Carina Schwartznau, who races for the Crystal Mountain Alpine Club and has aspired to make the U.S. Ski Team since she was 6 years old, this spring was named Crystal’s Skier of the Year.

The 15-year-old, who lives on the shores of Lake Debra Jane in Bonney Lake, will be a Sumner High sophomore when school resumes in the fall.

As her ski career steadily gains momentum, her dreams appear attainable.

Schwartznau’s objective was recently reinforced by her being named as the recipient of a national $1,000 scholarship award, that also included a speed suit, a winter storm coat and other ski equipment presented by Ski Racing Development, World Cup Supply and HALTI USA.

Schwartznau’s prizes came by virtue of her posting solid results on the race course (ranked sixth nationally for her age group in downhill), as well as exemplifying the personal characteristics the award represents – for example, academic achievement (4.0 grade-point average), extensive community involvement and astonishing drive as an athlete.

Schwartznau was pitted against 50 other applicants from across the country, the majority of whom were ski academy types, whose parents pay a heavy toll to keep their kids on the slopes.

“Skiing is not a forgiving sport financially,” said Carina’s father, John.

“Luckily Carina’s mom (Wendy) and I both have full-time jobs and Carina has a gold level scholarship with Rossignol that pays for 66 percent of her competition ski costs,” he said. “Just for the fun of it, I kept track of the astronomical costs associated with Carina’s ski interests. The bottom line for last season was $26,000.”

Carina’s success requires serious time-management skills.

“I work out constantly, thankfully have the full support of my mom, dad, teachers and coaches, try to get to sleep by at least 10 p.m. and do not eat junk food or fast food,” she said, with one slight amendment.

Her ski schedule means missing out on some traditional school activities.

“During March Madness as I call it, at which time I am constantly practicing, competing, grooming my skis and living out of a suitcase, I have absolutely no down time and miss out on a lot of things like dances, games and other social activities. I try to catch up with my school friends and activities during the summer.

“In the long run though, I just have to remain focused on the goals I have set for myself and realize that all the sacrifices made, especially by my parents, will eventually pay big dividends,” she said.

Carina is a disciple of Lindsey Vaughn, a powerful and gifted skier who was a sensation of the recent Vancouver B.C., Winter Olympic Games.

“One of the reasons Vaughn is so successful is because the stronger calves, shins, quads and core you have, the more speed you can generate out of your skies, Schwartznau said. “I exercise a lot, but I am also constantly using protein drinks to bulk up. Because you have to be big and strong to steer those skis, especially in slalom where you have to weave your way through all of those gates.”

She often recalls words of advice offered by her father years ago: skiing is an exacting science.

“Think about it. You are flying down the mountain at 60 plus mph, with nothing between your feet and that slippery slope but basically two sticks,” she said. “If you mess up, even a little, you could severely injure yourself.”

Schwartznau puts such thoughts out of her mind, focusing instead on the rush her sport provides.

“Things happen to fast and for me it is just plain fun and feels exhilarating to go zipping full tilt down the slope…the faster, the better.”

The Bonney Lake bullet speaks from experience. In 2010 she suffered one of a downhiller’s worst nightmares. “I stressed and strained my calf and shin muscles in an accident so badly that I had to be taken off the mountain on a toboggan. If I hadn’t heeded my coach’s (former Olympian Alan Lauba’s)advice and constantly worked on strengthening those leg muscles, I could have been ended up much worse off.”

Instead of being a career-ender, the unfortunate mishap only served to steel her resolve.

“It was unimaginably painful to even walk after the fall and it was kind a scary episode in my life when my legs were so swollen that I couldn’t even lace up my ski boots at first,” she said. “I was blessed to have recovered fairly quickly.”