Replying to My Problems Here At JOSS

Hey guys.. Just wanted to address some negative comments about me that I've seen floating around involving me skiing over here at JOSS. It frustrates me to see that people think I'm simply being lazy or just blowing this competition off...

Here are some examples:

"it pisses me off that michael clarke took one of the two spots and basically has not been skiing at all. A lot of other young riders would have killed for a chance at these features, but clarke took the spot and seams like he isnt even trying. He has just about skipped everything so far."

"I'm with you JGP. For a lot of kids this is the chance of a lifetime, and Clarke's just blowing it off like it's nothing. I'm sure theres kids who deserve it and want it much more than him. Otherwise JOSS is shaping up to be the greatest event in the history of skiing, it's unreal so far"

"he missed a couple of days due to not having skis? thats the worst excuse i have ever heard. yea, he lost his luggage. hes at fucking JOSS! borrow skis, demo skis, buy skis, i dont care! get out there on the slopes!"

Try to put yourselves in my shoes... I flew to Sweden only to have the airlines lose my bags. In terms of using a found pair of skis here there are a few problems. Being a Salomon rider its necessary that I'm on their product. Furthermore the other Salomon riders here (Sammy and Simon) are midgets and use shorter skis than me. Not to mention that I didn't even have my own boots either. The possibility of finding some rental Salomon stuff is an option until you look at the features we're hitting over here. I can honestly say Jon has created a collection of the biggest and best made jumps I've ever seen. Think about putting on some foreign skis/boots and trying to hit some of the biggest jumps in the world.

I finally got my stuff and had it for a few features where I was able to get some shots. However, on the Aerial jump I had a freak accident cutting my hand on my edge all the way to the bone. If anyone has ever had a bad cut they'll understand what I mean when I say it fucking hurts! Not to mention that I can't even bend my hand due to the placement of the laceration. Believe me when I say I'd much rather be skiing than sitting around and watching. Anyway I'm just trying to take good care of my hand and make sure it heals for Orage Masters/Level 1 Spring Shoots. I don't want to rush back into skiing here just to re-open my hand and make it worse because I was in too much of a hurry to get back on snow. One thing I have learned from my friends mistakes in skiing is not to rush too quickly back from injuries.  Anyway just wanted to let you guys know what I'm thinking. Believe me I am SO FRUSTRATED myself and would LOVE to be skiing. Hopefully you guys can understand where I'm coming from. I just want to continue skiing this spring and not have this injured hand be a problem. Everyone is killing it over here and expect big things from this event! Thanks for reading...

/Clarke
Try