Bozeman Olympic Hopefuls Host Event
The 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics is two years away! Bozeman, Montana is known for its powdered peaks and passionate skiers. It is not a coincidence the Bridger peaks and Bridger Ski Foundation can now stake their claim to three native U.S. Ski Team athletes. Leif Zimmermann-Nordic, Heather McPhie-Freestyle and Keely Kelleher-Alpine. These athletes are at the highest level of skiing; Olympic hopefuls to represent Montana and their country in the 2010 Vancouver Games. It is a rare and unique occasion to have three world class athletes come from one small town. These athletes are seeking community wide support on their quest to the Olympics. A budget shortfall within the U.S. Ski Team has left Leif, Heather and Keely partially funded and required to raise money to compete. These are your home grown Montana kids with big Olympic dreams! Meet the trio in a fun social atmosphere Saturday, November 1st for food, beverages, poster signing and silent auction. Where: McPhie Cabinetry 435 East Main When: 3-9pm. Save the date! Ski you soon!
Auction items include;
BMW Motorcycle, Custom chairlift yard swing, interior design consultations, scenic flight, scenic boat ride, flamework art, cabin and condo getaways, Feng Shui, Atomic skis (Snoop Daddy), US Ski Team apparel, World Cup Bibs, dinners, Dell computer, photography, graphic design, custom jewelry, POC helmets, kid helmets, Body Ecology Diet Workshop, massage, yoga, mogul skis, ski poles, pottery, artwork, fused glass, goggles, ski helmets, ski with U.S. Ski Team members and so much more.
Not able to make the event and still want to help? A tax deductible donation can be made through Bridger Ski Foundation. Address: Bridger Ski Foundation 3685 Stony Brook Ln. Bozeman, MT 59715.
Yehaw!
KEELY
When I am in the start gate my mind is focused, my body is ready, and the adrenaline is flowing. I know that I am going to have a fast race if I get butterflies and the urge to blast out of the start. I feel like a bullet ready to fire. Coincidentally, the other day I got these exact same sensations streaming through my system. The only difference is I was standing in the Hintertux glacier early morning lift corral. In Austria people don’t take skiing lightly. It is serious business over here and that makes lift lines a full contact sport. Avid skiers, snowboarders, and racers alike show up around 7:30am to prepare for the flurry of an 8:15am opening. That’s right, we get there forty-five minutes before the gondolas open and here is why: survival. It’s complete mob mentality. You have to be on your “A game” if you want to make it through the “hurry up and wait” push.
There is an extreme shove from the back and sides of the line. It’s game time and now the personal bubble space is popped and people are smashing themselves and their equipment against each other. There is an onslaught of bad breath, body odor, ski edges, boot buckles, and breakfast burps. When the clock strikes 8:15 and the line explodes you feel like you’re in a high pressure human funnel. Sometimes you’ll be moving and your feet won’t even be on the ground. It reminds me of watching cattle being herded. All the while, the pressure from so many people pushing you makes you feel like your ribs are going snap along with your temper. There is no mercy for the elderly skiers, the little ankle biters or your teammates. Everyone is fair game. So now that I’ve properly introduced you to the competitive world of Austrian lift lines, here are some tips from a seasoned veteran:
5. When in Austria do as the Austrians, push!
4. Don’t be afraid to “throw some ‘bows.”
3. Mentally prepare, I suggest some AC/CD.
2. Shoving comes from all angles; don’t be surprised if you feel skis where they shouldn’t be.
1. Don’t let it ruin your day because the skiing is worth it!
If you ever find yourself skiing in Austria you’ll know what to expect.
Until next time,Keely
I raced in Chile and had some good results along with a few other U.S. girls. It was my first year racing in La Parva! Check out the article and pictures.
http://usskiteam.com/public/news.php?&dId=2&sN=1&aId=3824
~My teammate Julia Littman and I decided to collaborate and write about all the wonderful food we enjoy on the road! Enjoy! ~
We eat just about any and everything. There is nothing we will not try. This means sampling all of the local fare from around the world. Currently, we are in Chile and there is a lot of food to explore. Thus far, we have discovered new flavors from delicious, fluffy white lemon pie, to meat empanadas. There are a few famous flavors from Chile, including some of the best beef and wine in the world. We anticipate each meal because we know the food will expand our appreciation for the cultural cuisine. We had a couple days off and headed for the beach city of Vina del Mar. After soaking in the amazing Pacific coast sunset, we needed some grub. During our trip down here, we have refined our empanada palate and in Vina we had tunnel vision on our search for fried pockets of queso and carne!
