It felt good to end the season on the podium. Getting third in the GS at U.S. Nationals was a really positive way to walk away from the 07-08 season. I skied well and I was proud of how I was able to pick myself up for my final race after a challenging couple of months. It was also really cool to see Lauren win, too. I couldn’t have been happier to see someone else on top in the GS.

Now that my season is over, I am back at school at Dartmouth College. I will be studying hard for the next couple of months, taking a heavy load of four classes. I am really looking forward to having the time off snow. Both my body and my brain need a break from ski racing, and going to school is the perfect diversion. I’ll be spending lots of time on my bike, and lots of time in the library… Just getting healthy is the goal for the next few months!

All of the resilience and patience I developed over the course of my career, I called upon over the past couple months…

Since I hurt my back in Sestriere, Italy in early February, things have been pretty tough. I tweaked my lower back during the World Cup Downhill in the middle of a turn. Although I was able to finish the run, it turned out that I had a couple of bulging disks. It was a very painful and debilitating injury and has literally been the “straw that broke the camel’s back,” so to speak. Adding the back pain, on top of my everyday knee pain, has made skiing a real challenge. I haven’t been able to move the way I normally do because I am so stiff, and the pain has been very distracting.

The highlight through all of this recent injury drama, was being in Whistler for the World Cup races in February. I had been looking forward to those races all season, and even though my body was operating—uncomfortably—at about 60%, I still somehow made it down the Downhill course safely (although not very quickly!) Being greeted by my entire family, and a collection of my closest friends from Seattle, was one of the best feelings I have experienced at a ski race. It meant so much to see all of their smiling faces at the finish and to have them there supporting me.

After Whistler I flew back to Europe to race in the last GS of the regular World Cup season, my final chance to qualify for World Cup Finals. I was ranked 32nd in the world going into the week and only needed to move into the top-25. Although my back wasn’t feeling great, I actually had some really fast training leading into the race. We made the trip north to Zwiesel, Germany for the races, but we never got to compete. A huge wind/rain storm (which I believe actually attained hurricane status) tore through the region that weekend and cancelled the races. So, a week after I arrived, I flew right back home.

The past few weeks I have been racing at Noram finals and U.S. Nationals. My back seems to have reached a plateau in its improvement since I keep cranking on it day after day skiing. I can’t express how much I am looking forward to getting back to school at Dartmouth, not only for the mental “break” from ski racing, but the physical break too. I think a few months of rest are exactly what my body needs!