Gretchen Bleiler

Gretchen Bleiler

Gretchen Bleiler

Gretchen Bleiler

Gretchen Bleiler

Gretchen’s words resonated with me and made me think of John Candy in the movie Cool Runnings when he told the Olympic Captain of the Bobsled team, "If you are not enough without the Gold Medal, you will never be enough with it." It seems as if Gretchen's experiences taught her this vital lesson at a very opportune time in her life.
As an athlete, Gretchen has seen tremendous improvements in her performance due to Z-Health. "I can't believe I have gone this far without Z-Health in my life, it seems like it should be the foundation of what everyone in the world should be doing before everything else. Why go lift 200lbs at the gym if you can't walk properly before that? Z-Health training is helping get my body back into the right place and feel good and prepared before I throw myself upside down in a half pipe. Things are getting easier, more connected, and more balanced then ever before — and I know it is because of all the exercises I have been doing. Every time I come in I have been blown away by the results I get. I am just getting started, but I am seeing such great results that are giving me the timing, balance, and connectedness on the mountain."
In addition to her tremendous athletic achievements, I also learned that Gretchen is a successful businesswoman off the mountain as well. She has a Signature Collection with Oakley, a Signature Snowboard with K2, co-founded Mission Skincare and has a Signature Lip Balm, and has helped create an event The Aspen/Snowmass CoverGirl Snow Angels Invitational. The Invitational has a very progressive format, hosting all the best half pipe female riders in the world, and is designed to bring attention and awareness to the environment, women's snowboarding events, and the difference we can all make. It is a weekend with a holistic component of health, education, yoga workshops, facials, fun, and much more — all for the purpose of making a difference.

Gretchen Bleiler

Gretchen Bleiler

Gretchen Bleiler

Gretchen Bleiler

Gretchen Bleiler

she believes that is what caused her big crash in January. "It was a wake up call to figure out my priorities, re-evaluate my snowboard strategy, and generally reacquire balance in my life. There were things along the way that almost got my attention but it was that trauma and the rest of the season that were necessary for me to make the changes I needed."

This is where Z-Health comes in. "Z-Health helps me visualize, be in the moment in my body, and be aware of what I am doing and where I am in time and space, so that I can bring the best of my hard work and training to every moment."

The crash and what followed caused her to re-evaluate, "why am I doing this and who is it for. When I started snowboarding, I was looking for results to give me self worth and to fill me. Now I know who I am, I know my value and my worth. Win, lose, or draw, who I am is much more then the medals I win. I truly desire to pass on this knowledge and these experiences to other young female athletes. It takes a great deal of courage and risk to not go to college and pursue professional athletics as a career, and I hope that my learning and experience can offer some insight to anyone willing to listen. Now when I compete, I know who I am and why I compete."

Lindsey Vonn Images

Vonn finished the icy course in 1 minute, 30.31 seconds, well ahead of Swiss teenager Lara Gut and Nadia Fanchini of Italy to win her second gold medal of the Worlds.
Lindsey Vonn
Lindsey Vonn
Lindsey Vonn
Lindsey Vonn
Lindsey Vonn

Snowboarding World News and Events

Solitude Expert skiers and riders listen up. You can do laps on the upper mountain this winter because Solitude is installing a quad lift to serve your favorite black diamond, white knuckle terrain. You don’t have to ski beginner lower mountain runs any more to get to the lift. Celebrate!

The new Powderhorn II quad lift will serve upper mountain tough terrain only. It starts mid-mountain at the base of Sunshine Bowl, and its top terminal will be in the same spot at the old Powderhorn lift’s top terminal. However, the top terminal location is the only similarity between old Powderhorn and the new Powderhorn II lifts.

The old Powderhorn lift is gone. Torn out. The old, slow two-seater lift left over from the 70s is history. Lay bets with your friends and count how many skiers and riders wind up looking for the old lift at the base of the mountain.

The new Powderhorn II lift comes with a $1.5 million price tag. Last year, Solitude invested $7 million in two high-speed detachable lifts: the Apex and Moonbeam Express.

The new, upper mountain Powderhorn II lift will cut lift ride time nearly in half, to just 7 minutes. It will give access to some of the state’s steepest groomed runs and to wild and wooly Honeycomb Canyon. Solitude is a family-friendly resort with a lot of beginner and intermediate terrain on the lower part of the mountain. The new lift is expected to keep advanced and expert skier and riders entertained higher on the mountain thus easing traffic in prime areas enjoyed by less experienced skiers and riders