Ryan & Nate Traveled to Europe for the Absolut Park Spring Battle and Grandvalira Total Fight contests and made an incredible adventure out of it. Here the story from Ryan Below:
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When March 17th finally came we couldn't believe it.
Traveling to Europe to ski has been something Nate and I have dreamed of our
whole lives and now it is a reality.
Our first contest of the trip was Absolut Park Spring Battle
in Flachauwinkl, Austria. Just from watching videos of past years, we knew we
were in for a massive perfectly built course and that is exactly what they gave
us. A couple days of bad weather mixed with ankle deep slush didn't make it
easy to put a run down on 90-100 foot jumps but we made the best of it. I
actually ended up fracturing a rib or two on the second day of the contest and
Nate was recovering from dislocated ribs so we both just ended up putting down
“safety” runs. Regardless of the little setbacks we experienced, it was an
amazing time skiing Absolut Park, staying in the little mountain village of
Wagrain, and exploring the natural wonders that Austria offers.
From there we drove through the mountains to our next
destination, Kitzsteinhorn in Kaprun, Austria. We got to spend two days ripping
around this glacier because a couple kids on our team had to do a mini FIS
contest here. The views from the top were truly mind blowing. No matter where
you looked it was just colossal mountains popping through the clouds.
After Kaprun, we had a few off days before our next contest
in Andorra and since we were already flying into Barcelona we decided to spend
two days in the city with our team. We covered almost every inch of the city on
rental bikes during our limited time there. Sightseeing in one of the most
beautiful cities in the world with some of our best friends was an experience
that we will never forget. Once our time in Barcelona was over we drove three
hours to our last contest of the year, Total Fight in Andorra. None of us
realized how stacked the field of riders would be at this competition. 30
skiers (including us) were competing and all 30 competitors could take the win.
Standing in the start gate next to Henrik Harlaut and McRae Williams is a
pretty crazy opportunity. Competing with fractured ribs isn't the easiest thing
to do but I ended up putting down a decent run and missing finals by one spot
overall. It was a super small final so I was stoked to be that close especially
with an injury holding me back. Nate ended up tweaking his knee in practice so
he decided to play it safe. Even with his safety run he was only 5 spots out of
finals in his heat.
Looking back on this trip makes us realize how lucky we are
to be involved in this sport. Traveling to some of the most beautiful places in
the world doing what you love with your best friends is not an opportunity that
presents itself very often. We can’t thank everyone enough that helped
make this dream a reality and hopefully there are many more journeys like this
to come.
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Athletes:
Nate Miceli
Ryan McElmon
