In September 2009, Rose Caston was doing what she does best: Zipping down the mountain, she went to make a hard turn to stop.
While on a training run in Chile she sustained a horrific knee injury that would provide a serious setback for the young alpine skier.
Caston was flown back to the U.S. the night of the injury and had total knee reconstruction surgery.
After seven grueling months of rehab, the 18-year-old former Park City Ski Team member and 2009 Winter Sports School graduate was able to get back on a pair of skis and, in November, entered her first competitive race since her injury.
“I spent the entire summer working on getting back,” she said. “My biggest goal this year was to be able to come back and make it.”
For the second time in three seasons, she has qualified for the Junior World Championships, which will be held at the Crans-Montana resort in Switzerland from Jan. 29 to Feb. 6.
She earned her spot on the team based on her alpine criteria this season, which she is extremely proud of.
“For me, it was all about making that team again,” she said. “I’m glad I was able to make it.”
Bouncing back from a serious knee injury is nowhere near easy. Caston remembers those 5-to-6-hour days of rehabbing and conditioning..
“It’s almost like having a full-time job,” she said.
Getting back on the slopes wasn’t all that easy for her, either.
“The first couple days on the snow were scary,” she said. “I was scared to stop and to making actual turns; it was all about baby steps.”
Growing up skiing at Snowbird Resort, Caston joined the Park City Ski Team at age 16 and spent her senior year at the Winter Sports School. She has been accepted to Dartmouth College but has deferred until she chooses to attend. Although she currently resides in Salt Lake City, she lives in Park City in the summer with roommates as she trains at the Center of Excellence to stay in shape.
“It’s great. We condition every single day,” she said. “The atmosphere in Park City is amazing. It’s a pretty cool environment.”
Racing runs in the Caston family. Her older brother used to be an alpine racer and that rubbed off on Rose who said she’s always loved racing and has “always been serious” about it.
At age 14, she was named to ski at the Trofeo Topolino, a prestigious international race for skiers age 11-15, and began racking up victories. In her 2009 stint at the Junior World Championships, she had a few top-15 finishes.
“I feel so lucky,” she said. “Ski racing has helped develop me into the type of person I am.”
The next couple months will no doubt be a blur for Caston.
Having left for the U.S. Ski Team women’s headquarters in Kaprun, Austria, Thursday morning, she will be participating in training and getting a FIS few races under her belt before heading to Switzerland.
“Yeah, and then after that I get on a plane and head straight for Aspen for some NorAms,” she said.
Not too shabby for an 18-year-old on a completely reconstructed knee.