In just a few days I will be heading down the Chile and my summer will be coming to an end.
Taking a step back from skiing this summer has been really good for me. I’ve had the opportunity to do other things and think about other things aside from constantly skiing and hitting the gym. I’m now ready to put my skis on and head back to the snow!

Since my last update I enjoyed a short amount of time back at home in Italy. If you thought the UK heatwave was bad then you should have tried the Italian one. With temperatures well over 40 degrees in the sun I spent my days either in the pool, in the lake or in the shade! The heat was short lived though as I flew to Manchester for a 4-day camp in Chill Factor. I was coaching for Ambition but as the camp was sponsored by Atomic, I was also there representing Atomic. It’s cool to see so many younger kids trying out Atomic skis and enjoying them. Even at the level of skiing I am doing now, it is extremely difficult to get to try out skis so Atomic UK are giving the kids a great opportunity by letting them test out their skis. Although I wasn’t exactly looking forward to being indoors all day on the ski slope, the camp was really good fun! I could see the kids progressing and enjoying themselves and it was great to see so many of them on the podiums at the British indoor races at the end of the week.

After Manchester I headed up North to Glasgow for a few days where I was visiting my ex-team mate and best friend, Nicole Ritchie. Nicole was working at Glasgow ski racing for a few days while I was visiting so I asked if I could help out too. It was my first-time skiing on a plastic ski slope! I expected it to be more like skiing on snow but I managed to only fall over once… and by the end of the second day I was going off the jump and tucking down the slope so I was pretty proud of myself! It was cool to see so many young kids loving skiing on plastic and coming down from a 7 second long run with a big smile on their faces.
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I’m back in Italy now for a few days to pack up all my ski gear before I head to La Parva in Chile on Thursday. I will be down in Chile with ISRA for three weeks for racing and training.  
 

I’ve been pretty busy since my last update. I went back home for 10 days after Val D’Isere for a rest and to start working on my fitness again. It was nice to be back in the gym and recovering more of the muscle I lost when I broke my leg! The weather in Italy had also started to heat up so I was also out on the lake wakeboarding as much as possible.

I flew to Edinburgh to do a week of coaching for ATC in Braehead, Glasgow. It’s always nice to be able to give back to the next generation of British Alpine Skiing and the kids make the work fun. The only downside was being in the indoor ski centre in sub-zero temperatures when Scotland was having one of their hottest summers ever!
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After Glasgow I headed back down south to London where I had a few days off before going even further south to the Isle of Wight for a 2-week water sports course at UKSA in Cowes. I’ve done a lot of yacht sailing with my family but I had never sailed a dinghy so I was a bit of a fake sailor… My course consisted of a week of dinghy sailing and a week of windsurfing. I absolutely loved the dinghy sailing. My plan is to come back to Cowes the next time I have time off to do my dinghy sailing instructor course so I’ll be able to work as a sailing instructor in my spare time. I’ve just finished my week of windsurfing, I really enjoyed it as well and I wasn’t too bad at it, I just didn’t get quite the same buzz as from the sailing. Unfortunately, yesterday it was too windy to windsurf but instead we went surfing. Despite doing quite a bit of surfing in the past I’d never actually managed to surf a wave so I was really excited when I finally managed to get up on the board! I now understand why people love the sport. If anyone is interested in getting into the water sports or yachting industry then UKSA on the Isle of Wight is the place to be!
The past two weeks have been a great experience and it’s always a good thing to take a step back from the world of skiing and see what happens outside the bubble once in a while. My next time of snow will be in Manchester next weekend where I will be coaching for Ambition and Atomic. My on-snow training starts up again at the end of August when I head to La Parva, Chile!​

Summer is officially here! Those long nights, warm temperatures and getting up at 5am to go skiing…
Due to breaking my leg and ending my season earlier than planned, as soon as I was off crutches I was back in the gym working to get back all the muscle mass I had lost in my left leg. I had no pain in my knee during this time and really enjoyed being able to go to the gym and go out on the bike again. Earlier this year I had planned an end of season family holiday in the British Virgin Islands for 2 weeks. However, I recently released my very own swimwear collection, Corallina Swim, which is inspired by the British Virgin Islands. I decided to fly to the Caribbean a week early to sneak in a photoshoot of my collection with some local models! Having not taken more than 2 weeks away from a gym or a pair of skis in over 6 years, 3 weeks off was exactly the rest I needed before starting my summer training.

