I had high hopes for Aspen—where I scored my first World Cup points in 2002—but ended up with just a top-20 result in the Super G. I had a really good run going for me, until five gates from the finish when I came into a turn really fast and too straight. The tactical error forced my line extremely wide in the next few turns, and I lost a lot of my speed right before the finish. I felt like I had totally blown it. I was actually surprised that I got a respectable 20th place finish. Although I was disappointed to not do better, it was cool to walk away knowing that I am skiing well enough to have a major mistake, and still be a top-20 finisher.

I got an unexpected, but welcome, opportunity to race in the GS race the following day. I ran 63rd and, once again, had a pretty major error towards the end of the course. I was 0.25 seconds away from qualifying for second run, coming down in 40th place. I was pleased to discover later in the day, however, that I had a split-time where I was 19th fastest, and that I was in 28th place with just fifteen seconds remaining in the course. Had I not made that mistake in the last few gates, I would have finished in the coveted top-30. Seeing such competitive splits from what I considered to be just ‘normal’ skiing for me, made me realize that my GS can be just as good as my other events… I just need the opportunities to race and prove it!

After Aspen, I made the long trip to Val d’Isere, France. The Downhill race that took place there was one of the most maddening experiences of my career: it was cancelled four racers before I went. Because enough competitors had finished the race at that point, however, it was still counted as an official race. They deemed conditions to be unsafe, which was probably the right decision, except that the conditions were the exact same as they were all day long! I was frustrated to not have the opportunity to race. It was the second out of three downhills so far this year that I’ve been forced to miss for reasons beyond my control.

I ran number four in the Super G the next day and I executed what I thought was a really strong run. I skied really well, I was aggressive, and I ran exactly the line I had planned to without any mistakes. I guess I must have been digging into the soft snow too hard with my edges because I was surprisingly slow. I ended up in 21st place, just one-hundredth off 20th (which would have been my third top-20, an Olympic Team nomination.) The race was really stacked—I was just 0.37 off of tenth place! While I’d definitely planned on a better result, I was actually really happy with my performance.

Following the race in France, I made my first trip to the Czech Republic for a World Cup GS. When we got there, it was immediately evident that it had been snowing A LOT. I kept a good attitude even though I ran 64, but I just didn’t ski well in the unavoidably rough snow conditions. Like most of us running in the back, I failed to qualify for second run.

Since then, I’ve had the opportunity to travel home to Washington and spend my first Christmas in three years with my family! It’s been really nice to be home and have some time away from the circuit, but I know I will be ready to “charge” again at my next World Cup in Bad Kleinkirchheim, Austria… I hear it’s right down my alley: technical and tough!

I had a premonition going into my first races in Lake Louise that I was going to leave Canada feeling like I’d “gotten the job done…” And I did! I scored my first top-10 World Cup result in the Super G. It had been way too long since I’d felt happy after a race, and boy did it feel good.

I started the week skiing really strong in the Downhill training runs. The first day I was the first American, in 24th place, and the second day I was 29th. Then, as the only two athletes ranked outside of the top-30, my teammate Stacey and I were forced to use the last training run as a qualifier for the one open Downhill spot. I skied well and got 21st, but Stacey was much faster, getting 6th. I was thus forced to sit out the first Downhill.

I was deeply disappointed that I missed the first race, but I went into the second Downhill determined and ready to go fast. I laid down a solid run, but the uncontrollable variables of ski racing got the best of me, as I was slammed by gusts of headwind in various places along the course. It killed my speed, and I finished way back in 48th. Still, despite the poor result, I was able to walk away from the race feeling like I’d accomplished something: I’d had a really confident, calm, and positive mental approach going into the race. I knew that if I could brush off the disappointment of the downhill and replicate that same mentality going into the Super G the following day, then I would get the kind of result I was looking for… And I’ve known for a long time, that I belong in that elite top-10.

My Super G run was an all-out, scrappy effort. I took chances and I skied hard. For me, fast Super G skiing means allowing myself to get a little ragged. It’s actually really cool that I had the confidence to ‘push the envelope’ like that, in just my second race since my knee surgery. I didn’t really know what to expect when I went through the finish line, but when I turned saw the 10th place, I was ecstatic. It meant so much to finally break that barrier and to finally be a part of the prize giving ceremony!

The best part of the day didn’t come during awards, however, it came shortly afterwards when I finally got to see my coaches. Chip—a coach who’s known me for a long time and really understands everything I have gone through over the years—gave me the hugest hug. While he was holding me, I just started crying. It was like a combustion of a million emotions at once. I was so happy, but at the same time, I was thinking about all of the battles I’ve waged throughout my career and how far I’ve come in the last eight months. I could feel how happy Chip was for me, and when I looked up at him, I saw that he was crying too. When we finally let go of each other, in a mixture of laughter and tears, I looked over at my other coach, and saw that he had a tear in his eye too.

Everyone always told me, that after fighting through all of the adversity my success would taste “that much sweeter.” I didn’t fully grasp the concept, until this weekend. While I know that result was the first of many top-10’s to come, nothing will ever take away from how much it meant to me then.