Pamela Thorburn | blog

Touring in my skoda…

pam — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 21:58:28 +0000

Heading into my 1st British Ski X Champs after only 2 races under my belt, I knew I had nothing to lose. I had very limited experience and tactically, I was still clueless! What the hell is a wu tang? and a butter box?! After figuring that out and after an average qualifying run, I knew I had to step it up and rip out the start. Pulling out in front, I was very aware of the girls right behind me. Thriving on the ‘mano a mano’ atmosphere, I came through to take the win. British Champ oh yeahhh! A good day in Laax, Switzerland.

Leaving straight after the race, I headed to Geneva to pick up my new coach, 1 week retired ski x racer- Yannick Enting. Arriving at Les Menuires’s ‘The Skilt’ hotel, we were completely spoiled rotten. An awesome hotel with great staff. If you are in the area- check it out! The French Nationals were just up the road in Val Thorens. I was excited to train a new track. Starting bib number 1 for the race, I made some rookie mistakes. Still hadn’t mastered the single/double roller combos, my shins took another beating! Happy with some big improvements and good feelings, it was a great week. Did I mention it was 23 degrees?

Pam x

Start number 104 at The Brits

Hanging at the start with Liz…

Winning!!!!

Picking up my cute little rental skoda at Zurich…

The less than glamourous side of ski racing…

Starting numero uno at French Nationals…

Inspection in Val Thorens…

In the start gate…

The awesome Val T track…

My new coach Yannick- the ski x guru…

Repping ski x at the Alpine champs in Meribel with Kamakaze Scott Garvie… Watch out for this one!

Got to love some spring skiing!

€20 for a hamburger…

pam — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 22:06:09 +0000

There really is nothing like diving in at the deep end… And I literally leapt in there head first. Racing again after 13 months and in a new sport, my first day on the hill in Mora, Sweden was a very sharp learning curve. Having no clue which rollers to jump or even how to pull out of a start gate, I went for a tester run. Ouch! Note to self- ‘knuckling’ the jumps suck! I have been told I am now officially a ski cross racer because my shins are killing me. Oh sweet… I’ll have to stock up on shin shields then.

I felt like the new kid at school, everyone gawked at me with ‘who the hell is this chick?’ expressions. It’s weird going from a sport where you know everyone to being the newbie. With my extremely limited experience (2 runs) I raced my first Europa Cup race, It was so much fun!

Training with the boys all week made me a better skier. They are fast! The only heat training I did with some girls, I won because I came out the start expecting the speed of the guys… The girls didn’t ask me to train with them again.

The home of the over priced but über stylish ‘Voss’ water was our next destination. Ok it wasn’t the same place but it took the same name… Ironically not a voss bottle to be seen the whole duration of our stay. Weird. My 2nd race I finished in 17th. I had been having a serious war with some rollers on that course (I even kneed myself in the face on them), did I double, or try take as a single? Uhhh double of course! On my attempt at this I kept landing on the uphill of the second roller- yep I slammed into it hard, thus the shin bang. It was a pretty costly error as I lost all my speed on one feature. Happy with my start to the sport, I left satisfied that I will be back, and I will be better!

One thing I feel I should mention is how I felt over there, I was strong (strong enough to hit the knuckle of the jumps each run without my legs buckling) and I was fit, I always felt ok at the bottom of each run… Raring to go for another. My trainer Jonathan White deserves a massive heads up for that. Thanks for pushing me so hard Joffy!

I also have to say a big thanks to the boys on my trip. Coach Ian Findlay, Craig Robinson, Marek Behnke and Jannick Enting were extremely patient with me… I asked so many questions the whole time, I think they were questioning if I had ever been in a ski race before. Constant encouragement and a lot of good times, made for an epic trip… and I won’t even get started on the German dance music.

Back in the game…

pam — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 09:55:02 +0000

You can imagine with it being a year since I was last on snow, I was like a ‘kid in a candy store’ excited. The trip to Alpe D’Huez and Montegenvre was organised by Zenith Holidays. There were 2 guys from ‘Heat’ magazine and ‘Heat World’, Dan and Stef. The boarders. Usually when you go on trips like this, you worry what the other people are going to be like… well these two were some of the funniest, talented guys I have ever met. Both completely different yet so similar, you would be lucky to get on a trip with these jokesters.

