2014 has been turning out to be a spectacular year so far with the newest member added to the family- my little fur face, and great flying conditions! I had been planning to spend my winter season speedriding and skiing non-stop, but with the marginal snow conditions, I have reverted back to my summer sports plan and have been wingsuiting in the Chamonix valley all season!

I am overwhelmed with joy to finally have a little puppy in my life! I have grown up with dogs in the home ever since I was a baby. But since moving to France, I have been without a furry companion for almost 2 years. I was hesitant to get a dog in France because I wasn’t sure if I would be living here for a long time or for just a few years. But after 2 years, it has become clear that this is the place for me. Haute Savoie’s healthy lifestyle, adventurous mentality, and endless mountains to explore have made it near impossible for me to leave this paradise.

We ended up with an Australian Shepherd named Iyssa as our new fur ball. She loves the snow, running in the mountains behind our home, and continues to amaze me with her smarts. I have been told that Australian Shepherds need to have a job or else they get bored. So we have decided to train her to hike with us up to an exit point, and at the top- transfer all of our unwanted gear to her for her to carry back down to the car as we fly down. We have friends who do this with their dogs in Moab, UT so we know it’s possible, the biggest challenge will be having a 2 hour hike instead of a 20 minute hike.

As for the winter/spring flying conditions in Chamonix right now- magnifique!

We have become spoiled in the last year with 2 amazing jumps being opened in Chamonix. Both are accessible by cable car, both are less than a 1 minutes hike, and both are Very big, beautiful flights. This winter we have been jumping Brevent non-stop, and Aiguille du Midi when it’s not too cold or windy. (Let me just say here, that both of these jumps are extremely technical, and should not be underestimated due to their easy access.)

I had been training for the Aiguille du Midi for over 6 months, and I finally was able to jump it last week! The start of the jump is the shortest start I have ever done- I only had 120m to get my suit flying. I have been practicing at Brevent with 145m of vertical to start (which is still pretty short) and with my new Aura wingsuit I knew I could start in 120m, no problem. After that I flew over the Bosson glacier – which was breathtaking. The exit point is at 3842m and the landing is at 1000m, making it the longest BASE jump I have done to date! The fallowing day my arms were sore from flying for nearly 2 minutes!

I have really been enjoying this winter season even though it wasn’t exactly what I had in mind- it turned out to be way better!