Let It Snow!

Hi All,

Just a quick update to tell you about my weekend skiing on the snow (or ice, depending on how you look at it). The rain from last week took a lot of the snow that Windham had and turned it into ice, but anytime you can go skiing is a great time!

I realized how spoiled we were throughout this season when I went to put my skis on outside of the ASF deck on Saturday and stepped onto a complete sheet of ice. That was not going to stop anybody from taking in some of the final tracks of the season, though, and everyone cautiously ventured off the deck onto the ice to pop into their bindings.

We spent the entire weekend getting used to the icy conditions that we were skiing on, but by the Sunday afternoon the race team was back to normal and having a great time! Over the course of the weekend, we practiced turning on glare ice on Wonderama and ventured onto some of the steeper terrain like Whistler (some of the race team members even did Upper Wolverine)!

On Sunday morning, the head coach of the race team, Mary Bozzone, and I were filmed for a special suprise! Keep your eye out over the next few months to see if anything new pops up onto the website! Speaking about suprises, the entire race team is beginning to prepare a few suprises for spectators the weekend of the Hartman Race! It will be very cool!

We have our second to last race on Saturday afternoon, the Michael Gray Memorial Race, and all proceeds go directly to the Adaptive Sports Foundation. The race is open to the public, so if you want to race in it you can download the registration form on ASF's Website!

Apparently, Mother Nature rewarded Windham once again as over 6" of powder were dumped on the mountain on Sunday night! I have my Spring Break next week and can't wait to hit the slopes once again!

Until then, let it snow!

- Tracker
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"Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal; nothing on earth can help the man with the wrong mental attitude." - Thomas Jefferson

Happy New Year!

Hi All,

I hope you all had a great holiday!

The race team braved the conditions this weekend to take on Windham Mountain and tackle all that Mother Nature could give us! It wasn't exactly the prettiest weekend, but we need to learn how to ski different types of terrain.

I skied a half day Friday, all day Saturday, and a half day Sunday and saw the mountain melt away before my eyes. While it was very sad to witness this, I realize that the snowmaking staff of Windham Mountain has committed to make snow on Monday night and a big storm is expected Friday night. I am extremely optimistic!

The snow actually was not too bad either! I got a lot of mileage this weekend and feel extremely confident in my skiing! I think this is the best I have ever skied!

Now that I am back home, my eyes are set on Pasadena and the Rose Bowl. I am heading out to California on New Years Eve and am looking forward to attending the big game! I really hope Penn State beats USC and puts on a great show while doing so!

Have a great New Years and LET IT SNOW, please!

- Tracker

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""I wonder if people realize the restraints that I am freed from when I ski? There is no other time that I can move with such speed and agility than when I am skiing." - Kirsty Digger

What a Weekend!

Hi All,

The snow was absolutely amazing this weekend! I believe it redefined the term "Powder Day" on the East Coast! Windham got over a foot and a half of snow - something everyone is definitely happy about going into the Winter Break!

On Saturday, there were only seven racers and we had a "fun day" while we worked on our short radius turns. This was definitely beneficial as the powder is thick and harder to turn on. We all mastered the short radius turn by the end of the day, though!

On Sunday, we had our first race of the season - The Mountain Dew Vertical Challenge! Everyone did well in it and the ASF Race Team won five medals! After the race everyone decided to call it an early day and head home since it was snowing hard and everyone had a long drive ahead of them!

Overall, it was an amazing weekend and I cannot wait for the next one!

Have a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and a Happy Kwanzaa!

LET IT SNOW!

- Tracker
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"Winter is the time for comfort, for good food and warmth, for the touch of a friendly hand and for a talk beside the fire: it is the time for home. " ~Edith Sitwell

Finals Over + Powder Alert = Happy Me

Hi All,

As I sit here and look out at the Winter Wonderland that has become my backyard, I realize that I have to pack for a weekend (or more) of skiing, so this will be a quick post! I finished my finals on Tuesday morning and have a full semester at Happy Valley under my belt. I can't believe it! I received all my grades already and am very happy - I made the Dean's List!

When I arrived back in NY and watched the news, all I heard was "snow, snow, and more snow" - I am ready to go tear up the slopes!

I will write up a post about skiing this weekend early next week!

Have a great weekend!

Let it snow! (Yes, let it snow even more!)

- Tracker
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"Skiing is a dance, the mountain always leads." - Anonymous

First Tracks

Hi All,

What a weekend! I got my first tracks of the season in on the Friday and Saturday after Thanksgiving! The conditions were phenomenal - it was like it was mid-February. I skied with my father and brother, Matthew. We did everything from White Way and What's Next (our beginner trails) to Upper Whistler and Lower Wolverine (our intermediate trails). As the day went on the trails began to get a bit icy and skied off, so we called it a day rather early both days. We were not in midseason form and did not feel it would be smart to stay out without building up our endurance.

I could not believe how nice the snow was! Windham Mountain definitely made a lot of improvements in its snowmaking capabilities. Now, I am already looking forward to finishing my finals so I can hit the slopes once again in mid-December. I figured I would share some of the pictures I took over the course of the weekend with you as well:













One of the views from the top of D-Lift.














Another view from the top of D-Lift.














It was such a nice background for a picture. I couldn't resist!