My holiday flew by and it was soon time to head back to the ski slopes. I have spent the last 5 years training with Orsatus in France. They brought me from a 130 point skier to the racer I am today and have taught me so much about team work, hard work and perseverance. I cannot thank them enough! However, it was time for a change and just as I was starting to look at other options, International Ski Racing Academy came along. The team was set up by Chris Knight who has years of experience working with some of the top American racers in the world. I met Chris to discuss the program and I liked the way things sounded and before I knew it I was headed to Val D’Isere for my first camp with them.

There was so much snow in Val that for the first week of training we were training on the top of the women’s Downhill run at La Daille. Having spent the last three weeks lazing around the Caribbean my knee felt great so I overdid the skiing in the first few days which unsurprisingly, considering I was 10 weeks post a fractured tibial plateau, left me with a pretty sore leg! After a good day of rest and some ice baths in the glacial river my knee was good to go again. As with previous injuries, I need to learn my body’s limits and as much as I hate it… stop before it gets sore!

The coaching style was different to Orsatus but it was exactly the change I needed and I felt really good on my skis. Actually, one of the hardest things to get my head around was the language… After training only in French for 5 years I was missing quite a bit of skiing vocabulary in English!

I am now back home in Italy for a week before I head to Glasgow to do a bit of coaching with ATC in Braehead. I won’t be back on snow training again until August when I head down to La Parva in Chile. I’m going to use my spare time wisely in the gym to insure I am as fit as I can be for next time.
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Of course, I have to write a little bit about my bikini company which has become a huge part of my life that I’m learning to work alongside my skiing. I started Corallina Swim in 2017 as a way to earn money for my skiing and also give my brain a break from all things skiing once in a while! I started from nothing except a love of bikinis and spent 6 months sketching, designing and researching how to start up a business. My first collection is inspired by the British Virgin Islands in the Caribbean and it went on sale on June 8th 2018. All pieces in the collection are reversible, sold separately so you can mix and match sizes and styles and 100% made in Italy. The theme is unique prints, bright colours and styles that suit everybody! You can follow Corallina Swim on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and of course www.corallina.com Check out my blog on the website too! If you have any questions about my bikinis feel free to message me and I look forward to seeing everyone skiing in my bikinis next season!
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It has been far too long since my last blog update! I’ve been doing a huge amount of racing over the past months so it’s probably time to fill you all in on my ups and downs.
In February I headed to Crans Montana for the Europa Cup speed races. Despite difficult conditions with a lot of wind, cold (-28!) and fog I had a really great week. After some solid training runs I managed to grab 27th place in the Downhill race which were my first ever EuropaCup points in speed. I also had a good super g run and I just missed out on top 30 finishing in 33rd. After having skied the piste numerous times during the week, I decided that I would compete in the World Cup Super G at the end of the week. Competing in a World Cup is always a brilliant experience. I was starting bib 54 and had a good run, including a top 20 speed at the speed gun! I finished just 2.7 seconds off the winner and 1.3 off the top 30. It was the first time at a World Cup that I really felt I deserved to be competing amongst the best in the world.
I headed back to base in France for one night before a long drive across France to the Pyrenees. I was straight back into racing with 2 GS in Font Romeu. I was in speed mode and hadn’t had my GS skis on for a while so I was really surprised to perform well and score a second best result this season at 26 points. It’s no where near where I want to be but it’s a step in the right direction! After Font Romeu I drove over the border to La Molina in Spain for 2 Europa Cup GS. La Molina didn’t come together the right way for me. The first day was my chance to get into the top 30 after first run and I missed my shot. I managed to sneak into the top 30 on both days but it wasn’t the results I was looking for.