We found our spot when we saw a line forming around the block, and smelled the distinct scent of fresh empanadas. We got in line to wait for our own glorified hot pocket, made to order. Now our only dilemma was fresh crab and avocado, oozing with cheese, or chicken with cilantro and onion; the options were endless. The next day, after satisfying our need for empanadas, we took a stroll along the beach, watching leisure Sunday kite flyers, barking sea lions, and haggling with local vendors. A little further down the coast we jumped in a pickup game of soccer with the Men’s Development Team and a local stray dog.
After all of this action, a friendly vendor tempted us with his sweet treats. There was no way we could deny our curiosity and taste buds, so we handed over our 300 pesos and in return indulged in a flat, flakey, head-sized, cinnamon-sugared pastry. In other words, a Palmedita. Another satiating success, we were fueled for another block of training in La Parva. Although we are known for our passion and hunger on the hill, we always find time to feed our appetite for local culture and food wherever we go! Until our next tasty adventure… Keely and Julia! http://usskiteam.com/public/news.php?&dId=2&sN=1&aId=3826
Hola estoy en La Parva, Chile! I hope you are all enjoying the rest of your summer in the states. I’ve been down in South America for two weeks training. I came down here early before my team got here to train with the Western Region team and to rip around Chile. I’ve never come here early to learn about Chile and experience life down here. Three teammates joined me and we stayed with friends for a week and enjoyed Chile. We went to some sweet artisan markets in Santiago and traveled around a bit. My Espanol is improving everyday. I try to talk to everyone to practice and it’s paying off.
Today I had a full conversation with a lift attendant and understood the whole thing. At least I think I did. The U.S. girls got here a couple of days ago so the training has started in full force with three sessions a day. I’ve been eating a lot of good Chilean cuisine just to keep up with how much we are training! A lot of meat and potatoes! I love it. Anyway I will be back in a couple of days to show some pictures and tell you so more stories from my adventures down here in Chile! Adios Keely
It’s 98 degrees today in Bozeman. Get me to the river!! I spent the morning
training hard in the gym and I haven’t had time to boat lately!Anyway,
I was in Mt. Hood, Oregon this weekend getting my boots dialed. It was
a quick, but very productive trip. So I’m pumped about my equipment
and I’m ready for Chile. Well… not quite ready to leave because it’s still a
month away but happy to have such great people set me up with sweet
boots and skis…i.e. a special thanks to the Atomic crew- Jake Strassburger,
Napa, Wolfie and Tom Parks. I also got some sweet foot beds made by
Bob Olsen. He does a lot of the foot beds for the men’s team. So if anyone
is in need of some amazing foot beds look him up. He’s in Government
Camp, Oregon all summer! I skied on them on Sunday and loved them
so thanks Bob!
Anyway back to the river. A little bit ago my sister and some friends
had a sweet day surfing the Springdale wave on the Yellowstone river.
It only comes in when the water gets really high, so I had so get my
surf on for sure! I was chasing my sister the whole time, she was
ripping it up as usual and I was just trying to get better. I got some
boating time in with Doug Haney the press officer for the ski team
when I was at German Boot Camp! We ripped it up on the Connecticut
river after our classes. Anyway enjoy the pictures!
Hiking to the play wave
My sis Brenna shredding…go Bren!
Me trying to keep up =)
The chicas hiking back to the truck after a sweet day
Oh yeah! I almost forgot. Vanessa Pierce wrote a
sweet article about me and how I cross train with
kayaking during the summer. Check it out!
http://www.skiracing.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=6609&Itemid=2
I hope you are all having a super sweet summer!!
