Alberta Sunshine to Start Cory's New Ski Season

After an eventful summer, we travelled to Banff in late November to start Cory's season with some on-snow preparations for the National Games in February 2020.

Rocky Mountain Adaptive had just started a full-time race program for those with disabilities - the first of its kind in Canada, thanks to Canadian Tire's JumpStart program.  We already knew Rocky Mountain Adaptive since their director - Jamie McCullough - ran the All Mountain Camps at Sun Peaks that Cory has attended several times.

Cory has been welcomed to train in the full-time program as often as he wishes, so we arranged for a 12-day trip that would include 8 days of on-snow training at Sunshine Village and Mount Norquay.

Flying to Calgary and then driving towards Banff...Alberta sunshine, snow, and the Canadian Rockies...

And the view from our rented condo is just as inspiring...thank you Canadian Tire!

The next morning....-18C with a high of -15C...welcome to winter 2019/2020 Cory!

But it's all blue sky...

when Cory meets his new teammates....

From left, Anya who has cerebral palsy
Cory
Shayna in the red skirt...a one-legged skier from Israel
Brenda, a Mexican blind skier now living in Nova Scotia, with dreams of joining the Canadian Paralympic team, her guide is in front of Cory
Jamie, the program director and coach on this day
Spencer
Ronin, a visually-impaired skier from Ireland with his guide

And Cory is quickly into his first skill drill of the season, some hop turns designed to ensure good balance...





Cory is always looking for feedback from his coaches....




and he tries again...




and more feedback...

near the top of Sunshine...above the treeline...

a beautiful setting for a race program...

onto Day 2....no gate training yet, more drills...and more feedback, this time from Coach Kirk...

and another blue sky day...

Coach Kirk needs to see Cory making more turns, more slalom-type turns on his slalom skis...




on the gondola heading back to our condo in Canmore...

Day 3, December 1... a "stubby" race course, an effective and safe way to get back into racing form.  By now, the coaches are looking for more movement from Cory, more up and down movement between turns and more lateral knee movement throughout the turn...and keeping his hands forward...here he drops his hand in the middle of the turn, moving his weight from his downhill ski onto his uphill ski which makes for a less effective turn....




something to work on for the next day, now at Mount Norquay but still under sunny skies...and from slalom skis onto Giant Slalom skis now..

starting with some early season flatter terrain...while the coaches are looking for turning technique, Cory sees flat terrain and knows that means to look for speed with a tuck...




No tuck here then, and Cory does a better job at keeping his hands forward...




We then had a chat with Coach Gavin, and explained that Cory needs to find a way to gain more speed if he is to beat the national champion from Quebec next February, and give himself a better chance of qualifying for the World Games in Sweden in 2021.  Cory needs to develop a good understanding of how to turn as effectively as possible in a tuck so that he can use it more often in races without sliding out a turn or even missing a gate.

We were then very pleasantly surprised when Coach Gavin told Cory to tuck whenever he wanted to...Not all coaches would be quite so adaptive...

So Cory tucks, but then forgets about keeping his hands forward, drops his inside right hand, and then this happens, not surprisingly...




Room for improvement but now it's 3 days off...time to head back to the condo...Banff townsite with the Banff Springs Hotel in the middle...

and a well-deserved soak in the hot tub with not beer this time, but a milkshake as Cory has been dealing with a sore jaw for several weeks now after a tooth extraction that is taking its time to heal...

There's World Cup ski racing going on at Lake Louise, just an hour from Banff, so off we go with 2 of Cory's new teammates to watch the first day of training for the women's downhill.

And these athletes are very accommodating to their fans...teammate Brenda had met the American team before and they graciously came over to say hello...Brenda, Jaqueline Wiles, Cory, Alice McKennis, and Alice Merryweather...

and a nice chat with Marie-Michelle Gagnon...

and the alpine ski world is a small world, this is Laurie Kreiner who skied for Canada in the 1970s, and we met her sister Kathy a few years earlier...she was very familiar with Special Olympics British Columbia and knows Cory's Team BC Head Coach...

We also spoke with Viktoria Rebensberg, a German skier, and we told her we watched her win Gold at Whistler in 2010, we were there.  She said "that was a long time ago!"...but we brought her some good luck, she won the Super G race at Lake Louise a couple of days later.  Maybe she will return the favour for Cory in February!

After the race, we go for a walk on frozen Lake Louise....

Another day off, so it's off to Banff Upper Hot Springs....

a wave in the mist...

on the way back to the condo, some major snowfall...

Then back to Lake Louise for another day of training for the Ladies Downhill race, and the Alberta sunshine is back...and it's Mikayla Shiffrin!

who graciously stops for an autograph...

