Build My Own FeedBD athlete Drew Stoecklein reports in from the slopes of South America
Black Diamond athlete Drew Stoecklein is down in South America ripping it up on and off the Freeskiing World Tour. Below is a short update Drew sent us recently along with some photos.
A few weeks ago I won the first stop on the Freesking World Tour in Chile. It was truly an amazing part of my adventure, and I’m thankful to have been able to travel here and compete. Taking 1st place was a great accomplishment, but the competition part is just a fraction of why I compete on the FWT. I have been competing on the FWT for eight years now and it has been one of the most incredible things I have ever done. It is by far more than just a competition series, it’s a large family of people that have the same goals, love to travel, and push the limits of the sport of freeskiing.
The freeskiing family is the main reason I compete; it’s an extremely dynamic and outgoing group of people from all around the world. Athletes converge from all over the globe and meet up on the FWT to share their passion of freeskiing and life. There are not many sports out there where at the end of the day all the competitors are truly best friends, shaking hands and hugging one another in the finish and at the after-party. The competitions are so intense and there is so much on the line skiing at this level that everyone is thrilled to see one another alive and well at the end of the day. Injury and death are very present in the sport of freeskiing and that is why the freeskiing family is so important to me along with the rest of the athletes. There is no way we would be able to deal with the hardships of this sport without the support of the freeskiing family. Through traveling on the FWT I have made lifelong friends that I will have forever. Not to mention the knowledge I have gained about my ability to ski on the FWT.
The second reason I compete is to push the limits of my mind, body and the sport of freeskiing. I think the competition series is great because we don’t compete with perfect conditions. The date is picked and on that day it’s time to throw down against some of the best athletes in the world. It’s so incredible inspecting a hard-packed venue lining up the cliffs, turns and jumps visualizing every move calculating all the speeds in the line to the nearest inch—and then going to do it. Yes, sometimes it doesn’t work out and you explode into a million pieces with skis, poles and goggles flying everywhere, but when you do stick the line, it’s the best feeling in the world. It would be hard to find one’s true abilities without testing their skills in sub-par conditions. After following the tour for a few years, an athlete will gain the knowledge of their true ability to ski and what they are really capable of.
The family and the knowledge gained through competing on the FWT are something that I will never lose. I’m looking forward to following the entire tour this year. It is going to be an incredible season!
— Drew Stoecklein
United States / English 
31 Oct 2010, 1:48PM
nice one Drew.... It was sick to watch you ride. From getting jacked in the startgate to the tall clear glasses in the bar.. GoodTimes.
....good writing. See you in Revi.
Richie.