It was time for the EuropaCup finals! I was really excited to get back to doing some speed races. I performed ok in the speed events. My downhill was good except I was soooo slow on the top flat and then skied the rest of the course well. It’s so frustrating being slow on the flat sections but at least I knew I could hold my own against the other girls on the steeper and more technical parts of the course. The super G suited me much better as with a lowered start it started at the end of the flat! I skied well and just missed out on top 30 by 0.5. It was the run where I had the most fun all season though so I was really happy to be there. The giant slalom at the finals was probably the most difficult day this season. With big mistakes first run I finished in 31st by 0.01. Second run unfortunately I caught an edge and was thrown out the course on the top flat; that’s ski racing!
My last speed races in Andorra were the Andorran National Championships. I frustratingly skied really well. Much better than I had in the Europa Cup finals on exactly the same hill! I finished second in both the Downhill races and won both the super g races. The first one by 3 seconds and scored a result to take my super g points into the 30s. I was feeling really confident and was happy that my skiing was coming together just before the British Championships in Tignes.
I couldn’t believe it was already time for the British Championships. My aim was to win the speed events, do my best in what would be my first slalom race of the year, and have a good shot at winning the GS trophy and defend my Overall title for the 5th year in a row. My week started off really well with a victory in the Super G, defending my title from the previous year. I was really excited for the Downhill race, there were a few more jumps in it this year than previous years which have never been my forte but I had really worked on them this season so felt really confident. My training run started well, I was 0.75 ahead at the first split and then over a second and the next time split and then it all went a bit wrong. The last part of the course in Tignes is a sort of road that traverses the hill before turning sharply to the left over a roll onto the last steep. As I came up to the roll, my line was to go tight on the gate but with my skis heading to the right where the roll was smaller and I would be better set up for the next turn. As I got to the gate it was really windy and the gate was lying across the line which I wanted to take so I threw my skis sideways to avoid the gate… unfortunately as things tend to happen quite quickly in a Downhill this meant I was heading off the jump, backseat, and facing completely the wrong way. I felt like I flew pretty high, a lot higher than expected and with my bum on my heels there wasn’t much I could do when I hit the ground. I closed my eyes as I fell and waited for that all too familiar snapping sound in my knee. At one point in the crash my leg hyperextended and I felt a burning sensation in my left knee. When I finally stopped there had been no snap but oh my god was I in pain. I decided to ski down (not my smartest move) and head straight to the medical centre. An X-ray showed no fractures so I needed and MRI. The verdict was my meniscus had been damaged. The next day I woke in agony with my back, knee and ankle. I couldn’t breathe and I couldn’t hold down any food. We headed to the hospital in Bourg (which took a while as I thought I was going to be sick all the way down the road!). The hospital staff were amazing doing every test on me possible including X-rays on my back and ultrasounds on my internal organs. I was very bashed up but nothing serious. After my MRI the doctor told me my knee was fine, which was a huge relief but I have a small compression fracture on my tibial plateau. When I felt my leg hyper extend my bones basically squished each other another to crack! It was very frustrating to have not been spotted on the X-ray on the day off the accident as I then walked around on it for a week. I’ll be back on skis on time for summer though!
This season I competed in 8 different countries, a total of 73 races, my first Europa Cup points in Downhill and Giant Slalom and PB scores in Speed and GS. I’m proud of myself, I’ve had some really good performances in what was a difficult year. But I am no where near satisfied. This is just the beginning!