And a photo with Team Canada member Candace Crawford...

 Back to our hot tub before getting back to work the next day...

But the next day is a snowy one, too much snow for a safe race course so it's a day of drills...and this one - the boot touch/hand clap drill - would really help Cory in keeping his hands in front, with a more active body motion.




It's now December 7, back into sunshine at Sunshine, and back into a stubby race course, where Cory keeps his hands forward and with plenty of vertical motion between turns to help him place more pressure on his ski edges to make cleaner turns...and of course his "touch down" finish where he places his hand in front of his boots to stop the clock a fraction of a second earlier...though it's just practice there is no clock, it's just something that Cory does, a good habit...



and to continue with good habits, Coach Kirk gets Cory to combine the boot touch/hand clap drill with the race course...




and this day is Cory's birthday, so it's a "Happy Birthday" chorus at lunchtime from his coaches and teammates...

Another lovely blue sky day on December 8, still at Sunshine Village...

and more training in a stubby slalom course...Cory puts in an intense day under the scrutiny of his coaches, with about 9 runs through a 18-gate course...his hands are staying forward more regularly and he's showing a lot of vertical movement between turns...



At the end of a good day, Cory finds a novel place to gear down...

On the gondola ride back down, a good look at the "Jackrabbit" run - on the left - where the stubby course had been...

And this gondola has a feature we've never seen before....hard right turn....

The next day, December 9, was Cory's 8th and last day of training with Rocky Mountain Adaptive, under more blue sky back at Mount Norquay...and it's the boot touch drill to get things started, with coach Tori watching this time...

then back into a race course...







Since Cory is preparing to race in Thunder Bay in late February, he thinks it's a good idea to get used to some cold weather...it's a chilly day in Banff but off comes Cory's jacket and ski pants, as he will race with jacket and ski pants at the Nationals...




One final run through the course with Coach Gavin watching carefully...and with hands forward with plenty of up-and-down action, it's the end of an excellent start to Cory's season...



All that's left now is the trip home...

Next is the start of the ski season at Cypress in January, and perhaps a return visit to Rocky Mountain Adaptive's full-time race program in Banff in mid-January, combined with the 4-day All Mountain Camp at Sun Peaks in late January.

It's now official!  Cory will represent British Columbia in Thunder Bay next February at Special Olympics Canada National Winter Games.  It will be his third consecutive National Winter Games, after Jasper, Alberta in 2012, and Corner Brook, Newfoundland in 2016.

As we await official word that Cory has qualified for his third straight Special Olympics Canada National Winter Games next year in Thunder Bay, it's a good time to review his races in the last 3 Provincial Games, which are the qualifying races for the National Games.

In 2011, Cory raced at Crystal Mountain near Kelowna, under mostly clear skies and excellent snow conditions, on a race course of medium length.  In Slalom, on the Centennial run, after finishing almost a second behind Jesse Price, from North Vancouver, at the 2007 Games, 4 years later Cory took gold by over a 2.5 second margin over Jesse.  There was a mix-up at the medal presentation so Jesse is not on this podium.

In Giant Slalom, Cory won by over 2.5 seconds over Jesse Price.

In Super G, it was very close.  Competing against a heavier racer is a challenge in Super G, since there are far very gates, less turning, and basically just speed.  He beat David Boudreau, from Surrey and now a teammate of Cory's, by only 2/100ths of a second in the first run, and 11/100ths of a second in the second run.

Any small mistake in this race and Cory would not have finished first and likely not have qualified for the Nationals in 2012 in Jasper.

4 years later, the Sundance run at Sun Peaks near Kamloops was the site of the 2015 Provincial Winter Games.

David Boudreau did not participate in this cycle of competion, but Cory's main rival Jesse would be there again.

Under blue skies and perfect snow conditions, on a very long race course, Cory won the Giant Slalom race by nearly 3 seconds over Jesse, and by 11 seconds over newcomer Taylor Mitchell from Whistler.

In Super G, as always a close race, with Cory beating Jesse by 4/10ths of a second, and Neil Rye of Cranbrook by over 3 seconds... the first time below was for the 1st run, a practice run that did not count..

Then in Slalom, Cory's specialty, he won by an astonishing 14 seconds over Jesse and 20 seconds over Taylor Mitchell.  Cory went on to qualify at the 2016 National Games in Corner Brook, Newfoundland.

Then the 2019 Provincial Games last month.  In cold, snowy conditions on a very short race course on the Big Dipper run at Silver Star, Cory would defend his Provincial Champion status in all 3 disciplines once again.  Provincial Champion in Slalom, Giant Slalom, and Super Giant Slalom in 2011, 2015, and now 2019.  

