* What was the highlight of the trip?
For me I can’t say that there was one particular highlight. The whole trip was a fantastic experience – getting to know all the other girls and Johno the filmer and Dan was great. We all had a really cool connection to each other and had a lot of fun. Skiing-wise, if I had to pick out one thing, it was definitely my 3 down a big windlip.

* What surprised you the most about riding in Russia?
The whole region is so different compared to Europe, so everything was a bit surprising. There are no crowds, really old gondolas and chair lifts, the mountains are enormous – up to 5600m high – and the vibe is so different and mellow.

* What was the toughest part of the trip?
To know that when you got hurt you would be in real trouble! There is no real ambulance and the nearest hospital is really far away.

* What was the highlight of the trip?

Actually the highlight of the trip was getting up every morning at the foot of Mt Elbrus and Mt Cheget and not knowing anything about what kind of little adventure was going to happen to us next. Seriously, every day was a new challenge to all of us, because no decisions were taken before, we had no plan for the next day and everything was spontaneous! That’s exactly what Russia is all about. And that’s why it was such a great trip, because every day was an adventure and we made the most out of it! We were having loads of fun together at the mountains, in the valley, on the river or even on the back of horses. We always came back to the hotel totally exhausted but with some good output at the end of the day, every day. I am still stoked!

* What surprised you the most about riding in Russia?
The most surprising thing was that the gondolas and chairlifts were in such bad condition and yet they would still get up to 3000m. I think everyone who is used to European standards would be more than scared… so was I, ha ha!

* What was the toughest part of the trip?
One of the toughest parts of the trip was ordering food. We could not read any Russian and as the people in the resort could only speak their Russian dialect, it got quite hard to order the right things. Even harder for Dan as he is vegeterian, ha ha! So in the end we were just pointing with our finger at the menu. Sometimes it was surprisingly good, but sometimes it was just horrible… And not getting enough food at the end of an exhausting day at 4000m was pretty tough!

* What was the highlight of the trip?
I’m not a BC skier so everything we did was so different from what I’m used to, but the tree jib was fun. Going to Moscow was also really nice.

* What surprised you the most about riding in Russia?
What surprised me the most was that there wasn’t really any snow! I thought we were going to ride park, so when I got there with my centered park skis I got a big surprise! I’m a park rat, so hiking, building and shaping was new and definitely a good-bad surprise.

* What was the toughest part of the trip?
The toughest part was the food! I’m not really into the typical Russian cuisine, so I ended up eating mashed potatoes, tomatoes and cucumbers for a week straight!