2016 was a difficult and frustrating year. I remember watching Laura Trott on TV after the Rio Olympics and her engagement was announced and she said that 2016 was the best year of her life. I couldn’t believe how my life could have been so different after hurting my knee and spending over half my year in rehab. However, it made me determined to appreciate 2017 as much as possible!
 My year started off struggling through the winter season, making small changes in each race and slowly gaining confidence. I ended my season by defending my British Ladies Champion title for the fourth year in the row, despite not performing as well as I wanted in a number of events it was nice to know my skiing was still there.
After the season, I passed my BASI Level 2 in Hintertux, Austria. This meant that I could spend a few weeks coaching younger, up and coming British skiers with ATC. The camps were really good fun and even though I was worn out by the end of them, coaching was so rewarding. I also spent a week in Chill Factor in Manchester, coaching for Ambition and Atomic racing camps.
In my downtime this summer I learnt how to kiteboard on the lake by my home in Varese, Italy. There isn’t loads of wind but there was enough for me to get up and going! I’m definitely looking forward to more windy days next summer so I can practice more. When the wind was down I learnt to wakeboard and water ski too which made the summer go by quickly.
Before I knew it, it was time to head down to Chile for a three-week speed camp. The training was amazing but the races didn’t go to quite to plan… I kept making silly mistakes. It was so frustrating especially since I knew I had been fast in training throughout the summer months. Just before the final set of races in El Colorado, I hurt my knee landing off a jump. It made the final races very challenging as I struggled with pain and dosing painkillers so I could still attempt to ski.
While I was in Chile, the awful news of hurricane Irma and Maria came through. The hurricanes passed straight through the British Virgin Islands, where my family has a sailing boat and where I have spent weeks on holiday for the past 15 years. Unfortunately, our boat sunk during the hurricane. However, it was little compared to the damage the islands have sustained. Parts of the island still don’t have power and running water nearly 4 months later. If there was ever a time to take a holiday to the Caribbean, go now! The islands look like they did 50 years ago before they started to be developed.
When I came back from Chile I took a three week break to give my knee some rest, and although it took me a few weeks to realise it, my head also wanted a break. Even though I wasn’t skiing through much of 2016, I never stopped working towards being fitter and stronger and I just needed a time-out. I had become so tired and fed up with not getting the results I wanted in racing that I was ready to pack skiing in completely. Everything just seemed so much harder than before, I was done fighting and I had forgotten what it was that I enjoyed about the sport so much. I needed all the time off to get my head back to a place where I knew exactly what I wanted: I held onto that Olympic dream.
When I put my skis back on I started skiing faster than I had in over a year. I was ready to go again! The racing hasn’t stopped this season. I’ve done nearly 30 races and it’s not even January. I made my first ever EuropaCup points in Giant slalom in Norway and had some great runs and races. As usual the issue is putting two good runs together in one race… In order to avoid the two run problem, in January I will be focusing on speed which consists of only one run! There are still 3 weeks of races left before the Olympic qualification date and I’ll be keeping that goal in mind every time I push out the start gate.
I would like to thank my equipment and personal sponsors for standing by me for the past 12 months. My parents and coaches for always believing in me and pushing me every day. Thank you for reading my blogs, I hope you’ve found them interesting!
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I’m on my way back to France after 10 days in cold and snowy Norway. The first Europa Cups of the season are done and I’m ready for more! The last time I came to Norway to compete in Europa Cup I left feeling beaten and wanting to head back to some friendly CIT races where I would start amongst the best and likely finish amongst the best. However, I as much as I think winning is one of the best feelings in the world, sometimes even just skiing the way you know you can and being fast is good enough.
The first races were two giant slalom in Hafjell.  The last time I was in Hafjell was for the World Junior Championships. I found the slope just as challenging, a mixture of roles and steeps. The first day I felt miles out of my depth. I was starting bib 89. 89. That’s a big number. Despite the piste conditions being great I let my bib number and the words “europacup” get to my head and I skied pretty terribly. My punishment was that I didn’t even make top 60 to get a second run. Back to the hotel with my tail between my legs; I needed to up my game. After watching my video it was pretty clear why I didn’t get a second run. I didn’t ski well or fight enough to deserve it. The next day I wanted two runs. I fought my way down the first run and just made the cut in 58th. I was annoyed. I had made it but the goal posts had moved. What was the point of being 58th? I wanted to be faster. My second run was good. It was the first time I had strung together my turns so they flowed and I took speed from one gate to a next. Yes, there were mistakes in there but it was a baby step. I moved up 10 places and told myself to remember that skiing for the next race.
After Hafjell I headed to Kvitfjell. On the program one giant slalom, two super gs and a super combined. I was lucky to have two days of super g training on the race slope. It was great, my times were fast and I was feeling confident. First up was the GS. I was starting 77. I just had to make up 17 places for a second run. The weather was horrible, snow, wind and fog. It was brilliant because I love it when the weather is bad! I crossed the finish line and turned around to see my time and saw the number 31 next to my name. My initial reaction was “sh*t”. And then suddenly I realised that this was a Europa Cup and I had moved up 46 places. Not too bad! I ended up in 32nd (nice job C. Guest!) and was ready for second run. Except the weather gods turned against us and second run was cancelled. And then they decided that second run would be the following morning… and unfortunately one of the super G’s would be cancelled. The next day the weather was unfortunately better and the snow conditions unfortunately worse. The snow broke and was very bumpy and instead of attacking the course I retreated. However, I had a little bit of luck and finished in 29th! My first ever Europa Cup points!
The next day was the Super G. I was really excited, the course looked great and I just hoped the snow would hold out for me going bib 60. I skied the top part of the course really well and then I made a dreaded mistake just before the flat. I scrubbed all my speed. At my top split I was in last place. I did my best on the flat, trying to glide and take as much speed as I could out of every turn and I finished 45th, 3 seconds off the leader. I was so annoyed at myself for making the mistake but the positive was that without the mistake I was fast and that’s what I’m taking to my next races.
So I’ve come away from Norway feeling satisfied but hungry for more. I was up there with the top girls and when I manage to string two fast runs together in the same race then I’ll really have my place in Europa Cup. Next stop is Andalo, Italy, for two Europa Cup GS. I’m excited and ready to ski fast. My mum always says to me “you’ll ski fast when you’re ready”. It drives me nuts because I always feel ready but she’s right. When everything comes together I’ll be fast and through hard work, perseverance and time I’ll get there. 