In Giant Slalom, Cory won by nearly 2 seconds over Taylor Mitchell..

by half a second over Taylor in a very short Super G race course of only 8 gates..

and in Slalom, Cory's specialty, by nearly 3 seconds over Taylor and again on a short course...

So that's 9 championship races, over 8 years, on 3 different runs on 3 different mountains, on race courses of different lengths, against 4 different main competitors, in different weather and snow conditions, all under pressure.  All of them wins, not just podium, but 9 gold medals.

Now that's a champion. 

Cory Seizes Gold!

29 ski racers competed at Silver Star Mountain Resort near Vernon, BC in Special Olympics British Columbia's Provincial Winter Games over the weekend.  There were 2 Novice Skiers, 15 Intermediate Skiers, and 12 Advanced skiers, including Cory who, as usual, was seeded in the top division of Advanced.

These Provincial Games are Cory's fourth.  He won 3 Bronze medals in his first Games in 2007, then 3 Golds in each of the Provincial Games in 2011 and 2015.  The Provincials are the Qualifying races for the following year's National Games, so there is a lot at stake at these events.

Cory was the only athlete from Region 4 (Burnaby, Richmond, Delta) competing in Alpine Skiing.  The others competed in Floor Hockey, Curling, Bowling, Snowshoeing, Cross Country Skiing, Figure Skating, and Speed Skating.

After the Opening Ceremonies on the night of arrival, Giant Slalom and Super Giant Slalom were scheduled for the next day, with Slalom the day after.

It's snowing lightly as we arrive at Silver Star.

But by race time, it's definitely a snowy cold race day.  With bib #19, Cory does some uphill running to keep warm as he waits his turn.

And then it's time...4 years of preparation and one mistake could prevent him from qualifying and moving on.  Looking ready in the start gate with eyes focused on the race course ahead...ready for the first of 2 Giant Slalom runs...

It's a short race course, only about 14 gates for this GS race.  Cory had recently trained on a 50-gate course at Whistler.  Short courses makes for tighter races, small mistakes can be costly.

Here he goes, looking good and fast, though with a small wobble as he goes out of camera range, but hopefully not enough of a mistake to cost him some time...



This run's terrain is misleading.  It looks flat and even uphill yet it's a fast race course.  Cory is doing things that he has recently learned here...at Whistler a couple of weeks ago he caught his hand caught up in a gate as he tried to push it away...here he brings his hands toward his body and lets the gates hit him as he goes by, much less risky and keeps his focus on the following gate not the one he's skiing by.  And he is putting more pressure into his edges earlier in his turns, a really important skill he learned just over the last month or so thanks to Coach Tomio in the Gatebusters program at Whistler and Coach Rachael at BC Adaptive's All Mountain Camp at Sun Peaks.



Race officials wisely decided to use the Giant Slalom runs to review divisioning so results were not released until the next day.  So we had to wait until the next morning to learn that Cory had won the Giant Slalom by 1.8 seconds over a racer from Whistler.  That's a significant margin in a race course that was only about 20 seconds long.

Then onto the Super G which would be an even quicker race, and snow had been falling all day long, 18 cms of it, which can make a race course more dangerous for faster skiers with so much soft snow making it easier to catch an edge.  There would be two runs, but the first one would be a practice run and only the second run would count.  And that turned out to be a very good thing for Cory, as he missed the last gate on the course, something he almost never does!




He nails the 2nd run...keeping his hands high in front of his face, something else he has just learned to do regularly this year...




Again, the results were not released until the next day, so it was several hours of suspense - in such a short race impossible to know if Cory was fast enough.  But he was, winning .49 seconds, a slim margin but against two heaver skiers.  A good indication that Cory is using good technique (hands in front of his face in a tuck, for example) and tactics (taking the correct line to maximize his speed throughout the race course especially at the start and finish).

The next day, it's Slalom, Cory's specialty event.  We now knew that he had accomplished two thirds of his goal.  Just 2 more good runs so things are going really well.  A bit more snow but nothing like the day before so it's looking good for Cory on this day.  Until....

Cory takes medication twice a day to control seizures.  But he still experiences them now and then.  They are relatively mild, lasting about 30 seconds, and he is aware of them happening and can communicate a little even while they are happening.

He was the second last skier to start on this day.  About 15-20 minutes before he was to get in the start gate, he experienced a seizure.  The rules state that if a racer is not ready for his start, he is subject to disqualification.  4 years of preparation and waiting for this moment.  I immediately told the chief of race about Cory, hoping we would be given an extra few minutes to prepare if Cory needed it.