Keels P.S. I’d like to thank Denis Stienorer, My coach from the Wave Train Kayak Team, for teaching me how to rip it up in a kayak. You rock Dennis! Thank you!
So for the past two weeks I have been at the Alps language program in Hanover, NH. Through the generous support of Judy Hoyt, ski team athletes are able to take advantage of learning a language. I wouldn’t really say that it is just learning the language on the Dartmouth campus, but more being totally immersed into the culture and language of your choice. My language was German. I’ve never in my life taken a German class and neither had my teammate Hailey Duke. She called me up one day and said she was going to the Alps program so I followed along. This program has been supported by the U.S. Ski team for so long and I can’t believe this is the first year that I actually took advantage of such an amazing opportunity to learn a language.
Below is a picture of our Master class teacher Jere teaching us the body parts using Mr. Potato Head
I have to admit that I arrived with Hailey on the the Dartmouth campus a little intimidated and unsure of what what I’d gotten myself into. All I could say going into it was: Where is the bathroom? Can I get a beer? And how are you?…. so as you can see I definitely couldn’t speak the language. Which in my opinion, is sad because I’ve been traveling to Europe since I was sixteen and I still can’t communicate with the people. It can be frustrating at times to walk around not knowing what is going on because you have no idea what people are saying.
Here is a picture of Hailey testing out her drilling skills on our real drill teacher Philip…it was pretty funny
John Rassias, the founder of the Alps program, descirbed momlinguism as a disease. So from day one the Alps program’s goal is to cure it. And make no mistake they drilled German into me so extensively that I started having dreams in the language. Every day from 8am to 8pm we were having classes and drill sessions. The drill sessions were the most intriguing part for me because the way they teach you to speak is just by listening to the drill teacher and then repeating the words. The master classes were all taught in German. Our teacher Jere would make us laugh so hard in class. His acting skills were in full force the first couple of days because we had no clue what he was saying. So he would act out what he was saying and most of the time it would leave us rolling on the ground laughing . No English could be spoken. You had to eat and breathe German.
Classmate Billy getting snapped at and me just looking confused
Neverthless, by the end of the two weeks Hailey, Doug Haney ( the ski teams press officer), and I were all speaking and understanding the language. I wouldn’t say we are fluent but coming in knowing nothing and coming out actually being able to articulate sentences is such an amazing feeling! I’ve never had such a fun time learning. It helped that I had Hailey and Doug there with me because they are both extremely funny and animated individuals. I made some great new friends at German Boot Camp and learning a really sweet language. I can’t wait to get over to Europe so I can speak it!
Hailey, our teacher Jere, Lindsay Cone, and I hooking Mr. Potato Head up with some ski team swag
Auf Wiedersehen!
Keels =)
Hello Keely fans! I’m sorry I haven’t written for a while. To tell the absolute truth I injured myself on March 1st in Austria right before some big races and couldn’t race for three weeks durning the meat of my season. Since then I haven’t been all to motivated to write. Sorry!!!!!!! I will make it up to you! Back to the stupid injury, I displaced two ribs on the right side of my ribcage. I know it sounds like a lame injury but if you’ve never hurt your ribs I suggest never doing it! It is so painful. I couldn’t eat, breathe, laugh, or even talk without pain. I walked around slouched over like an 80 year old woman right when I was supposed to be ripping up some downhill Europa Cups in Haus, Austria. To make it worse the day I hurt myself I had won my first race ever in Europe. It was a Super G on the Europa Cup track in Haus. On a lighter note the season ended not as expected but I did have a few victories after my ribs healed which made me happy. I ended up winning three super g’s this season! Another pleasant surprise was a 4th place in the slalom at Nationals and a 3rd overall in the combined. I’m defenitly gaining lost ground for all the years of injuries and this season has motivated me a lot for next year. What makes me even happier is all the support I’ve had from everyone throughout this season. I had a lot of wins and losses but having supporters like you really inspires me to keep working hard to attain my goals. I got my first taste of World Cup action this year and I definitly felt like I had amazing support backing me up when I kicked out of the starting gate. Thank you so much!
Keely
