From the U.S. Ski Team

It took Scott Macartney (Crystal Mountain, WA) less than five months to go from lying in a hospital bed with a severe head trauma to clicking into his bindings for an on-snow training camp with the men’s U.S. Alpine Ski Team at Mammoth Mountain. This fact clearly illustrates the feelings he has for skiing.

“It’s my life,” he says. “It’s what I do. Beyond that, it’s not just something that I do passionately, it’s something that I’ve had to give a lot to be able to do.”

Macartney’s return to the sport

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Ski area operator John Kircher is doing well after undergoing a liver transplant Tuesday morning, Crystal Mountain spokeswoman Tiana Enger said today.

Breathing tubes were removed Wednesday night and ultrasounds show Kircher is doing well, according to an e-mail update sent out by the Kircher family. Kircher is expected to leave the intensive care unit of the Mayo Clinic Minnesota soon.

Kircher is president of Michigan-based Boyne Resorts’ western operations, which controls Crystal Mountain and the Summit at Snoqualmie. Kircher also oversees operations at Cypress Mountain in Vancouver, B.C. Cypress is a 2010 Winter Olympic venue.

Kircher,

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A feature on Sarah Schleper from the Juliann Fritz of the U.S. Ski Team:

For most athletes, spring is a time to focus on training for the upcoming season. But for two U.S. Ski Team athletes, this spring has brought something special. Sunday, three-time Olympian Sarah Schleper (Vail, CO) and the U.S. Disabled Cross Country Team’s Monica Bascio (sit-ski; Evergreen, CO) will celebrate their first Mother’s Day as mothers.

Schleper, who gave birth January 30 to her son Lasse Gaxiola, is looking forward to spending her first Mother’s Day with a few special people.

“I will be with Lasse and my mom and my mother-in-law on Sunday,” Schleper said. “Celebrating from the other side is a totally new experience. I think the first Mother’s Day is the most special.”

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