That’s it, summer is over! I’ve just got home from my camp down in Chile, South America. We had the most amazing training. I hardly saw a cloud in three weeks and the snow was either hard and grippy or ice!
When my coaches said we were going to do a speed camp but I didn’t take them seriously. In 20 days of skiing I only spent one day on my GS skis and one day on my slalom skis – paradise! In Europe during the winter I’m lucky to get three days of Super G training and I’ve never done downhill training so it really was amazing and exactly what I needed.
We had two series of races down in Chile and the first ones were in La Parva. There were two downhills and a Super G. I did quite well in the downhill training runs, finishing amongst the top girls and I was excited for the races! There is quite a big jump at the 3rd gate in La Parva, probably the biggest jump I’ve ever done and it’s followed by a long flat section. Unfortunately, in the first race I completely messed up my jump which resulted in me being very slow along the flat and down the rest of the course. I was annoyed to have messed up in the race run but determined to show what I could do in the second race. In the second race I skied much better and I was happy with my run, my time wasn’t quite as fast as I would have liked but it was still a good day.
After the end of the races we had the weekend off and decided to go to Santiago for the day. Despite having been to Chile two times before, I’d never actually spent any time in Santiago and it was really cool to wander around the traditional markets. We walked up a hill to get a view over the city and even had a chance to do a bit of shopping in some outlets. It was a much-needed break from living at nearly 3000m. We returned to Los Farellones under a blanket of fresh snow. Fresh snow meant speed training was off the cards so we had to do a day of slalom!
Once the snow had hardened up again it was back into training for the second series of races which would be in El Colorado, on the hill we trained on! I had a great week of super g and downhill training and I was feeling especially good in downhill. We were due to have two days off before the start of the races but there was an option to train another day of downhill which I just couldn’t resist, I listened to my heart rather than my body… There is also a jump in the downhill in El Colorado. I’m not a natural jumper but I have been working very hard on my jumps this summer and I do enjoy them; my knee though does not enjoy them. The take-off is fine but the landing… not so much! Despite doing a good jump I hurt my knee on the landing of my last run of the day. I had a day of rest before the start of the races.
It wasn’t enough, my knee really needed a few weeks off. I persisted through and I went from skiing in pain on no painkillers and being really slow to skiing with no pain on a lot of painkillers and being extremely slow (due to my head being on another planet!). Downhill was last up and I made it over the jumps without injury and my times were good, especially considering how much pain I was in.
The races didn’t go to plan but the training in Chile was so amazing that I know it will pay off this winter! I’m now back home again for a few weeks rest before I head to the glacier in Tignes to begin my autumn training.          That’s it, summer is over! I’ve just got home from my camp down in Chile, South America. We had the most amazing training. I hardly saw a cloud in three weeks and the snow was either hard and grippy or ice!


When my coaches said we were going to do a speed camp but I didn’t take them seriously. In 20 days of skiing I only spent one day on my GS skis and one day on my slalom skis – paradise! In Europe during the winter I’m lucky to get three days of Super G training and I’ve never done downhill training so it really was amazing and exactly what I needed.
We had two series of races down in Chile and the first ones were in La Parva. There were two downhills and a Super G. I did quite well in the downhill training runs, finishing amongst the top girls and I was excited for the races! There is quite a big jump at the 3rd gate in La Parva, probably the biggest jump I’ve ever done and it’s followed by a long flat section. Unfortunately, in the first race I completely messed up my jump which resulted in me being very slow along the flat and down the rest of the course. I was annoyed to have messed up in the race run but determined to show what I could do in the second race. In the second race I skied much better and I was happy with my run, my time wasn’t quite as fast as I would have liked but it was still a good day.
After the end of the races we had the weekend off and decided to go to Santiago for the day. Despite having been to Chile two times before, I’d never actually spent any time in Santiago and it was really cool to wander around the traditional markets. We walked up a hill to get a view over the city and even had a chance to do a bit of shopping in some outlets. It was a much-needed break from living at nearly 3000m. We returned to Los Farellones under a blanket of fresh snow. Fresh snow meant speed training was off the cards so we had to do a day of slalom!
Once the snow had hardened up again it was back into training for the second series of races which would be in El Colorado, on the hill we trained on! I had a great week of super g and downhill training and I was feeling especially good in downhill. We were due to have two days off before the start of the races but there was an option to train another day of downhill which I just couldn’t resist, I listened to my heart rather than my body… There is also a jump in the downhill in El Colorado. I’m not a natural jumper but I have been working very hard on my jumps this summer and I do enjoy them; my knee though does not enjoy them. The take-off is fine but the landing… not so much! Despite doing a good jump I hurt my knee on the landing of my last run of the day. I had a day of rest before the start of the races.
It wasn’t enough, my knee really needed a few weeks off. I persisted through and I went from skiing in pain on no painkillers and being really slow to skiing with no pain on a lot of painkillers and being extremely slow (due to my head being on another planet!). Downhill was last up and I made it over the jumps without injury and my times were good, especially considering how much pain I was in.


The races didn’t go to plan but the training in Chile was so amazing that I know it will pay off this winter! Mang thanks to Greg and the rest of the Orsatus team for a great camp. I’m now back home again for a few weeks rest before I head to the glacier in Tignes to begin my autumn training.       

My European summer training has come to an end. Having spent a total of 10 weeks on snow this summer I’ve really been making the most of the conditions before heading down to Chile in 10 days time.
My skiing started in June with three weeks in Val d’Isere, France. The Val d’Isere glacier is definitely my favourite: you can drive all the way up to it, there are no queues for the lifts, it has a great speed piste and there are lots of summer activities in the afternoon. I even managed to tick the Col de L’Iseran and the Tignes climb off the bucket list on my road bike! Unfortunately, the hot weather in June took its toll on the glacier and it didn’t have as much snow as it usually would. The snow didn’t always refreeze overnight however this meant that the conditions were perfect for slow drills and working on my technique. Having not skied last summer due to my knee, it was exactly what I needed.
Next, I was off to Hintertux for two weeks of coaching for ATC with Iain Innes. I get a real sense of accomplishment when I see younger athletes improve and kids are great fun to work with. I was absolutely exhausted at the end of the two weeks but I’m so glad I took a little bit of time out of my own training. A huge thank you to ATC for being so accommodating and letting me join their coaching team.
After Hintertux it was straight back into my training with two weeks on the glaciers in Les Deux Alpes. It was insanely busy, I managed to get about 2 runs an hour as the queues were never ending. The snow conditions were great first thing but it started to get soft by about the third run of the day which made queueing even more frustrating! However, I managed some excellent days of GS training where I really felt that I made the next step forward in my skiing. I’ve been focusing on bringing 100% to my first run of the day and also understanding how to use my strength from all those hours in the gym, on my skis. When my skiing clicked into place my runs got almost 2 seconds faster!
Finally, it was time to head home to Varese, Italy for a week off snow. I spent the week in the lake every day, water skiing, wake boarding and attempting to kiteboard however there wasn’t enough wind! There was a heat wave at home and the temperature was above 40 degrees most days! It was just the little summer break I needed as the following week I was in the Manchester Snow Dome: Chill Factore for 4 days of representing Atomic UK and coaching Ambition racing. I was coaching the younger kids and I had such a brilliant time; they made me smile all day and had such great attitudes to racing. It was really nice to be able to represent Atomic skis in the UK and see kids testing them out and enjoying skiing on them as much as I do. A massive thank you to Atomic UK for their continued support and to Ambition for having me along as a coach.
After Manchester, it was time to get back to the snow in Les Deux Alpes. The glacier had actually been closed for the two weeks I hadn’t been there due to the scorching temperatures in an attempt to save the biggest glacier in Europe. It was half saved… The bottom part of the glacier was a mine field of rocks designed to rip apart your bases and the top part of the glacier had been stripped of snow and left with solid, skiddy, juddery glacial ice. On the plus side, the queues were gone! The training was still really good. I had no edges left after 2 runs and the conditions were really challenging but it should mean that when I’m next on snow and it’s not sheet ice then I should find it much easier.
The next time I’m back on snow will be in El Colorado, Chile in 10 days time! I’m so excited to get there and start racing; there are loads of speed races lined up which are going to be so much fun!
As you can see this summer I have been spending time coaching. Despite this cutting into my own training time, the money I earn is going towards helping me qualify for the Olympics this coming winter. I have also set up an Easyfundraising account, this site is brilliant as you can help me raise money without it costing you a penny! If you do any online shopping from groceries to holidays to clothes and electricals please go via my page and the shops will donate a percentage of money towards me with every purchase you make! You can check it out here: https://www.easyfundraising.org.uk/causes/carabrown/ 

All of a sudden the season comes to a very abrupt end. It gets me every year, I think I’ve still got months to go but then I’m suddenly packing up and heading back home. I think this year surprised more because my season only really going in January; rather than having 6 months in summer and autumn to prepare for it, I only had December.
It’s hard to come out the end of the season and to not focus on results. I find myself browsing through Fisski.com trying to work out where I’ll be sat in next year’s world rankings and I have to admit, I’m always disappointed. If skiing results were plotted on a graph and the winner was decided based on improvement then I would have done pretty well. In my first races this year I scored 54 points. That’s worse than what I was scoring 3 years ago. I finished off with scoring a 27 and 28, it’s not 18 points, on paper it’s nothing to be proud of and it feels like a very small consolation for all the work I put into my rehab last year. Yet everyone tells me to look at my improvement and that I should be proud of what I’ve accomplished.
There were definitely a few moments that I was proud of this season. After my knee last year I was determined that I could come back and win my British title for the fourth year in a row and I managed that. I also had some wins in Super G and standing on top of the podium always feels good. Even though I couldn’t string two fast runs together in Giant Slalom I more than once won a run and it showed me that with more time on skis and confidence I would be back winning both runs again!
I think the main accomplishment this season was that it really showed me the motivation and perseverance I have for this sport. 27 points isn’t enough, 18 points isn’t enough, I don’t think it will every feel like enough until I’m stood on the top of the World Cup podium. When I look back at this season I realise it really never was about results, it was always about finding myself and finding my reasons to keep skiing and in that case: mission accomplished.

My training has been fairly up and down for the last month. My knee was doing so well at the beginning of January that alongside my coaches, we decided I could try out some speed. I foreran the men’s Downhill in Tignes. It was brilliant fun until I landed badly off the jump and hurt my knee quite badly. I knew nothing was torn but I had bad bone bruising and I later found out that I had manged to rotate my fibula… I had to take a week off and when I got back on skis I was so worried about hurting myself again that I ended up taking another week off to get my head in the right place.
 I struggled to find GS training at the beginning of the month due to the lack of European snow and then when the snow finally arrived the conditions were too soft to train! In total I’ve had about 10 days of GS training since I did my knee last April. Nevertheless, World Champs St Moritz 2017 has been my goal for so long that I wasn’t ready to give it up.
As I was ranked 53rd on the World Championships start list and only the top 50 girls automatically qualify for the race, I had to compete in the qualification race on Monday in which I had to finish top 25 to qualify. I was happy to have to do this race as it gave me an extra day in gates and a race! My first run in the qualification race was very timid; I feel like I need the first run to convince myself that my knee is going to be ok. I was sat in 21st place after first run, not what I was looking for! My second run was better and I finished 18th overall. My skiing on the steep was still too timid but my flat was fast. I had the 22nd time on the steep and the 6th best time on the flat! The aim was to qualify for the GS on Thursday though and anything on top of that would have been a bonus so I got the result I was looking for.
I went to watch the parallel event on Tuesday which was really good fun and made me wish my knee had been ready to go off the jump so the British team could have shown the world how awesome we are! On Wednesday I freeskied on the race hill. It had a lot of terrain in it but the snow looked great. I trained GS afterwards and was so happy because my coach said I finally managed to attack the course from the first run. I felt so ready for the race on Thursday, I had prepared as well as I could and I knew if I skied my best I could make the second run. (top 60)
I was feeling really positive on Thursday morning, the course looked great in inspection, I had a great warm up and my knee felt good. As I watched the top girls from the finish I told myself that I could ski like them and put down an awesome run. As I stood in the start gate for my run I said to myself “this is it, you’ve made it, all you need to do now is attack the course and go fast!”.
I thought my run started off well, I made a small mistake up top but didn’t feel like I’d lost much speed. When I came onto the steep I felt like I skied well even though I knew I could tighten up my line a bit. When I hit the flat I grabbed the tuck and tried my best to go faster and faster. When I crossed the finish line I was sure I had had a good run and given it my all. The disappointment on my face was obvious as soon as I saw my time. I was in 43rd position but 7 seconds off the leader. I couldn’t believe it. I wasn’t angry at myself because I thought I’d done my best but I was so upset. My coach later told me that he thought I had hurt my knee when I made the mistake at the top because of the way I skied the rest of the course… too timid again despite feeling like I had given it 100%.
My coaches said my skiing was good considering the limited training I’ve had and the other girls told me not to worry because they know how fast I am and coming back from knee surgery just 8 months ago I’m doing really well. It’s still upsetting to see how many steps back I’ve taken since I hurt myself. Physically my knee is great and I’m fitter than I’ve ever been. I’m missing time on skis and in gates. Mentally I was doing well but I’ve been slightly crushed by my time today. I believe that hard work will always pay off in the end and I’m doing everything I can to be fast but I just need more time. I’m heading back to France now to get back into training now that the conditions are great and I’m looking forward to finding my fast feet again for my next races.