2024 GoPro Mountain Games

This is a bit late…sorry… “Can’t be late until you show up” I think is the saying. The GoPro Mountain Games is by far my favorite event to compete in and are one of the country’s most celebrated outdoor events, featuring adventure sports, music, and art. From June 6th to June 9th, 2024, athletes, and spectators from all over the world headed to Vail, Colorado’s mountains, trails, and rivers to compete in and watch tons of different events like whitewater kayaking, mountain biking, fishing, and many more. All the vendors were set up and giving away free stuff all day every day, live music, tons more people in the village milling around checking out all the activities and being spectators, and a great turnout with ton more competitors across the board in each activity.

The feature was a bit different than it has been in the past years. The snow melt happened later than expected and created water levels that varied every day. Some days it turned into sort of a wave instead of a hole. It was unpredictable and I think the water was EVEN colder than years past. Freestyle kayaking in water that cold makes it hard to have long sessions as it wears you out very fast. I am lucky my hotel was on top of the feature again this year so I hop in and train for as long as my body can take it before becoming a human ice cube then I am always running back to the hotel to hop in the hot tub. The feature is still one of the hardest features for me to get in a rhythm and put together ride plans, however, the people, the atmosphere, and festival is the absolute best!

In years past I have trained very hard for this event both on and off the water. I was in the water as much as I could and then doing 5 miles of hill sprints to adjust to the altitude, although I may have some immunity since I went to the University of Colorado for graduate school. However, this year I was not able to prepare that way. I have had a really tough year health wise. My appendix burst and I didn’t realize that it had burst…. I thought I had a stomach ache. So I went to urgent care because it was preventing me from training for a couple other competitions the rest of the year. They immediately sent me to the hospital and I went into emergency surgery to save my life since the burst happened days before I realized. The burst was so bad I had to have 4 trauma surgeries and was in and out of the hospital for 4 months. I started back training very slowly through the winter. I still wanted to compete in this event and had to lower my personal expectations and goals I would normally have. I was just happy to be back in the water competing and finally being healthy. I missed competing and I missed seeing everyone over the past year.

I want to say thank you to my family, friends, and sponsors near and far for all the support through this headache of health and extended time in the hospital. Also a huge shoutout to DripDrop. Their products are amazing. They keep me hydrated all the time. They helped me while in the hospital, recovering, and at work…. Not just while training. Check them out. They have been incredible making me a part of their family and reaching out to me during this difficult time I am having with my appendix burst complications. I am already looking forward to next year! This event is incredible and I highly recommend checking it out.

Catch you on the river!
Emily