Makayla Update from Down Under
8.5.10 8:14 AM
GNU Girl Makayla Tierney is down in New Zealand here is an update from her:
So far my trip has been very exciting, but it is not even close to being over yet, which is awesome. I flew out of JFK airport and headed down under really excited, ready, and up for the adventure that ultimately still awaits me. Luckily I was use to the nine-hour flight, which made my second trip down here a whole lot easier because I prepared myself to not end up tired and jetlagged. Other than New Zealand, I have traveled to Argentina, Austria, Bermuda, and Canada, which has made me an experienced 14-year-old international traveler.
Since I have been down here, I have eaten some new interesting foods that make me full pretty quickly, if you catch my drift. Everyday up on the mountain has been thrillingly beautiful with the coolest clouds in the baby blue skies. Everywhere you look down here is a painting that is just waiting to be splattered all over a canvas; I love it. The feeling of the free abilities to scream as loud as I want down here drives me to work even harder on the snow, and when I fall, I laugh. There is no place I would rather be in the world right now. I am enjoying every minute possible, wherever I am, wherever I stand. I’ve been working on some rail tricks recently since we’re all still getting used to the slightly over-vert pipe. Just learned cab 270 to back 270 out on boxes, switch board-slide to regular on down rails, switch front boards and switch 5050’s to switch back one out on flat boxes. Today in pipe after only doing cab 5’s for a week in Mt. Hood, took the next step and tried a few cab 7’s. Landed one by the end of the day and unfortunately didn’t get to perfect them since the pipe closed. The guy at the top of the pipe actually started to get frustrated at how I was hiking even after it already closed, Haha.
Regardless of the new tricks I’ve been thankfully learning, everything else including meeting new friends and experiencing the New Zealand culture makes me just as stoked to be here. This place makes me realize how lucky I am, especially after you take 10 plus runs over at Treble Cone Mountain on a powder day. Look it up on Google and you’ll never see a view anything like it.
