Slopestyle Canceled

Due to high winds the coarse was voted too dangerous and slopestyle was canceled. Closing ceremonies were amazing. I will posted video and pictures as soon as possible. Now I am all packed up and about to start the long haul home!!!

Halfpipe Fun

I had an awesome few days of riding pipe. I qualified for semi's which was awesome. Judges weren't the biggest fan of USA in semi finals though, much like the ref's weren't in the last few hockey games. However, the contest was great. Ryo Aono of Japan took first followed by his team mate Kazuumi Fujita, and third went to Ho Jun Kim of Korea. I became good friends with both the Japanese and Korean snowboard teams.

Curling!!!!!!

We had a day to relax. So we decided to go check out women's curling. Though a long, slow game I think we all learned something.....Curling!!!

Snowboard Parallel Giant Slalom

Snow made the coarse so slow. Our boy Sam Raine had a binding malfunction but still crushed it. Last minute they canceled second run, which put him just outside qualification. Had he got that second run he would of had the chance to climb the ranks. Bummer. David enjoyed some turns, though everyone else was on an alpine set up. However we had some fun. Apparently Red Bull uses its same marketing gig worldwide. Here we are with the turkish Red Bull Girls. They loved us, and insisted on handing us Red Bull one after the other. We left the mountain completely wired and bouncing off the walls. Also, here is Sam being a smooth American at the bottom of the coarse with a cute Netherlands girl. Amurica.

USA Mens Hockey Crushes Slovenia

I want one!!!!!

The ultimate snow transportation

Seafood on a mountain

In front of the Palandöken's lodge is a bbq. Here is what they are serving on display.

Team America

David and I representing the US at a snowboard captain's meeting.

Public Bathroom

Things can be a bit different here. In this situation you stand to do your business, and a bucket of water is used for flushing. We lucked out that the village is filled with your average toilet.

US Snowboard Team on Turkish News

a-t.v. is Turkey's biggest news station. A reporter wanted a story of the US team in Erzurum and chose to take us snowboarders around town. It was an awesome experience. They took us around the city and shared the rich culture and history. We even got invited to drink coffee in the back of a jewelry store by the owner! We spent most of our time trying Turkish foods. It was awesome. We came back that night and watched the segment about us on the tv here in the village. Click this link to view it, it starts about 56 minutes in. So skip ahead unless you understand Turkish and want to know what is happening.

http://webtv.atv.com.tr/webtv/videoizle/atv_ana_haber/175

Erzurum

We had a chance to cruise the city. Such a unique place with amazing history. The Turks love taking pictures with us and teaching each other our languages.

Team USA

We hung with the Turkish snowboard team at the top of the boarder-cross track and learned some more about the country, culture, and language. They spoke great english, and most of them had studied in America. Good Times.

Boardercross

Ski Jumping

Missed the Bus

We missed the bus by seconds, so after Nedim made a call a Turkish escort picked us up and insisted on putting boards in the trunk. Sketchy, but with a couple belts for support they stayed in all the way up to the mountain.

The Athletes Village

Every time we enter the village there is tight security. Every vehicle is swept for bombs and everyone must have an official badge to enter the gates. We then go through security just like the airport. Boards and bags must go through a scanner, andwe walk through metal detectors. The village is set up with lots of dorm buildings, with a couple counties in each one. We have a large cafeteria where all countries eat and can watch events taking place live ontv screens. It is an awesome place to sit and meet athletes from all over the world competing in all events. In case we get sick of the food there is the BK lounge.

Arrival To Erzurum Turkey

With a bumpy landing we were greeted with snow! As we enter the airport, David and I were greeted by our Turkish attache, Nedim. He is awesome. He makes sure we get to where we need to be and does the translating. He has taught us some very funny words and parts of the culture here. He keeps us laughing and in good spirits. An attache is assigned to every team sport. Nedim lucked out with the US Snowboard Team. I think he knows it.

Germany

So I ended up landing in Frankfurt, Germany. I thought LAX was a big airport, but it is nothing compared to Frankfurt International. Here is some funny signs! I think I walked over a mile and 3 stories looking for my gate.

First stop Canada

The best part about Canada was flying over some amazing mountains. But ounce I landed, everything went wrong. Apparently it is mandatory to go through customs, even if you are just making a connections. So after waiting in line and re-checking my bags, I was sprinting to my gate. Thanks to some kind souls that let me cut them in line at security, I made it to my gate just in-time to board. The security asked if I was running a marathon because I was poring sweat sprinting desperately. It was a close one.

Last American Meal

Last night moma made me my favorite meal. Steak, mashed taters, crab legs, asparagus, and bread. This morning was an early wake up call. Stumbled to my terminal at SFO and had myself some breakfast at 6:30am. Last American Meal. Who knows what I will be eating in Turkey....