Living for powder

Frank Jobe will never forget it.

He says the biggest argument he ever had with Anna, his daughter, was over — of all things — skiing.

“When she was three under Chair 3 (at Whitefish Mountain Resort at Big Mountain) we had a huge fight,” he said.

“It looked like I was being the mean dad and I was making her ski. The fight was actually about not taking the harness off her and letting her go. I was keeping her from going too fast.”

It may have been sound advice back then — when she wore a pink bike helmet for protection as she went down the bunny hill. But it’s not any more. Anna’s racing future is all about speed these days.

The 15-year-old skier will train and compete with Rowmark Ski Academy in Salt Lake City starting this summer.

She will attend Rowland Hall, an independent high school, also in Salt Lake City, this coming school year and live with foster parents.

“We (Jobe and wife Cindi) have, I guess, the attitude that it’s about her, not about us,” Frank said having his daughter move away for her sophomore year.

“It will be hard because we do a lot together. It seems like every weekend we are together as a group.”

And his wife agreed.

“The way Frank and I parent, we try to be supportive of their dreams and offer them opportunities to succeed,” Cindi said.

“So when she came back from the ski race in Park City (this winter) I asked her if she could do anything in the world, what would it be? She said go to the ski academy and make the U.S. ski team.”

Wish granted. At least the ski academy part. The U.S. ski team might have to wait a couple years.

“She’s a very dedicated person,” Cindi said.

“She has a strong work ethic, she’s a really positive person. She works really hard and deserves to have that chance.”

Cindi admits it will be hard to let her go.

“She’s so young,” Cindi said.

“When our son went away to college he was young, 17. I cried.

“It’s harder I think for a mother with a daughter. We’re the kind of family that likes to spend time together. It’s a sacrifice that we’re willing to make because we do love her.”

Cindi and Frank plan to visit in the fall.

Anna, on the other hand, is eager to get on with this phase of her sporting and academic life.

“I hope they have a dog,” Anna said of the foster parents.

“I like dogs. I had one when I was little.”

On a more serious note ...

“It’s a big step so I’m kind of nervous, but more excited,” she said.

“It’s one of the top ones (ski schools), especially for girls. A lot of Olympic skiers come out of there.”

And that’s the driving force behind the move.

“I want to go to the Olympics,” she said.

“When I was really little, when my brother and uncle quit ski racing to do other stuff, I said I wouldn’t quit. I wanted to get to the Olympics. That’s my goal.”

The downside of leaving ...

“I’ve been thinking about it,” she said.

“All the things they (mom and dad) do for me. If I leave my gym clothes at home, my dad can sometime go get them for me. I’m definitely going to miss my friends.”

And there’s more ...

“What will I miss about Kalispell? My high school soccer team. I will really miss Big Mountain a lot. It’s my favorite place.”

Anna enjoyed a banner sports season her first year of high school at Glacier. She was the lone freshman on the varsity soccer team and she posted at least one double-double (scoring and rebounding) as a center on the ninth grade basketball team.

In track this spring, she specialized in the weight events — shot put (season best of 29-11), discus (98-6) and also tripled jumped (29-11).

“I really love both,” she said of soccer and skiing.

“I really don’t know which is my best. I work my hardest in both.”

Anna has been skiing since she was two and competing with the Whitefish Mountain Resort ski team since she was seven.

“Their grandparents (Faye and George Olsen) gave them ski lessons as Christmas presents,” Frank said of Anna and his son Jake, 20.

“The one key to that was they were at Big Mountain.”

That was a problem back then since the Jobes were living in Missoula.

“That’s one of the reasons we moved up here was to get closer to Big Mountain,” Frank said.

Anna finished eighth in the Junior Olympics giant slalom and 20th in the slalom at Mt. Bachelor, Ore., in March. She has competed in that competition three times.

At the Topolino Shootout in Park City, she finished seventh in the J3 (ages 14-15) giant slalom. There were 21 skiers at that event.

Anna will be one of 270 students in high school at Rowland Hall, of which 30 attend the Rowmark Ski Academy. Three other students from Montana also attend the academy.

“It will be a challenge,” Frank said of meeting the financial requirements.

“She will get some scholarship help, a lot. I’d sell a kidney, but I’m not sure how to go about it.”

Rowland Hall, like Glacier, is an advanced placement school.

“It depends on how much I like it,” she said of how long she will stick with it. I’m going to keep going. That’s my plan.”

The school works closely with the ski academy so students can excel in both environments. She will take seven classes in the fall, four in the winter, where she will have her afternoons off to train on the slopes, and then seven more classes in the spring.

Anna will be training six days a week in Utah, compared to four days a week at Whitefish Mountain Resort.

“There will be a lot more kids my age that I’m competing against,” she said.

“It’s more focused on ski racing and I won’t miss as much school during the week. There are a lot more coaches there, more coaches for each athlete.”

Anna was largely accepted into the ski academy for her ski achievements with the Whitefish Mountain Resort ski team. She also had to impress ski academy officials with an essay that dealt with a series of standard questions.

“They asked: What are your goals in skiing?” she said.

“What do you plan to bring to the school?

“What are your goals in life.”

A straight-A student, Anna was quickly accepted by Rowland Hall.

She applied to the ski academy in mid-February and was accepted in late April.

“Yeah,” she said of being anxious.

“I wasn’t sure if I was moving or staying for school next year.

“I didn’t really think I would get in,” she admitted.

“I thought I was gonna, but I wasn’t really sure.”

The ski academy finally called the Jobe residence to inform her she was accepted.

“They left my mom a message,” she said.

“My mom and dad came into my science room (at Glacier High School) at 11 a.m. They were just standing there in the door. Then they told me. I was really excited.”

“I don’t know who was more excited, her or her science teacher (Ben Young),” Frank said.

Young, along with teacher/coach Grady Bennett and math teacher Pam Umpton all provided letters of recommendation.

“She (Cindi) said to me that I probably wouldn’t get in, but if this is something you really want to do, you should go for it,” she said.

“She believed in me, she helps me in everything.

“My dad was helpful, too. They were really supportive.”

Anna will attend an academy ski camp June 9 at Mammoth Mountain Ski Area in California. Then in August, she heads for Chile for 15 days of skiing. School starts immediately after that.