Anna is a gorgeous pint sized tv presenter featured on many shows like ‘Daybreak’ and ‘Nickelodean’ and also writes for ‘Ok’ mag and ‘Digital spy’. With her partner Mike being a cameraman, you could say they are pretty well suited. Lovely, genuine people, they complement each other perfectly. Mike by the way films everything from ‘Britain and Irelands next top model’ to ‘A league of there own’ (my personal favourite) and is THE camera man to know.

Jamie from ‘Fox Vincent Media’ is the guy who organised the whole trip. A PR marketing genius who has the most amazing hook ups. He knows everyone! He HATES losing, so he understands perfectly my career and is helping me loads with trying to get back to winning again!

Everything from the fun and very competent chalet staff, having to struggle with my diet of no wheat, gluten, or dairy to the owner Katie herself, was amazing. Great job Zenith!

I just want to say a massive thank you to you guys for helping me through my tough diet, training and 1st week back on skis. I couldn’t think of a better bunch to have been there. Also to all my friends, thanks for the continued support.

On to the vid…

Pam x

Pam Ski TV

pam — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 22:29:33 +0000

Hey friends! HAPPY 2012!!!

New Year = New Adventures! I was a very lucky girl for xmas and one of my presents included a sweet video camera. It’s totally pam proof being that its waterproof, shock proof and dust proof so it will suit me well when I take it to the slopes.

After having a play around Nick decided that being a master videographer (self proclaimed), he would put some vids together. Basically he films me doing my ‘thing’… whatever that is. The idea being that I make videos of my life/season as a winter athlete. Capturing the highs and lows, the good, the bad, and the ugly!

This is my first vid on my new channel- PamSkiTV. I hope you enjoy. Let me know what you think! Any suggestions or advice would be sweet… I’m new to this so all comments are appreciated. Vid is also available in High Def on YouTube if you want to see it even clearer!

Next in the pipeline… back on snow after 11 months…

Pam x

Rhianna is my homegirl…

pam — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 15:56:58 +0000

This time last year, I was racing World Cup Downhill in Canada. As the same races came around this year, I flew off to the sun. Only a few weeks to go before the first World Cup Ski Cross race. I cant wait to get some of that action, but before I can get back to racing, I have to make sure I am strong, fit and race ready. Soon!

Almost as soon as we arrived in the land of Ri Ri, we wanted to sample some ‘local’ music, so naturally we turned the radio on. What I learned quickly was, they love their girl Rhianna, One Direction have ‘cracked’ Barbados and there is a crazy amount of reggae xmas songs… amazing!

We were over there for the Surfers Bay Music Festival. Charlie Simpson was headlining. I have to say it is a massive thanks to him, his manager Tristan, and Virgin Holidays for hooking us up for this sweet trip. Our penthouse rooms at the Ocean 2 hotel were insane! THANK YOU!!!

Arriving in Barbados…

Paradise…

Tiny sea turtles hatched and tried to take over the hotel… there were hundreds!

we even had to do a rescue attempt when they kept filling up the swimming pool filters!

A chilled out sound check at the Surfers Bay Festival…

listening to the legend that is Dawn( no no no) Penn…

good times…

Cooling off and relaxing…

with some training…

some horse riding on the beach…

card games on the loungers…

and of course some ski racing…

We did ‘come dine with me’ nights. Lizzy’s pulled pork and Tristan’s Strawberry Daiquiris were massive hits!

Anna enjoying an ice cold Bajan Banks!

Playing dress up at the incredible Cliff restaurant…

and enjoying some cocktails and vino with the ladies…

I love me some monkey nuts!

pam — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 18:28:51 +0000

2 months post op, I was back in to see my Surgeon. He sent me away with some sweet pics of inside my shoulder joint. I have been pretty quiet recently on the blogging side, physio and rehab taking over my life. Direct quote from said physio this morning- “Its time we start hammering this” START hammering??? Time to turn up the hardcore. Oh Yeah.

Happy Halloween!!!

Ball (nowhere near) socket joint

Showing the back of the joint where it was “ruffed up”

So much space in there…

Before the magic happened

New rehab procedures… thanks Wii Fit!

Keeping up with my ladies…

I took a cheeky wee trip to Paris…

And Enjoyed the delights of the Exec Lounge at the Hilton Arc De Triumph…

Miss Maclay joined us for a few vinos…

And what’s a trip to Paris without some Eiffel Tower pics?

