With a late start to the ski season due to poor snow conditions, Cory is training hard as Special Olympics' Provincial Winter Games approach. The Games at Silver Star near Vernon, on February 22 & 23, are the qualifier for next year's Nationals in Thunder Bay. Cory has qualified for the last two National Games - in 2012 in Jasper and 2016 in Newfoundland - so he is working hard hoping to become three-peat champion!
So he attended BC Adaptive's All Mountain Camp at Sun Peaks in January, 4 days of gate training and all mountain free skiing were planned. But Cory was disappointed when he found out that there would be only 2 days of gate training. But he made the best of it, under more-than-perfect racing snow conditions.
So his first time in gates this season....on a rather windy morning...Cory developed a bit of a habit of standing a bit too far back on his skis last season, so his goal is to get his body more forward. Looking for his knees being over his toes as he makes his turns, not over his ankles.
He's also trying to get a bit lower, more aerodynamic, certainly makes for faster skiing on a windy day like this.
And he's off!
Jan 19, Run 1
His knees are slightly forward of his ankles here, so some early improvement...
Run 2
Run 3
Run 4
Run 5
Not quite as much gate training as Cory would have liked, 5 runs on the day, a Saturday so long lift lines made it difficult to get more runs in.
But even with 5 runs, he has certainly moved his body more forward than it was at the beginning of the day. This will allow him to make more effective turns, allowing his skis to dig more into the snow and making a cleaner carved turn.
The next day is a fun race day, a dual course where racers go head to head. In this case, Cory is racing against Mark, who is not a Special Olympian, but is a racer that Cory has trained and raced with many times in the past, and has never beaten.
But on this day, Cory gets to the finish line first! In this video, Mark is ahead as they cross in front of my camera but shortly after, Cory catches up and wins!
Jan 20 vs Mark Run 1
Here they go! With Cory wearing a bib that former Canadian Ski Team member Robbie Dixon wore at a World Cup race in Lake Louise several years ago, courtesy of Cory's cousin, Becki.
Run 2 vs Mark
Mark gets revenge in Run 2....
Run 3 vs Mark...is a dead heat!
Run 4 vs Mark...Cory crashes at the top of the course....very unusual for Cory to crash but sometimes that is a good indication that the racer is pushing his limits...
Run 1 vs Coach Jamie
Run 2 vs Jamie
So in spite of less gate training than was planned, Cory had a good weekend, showing some definite improvement in his body position, and getting rewarded with a first-time ever win against Mark and a big smile.
Just about perfect form here, knees forward, hand together and forward, on edge...great skiing!
And a well-earned beer-in-the-hot-tub....after all, that's all part of the life of a racer, you know...
A chance to rekindle a friendship with Rachael and Johnny from Sun Peaks Adaptive...
And coaches are always coaches with Rachael working with Cory on a drill to get him lower and more aerodynamic...
And Johnny works on his tuck...hands up, elbows in, Cory!
Then it's onto Whistler Blackcomb for their Gatebusters program. Cory has used this program often before. They are rather challenging race courses - certainly more challenging that anything he will see at Special Olympics - open to the public for a fee.
It's now January 30, Gatebusters has a 30 gate Giant Slalom race course set up....on the National Training Centre on the Ptarmigan run on Whistler...
Cory is now working on Rachael's suggestion to get much more hard edge pressure very early on his turns rather than more gradual pressure...Run 2....
4th Run
8th Run, from the top with Cory practicing his starts. And in a not too chilly day, down to his race suit.
and Run #11 - a personal best for a training day for Cory - that's over 300 gate turns in one day. Reaching a bit for the gates here instead of either ignoring them or just letting them hit him...something to work on...
A week later, on a much colder but sunny day, it's another Gatebusters race course, this time even longer - 50 gates, and wearing his new Whistler Mountain Ski Club jacket.
Run 3
Run 4
Run 5
where Cory's habit of reaching for a gate catches up to him and nearly causes a crash...
So on the chair ride back up we chat about not reaching for the gates as he passes by them as he now knows how risky that can be...
Run 6
This time we ski with Cory, right from the start through all 50 gates. And for the first half of this video he looks terrific, but then starts "chasing the gates", not reaching for them but turning to ski towards them, really slowing him down.....so message misunderstood...we'll have to try again...
For Run 7, some improvement, especially for the first 2/3rds of the run when I have trouble keeping up with him, but I catch up when he starts turning towards the gates again....a lot of speed though for the last few gates in a tuck...
Cory did show a lot of improvement by his last two runs of the day - 9 and 10 - when my camera had run out of memory. So 10 runs, 50 gates per run, a 500 gate turn day. Just a terrific day of practice...his tuck looks great here...hands up in front of his face and his elbows tucked close to his knees, excellent aerodynamics...
The final run of the day, a free ski on the Dave Murray Downhill run, the run used for the men's downhill race at the 2010 Olympics, always a favourite for us, even after a long day of training...Cory's the dot in the middle of the run in front of that hut...
It's been a year of not much snow but plenty of clear skies, here at Cypress...
Vancouver in the fog below on this day
Howe Sound below us as the sun sets...
The Sky Chair at Cypress
One last Gatebusters session at Whistler for Cory on February 13, and it's a sunny but very cold day, around minus 20-25.
Run 1
Looking good for his first run of the day...
Run 2
Working on finding speed on flat terrain, in a long tuck...
Run 4
In spite of the cold weather, Cory decides to strip down to his race suit since he knows he may face similar weather at the Provincial Games so he needs to be ready for that.
Run 5
The race course is now starting to get very firm, hard to hold edge grip....
Run 6
Back to the top of the course for Run 6, and the cameraman can't keep up...
Run 8
His last training run through gates before the Games and Cory finds the race course very challenging late on a long, cold day...
And a video review session, Coach Tomio takes a lot of time to explain a rather advanced move for Cory to learn. Too late for the Games but if all goes well, perhaps something to review next year in preparation for the National Games.
So now it's a few days of rest and off we go to Vernon on Thursday, February 21, with opening ceremonies that night and racing on February 22 and 23. Bring it on!
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