Blog

Posted by Josh on January 17th, 2012

Happy NEW YEAR! I hope that everyone was able to enjoy life’s simple pleasures over the holidays, and taste a bit of the magic that comes along with the festivities.

Since I last dropped in on ye old blog I’ve done some racing down in Colorado, a full overhaul on my sit ski, a handful of presentations, traveled to Revelstoke and Victoria, and got a few great days of skiing in my own backyard. My holidays were great but my time at home was brief.

Colorado in December is one of my most favourite places to be. The snow is usually good, and pretty much everyone is down there; from the Para Alpine racers to all the freestylers doing the Dew Tour — it’s like a big ol’ reunion.

GS2 race, Copper Mountain, Colorado.

It was a frantically busy trip to Colorado with a solid week of training prior to the races, followed by four straight races (2xGS and 2xSL). Our whole team did very well and I’m happy to say I won three gold and one bronze medal, a great start to the season.

I also had a chance to spend some time in the foam pits at Woodward at Copper and practice doing some flips in my sit ski! The foam pit is the first step of progression to bring that backflip onto the snow one day.

Even though I’m at the forefront of the progression of my sport, I always keep safety in mind. It’s important to recognize and follow a plan when developing new ideas and skills. The next phase of this chapter of training includes lots of practice on an airbag, and then if everything is aligned we’ll try a flip on the snow. Small steps and lots of training/practice are the keys to safe progression in any sport or job.

Returning home for the holidays was a treat, especially since I always put off Christmas shopping off until the last minute. I literally started my shopping at 6 p.m. on Christmas Eve. I got lucky with my shopping, and enjoyed a most wonderful and relaxing Christmas with the family . . . it was nice.

The rest of my holidays were spent overhauling my sit ski to ensure it can handle the big jumps and high speeds in the months ahead. I also spent time working on my website, JoshDueck.com. I’m so damn excited for the season ahead and I’m really looking forward to being able to share it with you via my webpage. It’s gonna be rad.

An early Christmas present from a friend on the Canadian Para-alpine Ski Team.

Revelstoke was next on my list of places to be. I had a chance to go to a classic ski bar and do a presentation on behalf of my favourite foundation, Liveit! Loveit!. This organization is close to my heart, and to be able to share the love and promote empowerment through sport with my good friends is the best feeling. Thanks to Izzy and Zoya Lynch for making this happen, and to all the people for coming out and supporting the cause.

After Revelstoke, it was back to Vernon for a couple of days. I spent some time up at the “Star” riding with friends during the day, and spending my evenings downtown at the Best of Banff Film Festival. It’s always great to take in all of the spectacular films that are being showcased. If you love the outdoors and haven’t been to the festival it’s an absolute must. The “Freedom Chair” played both nights. To see the reaction of the home crowd was amazing — I’m honored and flattered by the support of the community.

Off to Victoria for New Year’s Eve with my lovely lady and some friends. We went to Atomic Vaudeville, the most eclectic production I’ve ever seen — it was a cross between Monty Python and SNL gone completely insane. Brilliant show and a completely ridiculous way to ring in the New Year. However, the purpose of going to Victoria was to meet with the folks at the McCoppin Institute of Learning, to discuss working together in the future. The meeting went so well that we started to design a forum that both Lacey and I can facilitate together — such an awesome concept considering she’s been an integral part to writing the story known as my life.

This personalized New Hampshire license plate says it all.

After Victoria I made it back home for a night to unpack and repack, and have a sit down for a community dinner with our neighbors. The following day I caught a flight to Montreal and drove down to New Hampshire for the U.S. Championships. I’m excited for an opportunity to ski fast and test my mettle against some of the top racers in the world.

Stay tuned for all the results, and stories from my upcoming adventures to Whistler and Aspen.