And a romantic proposal…

Pam x

Does that make me a robot?

pam — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 21:33:10 +0000

The last few days have been quite a whirlwind. Catching up with some of my ski girls before heading in for shoulder stabilisation surgery. Being a very good girl at a friends 21st, I drove home straight after dinner and caught a couple hours sleep before checking into the hospital for 6.30am.

The legendary Gordon Mackay did a stellar job. Being totally doped out my nut last night, I did manage to remember him coming up to explain a few things. Usually you need to go in the front and back to get a good look at the joint… well i had such a loose shoulder that he was able to see all the way through from the front. Bit of a shocker. ANYWAY Im home now, already recovering with my new bionic arm and no longer wearing my rather fetching open backed gown and LARGE hospital pants. Happy Days!

Ski girl reunion…

Catching up with Norton…

and my girl Eilidh…

And cornering the hostess…

Thankfully there was no mistaking which arm it was…

But what is with the open gown and high waisted pants…

Waking up after the anaesthetic trip…

Checking out the work…

A little more sober today, on my way home…

Ill be back to this in no time…

Pam x

London’s a Riot!

pam — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 23:09:42 +0000

Being at home so long makes me ancy… I miss the snow, I miss having skis on my feet and I miss being in the mountains! So I headed to London for the week to visit my team mates and mix things up a bit. A few of the girls and I attempted a treasure hunt in the city… I say attempted because we didn’t get that far, but we did get a few of the markers done…

1. Sorrel found a pussy cat…

2. Strongman Faye rolling the eye…

3. doing the splits on the bridge like its no big thing…

4. Get a picture with a Gorilla… obviously

5. JUMP!!! In front of big ben at exactly 3pm… (yeh we’r a lil late)

The beautiful south bank…

I LOVE being a tourist…

Chillin at Chemmy’s in Hampton Court…

it was 30 degrees!!!

So we had a BBQ and some croquet…

with water sports in the back ‘garden’…

and a Slip and Slide…

Finishing a hot week with a night out in Esher…

Sorrel teaching me how to strike a pose properly…

Saw this, a motto to live by…

and especially this…

Pam x

Rockstars go to Disneyland

pam — Sun, 10 Jul 2011 23:47:02 +0000

For a change of scenery and to pick up some kit, I decided to hop on a ferry and head out to Europe. Not really wanting to drive alone, I roped in a friend of mine. With my buddy being the lead singer of Irish band- Hogan, naturally thats what we listened to ALOT! Lucky for me hes actually pretty damn good. Check them out www.hoganband.com

We encountered some seriously random stuff including multiple customs stops, packaged croissants, French dog shows, kinder surprises, red light districts, happy songs, sea sickness, Michael Jackson and a Ford GT!!!

Finally home after 2664 miles behind the wheel… and its back to work again. My shoulder is improving and the tendonitis is definitely healing. Team testing up next week… lets go!

Apparently putting ur feet up takes away sea sickness…

A typical days driving… 10 hours. No big deal

Arriving on foreign land…

Paris baby…

Disneyland!

All my childhood dreams coming true…

Mark’s favourite ride…

At home with his fellow country men…

My favourite ride… the hardcore one

Yahhhh!!!!

Now this was an experience…

Back home…

And back to work…

Pam x

History in the making…

pam — Sun, 19 Jun 2011 22:27:56 +0000

No matter if you like golf or not, everyone should be watching the insanely talented, hunky Irish 22 year old Rory McIlroy dominate the US Open. He’s currently on -17, a cool 10 shots clear of the rest of the field. Watching this, I am almost shocked how incredibly strong his mental strength is. I mean- SO MUCH PRESSURE! Its a side of my game where I am really weak. Meeting up with sport psychologist Donald MacNaughton on wed, Im going to be working really hard on this. I need to step things up a notch and he’s just the man to help me do it.

Iv recently had an Arthrogram MRI on my shoulder. I was struggling with some pain in the gym and surfing was a nightmare… yep I was pretty much 1 arm paddling. Solid! My results show that I have a number of cysts on my humerus, a torn rotator cuff and tendon abnormalities (whatever that means). So for now Im back on the rehab train. Nothing i cant handle

1st day back in Glasgow and its glorious…

A little piece of Hawaii came home with me…

Seeing my fav band in Edinburgh…

The Yashin…

SCREAM!!!

How rad is this graffiti…

Yep she’s cute…

The perfect model…

Pose like your life depends on it…

Can you tell we had fun with this…

Its good to be home…

Pam x