The Big Mountains are Calling:

The mountains called and Granite Chief Scholarship Athlete, Caelan Diermann, answered.  At age 14, Caelan has only been skiing for four years but is already impressing as an athlete on Sugar Bowl's Freeride Team.  Last season, Caelan joined the Tahoe Junior Freeride Series which has helped improve his skills and confidence on the mountain.  Caelan's favorite competition was last season in Crystal Mt., Washington, where he got to ski some of the best lines of his life.  He also says there is great camaraderie between teams at the competitions which makes the entire experience more rewarding.

When asked about his goals for the season Caelan told us, "I'm trying to improve my style.  My natural style is 'go big and fast', however, I want to also look good in really techy sections and make those look really flowy."   If Caelan could learn from any skier it would be Johnny Collinson because he is technically proficient while skiing big and fast; Johnny also has "a sick bag of tricks."

Like many athletes, Caelan has pre-competition rituals.  Listening to bands like Rage Against the Machine helps Caelan get fired up and ready to send it!  Caelan also enjoys the social aspect of competing with his friends and other teams.  If his friend had a good run, Caelan says it's fun celebrating together at the bottom of the venue.  Caelan loves skiing in front of a crowd, but when asked what he loves most about skiing, he answered, "It's the most fun I can have.  I feel totally in my element when I'm skiing and love the thrill of going fast and being in the air!"

Here is Cealan competing last season at Crystal Mountain:

 

Caelan's favorite run at  Sugar Bowl is "4th Sister" because it has a mandatory jump right under the chairlift.  Caelan says, "on powder days it is so much fun to rip it and get the whole chair cheering!"  When he is not skiing at Sugar Bowl, Caelan's favorite mountains are Jackson Hole, Squaw Valley, and Crystal Mt.

Granite Chief is really excited to have Caelan as one of our Scholarship Athletes this season.  Caelan will be fun to watch this season and we can't wait to see how his season goes!