” If you BOOM CARVE then your on line…if you CARVE BOOM, then your late!”-Sommer

“I think I just had the best three turns of my life.” -Zipper

“Duct tape fixes everything.” -Abbie

“When it doubt arc it out.” -the coaches

We had a great last day on Hood ! 5 quality runs in GS  for our final day. The girls really stepped it up! I saw some serious slaying on Coach Kelley’s GS course.

Below there are pictures of the girls showing their stuff. My mom did the  breakfast dishes as fast as she could and then headed up to Palmer to watch the on snow action. She took some great action shots of the girls. She also had snacks in the finish=). What a great Mom I have!

I can’t begin to explain how amazing this experience has been. I know I can speak on behalf of the coaches and myself when I say, it was AWESOME! I cannot wait until next summer.

Fantastic first Keely’s Camp! Shout out to the athletes, parents, coaches and cooks who made it possible! This could not have happened without your support!!!!

And remember… BOOM CARVE!

Hitchy the designated DISCO van driver..."this wasn't in her job description"

Mallory ripping

Sara laying it over

Me in the course!! All the coaches trained with the girls! What a blast!

Coach Kelley

When in doubt slip that course out!!!!

Coach Ludlow showing the girls how to rip sans poles! You still got it Libby!

Mary Royce rockin' the course

Zipper zipping past a panel

Mia slaying

'BOOM CARVE' BOOT TOP BAER!!!!!!

Coaches with camp cook extraordinaire, mom!

Learning the "Hitchy" drill...that's right Coach Hitchcock, the drill creator

Zoe newly nicknamed "Zipper" ready to go!

Coach Libby and Hitchy lookin' good

My favorite moment today had to be watching my favorite GS skier (Coach Jess Kelley) make a hard GS course look easy. I have always thought Jess to be one of the smoothest GS skiers I’ve ever seen. Being her teammate for years on the U.S. Ski Team,  I looked up to Jess and loved to watch her ski. I always knew if Jess ran before me I could watch her ski and get a good visual before my race run. So right after Jess went I told camper Lizzy Baer,  “Her upper body is quiet. There are no unnecessary movements. Do that Lizzy!” Not a moment later I got to see Lizzy Baer (Lizzy is working on keeping her hands quiet) ski a flawless run with quiet hands. A huge breakthrough for Lizzy. I firmly believe it’s because she had such a good visual from watching Jess.

Lizzy (Boot Top) Baer

For dryland we had a fun hike to Mirror Lake. Most of the kids ended up ganging up on Coach Hitchy in a water fight. Katie didn’t have a chance, they drenched her!

Sophie and Skylar on the hike

Coach Ali

Coach Tara loves to haul salt bags =)

Coach Hitchy 'Rainbow over Jefferson' throwin' salt

Claire Thomas

The coaches

Three sets of sisters! The Thomas girls, Swoboda girls and Livran girls.

Sadly to say our last meeting happened tonight. The week flew by. I can’t believe this is actually my job! I have to pinch myself sometimes. Even though I am retired from ski racing I still get to be a part of the sport I love. It’s a beautiful thing to love your job! Today I noticed my face starting to hurt and realized it was from the constant smiling and laughing I’d been doing all week.

Finally, we had skit night tonight. It ended up being the girls reenacting their week and making fun of their coaches. I’d have to say they were spot on with their impersonations and made us laugh so hard we nearly fell off our chairs. Nice work ladies!

One more day of GS tomorrow! Ski ya soon!

Keely

My mom (Jennifer) and godmother (Jackie) with the girls in the kitchen

The kitchen support team. Jackie (my godmother) and Jennifer (mom) making great food everyday!

First day of GS and we had a good one. The girls all had a lot of energy on the hill and it showed in their skiing. Everyone stepped up their game and worked hard in the GS drill courses. All four coaches were training and coaching the girls. A lot of sweet GS turns were being made on Palmer.

We ended up getting around eight runs in the courses. The girls are getting quality training especially because the weather has been cooperating this week. The ratio of athlete to coaches has also been helpful with the girls improvement. We have six coaches on the hill. Two of them Tara and Ali came on board to get training of their own and also coach. They have been essential to the camp as they are both high level FIS racers. Tara being an invitee to the D team this season.  They also are working on their skiing and relating well to the girls during training.

For dryland we had an epic capture the flag game. Fun for everyone. Sara Hulbert found the flag and won the game for her team.

I have to give a shout out to my mom and my godmother. They have been waking up  at 4am to feed the girls. I can honestly say I’ve never eaten this well at a ski camp. Everyone has been more than happy with the food. Thank you Mom and Jackie. You’re helping to make the camp great!!!

We have two more days left of GS. I’m excited to watch the girls continue to improve. Ski ya later!

Keely

Slyvie smoking me in the race

Group shot

Anna loving the SUPing

SUPing is a great cross-training tool for ski racing. Every tiny muscle in your body is used to stay balanced on the board. It’s easy to find similarities between ski racing and SUPing or surfing. Many of the women on the U.S. Ski team including myself have been using SUPing as a cross training tool for years. I love taking my board down rivers in Montana. I love that we passed on a new sport to these girls today. Maybe they will even get a board of their own!

We had a great day in the sun in Hood River. Tomorrow we are back to the slopes for GS training.

Sophie Turok loading her skis into Baywatch (Girls Camp Cargo Truck, yes David Haselhoff does come with the truck if you're interested in buying)

The coaches had a lot of fun watching the girls and dare I say, we were training too! It’s another unique part of the camp. The girls’ coaches can hop in courses and train with them while giving them feedback. Today I was able to talk to the girls about the rhythm change after the delay and how it even caught me off guard. I feel like coaching and training with the girls at the same time gets you on the same page as them. You know what they are feeling because you are skiing with them. It’s a very personalized view of coaching that we are lucky enough to embrace at camp…thanks to the ripping coaches the girls get to learn from everyday. And though retired from the U.S. Ski Team each coach here can still lay it down in a course. It is pretty impressive to watch and a great way for the girls to learn visually.