I would like to take the time to wish everybody who is planning on attending the Disabled Ski Spectacular in Breckenridge a great trip. I would like to congratulate Staci, one of my teammates, who received a scholarship to attend a race camp during the event! Her guide, Ally, is also going, as well as the head coach of the race team, Mary Bozzone. I am also aware that Kim, Tom, and Adam will be making the trip out there. I wish the aforementioned people along with everyone else from ASF who is going out there has a safe trip! Have a ball!

I hope you all have a great week!

Let it snow!

- Tracker

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"Winter, a lingering season, is a time to gather golden moments, embark upon a sentimental journey, and enjoy every idle hour. "- John Boswell

It's Snowing in Happy Valley!!!

Hi All,

It is really coming down here in Happy Valley! The snow is so beautiful and makes me want to pop into my bindings and ski to class. We got about an inch already and are expected to get up to two more!

I was down in town today and had to walk back up to my dorm. It was during this time that it hit me that ski season is almost upon us. As I was walking up the hill with snow blowing in my face, I felt like I was on a chairlift that stopped right below a snow gun! I walked into my dorm and the front of my body was completely white from being pelted with snow. When my suitemate asked me if I was okay, I responded with a big "I love it!". All of my friends now think I'm crazy for saying that!

Tomorrow is a big day here in Happy Valley. If our football team wins, we are going to the Rose Bowl - the most famous bowl game in college football! Fans are already lining the streets, cheerleaders handed out stickers that said "Subpar-tans" (we play the Michigan State Spartans tomorrow), and the HUB, our student center for activities, was having a huge party. There was free popcorn and prize raffles, ESPN Radio's Colin Cowherd is broadcasting "The Herd" from our food court. and signs lined the tables with words like "BELIEVE" and "Lets add one more..." with an arrow pointing to all the years we won the Big Ten Championship. I can't wait for tomorrow!

We have a pep rally tonight called "Rally in the Valley" to get us all riled up for the game and we are expecting our beloved coach, Joe Pa, to give a speech as well! Before the rally, our #1 ranked women's volleyball team is hosting the first round of the NCAA tournament, so I will go to that as well!

The thing I can't wait for the most is to see my family. I am looking forward to taking them to the football game and showing them what Penn State is all about.






I will leave you with this picture of a statue of Joe Paterno that was taken earlier today by our local paper.


Lets hope it keeps snowing!

- Tracker

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"The first fall of snow is not only an event, it is a magical event." - Anonymous

Wheelchair Basketball Halftime Show

Hey,

I received an e-mail from Windham Mountain today saying that they are opening the mountain early this year - this weekend! I can't believe that it will actually be open, I guess it is the silver lining in the weather being so cold already! While I won't go skiing this weekend because I am going to the final Penn State football game of the season, I will definitely go next weekend (after Thanksgiving) for my first tracks of the season.

Yesterday, I had a chance to play Wheelchair Basketball at halftime of the Penn State Men's Basketball game against the New Jersey Institute of Technology. What an experience! We started by practicing in the basketball team's practice gym (under the stands). I had never seen it before because that gym is not open to the public. It was huge! It had six basketball hoops and was equipped with an electric rebound machine and lots of other things I did not even know existed!

We played the "All Star Team of Assistant Coaches" composed of coaches from a variety of Penn State teams. After a warm-up game in the practice gym we rolled our wheelchairs out to the sideline of the actual basketball court. We had to wait about 10 minutes to go on, but it did not seem that long at all. It was exciting to watch a college basketball game from so close!

When it was our turn to go on, the announcer said all of our names over the loud speaker and what sports we participated in. With the Nittany Lion, our university mascot, as the referee we had a jump ball and started the game. We played for six minutes and I scored a basket and played very good defense. I set about seven picks and our team forced a lot of turnovers. We beat the "All Star Team of Assistant Coaches" by a score of 10 - 2.

It was an amazing experience. The arena was huge and had a big jumbotron above the court. While the stands were empty (there were only about 400 or 500 people in attendance), it was very fun to play in an arena of that size (seating over 15,000 people). The crowd was getting into the game and rooted for our team the whole way. When the other team had to make substitutes, the crowd "boo"ed them and every time we had the ball, the crowd cheered for us and screamed whenever we scored a basket.

I had six friends in attendance who told me that I was on the jumbotron for at least 20 seconds after I scored my basket. They also said that it looked like nobody left the arena during halftime because they wanted to see the game - it is nice to attend a university where all of the athletics are supported by the fans.

One of my friends took a lot of pictures and you can see some of them below:















The team is all lined up and ready to take the court.
















After our team makes a basket, we are off to play defense.
















This is my basket. I am at the bottom left of the shot and the ball is right above the hoop.
















This is the really big jumbotron!





















One of my teammates, Rohan, made a shot towards the end of the game.

















This is the Nittany Lion, our mascot and referee.


Wheelchair Basketball was a great experience and I am definitely looking forward to our next halftime show sometime in January or February of 2009!

Changing topics a bit, I am really looking forward to this weekend's football game against Michigan State. My brother, father, and uncle are all coming to the game (I bought their tickets today)! Kim Seevers (ASF Operations Director) will also be in attendance to hopefully watch the Nittany Lions clinch the Big Ten Championship for the first time since 2005 and win their first Rose Bowl bid since 1995!

I have no tests until after my Thanksgiving break, so I am looking forward to being able to relax a bit before I go back home on Saturday night.

Lets all hope that this cold spell continues and Windham is able to lay down a nice layer of snow so we can ski good conditions all season long!

- Tracker

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"Everything comes too late for those who only wait." - Elbert Hubbard