The 2012 Barefoot Nationals were held in the same place as last year at the Barefoot Ski Ranch in Waco, Texas. Even the heat was the same as last year, hitting 108 on one of the days.
Since the doctor was adamant about waiting the full nine months after ACL surgery, I took it really easy over the summer and didn’t do anything new. I was pretty much happy to be able to stand up and make it down the lake. I stood up a little too fast on my trick run, but the nice crew granted me a re-ride. My brace flew off, so we headed back to the dock to tape it. It didn’t matter– the darn thing flew off twice on both falls, leaving me with bruises on my left leg and a black eye. Slalom wasn’t much better– the first run was okay, but I fell on the second run.
Back to the drawing board to learn how to barefoot all over again for next year.
But the best part of the tournaments is not the skiing, it’s the people. I’ve met so many people who inspire me and push me to new heights. They’re accomplishing amazing things with their lives. I took a moment to grab a photo with Jim Boyette, the world’s oldest barefoot competitor:
Jim is amazing– he’s been to every single Nationals since the first one in 1978. You can read more about him here:
World’s Oldest Competitive Barefooter
Keith St. Onge and I were interviewed by KWTX TV Channel Ten and we had the chance to talk about his upcoming book, “Gliding Soles,” which will be released in September. Keith and I spent the last two years writing this book together and we uncovered some amazing stories from his life journey and the lessons he learned along the way.
The print version of the interview is here (the video portion was removed):
Deaf Skier Overcomes Adversity
A big thank you goes out to Phonak and HearingLikeMe, the company who made it possible to compete in tournaments. Another thank you goes out to Anytime Fitness Naperville, Badger Balm (they supplied the sunscreen and lip balm) and Tommie Copper.
Next up is Women’s Week at the World Barefoot Center, where I’m hoping to accomplish a back-to-front instead of a back-to-splat: