Come game day, I loaded the lift early with the other girls and hiked to the starting gate to wait for my run to start. The overall vibe among competitors was very positive and not outwardly competitive. I made nervous small talk with people, then turned my ipod on to try to dissipate my nerves as it got closer and closer to being my turn.  I selected a song for my run (Ratatat remix of Young Jeezy) and pushed out of the start gate.

I was so nervous that my run went by in a blur. I nailed the top technical portion of my line, then somewhere in the middle things started to get chaotic. My ipod volume spontaneously turned up to the max, making me desperate to get to the bottom so I could turn it off. Snow conditions got sketchy, and I took my bottom air bigger than I intended and crashed hard, which meant that I did not make it into Day Two of competition. I crossed the finish line breathless and a bit frustrated, but most of all motivated to try to redeem myself at another competition.