Andorra: Tale of Many Faces Part 2

It's Friday, the morning after the first competition we were at it again! Up by 5, breakfast at 6, on the road by 7. The weather looked good, clear skies with a few high clouds. We were told to wait at the mountain for a decision on the comp and still didn't know what venue we were going to ride, you could sense that there was a bit of anxiety fueled by exhaustion and indecision. As soon as the sun started to shine over the peaks we were notified that we might be riding a new back-country face that would be accessed by heli and we would be able to walk outside and inspect from the lodge. We headed out to get a look at the face and to watch the guides and judges ride down as they inspected the conditions. The snow looked variable as this is a south facing slope and had received some sun the previous day, but it didn't look horrible. I was excited about the prospect of this face and immediately started to scan for potential lines to ride. As we inspected the organizers had a meeting with the riders board and discussed the snow conditions along with the expected weather for the day. To our chagrin, the decision was made not to compete, It was felt that the snow was too variable and there would not be enough of time window with a storm approaching that afternoon. We were told that with new snow in the forecast that we would wait out the weather window and the next decision for competing would be made Tuesday. We were released to enjoy what Andorra has to offer! The rest of the afternoon was spent freeriding at Vallnord and enjoying some pretty great pow, followed by out own private dance party that night at the hotel! I wanted to get the most out of my down days and was excited to actually explore the area and to be a bit of a tourist. The next day I arranged a trip with Hazel, Lorraine, Evelina and her dad to go down to Andorra la Vella, Andorra's capital and do a bit of site seeing. There was a nice little trail above the city that offered panoramic views and an opportunity to have a relaxing walk in the sun. We also enjoyed the historic part of town and a lovely lunch at a little cafe. On Sunday Hazel, Lorraine and I took another trip to Andorra la Vella to experience Caldea, a spa located inside a giant mirrored building that dominates the skyline. It was mildly entertaining and we waded different pools of tepid water and were a bit surprised at how many people flocked to this attraction. Later that evening we were told that the contest would be delayed until Wednesday or Thursday, as bad weather was expected, so we had more time to kill. The waiting period can be stressful, but it can also be a ton of fun. Leo Slemett arranged for a group of riders to play outdoor paintball one afternoon! We had a blast, 20 athletes running around shooting each other and of course there is always some fun competition among us. At one point Reine and Leo had an old fashioned style duel, walking ten paces away from each other before turning and shooting! The weather brought a decent amount of new snow and the next best day to compete was going to be on Thursday, the last day of the weather window. We were able to ride some pretty great snow on Wednesday while we waited for weather to clear enough to inspect the venue. It was decided by the organizers that there was enough new snow to make Baser Negre safe to ride (previously deemed too sharky). We rode all morning and went for a riders meeting on the mountain at noon. There were still thick clouds covering then venue, so a group of us waited for clearing. While we waited, i decided to build a snowman and was joined by Audrey, Eva and Polo. These jokers quickly made the snowman transgender and a bit pornographic, our minds are in the gutter much of the time! We never got a great look at the venue that afternoon, but did see that the snow had warmed up quite a bit and the bottom to the venue was littered with roller balls from wet snow sloughs. The evening was spent preparing to compete and studying photos of the face. We were up early again to a beautiful clear morning! The plan was to run snowboard men first followed by snowboard women. We were getting a heli ride to the top! This allowed for a bit more time to inspect and we got to watch a couple of the men ride. Lucky for me, because watching a run helped to solidify my line choice and gave me more confidence it the snow quality! The heli ride to the top was amazing and the views of the Pyrenees Mountains from the top of Baser Negre are breathtaking! I didn't have to wait long before my turn to drop and i rode my line exactly to plan! It was fast and fluid with a few average sized air and a bit technical. I was happy to be the only woman to ride this side of the mountain that scored me a second place run! I enjoyed watching the rest of the competition, always amazed by the lines thrown down by the ski men and women! That night we celebrated our Andorra trip with another hotel dance party! I thoroughly enjoyed my Andorran adventure and loved all my experiences there and will be back! Thank you to the Hotel Coma for the incredible hospitality and the Freeride World Tour organizers for working so hard to put on a great event!

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