Johnny B: Hello, powder skiers, this is Johnny B for Altacam.com, and today I'll be talking with up-and-coming free skier, Caroline Gleich. If you haven't heard of her, you will. What's up Caroline?
Caroline Gleich: Not much, how are you doing, Johnny B?
Johnny B: Good, good. How's things going with you?
Caroline Gleich: Great.
Johnny B: Did you go skiing today?
Caroline Gleich: Yeah it was a fabulous powder day up at Alta.
Johnny B: Did you slaughter it?
Caroline Gleich: I did. I slayed it.
Johnny B: All right. Well, great. To start, tell us, where did you come from and how did you end up, coming to Alta.
Caroline Gleich: Well, I grew up in Rochester, Minnesota. I played the ice hockey throughout my childhood and I moved to Alta six years ago.
Johnny B: Is that right? You're a hockey player, were you?
Caroline Gleich: I was a hockey player and it is that training that I attribute a lot of my natural ski prowess to, because I did not grow up competitively skiing, which a lot of people think.
Johnny B: Oh, is that right? So, you grew up competitively playing hockey?
Caroline Gleich: Yes, I did.
Johnny B: So, not only did you learn, you know, get some of your skiing skills from hockey, is that were you got your big guns?
[Laughter]
Caroline Gleich: Yeah, that's where I got my big quads too and my overall aggressive demeanor.
Johnny B: So, when you say aggressive, does that mean you weren't as much of a scorer as you were like a defender?
Caroline Gleich: I was a rougher.
Johnny B: You were a grinder.
Caroline Gleich: I was. I spend many minutes in the penalty box. I had a nickname penalty box paddy.
Johnny B: Is that right?
Caroline Gleich: Yeah.
Johnny B: So, would it be safe to say that you were dirty?
[Laughter]
Caroline Gleich: Oh, Johnny.
Johnny B: All right. Well, there you have it folks. Hockey player turns skier. We've seen that before, you know, I too was a hockey player.
Caroline Gleich: I know, I can't wait until we can go out and skate around together.
Johnny B: Perhaps we can team up for a goal. You know, I was kind of dirty myself.
Caroline Gleich: I'll set you up anytime, Johnny B.
Johnny B: Nice.
[Pause]
Johnny B: Tell us what you're favorite run at Alta, Caroline?
Caroline Gleich: Well, on a bluebird, on any powder day, my first round will be highboy obviously, but after that, I love to lap the keyhole.
Johnny B: Is that right?
Caroline Gleich: Yeah.
Johnny B: And what's you're like, what's the most laps you ever did in a day?
Caroline Gleich: Well, there was one day, a few years ago, when Collins broke down, and I was able to make 17 key hole laps in a day.
Johnny B: 17?
Caroline Gleich: 17.
Johnny B: How were you able to pull that?
Caroline Gleich: Well, thanks to a guy named Johnny B, who had an Alta ski lift truck full of skiers every five minutes going back and forth. I was able to do that.
Johnny B: Oh, I remember that day:
Caroline Gleich: To live that dream.
Johnny B: The Collins lift broke down and to better serve the skiers and give them more access to the powder snow. I took an Alta truck and I did laps.
Caroline Gleich: It was pretty much the coolest day ever.
Johnny B: And that was your record, huh? 17.
Caroline Gleich: Oh, yeah. That was.
Johnny B: Gosh, I haven't heard anybody getting that many laps in the keyhole. That's quite impressive.
Caroline Gleich: Yeah, well--
Johnny B: We have to look into that.
Caroline Gleich: We will.
Johnny B: I got another question I ask everybody, I'm going to ask you. Well, I haven't asked everybody but I'm going to start asking everybody because I want to know, so do the people. Tell us, Caroline, what was your most hardcore moment on skis?
Caroline Gleich: Well, I have hardcore moments all the time, obviously. But some of my most hardcore moments involve waking up to an alarm at 3:30 and heading up to Alta to the Our Lady of the Snows parking lot by 4:30, and hiking up to the top of Superior for sunrise, ski runs. And then going to Alta for first chair and skiing all day.
Johnny B: Wow. That is impressive. Up at 3:30, hiking by 4:30, sunrise on Superior.
Caroline Gleich: It's amazing out there. It's a great experience.
Johnny B: Face shots. Tell us about face shots. You probably get a lot being that you're a - of small stature.
Caroline Gleich: Well, most of the time, being five feet tall, five feet even, has many drawbacks like going to the grocery store, you have to ask somebody to help you to get stuff off the top shelf but when it comes to powder snow ski riding, being 5'0 definitely has some advantages.
Johnny B: So, when we're all out there skiing like ankle deep powder, you're out there getting face shots, no wonder you're always so happy and smiling.
[Pause]
Johnny B: You're a coach, isn't that correct?
Caroline Gleich: I am.
Johnny B: Who do you coach?
Caroline Gleich: I coach for two different free ride teams, the Alta Freeride team and Axis Freeride, and we train out at the Utah Olympic Park.
Johnny B: Is that right? What kind of coaching do you do?
Caroline Gleich: I specialize in jump coaching. So, I teach little kids and big kids, all ages, how to flip and spin, and do spread eagles and daffy's and grabs, and pretty much, I teach them how to do at all, I'm actually certified for USSA as a aerial coach.
Johnny B: So, you teach them how to hit ramps?
Caroline Gleich: I do. I teach them how to hit ramps and cliffs, and back country booters and terrain park jumps, halfpipe.
Johnny B: Impressive, impressive. So, with all these aggressive skiing, tell us, Caroline, have you ever needed ski patrol?
Caroline Gleich: Have I ever needed ski patrol? Oh, yeah. One day at snow bird, three years ago, the Galande Competition. I was skiing down, the in run in the morning, it is an early morning training at 9:30 on the frozen coral reef. And some 190 atomic powder pluses, I wanted to ski those so I could get some extra lift off the jump.
And on my sixth jump, I had a funky take-off and I landed on one foot, tried to bring the other foot to match it, to ski the run out and I wrecked and I tumbled like 600 feet down the landing hill and ended up in the fence, not really knowing where I was and spitting blood out of my mouth.
Johnny B: There you have it folks. Caroline Gleich, at one time or another, did need ski patrol.
[Pause]
Johnny B: What does Alta mean to you?
Caroline Gleich: Well, Johnny, that is a loaded question there. I would have to say, that to me, Alta is my medicine. It is what heals my troubled mind. Anytime I have a problem or I feel sad or even when I feel happy, I just go to Alta and all my problems are taken care of and I don't have a single worry in the world.
Johnny B: So, it is an escape from this harsh world that we're living at times.
Caroline Gleich: It's my paradise. It's my heaven. I don't believe in the afterlife because my real life is so awesome.
Johnny B: You are in heaven, Caroline.
Caroline Gleich: I am in heaven.
Johnny B: There you have it folks, Caroline Gleich. This is Johnny B for altacam.com. We're going to go powder skiing. Come along.
Discuss this Podcast on the AltaCam Skiing Forum