Cailin.Apple(@cailin.apple) instagram tagged download

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$I thought I’d get away from the sappy end-of-season posts this year…. But I’d be wrong. After ending last winter debating if I ever wanted to kick out of a start gate again, I’m finishing this season with a smile on my face, something that didn’t feel possible if you were to talk to Kendahl a year ago. This season wasn’t about results or titles; it was about learning to love the sport again and finding my happiness. I wasn’t very vocal about the degree of mental health troubles I faced last season because it’s not an easy topic to talk about, especially on the internet, but I think it’s an important one. Mental health is an invisible injury that is easy to overlook. I spent a lot of time reluctant to admit anything was wrong because it’s scary to look in the mirror and accept that your brain is not healthy, and it’s even harder to accept when you don’t quite know what’s going wrong, just that you feel like an empty shell. I found it easier to say that I wasn’t mentally fit for the sport or that I couldn’t handle the pressure of it instead of accepting that something was really wrong. I had to put a lot of work into getting to the place I am today, and for once, I’m looking forward to next winter. I feel so lucky to have the people around me who picked me up and carried me through the tough times when I couldn’t even carry myself. It was a hard road, but it was worth it. I want to thank UVM skiing for welcoming me with open arms and creating an environment that made me fall in love with skiing again. This team was exactly what I didn’t know I needed. Unfortunately, a silly crash before NCAAs ended up being a little more serious than I initially thought, and my season is ending before nationals. A partially torn ACL and a fracture in my tibia are gonna keep me off snow for 2-3 months, but after last year, this feels like a piece of cake. I’m so excited to continue this journey, and I can’t wait to ski you all next year.$

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