Thanks Buff! This is my favorite shot.

Buff team shot in front of Hood

Coach Ludlow, she is a badass (photo credit: Marcus Caston www.marcuscaston.com)

We also had a Buff photo shoot during our break. For those of you who are not familiar the company follow this link: http://www.buffwear.com/pages/house-of-buff.php. Buff was kind enough to supply every girl at camp with fashionable and multi-use head bands/neckgaters. The girls went crazy for them and when we did our Buff shot everyone was looking quite stunning in their new Buffs. We were melting the glacier with our good looks and fast turns!

Katie Hensien ripping a slalom turn down Palmer

For dryland coach Ludlow led a yoga session. Libby is a certified yoga instructor. She led a great yoga sesh and all the girls were able to learn something new from her guidance.

Tomorrow is our day off. The plan is to go stand up paddling in Hood River and have a fun beach day. Having a day off in the middle of camp is always a smart way to go. The girls can recuperate take a break from the 5am wakeup and call and give their legs a break.

Photo Credit: Marcus Caston http://www.marcuscaston.com/ Check out his new website! Thanks for the Buff photo shoot Marcus. You made us look good!

Today’s memorable moment: Zoe Livran (j4, newly nicknamed Zoe the Zipper or just Zipper) coming up to me while I was setting the course and yelling, ” I think I just had the 3 best turns of my life Keely!” Then  she skied off with a huge smile. Made my day!

Enjoy the pics!

above the clouds view of Mt. Jefferson

Anna Szabo

The girls loving the 'disco van' ride up to Hood

Coach Kelley

Coach Hitchy

Mallory pumped for slalom

The girls had a lot of pent up energy and excitement about skiing and having to wait in the lodge for that long only bolstered their enthusiasm.

Once we got up to the top of Palmer we met up in our groups and began freeskiing and our drills. The snow ended up being perfect for us. And the mountain was empty. I haven’t seen Palmer that quiet before and we took full advantage by freeskiing our hearts out.

Memorable moment of the day on the hill: Watching coach Libby Ludlow rip amazing turns down Palmer with five girls in tow imitating her perfect form. That moment made me realize how unique the camp is. It is not often that a coach can ski like that and also be able to explain to the kids how to do it. All the coaches were doing drills with the girls that they had done throughout their World Cup and skiing careers. It’s an opportunity I wish I’d had when I was a kid. To ski with ripping ladies who are fun, enthusiastic and incredible athletes/role models.

Fun mention of the day: It was camper Sofia Yubero’s 12th birthday today! My mom made her a beautiful cake and we had a great pizza party. Thanks Angie Yubero! The Huck shakes and pizza party were a hit and memory that will stick with Sofia!

Tomorrow we will be training slalom getting into brush and hero gates continuing to work on balance and technique.

Ski ya later,

Keely

Hurry up and wait

Zoe Livran pumped to be skiing!

Water break time

We played soccer, ultimate frisbee and kickball for dryland

Happy 12th Sofia!

Goofin' off

Lined up for Mom's home cookin!

The girls are all here as well as the amazing staff. You can feel the energy emanating from the Academy House. It is a fun place to be right now.  The girls tuned their skis tonight after the meeting and settled in. You know you’re at an all girls camp when you hear screams from the bathroom, “Keely there is a giant spider in the shower!” I screamed too, but I saved spidey and put him outside.

I am excited for our first day on the hill tomorrow. I can’t imagine working with a better group of coaches. Tonight I added up our cumulative time spent on the U.S. Ski Team between Jess, Libby, Katie and myself: 35 years! I find it gratifying to know that our knowledge and experience will be passed on to the next generation of female athletes.

Our major goal for tomorrow is BALANCE. The first day back on snow is the most important to regain the girls technique and balance. Drills, drills and more drills for these little ladies. Let the skiing begin!

Photo Credit: Marcus Caston http://www.facebook.com/index.php?lh=f110d5dc60bd772eaa11ae96d32a4b71&#!/marcuscastonphotography

Thanks for the skis Matt Schiller and Atomic

Well today my mom (the camp cook extraordinaire) and I spent a lovely afternoon at Costco picking out delicious food for the campers. We had a large cart, which I proceeded to run into everything. I even bumped the back of a lady’s calves accidentally. I was not her favorite especially when the watermelon decided to drop onto her foot (don’t worry I threw that melon away). Ahhhh Costco madness.

I’m happy to say that Mom and I got out of there alive with all the camp food intact. This evening we unloaded and organized the Academy House. As I heaved the boxes in and out of the back of Baywatch (my bright yellow truck…yes David Hasselhof does come with her if you are interested in buying) I reminisced about my years as a junior racer staying at the famous Mt. Hood Academy. It’s new and exciting to actually be running my own ski camp and staying at the house where I met so many friends in the ski world.

Well I’m off to bed here are some pictures from the fun couple of days we’ve had preparing for the girls arrival.

Keely’s Ski Camp for Girls officially starts tomorrow, I can’t wait! And I do believe it will be the first ever all female staff and athlete ski camp ever to grace the great glacier of Mt. Hood…

Slalom superstar Hailey Duke stopped by to help

So much snow!

Mom unloading the Costco goodness

My mom knows how to cook for hungry ski racers as she raised three of them! She will be a wonderful asset to our staff. Tell your girls to bring their appetites. There is going to be some good cookin’ at camp!