Cory recovered but appeared frightened as he often does after a seizure.  He was not yet fully ready.  So we talked about how at Mount Hood in 2007, he was terrified of missing a gate while training on a hill with several different race courses yet he nailed his run.  I reminded him of how he overcame those fears and showed he had the heart of a champion.  He smiled, his body relaxed, and within a few minutes, he was back in race mode.  I told the chief of race that Cory was good to go.

And was he ever!  I hope you will pardon the over-dramatization of my commentary here, but it was a stressful, emotional moment.



Cory turns in a time of 43.62 seconds for his two runs, 2.89 seconds faster than the 2nd place finisher from Whistler.  Gold #3!

Onto the medal presentation...

Top of the Podium Giant Slalom...

Top of the Podium Super Giant Slalom...

Top of the Podium Slalom...

With Officer Debbie Mcleod of the Delta Police Department who presented Cory with his medals.  Delta Police - like police all across the country - help to raise funds for Special Olympics with the annual Law Enforcement Torch Run, which Cory participates in when it comes to Delta.

So a hugely successful though for a few moments, very stressful, weekend of racing for Cory...as our bus leaves Silver Star, which for Cory turned out to be Golden Star.

We will have to wait until mid to late April to find out if Cory has officially qualified for the National Games next year in Thunder Bay.  But as the only skier to have earned 30 points with 3 Gold Medals, it certainly does look good for him.

In two weeks time, he is off to Mexico with friends for a well-earned vacation.  Though he looks to already be in celebration mode at the closing ceremony party!

We will update when we received official confirmation of his qualification.

Final Prep for the Provincial Games

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

And the start of a new relationship...training one Sunday with Cypress Ski Club, whose coaches all have worked with Cory before at Whistler Mountain Ski Club.  The ski racing world is a small one.  Might be a chance to work something out for Cory to train with Cypress Ski Club more often.





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!

New Season - New Challenges

Cory's 12th ski racing season - yes, 12th!, he's a grizzled old veteran now! - will be underway soon.  It will be a season of new challenges as for the first time since 2011, he is not the fastest ski racer in Special Olympics British Columbia.

He finished 2nd in all 3 events at the last races held in Kimberley last March.

Cory also participates in basketball with Special Olympics, and last year he moved out of the C-level basketball program in Delta to the B-level program in Richmond .  Well this year, that program has been reclassified as an A-level program.  So Cory has moved from C-level ball to A-level ball in one year.  It's a big jump - pun intended!

It means he is up against primarily bigger, taller, and stronger opponents.  And at least for now, better skilled opponents.

At Cory's first practice last week...some 3 on 3....a bit of slalom to get started, something he's quite familiar with....then a futile attempt against a taller opponent....but not intimidated at all as he carries and passes the ball....and goes to the net where all the action is....and positions himself well for a score...



With more players expected to attend practices, 5 on 5 against those big guys will certainly be a new challenge for Cory, especially at the pace of A-level play.  And there should be some interesting competitions over the winter, though Cory's focus will obviously be on his skiing.

Cory and I were reviewing various videos of him racing and of some famous ski racers.  Over the last couple of years, Cory has developed a rather unique style at the start gate.  No other racer we've seen drops as low as Cory does.  He did this completely on his own, no one instructed him to do so.  I've wondered if his low position was helpful or a hindrance.  But it was his style, and I figured it would be best to just let it be.

And then today, we came across this....Herman Maier - the Herminator as he was called, one of the greatest skiers ever - and he's copying Cory!!!  Hey!

Well, it's obviously a good thing for Cory to do, if it's good enough for the Herminator.  Cory just needs to make a small adjustment - keeping his hands high and his poles perpendicular to the snow, not at a slant.  We'll work on this right here at home before the season starts.

That will be just some fine tuning but last season Cory developed a bit of a bad habit of being too far back on his skis...this is from training at Sun Peaks last February....with much of his weight too far back towards the tails of his skis, and his knees perpendicular to his feet, he is not getting enough pressure on the tips of the skis - the real steering wheel of race ski as it is at the tip that the skis are the widest, once on edge that wide edge would dig into the snow and help him carve a cleaner turn.  Here you can see most of the snow is flying from the tail end of his skis and his skis drifting to his left as he tries to end a turn to his right...

compared to racing at Sun Peaks in 2015...body more forward, body weight forward of his heels, knees at a 45 degree angle to his feet, putting more weight into that wide part of the ski at the tip, allowing it to dig into the snow and make a clean carve to his left.




So a bit of work to do there too...Provincials are in Silver Star near Vernon on Feb 21/22.  Got some time to fine tune the champ!