Because I am not the biggest fan of spending my winter break at the beach, I have always, for the most part, opted for a ski vacation. Recently, the weather in New York City, my hometown, has been bone chilling and I wondered before my flight to Salt Lake City, Utah, took off if I wasn’t better off visiting a beach.
A few weeks prior to takeoff, my dad, an avid skier and the unofficial organizer of our family vacation, noticed that the Freestyle Skiing Competition at Deer Valley Resort, where my family and I happened to be staying, was looking for journalists to write about the competition. He emailed me asking if I would be interested in applying for credentials, and I enthusiastically said yes! I filled out a form and named “The Experience Blog” as my news outlet. A few days later, Emily Summers, the communications manager at Deer Valley, confirmed my acceptance into the event’s press corp. At the event, I saw athletes born in the United States, China and Russia compete for gold medals. Some of the athletes will even travel to South Korea to compete in the Olympic Games.
It was no accident that I found myself attending a press conference with the U.S. Ski Team. But I will admit that it wasn’t exactly my idea to cover a freestyle skiing competition. My friend Daphne Miche ’20 from Conn attended the event too. Together we watched incredible skiing in a place that felt like heaven. And we had front-row seats to history-in-the-making.
Growing up, I watched skiers Bode Miller, Picabo Street and Lindsey Vonn on T.V. Their courage and speed on the slopes inspired me tremendously. Though I am far from an Olympian, I see the competitors (who just happen to be my age) are perhaps the next generation of great skiers inspiring the young kids on the mountain to be bold and daring in their skiing. I was once a young skier, and now I am more of an experienced reporter and skier. My time as a ski reporter taught me two things: always pack mittens and when in doubt, drink some hot chocolate with extra marshmallows and whipped cream!
