once in the final, Rahlves showed no mercy passing his way to second place to take his spot on the podium. Proving to be a true competitor, he fought to make aggressive moves the entire way down.

“The final was just an all out fight for every guy in the heat,” explained Shepherd. “He made a phenomenal pass to get into third and then another pass on the bottom to get into second, so he had to work for it.”

In the women’s race, France’s Ophelie David charged down the course to take the win, beating out fellow countryman Meryll Boulangeat. Grabbing the last spot on the podium was Canadian Julie Murray.

Caitlin Ciccone (Littleton, NH) had a breakthrough day fighting her way into 31st place. Ciccone looked strong, skiing fast and aggressive trying to make passes the whole way down the course.

“She came down the hill charging and tried to do the moves we discussed in terms of making passes,” said Shepherd. “The girls that were in front of her closed the door on her, but she kept fighting the whole way down.”

World Cup, Jan. 5, skiercross

Men

1. Simon Stickl, Germany

2. Daron Rahlves, Sugar Bowl, CA

3. David Duncan, Canada

4. Michael Schmid, Switzerland

5. Florent Astier, France

–

13. Casey Puckett, Aspen, CO

31. Justin Johnson, Park City, UT

37. John Teller, Mammoth Lakes, CA

45. Jean Christophe Rudigoz, Sun Valley, ID

53. Patrick Duran, Fayston, VT

71. Scott Horn, Truckee, CA

Women

1. Ophelie David, France

2. Meryll Boulangeat, France

3. Julia Murray, Canada

4. Anna Woerner, Germany

5. Andrea Limbacher, Austria

–

31. Cailtin Ciccone, Littleton, NH

44. Langely McNeal, Ketchum, ID

By Susan Voyles, Reno Gazette- Journal

After six years of following the path of least resistance in building the Tahoe-Pyramid Bikeway, the volunteer group is now tackling the Truckee River Canyon — with high hopes of building the first sections of trail into high Sierra this year.

This is the big one awaited by many local cyclists.

The route would follow the river and Interstate 80 up the steep canyon faced with high rock walls and rock croppings to Hirschdale near Truckee. Dirt roads from Boca Reservoir to Dog Valley Road in Verdi would create one giant loop for diehards.

Read the whole story

Why are you reading this? Get on the slopes. Here is the ski report from Curtis Fong, the Guy from Tahoe.